'Exodia the Forbidden One' is no longer mentioned in the rulebook, as its card text suffices to clarify its effect. The 'Forbidden One' cards were the only monsters ever specifically mentioned in the rulebooks (other than as an example), due to 'Exodia the Forbidden One' being the only card with an alternative victory condition at the time.

While many people refer to the 'Forbidden One' cards as 'Exodia' cards, the ' Exodia' archetype is a separate but related archetype, and the only 'Forbidden One' card to be a part of it is 'Exodia the Forbidden One'. The archetype received their first support in the form of ' Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord' as a Weekly Shōnen Jump promotional card in 2007. The 'Forbidden One' cards are some of the most iconic cards in the franchise, being well known for their automatic win condition and Yugi's usage of them during Yami Yugi and Seto Kaiba's first Duel in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime. 'Exodia the Forbidden One' is one of the first five Effect Monsters ever to be released and the first card to have an alternative victory condition.

This archetype consists of five monsters, each representing a body part of ' Exodia the Forbidden One', which can grant the player an automatic victory condition when gathered in the player's hand. ' Forbidden One', known as ' Sealed' ( 封（ふう）印（いん）されし Fūinsareshi) in Japanese, is an archetype of DARK Spellcaster monsters used by Yugi Muto, Yami Yugi, Seeker, and Gozaburo Kaiba in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime, and Yubel (while possessing Marcel Bonaparte) and Adrian Gecko in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime.

Yu gi oh forbidden memories exodia