So last week, I talked about Pokemon and how that series had a big impact on me as a kid. Well, multiply that by 100 and that was the impact that Yu-Gi-Oh had on me during my middle childhood years. Like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh is an entertainment empire, raning from the card game, the anime, toys, and the manga that started it all in 1996 (which I just started reading last year and I highly recommend it). However, it was the anime and card game that got me into the series. I had almost every starter deck, created multiple combinations for decks, and sat down in front of the tv every Saturday to catch the latest episode on Kids WB! Heck, I even went to go see the movie back in 2004 opening weekend! I still have the cards that the Theater would give you after you bought the tickets. The original series as of this post is on netflix and you can also stream every episode for free on the Yu-Gi-Oh site!
However, as much as I loved dueling my friends or trading with them to get Slifer, Obelisk, and the Winged Dragon of Ra, the video games for Yu-Gi-Oh have always been hit or miss for me. I had one for the GBA where you would battle the characters from the anime and I had one for the PS2, but it was completely different from the card game and I never really got into it. But with the release of Legacy of the Duelist, I finally was able to play the Yu-Gi-Oh game I had always dreamed of as a kid but never got to play.
You pretty much relive classic moments from the original series and even the newer generations such as 5D’s where you play card games on motorcycles! (Not really in the game, but in the anime they do that, it’s not as bad as people make it out to be actually). From the first episode of the series where you battle against Kaiba and summon Exodia, to the Battle City arc (my favorite) against Marik and Ra, a lot of the memorable duels are in this game. You can even buy card packs from the online store in order to make a deck of your own! But the best part is that these aren’t microtransactions; you get duel points for every duel you play, whether you win or lose. Then you spend those points and you can get really great cards and you don’t even have to spend an extra penny to get them!
The game isn’t perfect because there are some duels that are completely luck based and unfair, but there are moments where you are struggling and almost about to lose and then you get that one card and it saves the entire game for you. Then you play it, win, and jump for joy for your victory! It made me want to re-buy the cards that I lost or sold years ago and the game also made me want to play the actual card game again and re-live great memories. The series as a whole just turned 20 years old last year and I’m happy that it’s beginning to become popular again with my age demographic, especially with the release of Duel Links, a mobile version of the card game. There are rumors of a VR Yu-Gi-Oh game and all I have to say to that is if we can get Street Fighter VR in that upcoming re-release for the Switch, we can get Yu-Gi-Oh VR.
Here’s my favorite opening in the anime, complete with epicness all around!
