Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Review

I’ve been a pretty big Yu-Gi-Oh! fan for as long as I can remember. From collecting cards in the schoolyard to watching the anime religiously, the franchise has been a constant presence in my life since the franchise really blew up. But one of the most memorable parts of my Yu-Gi-Oh! journey was the early 2000s, when I spent countless hours playing the Yu-Gi-Oh! games on my Game Boy Advance. So when Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection was announced for the Nintendo Switch, I was immediately on board. Not only does it bring back some of my favorite childhood games, but it also includes titles that never saw a release outside of Japan, making this collection a huge deal for longtime fans like myself.

The Early Days Collection packs in 14 different titles, spanning the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance eras of Yu-Gi-Oh! gaming. This alone makes it a fantastic value. For the price of a single modern game, you’re getting over a dozen classic Yu-Gi-Oh!experiences, each with its own unique spin on the trading card game. Whether you grew up with these titles or are discovering them for the first time, there’s a ton of content to dive into.

But make no mistake—this collection is for Yu-Gi-Oh! fans first and foremost. There’s very little hand-holding or onboarding, and many of these games drop you straight into the action with little explanation. If you’re unfamiliar with the mechanics of the Yu-Gi-Oh! card game or the anime, you might find yourself struggling to get started. This is a collection that thrives on nostalgia, best enjoyed by those who already have a connection to the franchise.

With so many games included, everyone will have their own favorites, but for me, a few standouts immediately come to mind.

Stairway to the Destined Duel was one of my most-played Yu-Gi-Oh! games growing up, and revisiting it in this collection was a blast. It was one of the first games to really capture the feel of playing the actual trading card game, with a great roster of duelists to challenge and a solid selection of cards. It still holds up today as one of the best representations of classic Yu-Gi-Oh! gameplay.

Then there’s the two RPG-style games which offer a breath of fresh air in a collection otherwise dominated by traditional dueling. Instead of simply battling opponents one after another, The Sacred Cards and Reshef of Destruction let you walk around, interact with characters, and experience an original story set in the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe. It was great to revisit these games and immerse myself in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! beyond just the duels as they were both my personal favourite games when I was younger..

That said, Reshef of Destruction remains as brutally difficult as ever. This game tested my patience back in the day, and returning to it now, I was quickly reminded why. The AI is ruthless, and the difficulty curve is punishing. Honestly, I have no idea how I managed to beat it as a kid.

For those that like the added challenge of online play the you may gravitate towards Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists as it’s the only title in the collection that supports online play. While it’s great to have at least one game with online functionality, I was a little disappointed that more titles didn’t offer the same feature. It would have been amazing to duel friends online in more of these classic games, but at least Battle of Great Duelists provides an option for competitive online play even though it’s far from the strongest game in the collection.

One of the things I truly appreciated about this collection is the care put into preserving these games. The original box art and game manuals are all included digitally, which is a fantastic touch. For those of us who remember flipping through these manuals as kids, this adds an extra layer of nostalgia. It’s also great for players who never got to experience these games the first time around, as they can see what the original packaging looked like.

Each game has multiple visual options, but looks best when runs in its original aspect ratio, and you can also customize your experience with different backdrops. While it might seem like a small feature, it helps make the games feel less like simple ROM dumps and more like a lovingly curated collection.

While these games stay true to their original forms, the collection does introduce a few modern conveniences that make revisiting them much easier. New features like the allowing for Deck limitations to be removed in matches, providing more flexibility for the difficulty. A save-anywhere feature, which is a game-changer for titles that originally only let you save at specific points.

And even a rewind function, letting you undo mistakes mid-duel.

These additions make the experience much smoother and remove some of the frustration from the original games. However, I was disappointed that there’s no speed-up mechanic. Many of these older Yu-Gi-Oh! games suffer from slow, clunky menus and lengthy turn-taking animations, something I had completely forgotten about until jumping back in. A speed-up option would have made these games much more enjoyable in the long run.

While the collection is pretty great overall, it’s not without its flaws. Dungeon Dice Monsters is still an interesting change of pace, but unless you’re already familiar with the anime’s Dungeon Dice Monsters arc, you’ll likely be completely lost. The game does little to explain itself, assuming players already know the rules and are capable of creating their own strategies or combating those of the opponent.

Destiny Board Traveler is another oddball in the collection, offering mini-games instead of traditional duels. It’s fun, but the tiny, hard-to-read font makes it frustrating to play on the Switch, whether handheld or docked.

And since many of these games are direct sequels or improvements on earlier titles, some of the older games in the collection feel redundant. Unless you have a particular nostalgia for them, there’s not much reason to go back to the earliest entries when later games refine the formula, have mechanics that make the duelling closer to the actual card game and offer far more cards to collect and build decks from.

One of the best things about Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is how well it runs on the Switch. This is the ideal platform for these games—whether you’re playing a few quick duels on the go or sinking into a longer session at home, the portability of the Switch makes it easy to jump in and out of matches. The ability to put the console to sleep and resume mid-duel is a luxury we never had back in the Game Boy days, and it makes playing these games so much more convenient.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection is a love letter to classic Yu-Gi-Oh!fans. It offers an incredible amount of content, preserves some of the most beloved (and rare) games in the franchise, and introduces just enough quality-of-life improvements to make revisiting them enjoyable.

It’s not a perfect collection—some games feel outdated, the lack of a speed-up feature is frustrating, and the absence of online play in most titles is a missed opportunity. But as a whole, it’s an amazing way to experience the roots of Yu-Gi-Oh! gaming.

I can only hope this is just the beginning. If Konami sees the success of this collection, maybe we’ll finally get a follow-up featuring PS1, PS2, and Nintendo DS Yu-Gi-Oh! games. As we know there’s definitely no shortage of those.

A Nintendo Switch review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.

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