Why I Prefer Old-School Style Card Games to Modern Fast-Paced Versions

The gameplay I design aims to capture the feel of old-school Yu-Gi-Oh. Unlike the modern versions, it’s not about rushing to empty out your entire deck in a single turn. For me, those lightning-fast games aren’t enjoyable; I find them obnoxious and not strategically satisfying.

Recently, I tried out Yu-Gi-Oh Dual Links to see what the current digital experience offers. I even considered capturing gameplay on my Nintendo Switch for extra content. But after playing it a bit, I found it much too bloated and overwhelming; there’s so much going on that it’s hard to figure out where to focus.

Starting with a standard beginner deck was confusing because of the advanced monster types like Link monsters and XYZ monsters. I felt like I had to read every card multiple times just to get a sense of the deck’s core strategy. Even then, the complexity felt like too much was happening at once.