Ever since Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories was released for the original PlayStation in Western territories in 2002, most Yu-Gi-Oh! video games have seen an international release, no matter what platform they're exclusive to.
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These days, most of the newest Yu-Gi-Oh! video games, such as Legacy Of The Duelist: Link Evolution and Master Duel, are multi-platform releases but are still released internationally and in the case of the latter sometimes even receive a worldwide launch. But not all video games that are based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise have seen an official international release, with a handful of them staying exclusive to Japan.
9Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule: Breed and Battle
The first Yu-Gi-Oh! video game to ever be released, Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule: Breed and Battle, launched for the original PlayStation in 1998 and didn't revolve around the Duel Monsters card game that most international longtime fans are familiar with, but instead was based on the Capsule Monsters Chess game first shown in the original manga.
In Breed and Battle, players obtain and raise monsters to battle other characters. In total, there are 103 monsters featured in the game, and while some such as Mystical Elf and Blue-Eyes White Dragon were later featured in Duel Monsters, most were never seen again.
THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY8Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters for the Game Boy launched in 1998 and was the first Yu-Gi-Oh! video game to be based on the Duel Monsters card game. However, this version of Duel Monsters is based on the rules set in the Manga, rather than based on the Official Card Game rules.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters takes place during the Duelist Kingdom arc and because of this, only characters from that arc are present, with a few characters differing from their anime counterparts due to being based on the manga and released two years before the second anime series had started airing in Japan.
7Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 2: Dark Duel Stories
Internationally, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 3: Tri-Holy God Advent is known as Dark Duel Stories, while in Japan, it's the title of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 2 from 1999. Like its predecessor, it followed rules based on the Manga, rather than the Official Card Game.
Duel Monsters 2 also added two new characters but otherwise featured the same cast as the first game, primarily from the Duelist Kingdom arc of the Manga. Duel Monsters 2 also increased the number of available cards from 365 to 720 and could even trade cards with the previous game, presumably as long as they were available in both.
6Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule GB
Instead of being based on one story arc of the manga, the 2000 Game Boy Color title, Yu-Gi-Oh! Monster Capsule GB, combines aspects of the Capsule Monsters and Monster World story arcs into its own story. In Monster Capsule GB, a defeated and broken Kaiba is possessed by the Millennium Ring and is convinced to take the souls of Yugi's friends hostage, forcing Yugi to participate in the "Monster World Tournament" against Kaiba and his minions.
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While the game featured some familiar characters from the Duelist Kingdom story arc despite not revolving around the card game, a few characters from various chapters of the original manga also appear as enemies.
5Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 4: Battle of Great Duelists
In the year 2000, the fourth game in the Duel Monsters series was split into three versions, Yugi Deck, Kaiba Deck, and Jonouchi (Joey) Deck, with one of the three Egyptian God cards available in each game while the others had to be traded from the other versions. There are 900 cards between the three games, but each version has a different selection.
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Because it's based on the Battle City story arc, the game follows the Official Card Game rules closer than the previous entries. However, it still has some of the same previously introduced mechanics and cards with different effects than their real-life counterparts.
4Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Mobile
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Mobile was an app based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's anime series was released for mobile phones in Japan in 2009. Other than the Free Duel mode where players could duel, the app also had a Life Points Calculator and a Card Gallery/Quiz mode where players could look at cards or test their knowledge.
There isn't much more information about the app available in English, but it still received updates in 2011 before it was shut down later that same year. Despite being based on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, no motorcycles from the anime series were featured in the game.
3Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Tag Force 6
Tag Force 6 launched in 2011 and was never released outside of Japan, despite all previous Tag Force games receiving an international release. Tag Force 6 could use data from Tag Force 5 to transfer Deck Recipes and one copy of each card that had reached the nine copy limit.
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Like some previous games in the series, Tag Force 6 could also use UMD recognition on previous Tag Force games to unlock characters, cards, and DP (in-game currency). Despite being based on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Tag Force 6 did include some Xyz monsters from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL, since it had premiered prior to the game's release.
2Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Tag Force Special
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Tag Force Special is surprisingly the only game primarily based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V anime series and was released for the PSP in 2015. Unlike its predecessors, Tag Force Special did not include any new anime-exclusive cards but still had those featured in previous Tag Force games and could connect only with Tag Force 6 to transfer cards, Deck Recipes, and the Player's name.
Tag Force Special is also the only game in the series not to feature 3D animations for any characters or monsters and the first to feature characters from the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series.
1Yu-Gi-Oh! Saikyo Card Battle
Yu-Gi-Oh! Saikyo Card Battle is a free-to-play Nintendo 3DS game that was released in Japan in 2016. In Saikyo Card Battle, the player takes control of a game original protagonist as they compete in the "Legendary Challenge" tournament.
In addition to including previous series protagonists such as Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo, Yuma Tsukumo, and a handful of Legendary Duelists from the first Duel Monsters anime series, Saikyo Card Battle is also the only game to have featured original characters that later appeared in the OCG Structures manga series. Saikyo Card Battle also features 3D summon and attack animations for every monster available.
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Read NextShareTweetEmailRelated TopicsAbout The AuthorErroll Maas(60 Articles Published)Erroll is a list article writer for The Gamer with a love of all things related to Japanese monsters, from Yokai to Kaiju to Pokemon to Digimon and everything in between. He has written about these topics for his own blog as well as for sites like GameSkinny and Parallax Media. When not writing or playing games, Erroll usually spends his time watching anime, tokusatsu, and a bunch of various movies and TV shows.