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Episode
GuideEpisode 199: Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh (The Ultimate Game)
A streetlight flashes off and on in the darkness. (The writing on the building behind the streetlight is removed from the US version.)
Bakura runs down the street, tripping over a barricade and falling to his knees in an alley. The voice of Dark Bakura asks where he thinks he's going. Frightened, Bakura jumps up and begins running down the alley, saying that this can't be happening—not again!
He comes to a church in a wooded area. (The cross is removed from the top of the church in the US version.)
He goes inside, thinking that he should be safe in there. But suddenly, the candles at the front of the church burst into flame, and the sound of Dark Bakura's laughter is heard. Bakura tells the spirit to stay away from him, but Dark Bakura says they still have a mission to complete. He reminds Bakura that he promised to help Dark Bakura obtain all seven Millennium Items, and at the moment, they only have one. But Dark Bakura says he knows where the others are. He just needs someone to take him to them, and that's where Bakura comes in. After all, Bakura is the vessel that allows the spirit to exist in this world. Dark Bakura insists that Bakura stop resisting and join him. Bakura refuses, but Dark Bakura says he's not giving him a choice—Bakura will help him, and the most powerful force that ever existed will be his! (Japanese Yami Bakura says that the Millennium Items are now in the possession of Bakura, the Pharaoh, and Shadi. Shadi will give his to the Pharaoh when the time comes, so all the Millennium Items will be in the Pharaoh's hands. The door to Hell can't be opened without the seven Millennium Items. Bakura must find them and an eighth item, which is a key. The key to the door to hell is hidden in the Pharaoh's memory.)
Bakura says Dark Bakura can't force him, but Dark Bakura says he's wrong. The church's pipe organ vibrates, and the stained-glass windows shatter. Bakura struggles, as Dark Bakura says that the darkest Shadow Game in five millennia will now begin!
(Cut from the US version is this pan up the front of the church to the orange moon in the sky above.)
(The Japanese flashback sequence begins with a title showing that it takes place in the year 1960.)
Three men riding camels in the desert arrive at the edge of a chasm at sunset. One of them says, there it is—the Valley of the Kings. (The Japanese man asks if they're there yet.) The man is wearing a tuxedo and top hat, and his hair is spikey like Yugi's. Mushara, a bucktoothed man in a turban and long tunic, says that there's only one thing to do now—turn back! The third man, Ahmet, freckle-faced and also wearing a turban and tunic, says no one is interested in Mushara's opinion. He says that their guest, Dr. Mutou, is eager to move on. (Japanese Mushara tells Mr. Mutou that if he wants to turn back, now is the time. His partner says that ahead of them is the land of the dead. After dark, the Darkness will consume everything, even the souls of the living.) The tuxedo-wearing man lifts his hat, revealing Grandpa Mutou's eyes. (Japanese Mr. Mutou thinks, the Valley of the Kings—the burial place of the ancient Pharaohs. He's here to find the ultimate game.)
In voice-over, Grandpa says that he was on the brink of the greatest discovery in his life. In the flashback, Mushara says that over sixty ancient tombs have been discovered in that valley. But the Pharaoh's tomb that Dr. Mutou seeks—no one has ever dared to enter its inner chambers. Ahmet continues that there was one man, but he was driven mad, and now wanders their village repeating the same phrase over and over: "The Shadow Game—beware." (Japanese Ahmet says that a British explorer who entered the tomb lasted long enough only to say, "The Dark Game.") Dr. Mutou says that the Shadow Game is exactly what he's looking for. Ahmet warns Dr. Mutou that the tomb is loaded with traps, built by the ancients to protect the treasure. They're just guides, and can only lead him to the entrance to the tomb. Once they get inside, Dr. Mutou must lead. It's his expertise that will lead them to the riches he seeks.
Dr. Mutou tells the guides that they're mistaken. It's not riches he came to find—he's after something much greater than that. Ahmet doesn't understand, but Dr. Mutou says he doesn't expect him to, and urges his camel onward, saying it's late and he's hungry. (Japanese Mr. Mutou says that tomb-robbing must be done at night.)
