I Tried Solving a 20-YEAR-OLD Yu-Gi-Oh Mystery

[@semaJCh]

True Duelists subscribe, like, and comment! ;) But for real thank you all so much for watching! This was without a doubt the most work I have ever put into a video so far, but I truly loved it and the result and I certainly hope you do as well. :)

[@supersmashseandx1991]

You sure know how to keep it fresh

[@Mimiyan_or_Pikapikafan]

If you need a lead on another mystery, I've got one related to Baldi's Basics. I don't think many even know about it, and even if it was solved idk if I'd even be able to find the results of said solving. It's related to the interview LSMark's podcast had with Mystman (Baldi's Basics dev), and I think I have an idea on where to start/look for said secret message in Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered. Hoping it can finally be solved, but if possible I'd like to help with it. Idk if I'm even right but worth shit maybe? Eh. This was a really cool video tho! As a fellow Duelist I really find it interesting how this whole password debacle happened

[@raseruuu3742]

I admire your dedication!!! I hope your manga buyouts were all worth it hahahaha!

[@uncleweirdbeard86]

Beat me on Masters and I will do so. Its the way of the true duelist

[@remryukcreepy]

Okay this is an extremely long-shot, but back when I was a kid I owned a magazine, a brazilian magazine that covered a lot of both Yu-gi-oh! games (Memories and Roses) and the physical card game, it had lengthy pages detailing fusion recipes as well as passwords. I do not remember how many or which passwords were there, and it's back in my hometown if I still own it, so I wouldn't get a chance to look at it till at least a couple months from now - if you wanna look it up, it seems to be "Playstation Almanaque Especial #4 Yu-Gi-Oh!". I can't find any scans of it online and even the places that have it for sale are out of stock, so if there's no lead on that end, I'll be sure to look for it sometime in December or January when I go back to my hometown.

[@nicklausdelpiero98]

Historically inaccurate Bandit Keith Bandana broke me.

[@semaJCh]

So glad I kept that part in XD

[@declanmckenna6854]

What if they used the Union Jack Bandana to hint that this was the real Keith who's soul was pulled back in time following his death in Battle City and he already had a Union Jack bandana on hand and used that.

[@XxEmpty_EscapexX693]

Now all we need is Biblically accurate Bandit Keith.

[@khalifeh22]

Thine duel monsters cards deserve NOT a seating position in my deck. Tis but a cheap coaster for my glass of wine. IN GREAT BRITAIN!

[@abderahmane_samirlazouni7630]

Let's not forget that he's Canadian, so it's actually canon

[@Chernobog2]

Kaiba not believing in magic was pretty much a dub only thing, in the original version of the anime he was skeptical of magic but accepts it as real when it happens in front of him. Meanwhile in the manga he's a believer starting in his first appearance, since the whole reason he made the holograms was to copy Yami Yugi's ability to manifest monsters in the real world.

[@fortnitesexman]

which is infinitely more based he believes in what's happening, he just doesn't care

[@ashskullz]

He also know that there 2 yugi especially before duelist kingdom and during yugi vs Joey in battle city he know yugi can't win without his puzzle when he give it to Joey

[@lunar_proxy]

yea like he acknowledges that it's a thing, he just don't give af and actively fights against it

[@abderahmane_samirlazouni7630]

He actually fights against destiny not magic

[@TekkenOnlineFights]

Do you think manifest is magic in general? Because I saw about manifest your desires and you can get them. I heard about this from my Girlfriend.

[@amelialonelyfart8848]

This game was my introduction to Yugioh as a game. I was so god damn confused having only seen the anime before. My sister was really into English history and whenever she tried to explain the events of the game it just confused me even further.

[@semaJCh]

That is incredible that your sister had context for this game. I honestly bet you could claim to be the only person who ended up in such a scenario with this game. XD Thanks for watching! :)

[@lucinae8512]

I loved the storyline as a kid, since I was a history buff and the Wars of the Roses was one of the first things I delved deep into. But I admit that the game didn't explain all the mechanics well enough for me to complete it, and from what I hear the mixed reception was due to it being marketed as for kids but the cryptic and complex mechanics was clearly meant for older players.

[@Faisal-zv4bx]

Imagine being the time traveler who helped people obtain good cards by posting the codes on an internet forum and discovering this video.

[@Stylez-13]

I still have the game I hardly play it ...time to get back to it

[@yuwu585]

Maybe he came from an apocalyptic future that is in ruin because the 5 missing cards of Duelist of the Roses, so he sent stone tablets in the past, with the passwords engraved on, hopung someone would found them...

[@yuwu585]

Or maybe he's a kid who got flunged in the past by accelerating beyond light speed during his final duel with his fated rival, and ended up in a world before Duelist og the Roses existes, so he decided to work at Konami so he could re-create the game, and then hide the passwords he discovered through this video across the forums

[@garulia17]

El Psy Congroo

[@darkblaze435]

​@@garulia17El psy congree!

[@sunflowersnail]

What if the strikethroughs in the Japanese guidebook are actually a line for someone to write down the passwords to those cards? Perhaps some passwords were given out at events in Japan (at a convenience store event, yugioh event, bookstore event, etc) similar to how pokemon games had pokemon distribution events in stores. Maybe some very used copies of that guidebook have passwords written in those spaces!

