Surprise! These 25 Retro Video Games Are Crazy Expensive
By Fox Van Allen
NCAA College Basketball 2K3 🏀
This was the only NCAA Basketball title released for the Nintendo Gamecube, and it did not sell well. Used copies are highly valuable, and "new" copies are valued in the thousands.
LSD Dream Emulator
This art piece, sourced from designer Hiroko Nishikawa's real-life dream diary, is like playing your way through an (occasionally psychedelic) dream.
This rare Nintendo World Championship 1990 competition cartridge that sells for five figures
In December 1990, Nintendo held its first ever World Championships at Universal Studios Hollywood. Each competitor recieved one of 90 individually numbered cartridges featuring the same three minigames that they played during the contest: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris.
The few that survived are pretty much the holy grail of video game collectibles.
This collector's-quality R.O.B. robot peripheral for the NES 🤖
Robotic Operating Buddy (R.O.B.), the short-lived NES accessory, was a huge gimmick: It only worked with two games, neither of which were especially fun. Few sealed bundles have survived since its 1985 release, making them exceptionally valuable.
NBA Elite 11 🏀
A demo version of this EA Sports game was mocked so heavily online that the game was cancelled just prior to its launch... just not soon enough to prevent a small handful of copies to make their way out into the public's hands.
Stadium Events
Shortly after its release in September 1987, Nintendo recalled all copies of Bandai's Stadium Events so the game could be rebranded as World Class Track Meet and bundled with the Power Pad fitness accessory. As a result, the few Stadium Events cartridges that survived are worth more than five figures today.
Yoshi's Story International Version
This cartridge is a true oddity: It's a Japanese-language version of Yoshi's Story that was sent to stores in the U.S. to give games a sneak peek at the game before its release.
Action 52, a notorious $199 flop
This 52-games-in-1 title for the NES is infamous for its numerous glitches, poor design and ridiculously high retail price ($199). These days, it's a sought-after rarity.
Spud's Adventure, an unbelievably expensive game about a potato 🥔
This incredibly weird Atlus adventure stars a hat-wearing potato on a quest to save a tomato princess from the devil. It was released in short supply, making it highly collectible -- especially in its original box.
Amazing Tater, another insanely expensive game... about a potato 🥔🥔🥔
This simplistic puzzler game (1992) from Atlus is also incredibly rare and collectible.
Shantae
This 2002 Game Boy Color platformer/puzzler was released after the next-generation Game Boy Advance had already come out, so very few copies were sold. It's sequels earned plenty of critical acclaim and built up quite a passionate fan following, making this first game in the series highly collectible.
Chrono Trigger ⌛
This title may not be the most expensive game on the list, but it's a cherished Squaresoft RPG released near the end of the Super Nintendo's life cycle.
James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing, a game that's so 1990 it hurts 🥊
Nintendo had Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!. Sega had James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing, named after the fighter who scored a massive February 1990 upset over Tyson for the heavyweight title.
The Flintstones: Surprise at Dinosaur Peak 🌋
This 1994 NES game was released solely to Blockbuster Video as a rental title, and never sold in retail stores.
Ducktales 2
The original Ducktales from Capcom was a beloved NES classic. This sequel, released in 1993 after the TV series had ended and after most gamers had moved on to the Super Nintendo, sold very few copies.
Kid Klown in Night Mayor World 🤡
Originally released as a Mickey Mouse title in Japan, this 1993 Kemco platformer was forced to get a clownish makeover for its U.S. release due to licensing issues.
Little Samson
This surprisingly good Taito platformer sold very poorly in 1992, making it one of the most rare NES games in existence.
Atlantis II, an Atari game made solely to settle a tie 👾
Publisher Imagic held a contest in 1982 for purchasers of its game Atlantis where the highest score would win a $10,000 prize. But multiple people maxed out their score, so Imagic created special Atlantis II cartridges (with harder gameplay) and sent them to contestants to break the tie.
Crusader of Centy
This Zelda-esque title from Atlus (1994) is, arguably, the best adventure-RPG title for the console.
Mega Man 5
Many of the NES Mega Man titles were huge sellers, but not this one -- its December 1992 release date was a bit too late in the Nintendo Entertainment System's lifecycle.
Panic Restaurant 🍳
This rare-though-beloved Taito platformer pits you, a chef, against angry grills and microwaves, among other bizarre fiends.
The Jetsons: Cogswell's Caper ✨
Like many of the rare NES games on the list, this title was released very late in the console's life cycle. Copies can sell for hundreds of dollars online.
Earthbound 🌎
This quirky Squaresoft RPG is so beloved by fans that complete box sets can sell for hundreds of dollars on eBay and Amazon.
This Starfox Super Weekend competition cartridge that sells for more than a grand 🦊
This time-trial version of Starfox was made exclusively for use during a 1993 competition held at Nintendo retailers nationwide. Only a few thousand cartridges were made, making them very valuable.
Rule of Rose 🌹
This survival horror game for the PlayStation 2 was almost banned in Europe over false rumors about its content, but the controversy didn't help boost sales. Today, that low distribution means it has a high resale value.