Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game franchise has been enjoying a bit of a resurgence on PC following the successful release of the Master Duel title in 2022. Continuing from this success, Konami has now announced Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days, which is a collection of classic franchise entries.
More specifically, Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days is coming out to celebrate the IP’s 25th anniversary, and Konami claims it’s bound to “excite nostalgic Duelists across the world.” Now, the vast majority of the collection’s content is still unknown at this time, though Konami did reveal that one of the included games would be 2000’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists, a Game Boy Color title that came out exclusively in Japan.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days is coming to Steam and the Nintendo Switch
Due to release on both the Nintendo Switch and PC (via Steam), the Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days collection is obviously going to focus on the older franchise entries, which may or may not include fan favourites such as The Duelist of the Roses and Forbidden Memories. Until Konami verifies whether these games are included or not, though, we can only theorize as to what’s being brought up to modern standards.
Konami has promised that more information about Early Days will be coming soon, and the initial reveal came as part of the company’s special Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters: The Legend of Duelist QUARTER CENTURY event in Tokyo. Two other major announcements were made as part of the event, too:
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links Presents SOLID VISION EXPERIMENT: a VR take on Duel Monsters combat gameplay
- Yu-Gi-Oh! MASTER DUEL x AI Project: an AI-powered card engine that changes, grows, and learns from one match to another
More Yu-Gi-Oh! VR projects will be coming down the line, Konami has promised, but the developer is yet unsure whether Master Duel might end up being upgraded with an actual trained AI model in the future. It sure would be fun to fiddle around with and purposefully train incorrectly, if nothing else.
For those who’d like to join in on the celebration, but cannot visit Tokyo proper, there’s a neat login bonus waiting in Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel starting on February 7:
- Custom UR edition of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Royal Finish
- Blue-Eyes White Dragon-themed accessory set (duel field, card case, protectors, and more)
- Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon Mate card
- 1,000 free Gems and three free 2nd Anniversary Packs, which include UR Royal Finish cards
This is all neat and good, of course, but nostalgic Yu-Gi-Oh! fans are unlikely to rest until Konami specifies which games will be coming as part of the Early Days collection, and when it’s all coming out in the first place. For that information – stay tuned!