[@casualcaptor]

This was exactly what I came to the comments to say! That's definitely a line to write the password on, and the passwords were likely revealed in any combination of ways: tournaments, store exclusives, certain booster set extras, gacha machines, television airings, the other issues of jump that no one has looked through, or other places I haven't even thought of! The real move would be to dig through Japanese forums or find someone from Japan who was super into Yugioh at the time the game launched. It's likely that the 4 codes were released in Japan through one of those methods, with intention of releasing the rest of the codes over time, but they canceled the promotion early, or hadn't yet decided what to do with the rest, locking the codes in gamefile purgatory until they got dug up almost 2 decades later

[@dunethewanderer8944]

I remember using the code system for this game for one thing in particular: To get the Aqua Dragon, if I'm remembering the name right. It had an effect that would change the battlefield to Umi/ocean every time it would move, resulting in it having a massively beefy attack power to rival even Seto and Yugi's boss monsters, and would be able to remove the enemy's field advantage in the process. Pegasus went from agonizing to a joke.

[@scragar]

I used to love the crush cards for the effect there. They were immune to the effect, so if you boosted their stats above 1,500 then nothing could defeat them as destroying them triggered the terrain change that'd destroy the enemy too. The only thing that worked to slow the deck down was spellbinding circle since it disabled cards rather than destroying them, but that was rare. Also if the giant germ was your deck leader it boosted other giant germs power meaning even an enemy capable of stalling had their own moves turned against them as you deal a passive 300 damage per turn.

[@AnonEcho98]

*Whenever it battled And yeeeeah, the Aqua Dragon deck is fun to pilot.

[@Jotari]

My go to card in this game was Pumpking the King of Ghost. Gives all Zombie monsters +100atk/def each turn. Which sounds meh, but it actually hilariously good, because he targets himself too. Which means within a handful of turns he becomes way stronger than anything the enemy can possibly produce.

[@cameronjadewallace]

It was broken, sometimes, but so much fun if you could utilize it properly

[@SHADOMEGA7569]

Yeah Aqua dragon looks cool and does prove to be a boss monster, too bad the OCG/TCG version is just a 1750 beat stick fusion that'll still be taken out by a Lajin or Gemini Elf. Hell even flame swordsman could take it out. Card could of had text that read "lower the ATK and DEF of all FIRE attribute monsters by 300" and it could of been somewhat useful but is still a minus 3 for something with a bare bone passive effect. I think it would of worked better as a non fusion

[@eduaug]

I would totally love more investigative content like this

[@semaJCh]

Thank you for the feedback and watching!!! :D

[@aidansherry17]

Seconded! This was awesome:)

[@godkingzan9114]

The four cards with the unknown origin are, as you said, incredibly specific. After watching your video, I can only assume they were leaked online by an employee. Sad that we will likely never know. This was a great video, keep up the good work!

[@semaJCh]

Right? Those 4 are so far from random, that's one of the biggest reasons this became so interesting to me! It's so funny you mention leaking them as my friend who dug into this with me that I mention at the end also like that idea. XD It's certainly a possibility! And if we ever do get an answer or more info, I would love to update everyone. :) Thanks so much for the support!!!

[@1stCallipostle]

Maybe one madman is responsible for the whole redo of the password system, and knew full well that quietly releasing 4 of the codes he put in would bring us here

[@drowzypollinator640]

​@@semaJChhave you attempted messaging/emailing any devs? There may be a Konami employee who would love to talk about their cryptic card password system.

[@fedrikrose2277]

​@@semaJChthe cards aren't exactly random, those 4 cards are some of the most iconic spells and trap cards of the OCG, TCG and anime. So if someone had to leak passwords it had to belong to iconic cards to gather some attention. I don't know how good those cards are in the game, but I think those cards might be very good.

[@Shamazya]

I appreciate that despite not getting the answer, you shared the journey. I think the process can be interesting and it can be helpful if someone does want to make their own attempt.

[@theRealSlimGordon]

Clearly, that dude who posted the 4 extra codes was a time traveller! Anyway, loved the video. I really like these kind of deep dives in video games. Hopefully it gets recommended to lots of people.

[@semaJCh]

LOL that killed me XD So glad you still enjoyed Gordon! Thanks as always! :)

[@s.a.m7297]

remember when kaiba create a time machine "only" to duel with pharaoh? he mostly lose again and rage quit smashing the time machine and ended up here

[@Stylez-13]

Or mandela effect...😅

[@thegayghost872]

Yugioh video games really are insane

[@1stCallipostle]

What goes together better than the early internet age and deep, dark, nearly inconsequential but oh so juicy rabbit holes (where you normally find slang that wouldn't be popular for another 10 years)

[@keagenreynolds4090]

No way you've only been posting for 4 months. The quality of this is amazing. You're going to blow up in a good way bro. Big ups to ya.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, really appreciate the support! Hope you enjoyed. :)

[@jsanchez23]

Damn! When I saw the title I thought someone was finally going to unearth the unending mystery of how pot of greed works, maybe some mysterious are just never meant to be understood.

[@ChaotixBR]

Man, I was trying to find out more info on the Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue game for the PS1. Because it has a comics section on the gallery menu, but there was not any power rangers lightspeed rescue comics in the market at the time. I found out that there were actually some comics in Germany and Netherlands, I found a single page of these comics online, manage to contact the curator of the comic book history website that was hosting the comic and... nothing.. hahah

[@julikaiba]

since you purchased the guidebook and booklet for the game which werent available online, I hope you will make scans aailable now so that future researchers can find this information, even if all the physical media gets lost

[@khalifeh22]

"I scuff at the notion of you defeating me! Thou littlest of Kuribohs. Thine duel monsters cards deserve NOT a seating position in my deck. Tis but a cheap coaster for my glass of wine. IN GREAT BRITAIN!" Bandid Keith of great Britain.

