Yu‐Gi‐Oh! Forbidden Memories II Ultimate (Playstation) - RetroAchievements/guides GitHub Wiki
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1) Summary
Set Difficulty: 8.75/10, owing entirely to the game's difficulty curve itself
Approximate time to Master: Largely dependent on luck. For me it was about 100 hours real-time, but it may take you significantly more or less than that
Minimum Number of Playthroughs Needed: 1 - everything can be gotten on a single playthrough, but an NG+ exists if you miss something the first time around
Number of Missable Achievements: 25 (specific conditions that need to be met during each story duel, as well as 4 story-related achievements involving potentially missable duelists and events during the story)
Does Difficulty Affect Achievements?: n/a
2) Introduction
Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories, in and of itself, was a polarizing game. It played nothing like the card game (largely because the card game was still in its infancy at that point), had a rather confusing gameplay loop for new players, and most importantly, was difficult as they come. The vanilla game is infamous for a 6-opponent gauntlet at the very end of the game where the computer actively cheats, uses cards that are far stronger than the player will likely have access to, and will have to restart if they lose at any point.
But what if Forbidden Memories was too easy? What if it was too well-balanced? Thankfully, FM Brasil Team answers these questions and more with Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories II Ultimate, a variation on another hack, aptly titled Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories II - the "Ultimate" in this case just means different cards, and more importantly, that it's much harder.
Cheatsalot123 has blessed us with a huge set here - 183 achievements totaling a whopping 1,482 points at the time of writing! - but despite its size, this set is definitely doable. I'm making this guide to outline some mechanics and notes from my own playthrough, to hopefully make it easier on others who take on this beast. You ready? I'm ready. Let's do this.
3) Before You Begin
- If you have played Forbidden Memories or any of its related hacks, the base mechanics here are unchanged. You can only play one card per turn, be that spell, trap, or monster, you can fuse two or more cards in your hand, and the Guardian Star system works exactly as it does in Forbidden Memories (for a recap of that, check here.) Remember that a "strong" star gets a bonus of 500 ATK and DEF against a "weak" star - you will want to exploit this as much as you possibly can.
- The main point of confusion from this hack (and any other FM hack for that matter) is that with the cards changed, the fusions available to the player have changed. Thankfully, Cheats linked a very useful resource for reading through these changes, which you can find here. Make sure the slider at the top is set to FM II Ultimate - you can find information on cards, opponent decks, fusions and so forth at the top-right by clicking "Guides".
- Your starter deck is randomly generated out of a pool of cards (the above linked database also shows you what you can potentially get). For the purposes of this game I recommend a starter deck with at least one Card Ejector, one Plant monster, and at least one other Spellcaster monster (note that Magical Plant Mandragola, despite its name, is a Spellcaster, not a Plant).
- The spell cards provided in the starter deck are more or less useless as singular cards, though you may consider Dark Hole useful (I personally did not, and unlike vanilla FM, getting more copies is actually easier in this game). That being said, if you somehow luck into a combination of Burst Stream of Destruction + either Stim-Pack or Odin's Eye, these can actually fuse to make a fairly strong monster - make a note of it!
- The best thing you can do in this game to maintain advantage is to never let the opponent keep a monster on the field where possible. The way the AI works in this game, if you set a Spell/Trap or a face-down monster, or if the opponent already has a monster on the board, they will likely play a Spell or Trap, or fuse if they can do any of these things. If the opponent has no monsters on the field and no cards in their backrow, they will always prioritize playing a monster if they can.
- Two things to know about drops in this game: First, they are categorized into three tables: SA-POW, BCD-POW/TEC, and SA-TEC. These refer to both the rank and type of victory you achieve. For more information on how the game calculates this ranking, read here. Second, drop tables are always an x/2048 chance. So for example, if a card has a 5/2048 chance of dropping, you have roughly a 1 in 409 chance of getting the card if you meet the ranking requirements. This sounds daunting, but even the most common cards only have about a ~70-80/2048 chance of being selected, so it's just a matter of getting favorable RNG eventually.
