Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories brought the popular card game from the anime and manga phenomenon of the same name to PlayStation, and did so for the first time within a genuinely elaborate RPG framework. The player finds themselves in ancient Egypt, building a deck of cards and working through a series of duels against opponents inspired by characters from the series, ultimately facing the Pharaoh himself. The road to the final duel is lined with tournaments, card trading, and the gradual unlocking of ever-stronger monsters, giving the game a clear sense of progression.

The core of the game remains battles of monsters, spells, and traps, but Forbidden Memories added a fusion mechanic, where combining two cards produced a third, stronger card. The system was notoriously unpredictable and worked more on hidden patterns than clear rules, which motivated players to experiment and share discoveries – in the days before widespread internet access, a community formed around the game sharing fusion charts with one another. It was this collecting and upgrading of a deck, not just the duels themselves, that made the game an addictive affair for many hours, since every card won opened up new combinations and strategies.

The game also included characters and cards that never appeared in the card game itself, so it became its own distinct canon for fans. Despite some imbalance and randomness in the fusions, it remains to this day the most comprehensive attempt to bring Yu-Gi-Oh! into video game form on PlayStation, and for many players it was their very first contact with collectible card games as a game system.

Why play it: For a unique card-fusion system and content known only to players of this particular game, not viewers of the show.