Lately I've been watching seldom videos of people showing off their Game collection on Youtube, and while I do appreciate the effort they put in to continue their dedication to what they love to do, many others don't share that same love. It's through the thought that if something is completed it's sacrificed for half or less value of what it was supposedly worth. Basically junk.
Over the past 9 years or so I've been working on gaining a reputation of being a Rare Game Hunter. The difference between that and collectors is I seek out these rare games for others more than myself. I've expanded to comics and TV as well in the past, but games are my forte. It's also taught me a bit about the business in which these are priced the way they are (Read: Gouged prices) and how much they are sought out. That's why I would like to present a top 10 rare games that I currently own. It maybe a list done over and over and compared to other games that are chump change compared to what I have, I don't care! You don't like it, look at some other generic top 10 list.
Here's Rarefindit's Top 25 Rare Games I Currently Own!
First, some guidelines. I will list the details on the rare games based on how much they are worth price wise, sentimental wise, history, and rating of rarity. You can probably find it on Rarityguide.com, but do note that some games aren't listed there yet. Also, the farthest I will go back to is at least the 3rd generation. I am from that era, you know. Also, no sports games. Those are a dime a dozen, and I don't play them. Lastly the prices are listed based on inflation of the market. So one thing may go up in terms of limited print run, or go down with the announcement of a remake on the IOS. Let's hope it's not for the latter because that's a cheap gimmick to entice smartphone users. If there is something I missed with these games, please let me know. Also, emulation devalues any potential for future rare games. Whether it be on the PSN/XBLA/VC/EShop/Hackers.
25. Silhouette Mirage
This obscure 2D run and gun action game has been lost to the annals of time and not many people remember this one. But what I do remember is that this one was published by Working Designs before their untimely death in the 90s. They are known for releasing Lunar on the Playstation and Sega CD. It's quite a shame that this fun game has not gotten enough love among collectors or there's not much of a demand for it. Currently it's worth 27.00. I'd still pick it up, as long as you can endure yourself from hearing "reflector" alot.
24. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Golden Cartridge
Ocarina of Time is a timeless classic that has withstood the test of time and is always a blast to play. When it was released in 1998, Nintendo released 2 versions. The standard grey cart version and the gold one. The one major difference between the two is that Ganondorf's blood was changed from red to green. There was also a golden console version to go with the gold cart of the game. Unfortunately with the advent of the virtual console and emulation as well as a remake on the 3DS, the demand for this has gone slightly down for a loose copy at $29.00. That shouldn't stop you from picking up this game no matter what version it might be.
23. Persona 3 Limited Edition
I'm quite ashamed at myself that I didn't pick this up upon launch nor Fes. This is what brought in new fans to the Persona series and partially to Shin Megami Tensei. P3 refines the RPG and turns it into a turn based instead of strategy. Instead of recruiting demons and using cards of the arcana to make your own personas, the demons are the cards and you fuse them to make more. Also introduced from then on is the Social Link aspect where you interact with the NPCs to gain levels to level up your personas. Sure in the original P3 you had no control over your character and that one of the characters acted like a bitch in fes (Yukari), but with the release of P3Portable, you now can enjoy the same game, but with a different female aspect and controllable AI partners. If you still want the original with an artbook, it's still obtainable at $30.
22. Persona 2 Innocent Sin Collector's Edition.
Persona is a cherished and highly praised series. P4 is one of my favorite games of all time and 3 is up there to. However, not many know about it's turn based strategic origins on the Playstation. Atlus however released a remake on the PSP with a mini soundtrack. Innocent Sin is the forgotten half to Eternal Punishment and I'm glad it was released stateside. If you were to try and find Revelations Persona on the Playstation, you'd be paying a heft sum for it since it was remade on the PSP a couple of years ago and the localization of the original was not very good. I'd pick up Innocent Sin because the story is pretty good and if you have the patience, it's worth your time. Just try to not pay attention to the H.E.R (High Encounter Rate) as it's too damn high. Oh, and you fight space nazis. You can pick up the Innocent Sin remake for $30.
21. Koudelka
A precursor to the Shadow Hearts series, this origin game was conceived by ex Square developers and is a combination of survival horror and turn based RPG (wait what?). Koudelka the titular bratty gypsy is sent to a monastery in 19th Century Wales to find out about the psychic disturbance that she keeps hearing about. There he meets an adventurer named Edward and a priest named James. Oh and they meet Roger Bacon. Yes, that Roger Bacon. If you are an RPG enthusiast like myself, then you might enjoy this. A complete copy will nab you 60, but a loose copy is worth 32 on average.
20. Star Ocean the Second Story
I hated this game. Not because of the story or being the first Star Ocean game to reach US shores before the 3rd one. No I hated it because of it's difficulty. Star Ocean marks for the first time that real time combat is used in an RPG. As well as the aspect of gaining romantic relationships with NPCs and who you can recruit based on your choices. Too bad my choices sucked and I ended up not finishing the game. Later on Square remade Star Ocean the Second Story as Second Evolution for the PSP in 2009. But the original sequel is still worthy of being sought out at $32. Bonus: Incarnation of Devil is awesome.
19. Dark Cloud 2
Dark Cloud 2 is the sequel known outside the US as Dark Chronicle developed by Level 5, which is a spiritual successor to Act Raiser. Basically you are rebuilding the world after an evil being seals up all humans into spheres. It also has a rogue dungeon-like aspect in that most of the dungeons are randomly generated as you gain more and more objects to restore the world and rid of the evil Dark Genie. Oh, and Scott Menville plays a Time Hybrid (Man of the past has a child with a woman of the future). The first one is alright, but the sequel is a little harder to find. Currently Dark Chronicle is priced at $34.00.
18. Elemental Gearbolt
Now I know what you are thinking: What the hell is this? First, it's a rail shooter, but it's also an obscure rail shooter with RPG elements. Oh, did I mention that it had anime cutscenes done by Madhouse? It was also quite difficult for non guncon owners and LCD TV users. But that didn't stop it from being very hard to find 10 years after it's release. I found it for 20 bucks, and the price for it jumped to double. If you can find it, I'd give it a try.
17. Threads of Fate
This action/rpg known as Dew Prism elsewhere was pretty forgettable, but fun. The game offered 2 storylines with 2 different characters. One involved Rue, a boy that could turn into his enemies, the other was a girl named Mint who used magic and fought with a giant chakram. I picked this up a long time ago for $6 and was surprised that it's rarity jumped significantly online. Threads of Fate will set you back $36 for a complete and much more for a sealed copy.
16. Fate/Extra Special Edition
For those who moved onto the Vita at the time of this game's release, Fate/Extra is a turn based RPG/Visual Novel released for the PSP by Aksys. Why is this on the list? Well, the collector's edition has the extra incentive of including a hardback artbook and soundtrack to the game. Now every potential rare game hunter should take note that these small trinkets sometimes increase the value of the item. Don't know why, it just does. About the game itself, Visual Novel meets turn based rpg meets rock paper scissors. I'll give it a shot one day. You can pick up the game new for about $50 at Fry's, but a complete copy will run you at least 36.00. I got mine for $6.66... uh oh.
Part 2 will come soon. Also if you are interested in checking out Rarefindit, I'm also part of The Geek Spectrum. So everything here will be featured there as well. Check out both when you get the chance.
