From then on, Yugi and his friends find themselves fighting for their lives in their search to uncover the Pharaoh's name and memories. Yugi and his friends discover that his alternate personality was the spirit of a Pharaoh from those times, who had forgotten his memories. Slowly, the game used as an important plot device turned towards the trading card game Duel Monsters, eventually revealed to be loosely based on an ancient Egyptian Shadow Game played by the previous owners of the Millennium Items. The puzzle, an artifact from ancient Egypt, grants Yugi a mysterious alter ego, an ancient gambler who spends much of the early series facing evildoers who threaten his friends in 'Shadow Games,' where mystic forces punish the wicked if they lose. The original manga series, written by Kazuki Takahashi in 1996, tells the story of Yugi Mutou, a put-upon teenager who is pulled into a world of intrigue and high-stakes gaming after solving the mysterious and ancient Millennium Puzzle. Yu-Gi-Oh! ( Japanese for 'King of Games') is a multimedia franchise that includes multiple Anime and Manga series, a Collectible Card Game, a line of Video Games, and more.
