The original Game Boy is an 8-bit handheld console released in Japan and North America in 1989 and developed by Nintendo. The console was discontinued in 2003 and some of its titles have become increasingly difficult for collectors to get their hands on. Most of these rare titles had limited releases in North America -- during a time where many Nintendo games were not localized at all -- and fetch a high price for online sellers in possession of them.
While Nintendo is rumored to be adding Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to the Switch soon, whether that will include the rarest titles for these consoles remains to be seen. These are five of the current rarest Game Boy games and recent prices that have been paid for both loose cartridges and copies in complete packaging. Due to the small number of these games in circulation, copies are often sold for extremely high prices even if they are not being sold in perfect condition.
Kid Dracula, developed by Konami and released in 1993, is both a remake and a sequel of a 1990 Famicom game by the same name and is a parodic spinoff of one of Konami’s most successful franchises, Castlevania (though the company's commitment to its most popular titles has been questioned in recent years). In this platformer, the player controls Kid Dracula, a parody of Dracula’s son, as he tries to once again stop the demon Galamoth and re-learn all of his Magic Spells along the way. It is a non-canonical entry in the Castlevania series, but its scarcity has driven up prices for its cartridge in recent years.
Complete-in-box listings for this game have recently been sold for prices ranging from $499.95 to $1,999.00. The loose cartridge of the game, on the other hand, has been sold recently for $174.95.
Sumo Fighter is an action and platform game developed by KID and released in 1991. The game follows a sumo wrestler, Bontaro Heiseiyama, as he journeys to Kyoto to save his lover, Kayo. The game allows the player to collect experience points to improve Bontaro’s moves and health as he fights through the game's five areas and bosses. It also features three difficulty levels for the player to beat in order to unlock all the ending text and the game’s credits.
Sumo Fighter is currently considered one of the most valuable and rarest Game Boy games due to the small number of copies in circulation. For example, a complete in-box copy of Sumo Fighter recently sold for $1,125.00 whereas a loose cartridge was sold for $199.00 alone.
Mega Man V is the fifth entry in the line of Game Boy releases of the popular Mega Man series by Capcom (who have recently been reviving some of their biggest series) and was released in 1994. It’s an action platformer that sees the franchise’s iconic protagonist defend the Earth from a group of extraterrestrial robots called Stardroids. Unlike the other Game Boy Mega Man entries, it features original bosses rather than using the same ones from the NES games.
Despite the enduring popularity of the Mega Man franchise, this particular entry had a low print run outside of Japan and so English-language copies are in short supply. Judging by recent sold listings, those looking to complete their Mega Man collections will face steep prices; a complete-in-box copy was sold for $1,599.99 and its cartridge alone for $200.00.
Amazing Tater is a Japanese puzzle-based game developed by Atlus. It was released in Japan in 1991 and later for North American audiences in 1992. It is a sequel to Atlus’ 1989 game Kwirk. Amazing Tater follows a potato called Spud trying to navigate a maze and players have to solve various puzzles in order to do so.
While it is not part of a franchise that has endured in popularity like some of the other games on this list, Atlus only released a small number of English-language versions for its North American audience as their games typically did not sell well outside of Japan. Subsequently, it has become one of the rarest and most expensive Game Boy games to acquire. A loose copy of the game recently sold for $375.00 and a complete copy for an incredible $1,799.99.
Topping the list is another Atlus game, Spud’s Adventure, released in 1991. It is part of the same series of games as Amazing Tater and players once again control Spud as he traverses a tower to save a princess. The game features more action than Amazing Tater and Kwirk and is based around the player solving puzzles, fighting enemies and gaining experience points to improve Spud’s health.
Similar to Amazing Tater, Atlus did not release many copies of this game in North America and this has caused its current rarity. In the past year, the game’s loose cartridge has sold for prices ranging from $285.97 to $549.99. A complete-in-box copy has recently sold for a staggering $2,350.00, making it the rarest and most expensive game on this list.
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