![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Yu-Gi-Oh Shadow Games - Introduction & Volume 1
I saw a post at some point suggesting that someone should try to review the games in the Yu-Gi-Oh manga as if they were actual games. I thought this sounded interesting, and so here we are. The components of each review are
- The chapter(s) the game is played in. I'm going to assume that you've read the chapters at some point before reading the review, so I won't be explaining the story leading up to the game or who any characters I mention are.
- The rules of the game, as far I I can figure them out. It's not always possible to completely understand what the rules are from the information in the manga, but I will try to only use the information in the chapter itself (or information from earlier in the manga in some cases) to figure out the rules. If the rules are incomplete in the manga, they'll be incomplete here, but I'll try to deduce what even the rules that aren't explicitly stated are.
- Cheating, whether by Dark Yugi or by the opponent. I don't remember exactly how much Dark Yugi cheats, but someone cheating happens often enough that a description of the rules wouldn't be complete without it.
- Comments on the quality of the game, both its design and its contribution to the story.
- Penalty game rating, I considered doing something on a 1 to 5 scale for the games, but that would be the most boring part of the review. Instead, I'll rate the penalty games after my comments on them.
Since the first volume's games are all pretty simple, I'm just posting the whole set at once.
Chapter: 1
Rules: Create a stack of 40 10000-yen bills. Obtain a knife. Play goes in turns. On their turn, players place the stack of bills on one hand, then stab the stack with the other, attempting to remove as many bills as possible with the knife only. Players must take more than one bill each turn or forfeit.
Cheating: "In the Shadow Games, a person's true nature is revealed to decide their fate," and so Ushio is compelled to use his full strength to stab down. He then attempts to stab Yugi, activating the Penalty Game. Not blatant cheating on Dark Yugi's part, but he's still got his finger on the scales.
Comments: The first chapter has one of the better-designed games in the series, especially for its purpose. It's simple with built-in stakes, allowing the series to establish Dark Yugi in just a few pages. There's no need to bring in previously-unmentioned rules to resolve the plot, and the whole thing is finished in 10 pages, from rules explanation to penalty game. I'd never play it, since I would prefer to keep both my hands functional, but I don't see any other reason why it couldn't work in real life.
Penalty Game: Solid first penalty game. Ushio sees leaves and garbage as money. It's a good poetic justice punishment, and it includes elements of the game. 5/5
Chapter: 2
Rules: Both players roll a single die. Low roll wins. Yugi's opponent wins ties.
Cheating: The producer tries to stab Yugi (despite being about to win anyway), and splits the die he rolls, resulting in him rolling a 7. No cheating on Yugi's part, dude just couldn't wait to stab a teenager.
Comments: Barely a game, with an obviously contrived resolution. It's basically just a vehicle to get to the penalty game, and not in a particularly interesting way.
Penalty Game: The producer's sight is covered in mosaics. As boring as the game is, at least the penalty game is set up throughout the chapter and is actually connected to the producer's misdeeds (if not the actual game). 3/5
Chapter: 3
Rules: A "Sound Pierrot" toy (clown toy that dances when it senses sound) is placed in front of each player. The player whose Sound Pierrot dances first loses.
Cheating: None this time, on either side.
Comments: Another solid game like the first, that again seems basically playable (although I expect in reality it would be too easy for both clowns to go off at the same time). For the first time, the opponent makes themselves lose in a way that makes sense and doesn't need Dark Yugi's interference.
Penalty Game: Sozoji hears his own heartbeat, loudly, forever. Solid connection both to the game and Sozoji's vice. It's not as flashy as the earlier two, but it's still a top-tier penalty game. 5/5
Chapter: 4
Rules: Both players choose a finger, after the choices are finalized each may only move one finger. No end condition is clearly stated, but it appears that the end condition is one of the players dying, as Yugi is able to move his hands by the end of the chapter. (It's unclear whether the escaped convict dies, and Dark Yugi may have simply ended the game on a whim, but assuming that there's an actual goal this would be my bet.)
Cheating: Dark Yugi probably cheats here in at least one of several ways. First,he would probably have to slightly move his fingers to place the lighter on the convict's hand, although it's possible that he could do so by simply relaxing his fingers (assuming that that is not also counted as moving his fingers). Secondly, in the second to last page he is clearly shown with his hands in a different position before the convict is finally set on fire. For this he might make the argument that since he put the convict into effective checkmate, he has already won the game and thus no longer needs to keep playing to see the outcome. Ultimately, though, I think he cheated here.
Comments: This is another chapter where the game is basically an afterthought, but in a much more interesting way than with the dice game. Instead of talking about the game itself, then, I'll start to work out my definition of a game for this project. From memory, there are a good number of chapters with no games played, and even more where the game is as much of an afterthought as this. The part I'm most interested in is looking at the gaps in the rules of the games as described in the manga, so I'll still review games with minimal rules as long as the game could in any way potentially exist outside of the situation it appears in. This game is on the edge of that criteria, but it was a fun enough chapter that I decided to review it anyway. Plus, this is the first time Dark Yugi obviously cheats at a game he just made up, so I had to memorialize that.
