Released for the Nintendo DS in 2005, Yu-Gi-Oh! Nightmare Troubadour was one of the first games from the franchise to appear on this handheld console. Fans were thrilled to be able to duel using dual screens, which allowed one to see both the cards in their hand and the playing field simultaneously for greater immersion.
Since this title entered the world, there have been numerous hidden secrets, glitches, and errors that players have gleaned through countless hours of gameplay. The most interesting of which may not only surprise gamers but also possibly make them chuckle at some of the oversights in this much-loved video game.
10 Pegasus Disappears
For some reason, after the player defeats Odion Ishtar (the first time), Maximillion Pegasus will disappear from the game. This is a glitch that cannot be rectified and can make those seeking to fully complete the game very frustrated. Pegasus is the only character in the game with the Imperial Order card, therefore his vanishing will render one unable to obtain this trap as well as Pegasus' deck recipe.
9 Strange Censorship Choices
While it is commonplace for certain cards to get censored outside of Japan, it is not really something that happens in Yu-Gi-Oh!'s country of origin. This makes it especially strange for Japanese gamers playing Nightmare Troubadour to see the censored versions of the card artwork, as in all releases of the game the censored art is used in place of the original uncensored Japanese ones.
8 Characters Absent From The Game
Most of the cast from the manga and anime make their appearances, however, there are a couple of main characters that do not. Duke Devlin and Tristan Taylor are nowhere to be found and are not even mentioned throughout the entire course of the game. Some fans may be annoyed with this, though these 2 being left out is a testament to how unimportant they are in the grand scheme of things.
7 Inconsistent Card Names & Typos
A lot of things were mixed up when the game was being translated, resulting in quite a few cards being improperly named, have the wrong card effects, or just straight-up have typos. For example, Inferno Fire Blast has "activatre" instead of "activate" in its text and Humanoid Worm Drake has "Worm Ddrake" as a fusion component monster instead of "Worm Drake".
Furthermore, the typos even extend to some of the dialogue, like when Marik introduces himself as Namu; he'll say "My name in Namu" instead of "My name is Namu".
6 Crush Card Virus Vs Deck Destruction Virus
One of the worst offenses in regards to errors made while translating the game is what happened to the Crush Card Virus trap. It functions exactly as intended but almost nothing about it is correct except for the card artwork. Its text, and even its classification (it was called a continuous trap card instead of a normal trap), are taken from "Deck Destruction Virus", which is a trap card that only appears in Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light.
5 Game-Breaking Battle
This is one glitch that players should be wary of, as it can soft-lock one in the middle of a duel without any prior criteria needing to be met. During a duel with Bakura, if he activates the continuous spell card Two-Man Cell Battle during his turn, his AI will get stuck. While it tries to decide whether or not to use the effect during the end phase, it will never come to a conclusion, which will prevent Bakura from ever ending his turn.
4 Dysfunctional Machine Type-6
As with many of the cards that involve chance, be it via coin flip or dice roll, there is an element of chaos and unpredictability that can make any duel more exciting.
However, the Dangerous Machine Type-6 card unveils an unprecedented and the most unpredictable outcome possible if the player rolls a 5 when activating it. If this happens, instead of destroying 1 monster the opponent controls, this card will do absolutely nothing.
3 Clearly A Mix-Up
While the card names and effects are somewhat similar, there is still no excuse for this or any of the other mistakes that made it into the final version of the game. In Nightmare Troubadour, the effects of Blast with Chain are Kunai with Chain are swapped, meaning that each does the effect of the other. However, everything else about the cards remains the same.
2 Unusable Combo
Duelists intent on using the combo of Gravekeeper's Servant and Banisher of the Light will be disappointed, as this pairing is yet another thing that does not work as intended in this game. Normally, a combo of these 2 cards will prevent an opponent from attacking, even if they discard in accordance with the effect of Gravekeeper's Servant as Banisher of the Light will force the discarded cards to be banished instead of sent to the graveyard. However, in Nightmare Troubadour, discarded cards will still register as being in line with the spell card's effect, allowing the opposing duelist to attack.
1 Fusion Failure
Of all the oversights in this game, none is more significant than the failure to include a lot of monster cards listed as components on fusion monsters. For example, Crimson Sunbird is nearly impossible to summon as neither Skull Red Bird nor Faith Bird are even in the game. This is sadly true for quite a few more cards, making decks relying on fusion monsters to be almost useless.