Later, after dark, the three are resting in their camp, when Dr. Mutou says, what better time to enter a tomb than the stroke of midnight? It's time to go. (Japanese Mr. Mutou has a cigarette in his mouth, which has been changed to a toothpick in the US version.)
The guides take torches from the fire, and Ahmet asks what it is that Dr. Mutou is looking for. He came in search of the tomb, but seeks no treasure? Dr. Mutou says he's not interesting in becoming rich, but that doesn't mean he's not looking for a hidden treasure. He likes to play games, and he believes that that tomb contains the secret of the greatest game ever played. Ahmet says he's not sure what lies in that cavern, but he's sure it's no game. (Japanese Ahmet asks Mr. Mutou about his tuxedo—is he planning to propose in the tomb? Mutou says he's close. Games are all-important to him, so he always shows the utmost respect for his opponents. The day he loses a game, he'll put on overalls and turn in his chips.) As the guides turn toward the tomb, Ahmet tells Dr. Mutou he'd better start taking this expedition more seriously. If he's not careful, he might end up in a tomb of his own. (Japanese Ahmet says that tonight's game won't be that easy. Mr. Mutou had better be careful.)
(Cut from the US version is this bit where Mr. Mutou thinks that he's traveled around the world playing games. Whether it's poker, chess, or gambling, he always wins. He heard a rumor that in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, the most dangerous game of all can be found.)
Dr. Mutou just smiles. (Japanese Mr. Mutou thinks that glory awaits the one who can conquer this unconquerable game. This is a challenge he can bet on with his life.)
Grandpa says that, at the stroke of midnight their journey began—the journey to the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. Dr. Mutou and the two guides enter a cave and travel along a corridor of stone. As they travel deeper into the tomb, they see hieroglyphs carved on the walls.
Then they come upon a room scattered with skeletons. (The corpses are removed from the shot when they first enter the room.)
Mushara says he thought no one ever entered this tomb. Dr. Mutou says, no one in the last five thousand years, anyway. Mushara notices a carved serpent with ruby eyes, telling Ahmet to look at that! (Japanese Mushara calls Ahmet "Aniki," which is a way of saying "Big brother." This wouldn't necessarily mean they're actual brothers, but in the manga, Ahmet calls Mushara his little brother, so it appears that the two guides are in fact brothers.) Ahmet says he bets Dr. Mutou has never seen snake eyes like those in any of his games! Mushara starts to go for the jewels, but Dr. Mutou holds out an arm to stop him, then flicks the toothpick he's been chewing on towards the serpents. (As before, this is a cigarette in the Japanese version.)
Needles shoot from the serpents' mouths, slicing the toothpick into pieces. Dr. Mutou says it seems that the game has already begun.
The three continue deeper into the tomb, until they come to a large room. At the far end of the room, a hundred-foot-tall statue of a man with the head of a hawk stands against a wall made of blocks of stone. Ahmet says this pathway leads nowhere, and Mushara agrees that it's a dead end.
Not necessarily, says Dr. Mutou, leading them to a blank frame carved into the wall near the foot of the statue. He begins to wipe the stone inside the frame, while Mushara urges them to move on. Ahmet says it's a waste of time, but Dr. Mutou notices some black material in a small trough along the bottom of the frame, and lights it with his torch. The fire causes hieroglyphs to appear within the frame, and Dr. Mutou reads: "Beyond here, lies the resting place of the Great Pharaoh. Only those who show respect may enter. All others will be engulfed by the pit of shadows." (Japanese Mr. Mutou reads that this is a forbidden place, the tomb of the Great Pharaoh. Anyone who enters will be punished. His body will rot and his soul will be sent into the darkness.) Ahmet doesn't believe it. Dr. Mutou says that all he knows is that this is the entrance to the Pharaoh's tomb. (Japanese Ahmet is surprised that Mr. Mutou can read hieroglyphics. Mr. Mutou says he's surprised, too.) Mushara says he doesn't see any entrance.