Penalty game: First chapter with no real penalty game too, but I'll still review other types of Gruesome Fates in this section. If a game just exists to cause a Gruesome Fate it had better be good, and this one absolutely is. 5/5
Chapter: 5
Rules: A bottle of chloroform is placed on top of a number of pieces of paper on a desk. On their turns, players must pull a single sheet of paper out from under the bottle. When the bottle breaks, the player whose turn it is loses the game.
Cheating: No overt cheating on either player's part. Dark Yugi psyches out Kokurano before the end, but that wouldn't change the outcome either way.
Comments: The biggest issue with this game, practically, is that it's very unlikely that the chloroform would affect only one of the game's players when the bottle breaks. The fumes would have to be thick enough to affect the losing player, without being thick enough to also affect the other player in the room. Ignoring that, though, it's a game with a good amount of tension, and really easy to understand how it works.
Penalty Game: No penalty game here, and the ending isn't particularly gruesome either. If we look at this realistically, Kokurano probably got pretty fucked up by the chloroform fumes, but that's not something the story even implies. This might be the first turn away from the soft horror of the first few chapters, although it's probably more because of desires to have an explicitly heroic main character than any sort of moral outcry considering how early in the series we are. It's barely been a month since the first chapter, and chapter 4 was the only really violent one so far. 1/5
Chapter: 6
Rules: Both players stand on opposite sides of a massive flat okonomiyaki grill. A puck of ice with a tube of explosives embedded in it is placed on top of the grill, and the steam from the melting puck allows it to slide across the grill. Both players play (essentially) air hockey, using the spatulas to hit the puck. Presumably, if the puck were to fall off one side of the grill it would explode.
Cheating: Neither player cheats, technically. Dark Yugi's tactic of hitting the puck with the edge of the spatula to create a crack is a bit sketchy, but there was nothing about technique for hitting the puck in the rules given.
Comments: Where the hell did Dark Yugi get a vial of explosives from on such short notice? I assume the implied answer is that he stole it from a lab at the school, so chemistry classes there must be pretty wild.
Penalty Game: No penalty game, but exploding the dude's face was a pretty cool Gruesome Fate. False alarm on the previous chapter, Dark Yugi's still properly edgy. 5/5
No game in chapter 7, so I'll be back eventually for Volume 2.
- The chapter(s) the game is played in. I'm going to assume that you've read the chapters at some point before reading the review, so I won't be explaining the story leading up to the game or who any characters I mention are.
- The rules of the game, as far I I can figure them out. It's not always possible to completely understand what the rules are from the information in the manga, but I will try to only use the information in the chapter itself (or information from earlier in the manga in some cases) to figure out the rules. If the rules are incomplete in the manga, they'll be incomplete here, but I'll try to deduce what even the rules that aren't explicitly stated are.
- Cheating, whether by Dark Yugi or by the opponent. I don't remember exactly how much Dark Yugi cheats, but someone cheating happens often enough that a description of the rules wouldn't be complete without it.
- Comments on the quality of the game, both its design and its contribution to the story.
- Penalty game rating, I considered doing something on a 1 to 5 scale for the games, but that would be the most boring part of the review. Instead, I'll rate the penalty games after my comments on them.
Since the first volume's games are all pretty simple, I'm just posting the whole set at once.
Chapter: 1
Rules: Create a stack of 40 10000-yen bills. Obtain a knife. Play goes in turns. On their turn, players place the stack of bills on one hand, then stab the stack with the other, attempting to remove as many bills as possible with the knife only. Players must take more than one bill each turn or forfeit.
Cheating: "In the Shadow Games, a person's true nature is revealed to decide their fate," and so Ushio is compelled to use his full strength to stab down. He then attempts to stab Yugi, activating the Penalty Game. Not blatant cheating on Dark Yugi's part, but he's still got his finger on the scales.
Comments: The first chapter has one of the better-designed games in the series, especially for its purpose. It's simple with built-in stakes, allowing the series to establish Dark Yugi in just a few pages. There's no need to bring in previously-unmentioned rules to resolve the plot, and the whole thing is finished in 10 pages, from rules explanation to penalty game. I'd never play it, since I would prefer to keep both my hands functional, but I don't see any other reason why it couldn't work in real life.
Penalty Game: Solid first penalty game. Ushio sees leaves and garbage as money. It's a good poetic justice punishment, and it includes elements of the game. 5/5
Chapter: 2
Rules: Both players roll a single die. Low roll wins. Yugi's opponent wins ties.
Cheating: The producer tries to stab Yugi (despite being about to win anyway), and splits the die he rolls, resulting in him rolling a 7. No cheating on Yugi's part, dude just couldn't wait to stab a teenager.
Comments: Barely a game, with an obviously contrived resolution. It's basically just a vehicle to get to the penalty game, and not in a particularly interesting way.