[@TheLawYGO]

God I love this game. It's so baffling in its concept but so addicting in its execution. Absolutely captivating topic and video, love the depth you went into on your search

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much Law, stoked you enjoyed! I love your channel (have been watching since your first duel links history video) and was pleasantly shocked to see your game related video the same day! :D

[@Kite403]

It really is a shame it was so lacking sales-wise. I had this on PS2 and, while not terribly good at it, I did have a lot of fun learning it

[@sokoshinbutsu6925]

A while ago I very faintly remembered playing a game where yugi called himself henry tudor, I thought I was losing it. It sounds like you were going to get a new code every time you beat the game, but there was some kind of corporate screw up and they scrapped the system after implementing two codes.

[@GenericGMR]

Woah, didn’t expect yugioh to pop up from your channel! Enjoyed this a ton, here’s to hoping this sparks more discussion about it since it seems super interesting. If more developments about this investigation happen, I’d love to hear more about it!

[@semaJCh]

So glad to know, thank you! :D And that's a great point I didn't mention! There always could be more and if this helps get us anymore, I will certainly need to do an update. ;)

[@Bunni89]

As a welsh person words cannot express how surprised I was to see a character from our mythology suddenly be a yugioh final boss, especially in a game all about england lol! Wonder why they made that choice?

[@semaJCh]

That's a great point! Just as details surrounding the codes aren't well known, I don't think we would easily be able to find out why they made decisions such as that without talking to some of the team. If we ever could though, asking about Manawyddan would certainly be on my list of questions! Hope I did the name decently enough in the video. XD Thanks for watching!

[@Bunni89]

@@semaJCh Trust me, even us Welshmen have trouble with some of the mythology names, I actually couldn't remember how to spell it in my reply haha! This guy basically has zero in common with the actual story tho so I don't think it matters. It's kinda hilarious to see the name of a welsh hero randomly attached to a jafar looking evil god. It's like "muahaha! I have come to... save your town from a curse turning people into mice? Comfort your grieving wives? Go on to sire a lineage of further folk heroes who save all of Britain?"

[@abderahmane_samirlazouni7630]

The creator was a fan of Celtic and Egyptian cultures

[@jinxtheunluckypony]

Duelist of the Roses is such a fun game. I really with it could have sold better, a sequel with more refined presentation and additional content would have been an absolute blast.

[@RowanJacobs]

This may be a long shot, but is there any chance that the codes were distributed in promotional material at a convention in Japan, perhaps an IRL Yu-Gi-Oh tournament? In that case the material might be really ephemeral and people might not have been aware of it or preserved it.

[@semaJCh]

I like this idea as something I didn't specifically explore since there honestly isn't an excessive amount of information pertaining to those kinds of details. For example, the history of the physical game is pretty well preserved, but it honestly seems like the details beyond that for many aspects of the series are far less than what we might expect (which could include little details like what you are saying)! I ultimately think it could still be in a jump issue since the precedent was there. Maybe we will find out as more discussion is had! :)

[@BMXhunterWOW]

@@semaJCh I remember playing this as a kid and having several of the codes to use when playing the game, they definitely came from scholastic book fair cheat code books. It may have simply been the 30~ you mentioned, but I really feel like I had unlocked more than 2 from endings. Like i remember it being with choosing different starting decks gave different codes, but I must be misremembering bc I know you said that person delved into the code and that isn't the case.

[@LinkageAX]

I was thinking something similar, or maybe they were given out at tournaments

[@jarvis]

fire video - i own those american jump issues haha

[@semaJCh]

My jaw dropped when I saw your comment, thanks a ton. This was a huge passion project so the support here really helps my confidence with it. If you see anything in those Jump issues we missed, just let me know! ;)

[@sakanagakyoko]

Most random crossover 😂 hi jarvis

[@FrenkTheJoy]

Seeing youtubers you're subscribed to commenting on random videos is like seeing your teacher in the grocery store.

[@abderahmane_samirlazouni7630]

​@@FrenkTheJoysame feeling for real

[@beachratlover]

This was such a wild ride!!! You absolutely freaking crushed this video! I still think a disgruntled developer posted those 4 codes because they were their favorite cards 😂 The bit about Crab Turtle had me dying. This video needs to be seen by everyone ❤

[@semaJCh]

PLEASE!!!!!! Thank you for all your amazing help beachrat

[@Stylez-13]

​@@semaJCh🦀🦀🦀

[@darthparallax5207]

Dude you have my vote to voice Mr Crocker as L in the full length fan movie of Deathly Godparents. That was the vibe lol. "Light is not an average kid Excels in every class ....." FAIRY GODPARENTS SHINIGAMI CRAB TURTLES

[@darthparallax5207]

Throw in the Question from JLU. Dude you get it. This is absolutely brilliant for October. Don't be afraid to branch out because if you can precision strike spooky for October you can do a different vibe with the same skill in Summer! 😃

[@QueenCheetah]

2:22- Suddenly, every fanfic I've ever read is more cannon than this game. WTF?!?!!

[@abderahmane_samirlazouni7630]

XD literally

[@Flatthew3333]

Investigative journalism at its finest. You're a champion.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, the support will help me continue the role! ;)

[@amarol9262]

YU-GI-OH!! So stoked to see you covering yugioh content. I've had a bit of a yugioh renaissance over the past few months so this was really exciting to see. Great video, as always.

[@semaJCh]

That's amazing, glad you enjoyed!!! :D

[@crestfallenhussar895]

The amount of research you did in this is crazy! You definitely did more than due diligence in covering all the topic had to cover.