- All except 4 of the missable achievements will require you to beat an opponent during Story Mode while the Field Effect is set to whatever it is at the start of the duel, and a fair few of them will also restrict you from using Equip Cards as well. They are:
- Rex
- Weevil
- Mai
- Keith
- Mako
- Ryo Bakura (the modern-day version)
- Odion (one of the final 6 at the end of the game)
Note that Trap Cards and spells that do not equip or change the field (such as Crush Card, etc) are fine to use during these duels.
- Lastly: THIS GAME CHEATS. This is not me being salty: in later parts of the game, the AI's hand is actually several cards larger than it shows the player, and two duelists in particular are able to see every card you have in your hand and played face-down. It gets especially bad during the final gauntlet, where the AI's effective hand balloons to 20 cards - roughly half its entire deck - at all times. In case you're wondering, this is also present in vanilla FM as well.
3A) Useful Passwords
You are going to be doing a lot of Free Duels, so you'll be getting a lot of Starchips - use them wisely. One thing I wish I did during the early game of my playthrough is to use more passwords, as owing to the balancing of this game there are a few cards that can give your deck a huge bump for relatively low investment:
| Password | Card | Starchips | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 53072855 | Windrose | 132 | 2800/2200 Winged Beast |
| 47826112 | Poseidra the Atlantean Dragon | 158 | 2800/1600 Sea Serpent |
| 39439590 | Cyber Dinosaur | 350 | 2500/1900 Machine |
In addition, there are a few cards certainly worth grinding the Starchips for, though you will likely get a few copies through farming. Only use these passwords for extra copies or if you fail to get them through Free Duel:
| Password | Card | Starchips | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34016756 | Riryoku | 1500 | Increases any monster's stats by 500 |
| 23265313 | Cost Down | 2222 | Decreases all CPU monster stats by 1000 |
| 82432018 | Mask of Brutality | 5555 | Increases any monster's stats by 1000 |
| 93087299 | Swords of Burning Light | 8999 | Reveals all the opponent's face-down monsters and stops them from attacking for 3 turns |
Aside from these, the only other thing I would use Starchips for is for getting cheap monsters of certain types. I'll try to outline some viable fusions as I go through each part of the game, but you essentially only want a card for one of three things: its effect (for spells and traps), its statline, or its typing.
4) Walkthrough
Step 1: Early Game
(Note: I won't get into detail on every achievement here. For now, just know that you will need to beat every duelist in Story Mode to beat the game and unlock them in Free Duel, and then meet two specific conditions in a Free Duel with each opponent. I will, however, talk about some basic aspects of each opponent, as well as the missable achievements which are tied to the story mode.)
The story progression of FM2 Ultimate is largely the same as vanilla. After entering your name, you will start outside the palace where Simon (your teacher) will chastise you for sneaking out. Choose to run away, then immediately go to the card shop and check your deck. If it meets at least one of the two requirements I listed in section 3, save your game, and then choose to return to title. Before we fight any story duelists, we need to take on our first opponent:
| Pharaoh Atem | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Variable |
| Notable Drops | Gaia Knight The Force of Earth (5/2048 SA-POW) |
| Buster Blader (4/2048 SA-POW) | |
| Magician of Black Chaos (3/2048 SA-POW) | |
| Swords of Burning Light (33/2048 SA-TEC) |
Associated Achievement:
Power Duelist - Atem (10)
Like Deck Master K in the original game, Pharaoh Atem's deck is a mirror image of yours. This works both for and against you - the better you know your deck, the more you can win. I recommend deliberately losing a few duels so you can take note of what the computer fuses and what the results are, and then try to make those yourself. (Alternatively, you can use the database I linked in section 3 to see what fusions you can make with a given hand.) Don't worry about any of the drops here, but if you manage to get one, it will really soup up your deck. If you followed my starting deck recommendation, you can shoot for one of these fusions:
