YuGiOh: It’s Time To Duel!
What time is it?
It’s Time To Du Du-Du-Duel!!
Card games have been a part of our culture for generations; There are the standard 52 card decks, Baseball cards, or for the kids out there, there are these rare collectible cards known as Yu-Gi-Oh cards. However, like baseball, these Yu-Gi-Oh cards aren’t just for kids. They are for anyone that has the inner child within them. They give joy and excitement to dull and ordinary lives. They also bring back the nostalgia that was once there.
In anime, playing games is more than just a game, it is a game that plays with your life. The stakes are high, and the payouts are higher. Gaming anime has dramatically changed the way we see games. Everything is more exaggerated, with the stakes being life and death. Failure is not an option. Gaming animes like Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, and Pokemon are classic examples of making games as exciting to watch as much as the people who play them.
YuGiOh: Card Games Gone Wild
In Yu-Gi-Oh, it doesn’t matter if it’s light or dark outside, there is only one time in the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, it’s time to duel, cause it’s always time to Duel.
When we play card games with friends and family it’s mainly a fun enjoyable and relaxing experience, however, in the realm of Yu-Gi-Oh, card games are so much more than that. Card games are a way of life with high stakes on the line. In the Yu-Gi-Oh universe, there are no laws, just the rules of the game. Everyone takes their card games so seriously as if it’s a matter of life and death. Sometimes it is. Cheaters breaking the rules will face severe punishment.
From Manga to Anime
Contrary to popular belief, YuGiOh was originally not a card game it was a manga with high stake life and death games. The Yu-Gi-Oh series was published from 1996 to 2004, where a boy named Yugi Muoto solves a millennium puzzle and awakens a gambling alter-ego that was sealed inside for over a millennium.
Yugi’s alter gaming ego, The Pharoh Yami gives Yugi confidence, charisma, and leadership qualities that the smaller Yugi never had. The kids who used to bully him looked up and respected him.
Yami gives Yugi a chance to succeed at the game, but more importantly, a chance to succeed in life. We all wish to be confident in life but sometimes can’t find that courage. Through playing games, we can use it as an outlet to navigate life to tackle the obstacles that we normally would crack under pressure.
In the first season of YuGiOh card games are more than just games, these tournaments make it a part of life and death when Yugi’s Grandpa is kidnapped and the only way to get him back is to play a children’s card game. In normal circumstances most people would just go to the police, however, in YuGiOh, they settle their differences like men, by playing a children's card game where the loser ends up in the shadow realm.
It’s time for Spinoffs…not
Ever since the original series. There has been spinoff after spinoff of a new Yugioh series with different characters, but the same game. YuGiOh GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Sevens have all been a part of the YuGiOh universe. As a big fan of the original series it was really hard personally to get invested in all these new characters, but maybe you might…
Today the YuGiOh franchise has expanded into an international commercial success. There are many types of products that one can get that are not just playing cards, but also action figures, collectible souvenirs, necklaces, costumes, mugs, masks, belts, shirts, etc.. that anyone can buy.
Tournaments
The Yu-Gi-Oh world is full of competitive tournaments where players compete for the title of best gamer, just like in the show. Tournaments can be single-elimination or swiss rounds. The YuGiOh World championship is an international invitational trading card game tournament held annually in Japan for 20,000. It is the game’s most prestigious and hardest tournament to get into. In order to be invited, you must win a national YuGiOh tournament first. Tournaments are long and can last all day. If you are going to participate then you are going to want to bring water, food, napkins, hand sanitizer, a calculator, pen/ pencil, and paper. Because of the big numbers, you play with, writing on paper and using a calculator will be your best bet for keeping track of the score. There are a lot of germs at these events so using hand sanitizer whenever you touch something that isn’t yours is smart too.
Illegal Cards
If a card is illegal, then that means it can never be played in a tournament. The illegal card definition continues to change over time. Some cards that were illegal before can become legal, depending on the community guidelines. Cards can be illegal if they are overpowered, or the gaming community deems them illegal. When YuGiOh was first released, there were only a handful of illegal cards, and couldn’t be played in tournaments, however today there are hundreds. Illegal cards can still be used, but only in casual game settings with friends or non-competitive matches as long as both participants agree to it. Counterfeit copies also count as illegal cards and may be less agreed upon in casual games.
Overall
The Community of YuGiOh is more than just a card game, it is a way of life that which players can meet and interact with each other while having an enjoyable experience. For many fans, they were just kids when the shows and games were coming out. Playing these games, lets them relive their younger years, reminiscing those vivid-nostalgic memories.