[@semaJCh]

Really appreciate this and glad it shows through! I legit had to stop myself from continuing as I wanted these answers!!! Thanks a bunch for watching. :)

[@kylespevak6781]

I like that even though dual monsters became the main part of Yu-Gi-Oh they still explore other creative game ideas through the video games

[@Blue_XIII]

Not so much anymore sadly, but even so they still try to change things up even if a bit such as the OCG Stories manga

[@Knight41b]

@@Blue_XIII Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel Was a decent game (but was programmed not very well).

[@shabe99]

I used that CCC guide back in the day while it was fresh and the game was new. Glorious times. I also happened to buy myself a used copy and a a PS2 slim about 3 months before the big GMS reveal. I remember digging up old guides and password lists and having a blast getting the rust off in the slot machine to unlock all the good stuff, then one day GMS was like "here's a list for every card, you're welcome." So lucky and it totally reignited my love for this game. Awesome video! Gave me so much nostalgia for hunting down passwords and hints on the early internet back in middle school.

[@JamesJohnson-ks4nq]

What's GMS stand for?

[@shabe99]

@@JamesJohnson-ks4nq GenericMadScientist. The guy in the video who made the whole list.

[@theswordidtruth]

Ah man, this is so nice to see. I watched the show for a year or two as a kid, played the card game for a bit too before moving on. But I just turned thirty this year, and I still find myself cracking open FM and DotR every year or two for a bit of fantastic nostalgia. I even learned the speedrun strats for FM, and I'm not a speedrunner. FK on the Gamecube wasn't terrible, either. Not quite equally weird, but close.

[@mousebreaker1000]

I have a personal theory; I think that there's a huge overlap between yugioh fans and Pokemon fans. This creator is a great example of love for both franchises. Great video as always!

[@semaJCh]

Totally agree! My biggest inspirations and fave youtubers are certainly pokemon creators! Thanks for the kind words, really glad you enjoyed! :)

[@lucinae8512]

Both series did start around the same time, and as a kid I loved that their animes aired right next to each other and collected both of their card games. Not sure if these parallels appear in newer fans, since Pokemon has continued to grow bigger and Yugioh's declining popularity is becoming a meme online.

[@rainsonata4724]

I did not expect a yugioh video, but I'm so glad I watched it. It was such a journey going through the story and everything related to the codes. It's making me want to revisit the yugioh anime to relieve those amazing years of its popularity.

[@semaJCh]

Thank you so much for giving it a chance, it's great to hear you enjoyed!!! :D

[@NakoruruDust]

Hi! I know Japanese and started to google some stuff to help you out because I really enjoyed your video, although I have not played the YuGiOh TCG nor the videogames, hehe. I found a Chinese forum apparently copypasting information from various sources on the YuGiOh games passwords, but they left some parts in Japanese/Chinese(?) I could read. Now, this data may not match your data since the post did not have any scans from magazines that could support it, and the images from the same thread have all broken links. I found the following for Duelists of the Roses (the lists had the names of the cards in Japanese, but I will write the localized names for the sake of conciseness): - Shonen Jump No.45, 2001 ('01 少年ジャンプ 45号): Change of Heart, Crush Card, Gravity Bind, Royal Decree - VJump, November 2001 issue ('01 Vジャンプ 11月号): Left Arm of the Forbidden One, Tactical Warrior, Dragon Seeker, Aqua Dragon, Barrel Dragon, Blast Sphere, Fairy King Truesdale - VJump, December 2001 issue ('01 Vジャンプ 12月特大号): Seiyaryu, Magician of Faith, Swordstalker, Swordsman from a Foreign Land, Birdface, Serpentine Princess, Robotic Knight, Ancient Tree of Enlightenment, Mimicat - Konami's website: Greenkappa, Mystical Capture Chain, Beastking of the Swamps, Dark Hole, Harpie's Feather Duster, Elf's Light, Horn of the Unicorn So, apparently those 4 cards come from a Shonen Jump magazine? But, besides Shonen Jump magazines, maybe you could check the VJump magazines (they are very focused on trading card games from what I have seen.) Hope it helps! I can send you the link of the Chinese forum I found as well.

[@keropon]

Wow!! I freaking love this: people on the Internet solving crimes and mysteries. Who would have thought that the Change of Heart card code would bbe in a Shonen Jump with Hikaru no Go on the cover hahaha. Great job, @NakoruruDust! Also @semaJCh for making this video. It was really interesing.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for all of this awesome work Dust and really glad you enjoyed the video! I would love to update everyone on this! Having claims for 3 particular books may very well let us find evidence and further validate the forum posts. And totally! If you could provide me the link you found these posts at either here or at the email on my channel page, that would be fantastic! As a quick aside for you since you might be interested: I explored up through 45 and beyond to be safe, but those too were just as hard to find details on. There weren't any images for 45 hinting at roses, but it certainly could be possible and there is an available copy on ebay for us to potentially find some answers from! Vjump was very smart as well! I totally missed that point in my search and would love to add that into the story. Sadly, they are even harder to fight scans of, but that certainly adds to the 'lost media' nature of this hunt! Anyways, if there is enough evidence, I may just need to get us volume 45! ;)

[@NakoruruDust]

@@semaJCh Hi! I've just sent you an email :)

[@WulfricGrayscale]

I just stumbled upon your channel, and while the challenge videos you've done are very entertaining and I'm looking forward to seeing more of those, this was a very interesting journey to look through as well even though there wasn't really an "answer" and most of my prior knowledge of Duelists of the Roses was only in passing. I hope you can find more topics like this that interest you that you can turn into videos! Looking forward to anything else you might post in the future.