Just then, the floor beneath them moves, and they jump aside as a trap door opens, revealing a stairway leading down. It looks like an entrance to him, Dr. Mutou says, then looks up at the statue, telling his guides to meet Horus, Egyptian god of light and gatekeeper of the Pharaoh's tomb.
After descending the stairs, they come to another large room, filled with a maze of walkways leading over a deep pit. Statues armed with knives stand throughout the maze. Ahmet says it's not a very difficult maze—any child could solve it. Dr. Mutou tells him not to be so sure. The corpses lying at their feet seem to have failed. Dr. Mutou kicks the hand and sword of one of the corpses into the pit, where it falls into endless shadow. (The Japanese pit is simply a very deep, black pit. Shiny purple Shadow stuff was added to the US version.)
They've found their Pit of Shadows, he says, and asks who'd like to go first. Ahmet thinks Dr. Mutou should go, but Mushara thinks they should just leave. Knowing his luck, he'll end up in the Pit of Shadows. Ahmet grabs him by the shirt, telling him they've come too far to turn back now. He says Dr. Mutou will clear the maze, and then they'll claim the prize. (Cut from the US version is this shot of Ahmet reaching into his bag to show Mushara a gun he can use just in case anything happens.)
Mushara still isn't sure, but Ahmet walks toward the maze, stepping on a slab that slams down the door behind them, trapping them in the room.
Then spikes pop out of the back wall, and it begins to move towards them. They have no choice but to enter the maze. (Cut from the US version is this shot of Ahmet pulling his gun on Mr. Mutou to make him go first.)
Dr. Mutou runs out onto the walkways, stopping when he comes face to face with one of the statues. Its arm, holding a sword, begins to move. Suddenly, all of the statues are moving towards him, slashing the air before them with swords. Dr. Mutou moves back, barely avoiding the swords. But the wall of spikes prevents him from leaving the maze. Dr. Mutou says, there must be some way to stop them!
Grandpa, in voice-over, says he knew they were playing a game, and therefore, there had to be a solution. He takes a step back, and the statue stops. Then he takes another step back, and it starts moving forward again. Ahmet warns him to stop those statues, or they'll never make it out! They're running out of time. Dr. Mutou tries to think, then suddenly realizes—in ancient Egypt, Pharaohs were revered and worshiped as much as the gods themselves. That's why every statue in the Pharaoh's palace was carved with the left foot forward. The heart is on the left side of the body, so ancient Egyptians always faced their left side towards the Pharaoh.
Dr. Mutou moves his right foot back, and once again, the statue stops. He turns to the guides, telling them he's found the answer to the riddle—they must walk with their left foot forward. As the sign said, they must pay respect to the Pharaoh. He begins to move forward, keeping his left foot in front, and edges past the first of the statues, which remains motionless.
Dr. Mutou continues through the maze, then stops to look back at the two guides, who are also making their way along, keeping their left foot forward. But Mushara looks up at one of the statues and panics at its red eyes, stepping back so that his right foot is in front. The statue raises its arm and slashes at him, and he plummets from the passageway into the pit. (As before, there's no purple shadow-stuff in the Japanese version. Mushara falls into blackness.)
Ahmet looks down into the depths, then grimaces. Dr. Mutou says he's sorry, but those are the rules of the Shadow Game. Ahmet says Dr. Mutou will pay for that. (Japanese Ahmet's gun is again removed from the US version.)
Dr. Mutou and Ahmet make it through the maze and continue to the next challenge. (Japanese Ahmet still has his gun on Mr. Mutou.)