- Card Ejector + a Plant with less than 1600 ATK = Rose Witch + any spellcaster with less than 2900 ATK = Sorciere de Fleur (2900/0)
- Burst Stream of Destruction + Odin's Eye = The Eye of Timaeus (2500/1300)
- Burst Stream of Destruction + Stim-Pack = The Fang of Critias (2800/2500)
Your goal for this stage of the game is to try and make it so you can get into a high-ATK fusion as consistently as possible. If you can fuse two or more of these, you'll be good to go for most of the early game, so shoot for drops from Atem that can facilitate whichever fusion you choose to make. There are a few others that work well for most of the game that you can try to grind for:
- Any beast under 1600 ATK + any Warrior under 1600 ATK = Gaia The White Knight (1600/1200) + any Rock = Gaia Knight The Force of Earth (2600/800) + any Fairy = Gaia The Universal Force (3500/2800)
- Any Beast under 1500 ATK + any Beast-Warrior under 1500 ATK = Leotaur (1500/1600) + any Beast = Beast King Barbaros (3000/1200) + any Machine = Beast Machine King Barbaros Uru (3800/1200)
I highly recommend grinding here until you are able to field a deck that frequently can make Sorciere, Gaia or Barbaros (it's your choice which one) and enough Starchips to get Windrose and Poseidra. All of these things together will make your life significantly easier.
After grinding Atem to your satisfaction, go back into Story mode, leave the Card Shop, and go back to the palace. There you'll find your next opponent:
| Simon Muran | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 3/10 |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 2200 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Pharaoh's Mentor (10)
Master Duelist - Simon Muran (10)
Power Duelist - Simon Muran (10)
Unless you're really unlucky, Simon is a pushover. He can summon Gaia Knight, Buster Blader, or the fearsome Dark Sage (2800/3200), but the odds he'll have these in his deck are almost zero. More likely, you'll see Gatekeeper of Dark World (300/2100), Jenis, Lightsworn Mender (300/2100), and Twin-Headed Fire Dragon (2200/1700). If you can field a monster with more than 2200 ATK after buffs/guardian stars, you are almost certain to win. His rarest drops are garbage - you can get far better ones at far better rarity from Atem if you need better cards.
With that done, go ahead and save. You can knock out the other two Simon achievements in Free Duel if you want - if not, it's not a big deal. Next you'll want to go to the dueling grounds. There are four people here to duel: Teana, Mahad, Ishizu, and Seto. If you don't duel both Teana and Seto now, you won't get a second chance to challenge them, and if you don't duel Seto, you will miss out on The Trio (10). Additionally, if you leave at any point, the next scene will trigger, locking you out of Seto and Teana if you haven't yet dueled them.
| Teana | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 2/10 |
| Notable Drops | Rose Witch (14/2048 SA-POW) |
| Recommended ATK | 2400 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
The Master Dancer (10)
Master Duelist - Teana (10)
Power Duelist - Teana (10)
Teana isn't as strong as Simon, but she does tend to wall up with defensive monsters more than he does. Expect to see Arcanite Magician A. Mode (900/2300) show up, so as long as you can field a 2400 or higher attack monster, you should be good. If she can keep a monster on-field, she may use Dark Hole, but that's as much of a detriment for her as it is for you. Rose Witch is listed as a notable drop here simply because if you have one, it means you need one less card to get to Sorciere de Fleur. Don't grind for it, but if you do get one, add it.
| Mahad | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 5/10 |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 2600 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Master Duelist - Mahad (10)
Power Duelist - Mahad (10)
Mahad is a slight step up from Teana and Simon. He will frequently open either Dark Eradicator Warlock or Dark Magician (both 2500/2100), so that's your target to get over to win. He doesn't tend to fuse much from what I remember, but he may not need to if you brick. No notable drops, so just fuse your Fleur/Barbaros/Gaia and call it a day.