[@uncleweirdbeard86]

I enjoyed playing this back in the day. The 3 best decks I ever made were fairies, plants, and exodia. I got into FM and DOTR because I have a mentality disabled sister that loved yugioh, but couldn't understand how to play the games. Being the gamer of the family, I had to learn to play them to get her past some enemies or she would get upset and start breaking things. But thanks to that, I gained interest in the tcg. I eventually purchased my first deck. The Yugi starter deck was the one I chose. With that I started learning how to play. Eventually, I began modifying the deck to suit my play style. 1 day, a friend of mine wanted to borrow my deck, so I let him. The next day he gave it back to me and showed me another deck. A modified Seto deck with all 3 copies of blue-eyes in it and a tone of other beatsticks. He then told me he wagered my deck against that deck and won. I learned 2 things that day. 1: I had a knack for building decks B: Never trust a yugioh player with your stuff

[@DetectiveGrey]

Hey pal, I don't know anything at all about Yu-Gi-Oh! as a card game, barely as an anime or manga series, and little to nothing else as a franchise in general. But you know what I really like? Deep dive content from passionate fans. You did great; had me engrossed from minute one. I really appreciate the amount of effort you put into this.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for the kind words! The support on this video helps a ton too as I am hoping to make more; currently in the process of that plan too! 😊

[@jawsisra]

Did you consider it might have been another kind of ad that told about these cards. In Japan back in the early 2000s Game Stores would get special ads that would give info not given out in other medias. The 4 Card's Codes could be in one of these ads, Then again some one might have just gotten lucky finding the codes. This is a good example as why everything should be archived.

[@darklordlarc8960]

This is still my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh game, honestly. I spent a ridiculous amount of time deck crafting for each encounter. When I found the passwords on a random cheat code site, I used all of them lol

[@game_case214]

Who needs strong monsters when you can just fight bakura for plants and the ghost kid for zombies. Unlimited pumpkin kings.

[@Sevrak_]

Another great video James! Making me invested into an 22yr old game that I knew nothing about. Absolutely great research into showing just how deep you can/need go until you find an satisfying answer While the setting and execution were really weird it's also kind of interesting to see this "isekai" kinda setting before the egypt arc and the capsule monster arc aired Also great selection of music! This may sound dumb but I always get way more hyped and invested once Fang of Critias and The Supreme King OST start playing. Now only one mystery prevails. How does Pot of Greed work? hehe.

[@semaJCh]

Thank you Sev!!!! I was really excited to finally finish a yugioh project! ;) I am glad this kind of video was able to interest you still, that's great to know. :)

[@Electro_Specter]

Great video. You got a new sub. The conclusion you come to is most likely the true answer but I have a few questions. Did you look at other physical media such as soundtracks or home video releases at the time? Also, what about Japanese TV? I don’t know if Konami/Jump did what a lot of big properties do at the time hosting special broadcasts centered around their properties akin to what Pokemon did, but that would be a great way to pull in viewers. Just some thoughts. It’s crazy how many games have password systems that basically go unused cause nothing is ever released on them and it basically takes data miners to figure out codes. Very interesting stuff.

[@Electro_Specter]

Man, what about brand collabs/toys/snacks from the time? Another great way to release codes. I got it beating around the ol’ melon now and I can’t shake thinking about it.

[@forgottenepics]

loved this game as a kid and amazing to see it delved into to such lengths 😍 thanks for the video and keep up the great work semaJ 😚

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for all your support with this one Epics, that and your translations were huge helps!

[@mattwo7]

3:18 Pretty sure the Duel Monsters and True Duel Monsters games pulled more from the manga, where Seto wasn't as dismissive of magic. I mean in DSOD he even managed to build a Duel Disk that allowed him to pull Fate/Zero Gilgamesh (and Prisma Illya Gil-Kun) and use his a combination of a neural uplink to his Crystal Cloud Network and his massive ego to resist getting erased by the cube, just as Gilgamesh can use his own massive ego to resist having his personality and Spirit Origin corrupted and altered by the mud from the Holy Grail and Pandora's box.

[@Matezoide]

That research was such a rollercoaster of emotions, and some fun editing too. Great video!

[@semaJCh]

Thank you so much! Stoked you enjoyed! :)

[@KuriFox]

Your content is amazing, I hope you blow up. This video was fascinating, I absolutely miss the early 2000's, being a kid and reading game magazines, finding things about my favorite games, or just discovering it by myself, or between friends. Insted of quickly googling everything. those were truly the great old days.

[@semaJCh]

That means a ton, thank you so much! That is totally the vibe I had for this video and a big goal of mine when working on projects (especially those that can fit that style like this one). Glad you enjoyed and I think you will like some of the other videos I am working up in this genre for sure! :D

[@KuriFox]

@@semaJCh Fantastic! You have done a great job, i shall keep those notification with the ring on!

[@Exorsister]

17:13 I quite adore this channel's videos lately and have been very pleasently surprised by them all. Yet at this specific time stamp I must just note the cute nails of our host and how well it fits them.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks a ton!!! My only regret was not matching my nails to the video, but I plan to do that for the sequel 😎

[@WereWereingtonTheThird]

Detective work like this is incredible & deserves to be continued. My only Yugioh game that I really loved was the dungeon dice one but now I feel quite educated

[@あらすとる]

I saw this vid and it picked my curiosity, as I played the game in Japanese and I remember checking some Japanese sites looking for passwords. And they had said passwords, even specifying that a set of cards (including the mysterious 4) were password exclusive. Those websites cited the official website as the source for those passwords, but those guides were written long after the official site went down, so I guess it was just an missinformation. So I've done a quick research and a Japanese messageboard from 2010 had someone asking for where all the official passwords were published. And the answer was the same as in your investigation: both FM and DoR endings and the official site. But none of the 4 mysterious cards were found there, apparently. My only guess would be any IRL event of Yugioh where the passwords for those cards were given, but other than that I have absolutely no idea how these passwords could be obtained. Anyway, it has been a very nice vid, I enjoyed your quest!