They come to a small doorway, with hieroglyphs written on the wall beside it. Dr. Mutou reads, "Ye shall now be judged by the creatures of the stone. Only the pure of heart are permitted to pass. All others will lose their souls to the darkness." They enter to find a stone path with creatures carved on it, leading straight across a pit. At the other end of the path is an altar, with a golden box resting on top of it. Ahmet says it must be the Pharaoh's treasure! Based on these traps, he's sure it must be valuable. He tells Dr. Mutou to go on, and Dr. Mutou steps onto the path. (Japanese Ahmet orders Mr. Mutou to hurry up and take the path. He's still holding a gun on him.) Grandpa says that he knew his guide was blinded by greed, but what he didn't know was just how far he was willing to go. (At this point, Ahmet's gun is turned into a slingshot in the US version.)
(Japanese Ahmet thinks that now that Mr. Mutou has reached the other side, and he knows there are no traps, he doesn't need him any more. Cut from the US version is this bit where Ahmet raises the gun and fires at Mr. Mutou.)
Dr. Mutou is hit in the left shoulder and falls from the path. He manages to catch the edge of the stone walkway with one hand, and hangs there as Ahmet stands over him, telling him he'll take it from there.
Ahmet leaves Dr. Mutou hanging from the edge of the walkway and continues towards the golden box, thinking he'll never want for anything again. But before he can reach the other side, the walkway begins to tremble. He looks down at the creature carved at his feet, thinking that all this talk of creatures and Shadow Games is nonsense. But when he steps on the creature, a strange mist rises from the stone, and then the creature itself appears and captures him in its claws. (Cut from the US version is this very shadowy shot of the creature putting Ahmet in its mouth and chewing him up, then disappearing back into the stone.)
Dr. Mutou is about to lose his grip on the stone, when suddenly, a light appears. He looks up to see the Pharaoh standing on the walkway. The Pharaoh kneels down and holds out a hand to him, saying he's been waiting for him. Dr. Mutou's eyes close.
When he regained consciousness, Grandpa says, something felt different. It was as if the darkness had somehow lifted. Dr. Mutou finds himself lying on the walkway, safe. He struggles to his feet, to find himself alone in the room. He looks at the golden box, which lights up with a bright glow as he picks it up. He'll always keep this safe, he says.
And he always did, Grandpa adds. He's in Yugi's room in his pajamas, telling the story of the Millennium Puzzle to Yugi. Yugi, sitting on his bed, asks if Grandpa really did all that. Grandpa laughs, saying he might have exaggerated just a bit. Then he asks if this sudden interest in his old adventures has anything to do with tomorrow's trip. Yugi says, of course. Before he heads off to Egypt, he wants to learn everything he can about it. He looks down at his Puzzle, thinking that they may have moved the stone tablet back to where it came from, but that's not going to stop him from seeing it. This time, when he holds up the three Egyptian God cards, the Pharaoh's memories will be released.
Yugi asks if Grandpa still remembers where the Pharaoh's tomb was. Grandpa says he doesn't. He hired those two guides to find it for him. The Valley of the Kings is bigger than you'd think, and most of those caves look exactly the same. Yugi sighs and says he was looking forward to seeing the spot where Grandpa found the Millennium Puzzle, but Grandpa tells him to stay out of that place. Then he asks Yugi for one last look at the Egyptian God cards. Yugi protests that it's his fifth time, but Grandpa says that the thought of being without them makes him so sad.
Yugi relents, and gets the Puzzle box out of his bag and hands it to his Grandpa. Grandpa takes the God cards out, gushing over them until Yugi tries to take them back. Grandpa doesn't want to return them, and asks Yugi to leave them with him. But Yugi takes them away from him, saying that Grandpa knows better than that. The Pharaoh needs these cards. Grandpa says he's sorry, then says this is why the Pharaoh saved him. Grandpa thinks that for some reason, when the Pharaoh was sealed away in that tomb, his memory was wiped clean. So he waited for five thousand years, until fate brought him to Yugi. (Japanese Grandpa thinks that even though he was wounded, he brought the Millennium Puzzle back. But beyond that maze is another place no one has ever reached. That place awaits the one who puts together the Millennium Puzzle.)
