PS1

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories is a 1999 digital collectible card game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation.

StrategyTurn-based strategy (TBS)Card & Board Game

Time to beat: about 11.2 hours

Overview

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories is a 1999 digital collectible card game developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation. It is based on the Kazuki Takahashi manga Yu-Gi-Oh! and operates on a modified version of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. The single-player campaign follows an ancient Egyptian prince, an ancestor of series protagonist Yugi Mutou, who must recover the Millennium Items and thwart the scheme of the evil high priest Heishin.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories is a digital collectible card game based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, with the rules modified and streamlined for increased flexibility. Each player's deck consists of 40 cards, drawing from a total of 722 monster, magic, and trap cards. The players field cards on a board divided into two ranks of five slots: the front rank holds monsters, while the rear rank holds magic and trap cards.

In ancient Egypt, the high priest Heishin discovers a forbidden treasure of ancient sorcerers, which grants a dark power. Meanwhile, the young prince of the Amenhotep Dynasty frequently sneaks out of the palace to duel commoners in card games, frustrating his advisor Simon Muran. At a town festival, the prince and his friends Teana and Jono encounter the arrogant priest Seto, who easily defeats Jono before the prince bests Seto in a duel. That night, Heishin and his forces, including Seto, invade the palace using dark sorcery, capturing the Pharaoh and queen. Seto confronts the fleeing prince, demanding the location of a "Millennium Item" to spare the royals.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories was developed and published by Konami, and is based on the Kazuki Takahashi manga Yu-Gi-Oh! Development was directed by Morikuni Kubo, with Satoshi Shimomura acting as producer. The story's scenario was written by Masaaki Karube. Masafumi Kamio served as the game's art director.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories received "mixed" reviews as reported by the video game review aggregator website Metacritic. The game was deemed more suitable for established fans of the franchise who are prepared to take time to experiment and take notes. Critics warned that the difficulty and learning curve were unfriendly to newcomers, as the game lacks any tutorial or practice mode, and the fusion combinations can only be discovered through trial and error. Nicolas "Cony" Guerdin of Consoles + blamed the random card distribution for frequently leaving the player with an inferior hand against opponents with access to overpowered monsters.