Yu-Gi-Oh BAM was a Facebook/mobile game in the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise. The game takes place in an amalgam universe of sorts, mixing concepts and characters from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.
You play as yourself, who has come down with a bad case of amnesia but is highly skilled at BAM. Unable to remember anything else, you set off to make friends, duel others, and maybe save the world. Gameplay is similar to the Yu-Gi-Oh TCG, but instead of 40 cards, you have 15, and many monsters have different stats and effects than in the card game.
The Facebook version closed on September 30, 2014 and the mobile version, Yu-Gi-Oh BAM Pocket, closed on September 9, 2016. A transcript of the story can be found here
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This game contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: In the 5Ds anime, Devack was a villain whose story arc was cut short, and he didn't have much presence. In the game, he's a major villain and brainwashes you, your friends, and Kaiba thanks to his neuro-needles.
- After the End: The isle of Alba Litora was devastated by a great and deadly battle, leaving little but memories of previous duels in its wake.
- Apocalypse Maiden: There's hints throughout the game that you are this, as you have amnesia, every villain wants to capture and recruit you, and your BAM skills quickly become the stuff of legends.
- Big Bad: Marik. Devack, Roman, and the Ghouls serve him, and he's behind everything bad in Alba Litora.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Marik lampshades and averts this, freely admitting to his role in hijacking the B-Sec Hologuards... and then he tries to kill you, pointing out that he wouldn't let you just walk away.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Your friends get brainwashed at several points, forcing you to fight them to snap them out of it. In an unusual example for a Yu-Gi-Oh game, you also get brainwashed and are forced to fight and win against your friends.
- Bribing Your Way to Victory: Going Pro to reach Tropica City and unlock the Arena costs $4.99, while the super-rare Duel Points can also be bought for 5 dollars. Downplayed slightly in that card pieces and coins, while also available to buy, aren't nearly as rare as DP, and you can even win DP steadily from consecutive Arena wins.
- Brutal Bonus Level: Any of the side chapters are much more difficult than the main story.
- Clear My Name: After rescuing Joey, Yugi is mistaken for one of the Ghouls and is promptly arrested. You have to save him.
- Co-Dragons: Devack and Roman serve as Marik's top lieutenants.
- Crapsack World: Alba Litora is a bleak, dreary city that was shattered in time, and was once the site of a horrific war.
- Damsel in Distress: At the same time Yugi's arrested, Akiza gets kidnapped by Devack. By the time you reach her, she's been brainwashed.
- Defeat Means Friendship: You prove your trustworthiness to several characters by defeating them in duels.
- Distressed Dude: Joey gets captured by the Ghouls early on, forcing you and Yugi to save him. While you're successful in rescuing Joey, Yugi gets arrested by the police immediately after.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: When Devack and Roman brainwash your friends that aren't part of the main cast, the game uses your linked friends' Facebook profiles as pictures. (If you don't have any it uses BAM Terminals as pictures instead.)
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The B!-Sec police are after you, and you have no idea why. It turns out Marik hacked them, bringing them under his control.
- Hollywood Hacking: Hacking into Marik's bank account to cut his funds involves defeating his virtual avatar in several duels through Augmented Reality.
- Hydra Problem: After you defeat their leaders, the Ghouls taunt you that their numbers are endless.Game: You jump, startled and ready to fight. From the utter silence slithers in a cryptic whisper: It does not matter. We are the Ghouls. Even if you bury us, we will get out. We are the Ghouls. We will meet again.
- It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: During the brainwashing incident, you wonder if your ability with BAM is a gift or a curse, as all this fighting seems to be happening because of you.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: You can't remember anything about yourself or your past, but you are highly skilled at BAM.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: This turns out to be one of your powers, and is apparently genetic.Game: Ever since you started training for the BAM tournament, your BAM has been getting louder and louder... It's as though you could channel the sound waves to create a powerful sonic impact...
- Mecha-Mooks: The B!Sec police are robotic holograms programmed to play BAM.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: Misty Tredwell is introduced this way, as you don't recognize her when you first see her.Game: Just when you thought you were safe, Yusei, Akiza and... one of Tropica City's renowned top models surround you.
- Nocturnal Mooks: The first villains you face are the Ghouls, who ambush you at night.
- Offscreen Villain Dark Matter: Lampshaded when you hack into Marik's bank account.Game: You destroyed Marik's avatar again. All that's left to do is hack his password in order to steal the funds for his evil plan. Where does he get all that money anyways?
- Post-Climax Confrontation: After you defeat him and his Ghouls, Marik attacks you one last time as you're relaxing with Yugi.
- Power Creep: On the whole, Series 2 cards are much more useful and powerful than Series 1 cards, with better power, high LP, and varied effects.
- Too Awesome to Use: Power-Ups can completely turn the game around, and the best ones are bought with the hard-to-come-by Duel Points.
- Too Dumb to Live: Chapter 11.1 in Alba Litora involves you going to a highly dangerous ruin filled with ancient magic just to explore. The stress from the shadow duels nearly kills you.
- Trial-and-Error Gameplay: While chapters are usually themed around a specific kind of deck, most duelists don't tell you what monsters or spells they use, forcing you to fight them to find out.
- Trojan Prisoner: Joey's plan to get Yugi out of jail is to pose as a guard and pretend he captured you.
- Ultimate Universe: The world of the game combines characters, story, and settings from the first three Yu-Gi-Oh anime.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: The chapter where you meet Kaiba, Yugi's rival, is titled "Best Enemies Forever."
- Zerg Rush: One of the most effective techniques the Ghouls use is to rush you, forcing you into consecutive or unexpected battles.
- Zero-Effort Boss: When your friends are brainwashed, they use your starting deck, making winning against them very easy.
