Play Yu-Gi-Oh! GX : Duel Academy Online

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Duel Academy came out on the Game Boy Advance in 2005, developed and published by Konami. It was one of the many solid GBA titles that kept the handheld relevant in the mid-2000s, offering a portable version of the card game's mechanics without a lot of the fluff you'd see in later console releases. The game drops you directly into the world of the GX anime, letting you live out the fantasy of being a student at the academy itself.

You create a student character, choose a starter deck, and then spend your days navigating the school's different areas, screen by screen. Your main goal is to rise through the ranks by winning duels against other students, teachers, and eventually some of the show's key characters. You explore the campus to find new opponents and hidden cards, manage your deck from a constantly expanding library, and tackle exams that test your knowledge of game mechanics. The pacing is fairly slow, encouraging you to grind for better cards, and the difficulty can spike unexpectedly if your deck isn't tuned well. It feels like a methodical, almost meditative experience, built for players who really want to dig into deck building and strategy over flashy presentation.