Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION

To start with the biggest positive: I think it's great that Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION exists at all. Having a legal and convenient way to own and play these old Yu-Gi-Oh! games on modern PCs again is something I absolutely support, especially as the original hardware and physical copies continue to age. Getting 14 games in one collection initially sounds like a huge amount of content. However, that number needs some context. Many of these games are very old, and quite a few are consequently rather basic and simple by modern standards. That's not necessarily a criticism, they are products of their time, after all, but it does make the regular asking price of €60 extremely difficult to justify. It also doesn't help that the collection stops before the later and considerably more extensive GX-era games. I would have loved to see those included, and their absence makes the collection feel less definitive than its premise initially suggests. Thankfully, the collection seems to receive substantial discounts fairly regularly. I bought it for €18, which feels much more reasonable, although even then I wouldn't exactly call it a bargain. At €60, I simply can't recommend it. Somewhere around the price I paid, however, I think it becomes much easier to justify for Yu-Gi-Oh! fans interested in revisiting these older games. There are some welcome additions to the original releases. Options such as unlocking all cards or choosing opponents are great for anyone who wants to experience these games without necessarily repeating all of the original grind. Online multiplayer being available for some of the included titles is also a nice addition. At the same time, the collection is strangely lacking some features that I would consider basic for a modern retro collection. Fast-forward and rewind immediately come to mind. These would have made revisiting some of the slower games significantly more convenient, particularly given their age. It's difficult not to notice that emulation can offer considerably more flexibility than the official collection in this regard. The technical presentation is similarly disappointing. Having a major commercial retro collection released in 2025 and limited to Full HD is baffling. Native 1440p and 4K support should really be expected from a modern PC release, regardless of how old the games being emulated are. Overall, I'm glad Yu-Gi-Oh! EARLY DAYS COLLECTION exists. Preserving these games and making them legally accessible on modern hardware is worthwhile, and there are some genuinely useful additions alongside the originals. However, the €60 asking price is far too high, several obvious quality-of-life features are missing, the technical options are strangely limited, and I really wish the collection had extended into the more substantial GX games. Wait for a good sale. At €18 I can recommend it to Yu-Gi-Oh! fans, but I would have been considerably less happy with it if I had paid anywhere near full price.