[@semaJCh]

That was so helpful, thank you so much!!! What you found goes right in line with what I did too, Japanese sites which had the passwords but did not seem to predate the forum posts. It is a mystery for sure and I agree with you and others, there certainly could have been an event. If there is, then this mystery goes even further as something like that is a discovery in and of itself! Thanks so much for watching and taking part in the search!!! 😊😊😊

[@RaNdOmSTuFF479]

Your story about the journey to uncovering the secret behind the hidden passwords was captivating! Very cool albeit niche video topic. Would definitely watch more videos like this in the future.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the kind words and support! I loved making this and am working on more like it as we speak!

[@chewthulu1004]

This was...honestly an insane roller coaster that I wasn't expecting from my "recommended" feed here. Now I am burdened with the question of where did those codes came from! I feel like I've opened Pandora's box.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for watching! Apologies for leaving you with the burden of these codes as well ;)

[@YukeWeiss]

This was super interesting! I got taken back to like 2003-2005 when I was playing Stairway to the Destined Duel a bunch and even the physical game for a bit. Duelist of the Roses was always a bonkers concept but this mystery is so exciting. It's a shame you never found the answer but it was still a solid video :3

[@semaJCh]

So glad you enjoyed the video!!! I love looking back on that era and yugioh as well. It's awesome to hear other people reflect on these things after watching the video! :)

[@Antifrost]

At this point, I think it's possible that the person who posted those passwords to that forum was one of the devs taking pity on the community not having access to them for so long.

[@twistedmyth5860]

Or a translator/Localizer

[@darthparallax5207]

This is 100% the best episode of Death Note I have ever not understood any of. I honestly do want more content like this and do love the style. I miss the 90s internet and all the Scooby-Doo Creepypasta shit. Let's Go Lavendar Town! :D

[@faeriefun]

I wasn’t expecting yugioh on this channel but I’m glad to see it! I love deep dives on relatively obscure things like this, I hope you’re able to do more soon!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for all the great feedback, glad you enjoyed! I loved making this so it helps a ton to have your support! :)

[@edevine9177]

damn this was ur best video so far imo ! i was only ever casually into yugioh growing up (i certainly never heard of duelists of the roses despite its objectively insane premise lol) but the editing style mixed w all these essentially primary sources really hit hard w nostalgia! like it still doesn't feel like the 00s were that long ago, but this really makes u realize these things really are already 2 decades old, w these codes existing on the liminal edge between childhood memories n lost media

[@semaJCh]

You are going to make me cry LOL thank you! I totally feel you! I love content that makes me nostalgic over that era especially if it can tell a good story or teach you something so that was my goal! Means a ton to hear all that and that what I was going for may have been successful. :)

[@jayr5277]

I really wouldn’t be surprised if Konami lost faith in the game (I mean I love it but you have to admit it’s a very weird take on the card game that probably turned some people off just from previews) and cut back on promotional material that may have revealed the passwords, but obviously we may never know.

[@matygoo1644]

Such a small amount of people played that game, I’m glad I got to be one of them

[@kingdomofentertainment5513]

Fuck the original story. We need more from the series like that. A Part 3, 4 und so on...

[@clintonclay3158]

I absolutely loved this game. I ran a Pumpking King of Ghosts deck around triggering stat buffed zombies

[@derrickhaggard]

I ran with the Fairy King Truesdale deck. And occasionally a Wolf Axwielder deck.

[@stevesamuals2651]

It's interesting to see the lengths of this deep dive into the roses lore (even if I don't really care much for the series) If you're willing to do another deep dive like this for a game series, I'd be interested to hear you discuss how the pokemon games have gradually incorporated more of an anime influence into their world design and mechanics (an example being how the giant Dragonite from the early seasons was incorporated into the g max system of sword and shield)

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the feedback, great to know you enjoyed! That sounds like a fun idea for sure, I can certainly see where that might go as well, thank you! :D

[@arthurhilgert2707]

Subscribing because of this video. I love this kind of content, hoping for more, and congratulations for the effort

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for the support and feedback! I have some more ideas for sure and this was totally my fave video to make so far! :)

[@mattwo7]

1:31 Simon Muran is played by Shimon Muran from Forbidden Memories and Game Boy to GBA games (Heishin also actually debuted in Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters III: Tri-Holy God Advent, which was incorrectly localized as Dark Duel Stories, which is actually the _second_ game in the GB/C Duel Monsters series and Heishin was localized as "Slysheen" at the time for some reason) who in the manga and anime, is _clearly_ the ancient Egyptian counterpart of Yugi's grandfather, Solomon (Sugoroku in the original Japanese) Muto. I have _no_ idea why in the games he is blue. In the manga and anime Shimon's face isn't obscured and he wears a different hat too. (Also Forbidden Memories and Duelist of the Roses are the only entries in the short-lived "True Duel Monsters" series spun off of Duel Monsters III. Also, in spite of lacking "Duel Monsters: in the Japanese name at all, Falsebound Kingdom is also clearly tied to Duel Monsters and True Duel Monsters)

[@Fluffy-Rose1993]

I didn't know FM had a sequel so this was interesting to watch. A Japanese/Egyptian/English war game is wild lol. I'd like to see you do more investigation videos about more Yu-Gi-Oh games.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for the support! This was my fave video to make so there will certainly be more to come! In fact, I have an update for this video to put out in the coming months if all goes well!;)

[@Fluffy-Rose1993]

@@semaJCh Sweet! I'll be looking forward to it.