| Ishizu | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 7/10 |
| Notable Drops | Swords of Burning Light (2/2048 SA-POW or 40/2038 SA-TEC) |
| Recommended ATK | 2300 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Master Duelist - Ishizu (10)
Power Duelist - Ishizu (10)
Ishizu is the first example of how easily this game's RNG can just ruin your day. If you're lucky, she'll open something like Dunames Dark Witch (1850/1000) and nothing stronger. If you're not, she'll plunk down a Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon (3000/2500) and destroy you. If you can make Barbaros, put it in Mercury and it will be able to run over anything she plays. If not, just play the strongest monster you can make face-up and hope for the best. Of note with Ishizu is that she seems to be one of the few duelists who can play a spell card (Swords of Burning Light) without any cards present on the field, though this very rarely happens (I dueled her 120 times in Free Duel and saw this happen maybe twice). Getting your own copy of Swords of Burning Light from Ishizu is something you'll want to do, but this can wait until later in the game.
| Seto | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 5/10 |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 2500 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Master Duelist - Seto (10)
Power Duelist - Seto (10)
Seto isn't as bad as Ishizu, but from here on out almost every duelist will have one or two cards that they can pull out that you will probably be unable to beat - in this case, Seto's is Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500), but it only has a 20/2048 chance of appearing in his deck. More likely, you'll see Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400) or Kaiser Glider (2400/2200). One card of note that he does frequently play is Hyozanryu (2100/2800) which may be hard to get around - the AI always picks the first Guardian Star for any monster it uses (in this case Sun), so anything with 2400 ATK or higher set to Mercury can do the trick.
With these four beaten, leave the Duel Grounds to see a cutscene with Jono Karim and Seto Marik. After that cutscene you will be able to save your game - once you have, go back into the dueling grounds to meet your next opponents. Note that whether you accept or decline Karim's challenge to duel, you will have to duel Marik. You can duel Karim afterwards, so if you're having trouble with either him or Marik it may be easier to decline his challenge, beat Marik, save, and then come back and duel Karim.
| Karim | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4/10 |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 2500 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Master Duelist - Karim (10)
Power Duelist - Karim (10)
Surprisingly easy compared to Ishizu or Seto. Expect his opening play to be Armed Dragon Lv5 (2400/1700) which he has a whopping 182/2048 chance of having any of his starting cards be, but his strongest base card is Dark End Dragon (2600/2100). As with every other duelist, if you can stop him from having monsters on the field, you'll be fine.
| Marik | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 7/10 |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 2600 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Master Duelist - Marik (10)
Power Duelist - Marik (10)
Marik, like Ishizu, is completely RNG-dependent as to whether or not he decides to ruin your day. His strongest base monster is Gogiga Gagagigo (2950/2800) but you are far more likely to see A. Zombie-Skull (2500/1200) or Malefic Red-Eyes B. Dragon (2400/2000) as his opening play. Note that if he gets the chance to fuse, both of these fuse into Archfiend B. Skull Dragon (3200/2500), which you probably cannot get over. Both Zombie-Skull and Malefic Red-Eyes are available as SA-POW drops at 5/2048, but these odds are far too low to be worthwhile for cards with such low statlines.
With all this out of the way, save one last time and head back to the Palace. A bunch of exposition ensues (I won't go into this as it's more or less the same as vanilla FM with a few minor differences), then you face your next opponent:
| Bakura | |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 10/10 for this point in the game, maybe 8/10 later |
| Notable Drops | None |
| Recommended ATK | 3000 or higher |
Associated Achievements:
Power Duelist - Bakura (25)
Master Duelist - Bakura (10)
You have one goal here and that is to lose as quickly as possible. Bakura is not worth grinding at this point in the game as he will frequently open with 3000-3500 ATK monsters, and by the time your deck is good enough to overcome these consistently there are better opponents to grind against. You can get a Lightning Vortex from him at a relatively high 70/2048 for SA-TEC, but I wouldn't as there are easier ways to get them.
As a note, just like with Heishin in the original game, if you do manage to win this duel, you simply have to do it again until you lose to progress the story. So just do that.
After losing to Bakura, you'll see the end of the first arc of Forbidden Memories II Ultimate and get Shattered Kingdom (5). Is the game hard yet? No? Well, the next part will probably change your mind on that.
(to be continued)