Grandpa says that Yugi is the one person with the power to help the Pharaoh regain everything he lost. He stands up, putting his hands on Yugi's shoulders, and telling him that he who holds the Millennium Puzzle holds the legacy of the Pharaoh, and that's no small task. Yugi says he knows. Grandpa says his adventure is done, but Yugi's has just begun. Then he tells Yugi to treat every challenge he faces like a game. Trust his instincts and he'll come out on top. Yugi says that playing games is what he does best.
They say goodnight and Yugi goes to bed. As he sleeps, the rain pours down onto his skylight window. Lightning flashes, and then Weevil and Rex appear in Yugi's window. (This part is moved here from later in the Japanese version. In the Japanese, Yugi is lying in bed awake, thinking of his conversation with his other self.)
Yugi dreams he's on the roof at school talking to Yami. Yami asks if everything is all right, and Yugi says he's thinking about what Grandpa said about fate bringing them together. He said Yugi was the only one who could help Yami. Yami says it's true, but Yugi says that ever since they met, Yami has helped him much more than he's helped Yami. Before Yami came into his life, Yugi spent all his time alone. But the minute he put the Millennium Puzzle together, his life changed. Yami gave him the confidence he needed to be himself and to make new friends—friends he'll have for the rest of his life. And he wouldn't be the duelist he is without Yami. Teaming up with Yami is the best thing that's ever happened to him in his whole life. Yami thanks him, and Yugi says he doesn't know where he'd be without Yami. He just hopes he can return the favor. (Japanese Yami asks if Yugi is all right. Yugi says he has something to say to Yami. He asks if Yami is worried about him, and Yami says, worried? Yugi says that they went through a lot during Battle City getting the God cards, when they took on the search for Yami's memory. Yugi says that after he put together the Puzzle, he met his other self, who allowed him to make good friends like Jounouchi, Honda, Kaiba, and many others. He's learned a lot from Yami. But he knows that Yami worries about him, and that is painful to him. He asks Yami not to worry about him, and says he'll be all right on his own.)
Yami says Yugi already has. Yami was alone for five thousand years, until the day they met. And then Yugi's friends became his friends, too. Besides, Yugi's about to do something for him that he could never do on his own—regain his memory and unlock the mysteries of his past. They make an excellent team. (Japanese Yami says he knows. And, no matter what happens, he'll never forget about Yugi. Yugi says that just as he put together the Puzzle, it's time for Yami to put together the pieces of his memory. They'll always be good partners. Yami agrees.)
(In the Japanese version, this is where the bit comes in that was moved earlier in the US version, with Yugi asleep and Weevil and Rex appearing at Yugi's window.)
Looking in Yugi's window, Weevil says, this is it. The Egyptian God cards will finally be in the hands of someone who deserves them. Rex says Weevil is admitting that the cards belong to Rex. Telling Rex to dream on, Weevil raises a rock and breaks the window. (Cut from the US version is this shot of the rock shattering the window.)
Yugi wakes up in time to see a hand reaching through the window and grabbing his bag. The two slide down the ladder they've used to climb up to Yugi's bedroom and run for it, while Yugi calls out to them to stop.
Rushing out the front door in his pajamas and bare feet, Yugi chases after them.
Weevil and Rex stop in an alley, gasping for breath. Weevil opens the bag, saying he's got to take a look at these things. But he's surprised to find several Millennium Items in it. The Millennium Ring, lying on top, glows brightly, then rises out of the bag and flies down to the end of the alley, where it's caught by Bakura. Rex warns him he'd better not be after the god cards. Putting the Ring around his neck, Bakura says he already has what he's after. Then the Ring lights up.
Yugi, who's running towards the alley, hears Weevil and Rex cry out. He runs to the entrance and sees a figure standing over Rex and Weevil's bodies. The figure turns towards him, and Yugi asks, Bakura? Is that you?
Guess again, Dark Bakura says.
To Be Continued