[@callump1996]

Wow! This video was a pure joy to watch and listen to. I was engaged with you slowly trying to piece together the game's hidden secrets. Duelist of The Roses was a huge part of my childhood and even in the last 10-15 years, I keep learning new stuff about the game, like it being a sequel to Forbidden Memories. It feels like both games were like an early draft of how the Yugioh Manga/Anime would play out before plans changed. I do not doubt that if the Japanese sales for DOTR were not so low, a 3rd game to complete the series would have happened to tie everything up (I do wonder if this 3rd game was what would end up becoming Flasebound Kingdom.?) Even today, people are still learning hidden secrets about both Forbidden Memories and Duelist Of The Roses and I'm sure there are more hidden secrets to both games that might be forever lost through early scarp coding or lost media.

[@astralman]

I seem to remember the thing with Kaiba not believing in magic being a 4Kids dub change. Original Kaiba was just arrogant enough to believe he could overcome magic and destiny through his own brains and technology.

[@luisdavila7302]

I have no idea how this was the "worst" selling game, I still own my copy and feel the nostalgia every time I think about playing it! The music for this game was amazing!

[@semaJCh]

It's got a great soundtrack for sure, glad you pointed that out! This game certainly sold better outside of Japan when looking into those numbers! :D I believe it had more to due with how absurdly popular the card game had gotten. I also don't truly think we can compare the handheld sales 1 to 1, but it was all more to make sense of this very odd situation! :)

[@luisdavila7302]

@@semaJCh that’s awesome! I can’t wait to go through it again! 😭

[@BMXhunterWOW]

@@semaJCh That makes sense, because I got 3 copies for christmas from different people the year it released, lol! I didn't even ask for it, they all just knew I liked the card game. When you showed only like 70k sales I was confuseddd

[@ruffprophetproductions]

My first vid was the ice type one, but your blurb at the end of that vid brought me here. So, I’m just here to say this hooked me. Thank you friend

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for checking the out the roses video! This was a huge passion project and this support will help me be able to make more like it! 😊

[@louisgentilucci1188]

Excellent investigative work! This video gave me the same vibes as Defunctland's Disney Channel Jingle investigation. I'm so sorry that the the trial went cold. But there is always hope. Maybe your video is draw out another clue.... But great work either way!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much for the kind words and glad you enjoyed! Huge fan of defunctland, the jingle video is incredible! No worries, hopefully we do learn more, but I really enjoyed making this video and plan to make more like it in the future. :)

[@noodleh945]

As a British guy I love the setting. I think it is a pretty interesting period of history. I'd love to see someone do something with this setting better than this game did as they just used it as a backdrop.

[@CrimsonFox36]

I love this ARG. I love the idea of enhancing your game experience by consuming outside media.

[@semaJCh]

Means a bunch, thank you! I loved working on this type of thing and hope to make more!

[@jamielilinrgaard19]

This was great! Id love to see more content like this ❤

[@semaJCh]

Thank you Jamie, that helps a ton!

[@sgtbathsoap]

Very awesome vid, I greatly enjoyed. Amazing work!

[@semaJCh]

So glad you enjoyed, thanks a bunch!

[@MiruyaYT]

I don't know the last time I had so much fun watching a KZbin video. Such a great journey and I didn't expect to be that excited to watch a Duelist of the Roses video. This Game is my childhood, but I never thought more about it. This kinda made my day haha Really great job on that video!

[@semaJCh]

Such an awesome comment, thank you so much! Really glad you enjoyed! :)

[@KA1SZN]

What an amazing journey! Great video :)

[@semaJCh]

Thank you! Really appreciate the support!

[@RunicSigils]

Makes me wonder if they obfuscated the original card codes with an algorithm that a couple people with savant math wizardy noticed and could only be bothered to actually use on the cards they REALLY cared about and then posted them, lol. This still fits with the fact that they may have intended to use them as promo distros because it wouldn't be the first promotional distribution to not happen, nor would it be the last. Stupid people complained and got the Azure Flute never released in Gen 4 Pokémon, for example. It's still in the game but because of the complaints they gave Arceus out directly via event instead. Intents don't always equate to outcomes and since it sold so poorly maybe they just considered the entire idea a flop and moved on. I wouldn't bet on my idea being true but a simple algorithm modifying the base codes would definitely work without adding a ton of work on the devs and most people aren't going to know to do the math if that's what it is.

[@Cramhead43]

Hope the JP guide and JP manual get uploaded/scanned in! Thanks for your awesome work.

[@Chronoflation]

Oh man, seeing the box art for Dark Duel Stories at 6:02 brought back so many memories. I loved that game as a kid. Wish I still had my copy, but sadly my mom sold all my old GB/GBA games to games top when I got a DS. So she sold like 50 games for $30

[@SoloWing88]

My friend who runs a local shop is doing videos about Shounen jump, I should ask him when he gets back reguardless, great video

[@semaJCh]

That’s awesome, would love to talk more with anyone who has these issues!:) Thanks for the support!