Penalty Game: The producer's sight is covered in mosaics. As boring as the game is, at least the penalty game is set up throughout the chapter and is actually connected to the producer's misdeeds (if not the actual game). 3/5
Chapter: 3
Rules: A "Sound Pierrot" toy (clown toy that dances when it senses sound) is placed in front of each player. The player whose Sound Pierrot dances first loses.
Cheating: None this time, on either side.
Comments: Another solid game like the first, that again seems basically playable (although I expect in reality it would be too easy for both clowns to go off at the same time). For the first time, the opponent makes themselves lose in a way that makes sense and doesn't need Dark Yugi's interference.
Penalty Game: Sozoji hears his own heartbeat, loudly, forever. Solid connection both to the game and Sozoji's vice. It's not as flashy as the earlier two, but it's still a top-tier penalty game. 5/5
Chapter: 4
Rules: Both players choose a finger, after the choices are finalized each may only move one finger. No end condition is clearly stated, but it appears that the end condition is one of the players dying, as Yugi is able to move his hands by the end of the chapter. (It's unclear whether the escaped convict dies, and Dark Yugi may have simply ended the game on a whim, but assuming that there's an actual goal this would be my bet.)
Cheating: Dark Yugi probably cheats here in at least one of several ways. First,he would probably have to slightly move his fingers to place the lighter on the convict's hand, although it's possible that he could do so by simply relaxing his fingers (assuming that that is not also counted as moving his fingers). Secondly, in the second to last page he is clearly shown with his hands in a different position before the convict is finally set on fire. For this he might make the argument that since he put the convict into effective checkmate, he has already won the game and thus no longer needs to keep playing to see the outcome. Ultimately, though, I think he cheated here.
Comments: This is another chapter where the game is basically an afterthought, but in a much more interesting way than with the dice game. Instead of talking about the game itself, then, I'll start to work out my definition of a game for this project. From memory, there are a good number of chapters with no games played, and even more where the game is as much of an afterthought as this. The part I'm most interested in is looking at the gaps in the rules of the games as described in the manga, so I'll still review games with minimal rules as long as the game could in any way potentially exist outside of the situation it appears in. This game is on the edge of that criteria, but it was a fun enough chapter that I decided to review it anyway. Plus, this is the first time Dark Yugi obviously cheats at a game he just made up, so I had to memorialize that.
Penalty game: First chapter with no real penalty game too, but I'll still review other types of Gruesome Fates in this section. If a game just exists to cause a Gruesome Fate it had better be good, and this one absolutely is. 5/5
Chapter: 5
Rules: A bottle of chloroform is placed on top of a number of pieces of paper on a desk. On their turns, players must pull a single sheet of paper out from under the bottle. When the bottle breaks, the player whose turn it is loses the game.
Cheating: No overt cheating on either player's part. Dark Yugi psyches out Kokurano before the end, but that wouldn't change the outcome either way.
Comments: The biggest issue with this game, practically, is that it's very unlikely that the chloroform would affect only one of the game's players when the bottle breaks. The fumes would have to be thick enough to affect the losing player, without being thick enough to also affect the other player in the room. Ignoring that, though, it's a game with a good amount of tension, and really easy to understand how it works.
Penalty Game: No penalty game here, and the ending isn't particularly gruesome either. If we look at this realistically, Kokurano probably got pretty fucked up by the chloroform fumes, but that's not something the story even implies. This might be the first turn away from the soft horror of the first few chapters, although it's probably more because of desires to have an explicitly heroic main character than any sort of moral outcry considering how early in the series we are. It's barely been a month since the first chapter, and chapter 4 was the only really violent one so far. 1/5
Chapter: 6
Rules: Both players stand on opposite sides of a massive flat okonomiyaki grill. A puck of ice with a tube of explosives embedded in it is placed on top of the grill, and the steam from the melting puck allows it to slide across the grill. Both players play (essentially) air hockey, using the spatulas to hit the puck. Presumably, if the puck were to fall off one side of the grill it would explode.
Cheating: Neither player cheats, technically. Dark Yugi's tactic of hitting the puck with the edge of the spatula to create a crack is a bit sketchy, but there was nothing about technique for hitting the puck in the rules given.
Comments: Where the hell did Dark Yugi get a vial of explosives from on such short notice? I assume the implied answer is that he stole it from a lab at the school, so chemistry classes there must be pretty wild.
Penalty Game: No penalty game, but exploding the dude's face was a pretty cool Gruesome Fate. False alarm on the previous chapter, Dark Yugi's still properly edgy. 5/5
No game in chapter 7, so I'll be back eventually for Volume 2.
no subject
no subject
STRONGLY support this endeavor. Love that the only thing that gets a numerical rating is the penalty game and/or Gruesome Fate.
It'd be interesting to know how the "season zero" (1998 anime) games compare - some are tweaked from their manga versions, while others are completely anime-original.
no subject
no subject
Cool! 👍 Will consider it a happy bonus if you do, won't sweat it if you don't.