In just a few weeks, Yu-Gi-Oh fans in the West will finally get to play some of the Game Boy games that were originally exclusive Japan. Konami’s highly anticipated Yu-Gi-Oh Early Days Collection releases for Nintendo Switch and PC on February 27. The compilation includes 14 Yu-Gi-Oh games released from 1998-2003 for Game Boy, GBC, and GBA. Nintendo Switch physical edition preorders are available at Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop, and Target for $50. Inside the box, you’ll find a Secret Rare Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card.
$50
Each physical edition includes one of two Quarter Century Secret Rare Harpie’s Feather Duster cards.
Here’s the full list of games, all of which originally released on Game Boy (GB), Game Boy Color (GBC), or Game Boy Advance (GBA). We marked the games that are new to North America.
- Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters (1998, GB) – New
- Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 2: Dark Duel Stories (1999, GBC) – New
- Yu-Gi-Oh Monster Capsule GB (2000, GBC) – New
- Yu-Gi-Oh Dark Duel Stories (2000, GBC)
- Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists (2000, GBC) – New
- Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeon Dice Monsters (2001, GBA)
- Yu-Gi-Oh The Eternal Duelist Soul (2001, GBA)
- Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters 6: Expert 2 (2001, GBA) – New
- Yu-Gi-Oh The Sacred Cards (2002, GBA)
- Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of Destruction (2003, GBA)
- Yu-Gi Oh Worldwide Edition: Stairway to the Destined Duel (2003, GBA)
Five of the 14 games in the Early Days Collection are getting North American releases for the first time.
Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters was the franchise’s first big hit and the only entry to release on original Game Boy. The series really hit its stride on Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance in the early 2000s. Remarkably, all 14 games were released within a five-year window from 1998 to 2003.
Even more remarkably, that’s not even all of the Yu-Gi-Oh games that released during that time. The Early Days Collection contains the first 14 Yu-Gi-Oh handheld games, but Konami also developed several console for PlayStation, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
If you’re looking forward to the Early Days Collection, you can bide the time with a couple of recent Yu-Gi-Oh anime Blu-ray releases. The original Yu-Gi-Oh movie received a steelbook edition last September, and Amazon has it marked down from $30 to $25. In December, Yu-Gi-Oh Bonds Beyond Time also received the steelbook treatment. Amazon has an even better deal on this one, as you can grab the $30 release for only $21.
Yu-Gi-Oh: Trading Card Game 25th Anniversary & Retro Collections
There are also several retro-themed trading card sets available to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the franchise at Amazon and Best Buy.
For anyone interested in checking out the franchise’s source material, massive manga compilations by the late series creator Kazuki Takahashi are available through Amazon and Walmart.
Yu-Gi-Oh Manga 3-in-1 Collections
For anyone interested in checking out the franchise’s source material, massive manga compilations by late series creator Kazuki Takahashi are available through Amazon and Walmart. Each of these budget-friendly paperbacks contain three volumes and clock in at around 600 pages each. We’ve listed the first five books at each retailer.