[@xX-fd2qj]

Consumed the video through audio only but heard the Neoseeker mentions. A few members in that thread I vaguely remember being in contact with back in the day. It's unfortunate that it was a guest account that provided the codes. Those old game forums had a culture of secret searching / sleuthing and Neoseeker due to "just being big enough" was especially focused in that regard. The unfortunate part about this is that the codes posted are most likely from a secondary source. I'd hazard a guess the info is still out there but it's probably trapped in the depths of something on the scale of the Gaia Online forums. So it's available in the sense that something that has sunk to the bottom of the ocean could still be found. Still, good investigative work!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the great comment! Awesome to hear that you were around for some of those! Just to let you know, thanks to some awesome viewers, I have a follow up for the story that would provide more answers! Still need to find the time to work on the video, but I’m excited to when I can! 😊

[@AstronoMETV]

Mad respect to you for going through all of this. I dont hate myself enough to sift through this absolute madness.

[@trajanhammons7099]

As someone who loved this game growing up you did a great job! This was a Game me and my dad used to bond over and just to see there are still people talking about it/making videos about it makes me happy!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks a bunch, glad you enjoyed!!!:)

[@nickraj550]

Dude amazing video. Super entertaining ☺️. Great job.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, really appreciate the support!

[@hakkin_d]

This is by far the best DoTR vid on KZbin! I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was an great journey.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, that really means a ton!!!

[@DM-Oz]

The fact that it took years for most passwords to get discovered is both amazing and ridiculous

[@semaJCh]

This is where the major idea of the video came from at first! I had never heard of this and thought others might find it interesting too! Was pleasantly surprised at the mystery being a bit deeper. :D

[@DM-Oz]

@@semaJCh It is VERY interesting, damn, i really wish i had those when playing this game as a kid

[@Yami-no-Raiden]

With this level of investigative work and digging, I'm expecting you to be able to lead an expedition for an ancient Egyption Pharoah's Tomb.

[@bennieboi20]

Thanks for the throwback! I didnt expect to see a game from so long ago pop up on my feed. Amazing dive, its a shame it didnt pan out.

[@semaJCh]

Thanks a bunch! Glad you enjoyed! :D

[@spunchedbob]

this was a joy to watch as someone who loves yu-gi-oh!, and was shockingly delighted to hear you’re into the franchise as well. i’d love to see more content on it!! ❤❤

[@semaJCh]

So glad to hear all this, thanks for watching! Fun fact that I plan to make a post on later: this video is all technically a spin off of my original yugioh challenge video idea that I am hoping to finish next year! ;)

[@MisterMoonsWisdom]

One of the best videos I have ever seen on KZbin. Would love more Videos like this one about Yugioh or other topics.

[@semaJCh]

That is super kind, thanks so much! Stoked to hear how much you enjoyed, I love making this and plan to make more!😊

[@eeveelovr133]

man duelist of the roses was one of my favourite games to play growing up! Feels good to learn something new and go down a rabbit hole for the game here. Great work man!

[@semaJCh]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!:)

[@boredstonervids]

Now this may be a wild goose chase but I kind of remember Kids WB having a yugioh sponsored Saturday morning cartoons day. Maybe the code may be in one of those bumpers, but it may be a long shot.

[@LambowithaBanjo88]

YUGIOH LET’S GO!!! So amazing, great surprise, keep up with the sick videos ❤

[@semaJCh]

LAMBO! Thank youuuu!!!! Enjoy the music! ;)

[@wolvestail9161]

Very interesting video; always a fan of archival research. I remember finding the codes in a 2008 winter edition prima guide- one of those "18,000+ codes 100% verified" type of things. I wonder if their source was just taking from the internet.

[@novucriptor3954]

I love that video and i really appreciate your efforts! Please make more videos like these! ❤

[@semaJCh]

Thanks for the support on this, it helps a ton! It's my fave video I have made and I am working on two other projects currently that are more akin to this (as well as have a handful of other ideas beyond those). :)

[@novucriptor3954]

@@semaJCh OMG i am so happy to hear that! I can't wait for the new videos that will come. My notifications are on!!

[@willajer]

This was a genuinely incredible video

[@semaJCh]

Really appreciate it!!!

[@willajer]

@semaJCh you became main monitor content son

[@esedess]

I had no specific interest in the past YuGiOh game other than interest in the anime and franchise itself, but I am beyond appreciative of your passion and your investigative prowess and dedication. The quality and thought you've been into editing and timelining your videos is phenomenal and I look forward to seeing your other videos as well. Keep it up!

[@1hpOutbreak]

Best Yu-Gi-Oh game ever. The map was phenomenal.

[@MajoraZ]

If you want to do a similar lost media-esque investigative video like this, I'd love to see you try your hand at locating images or details about the Nintendo Hi-C collaboration from the late 90s/early 00s. As a kid I distinctly remember there being a hi-c collab for Mario Kart, I believe 64, where Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, Wario, Yoshi and Bowser were riding their karts over waves of juice on the packaging, but there seems to be little to no records of this online now: There's ONE photo of the back of juice boxes which seems to be part of the promotion (Bowser is even paired with blueberries, which is what I recall) but it doesn't show the iconic karts, and Link, Kirby, and Star Fox are present, with GBA branding and even Fox with his Star Fox Adventures staff, which is a Gamecube title. While it's always possible that I am simply misremebering the timing of the collab, I (and the people I've spoke to) think there may have been two promotions, that and the earlier Mario kart 64 one. There are a few other images around showing things like promo cards tied to the GBA one, but there's really barely anything people can dig up. But if you wanted to look into it i'd be down to send what I got, if you have a contact method?