Rarest Classic PlayStation Games (& How Much They’re Worth)

Key Takeaways

• Limited runs and low sales make Japanese RPGs on the PS1 highly valuable to collectors in 2024.
• Limited worldwide releases contribute to the high resale value of sought-after PS1 games among JRPG fans.
• Factors like exclusivity, limited runs, and competitions can lead to valuable PS1 games decades later.

The original PlayStation is now thirty years old, and it is home to some of the most valuable games ever released, thanks to the machine’s diverse and massive library of games. Unsurprisingly for collectors, many rare PlayStation games are Japanese-developed RPGs. Except for the mainstream hits, these games had limited runs impacted by low sales. In addition, many of these games never made it outside of Japan and North America because of the time and expense of translating Japanese games with lots of dialogue into several different EU languages.

However, there are many factors that can play into a game’s resale value decades later, no matter the genre, length of dialogue, etc. They can be in the form of limited runs, competition prizes, betas meant only for developers, or more. Let’s take a look at some of the most valuable games on the PlayStation at the time of writing.

Updated October 23, 2024 by David Heath: Retro game collecting has gotten pricier over the past few years, with older games getting rarer, and fewer physical releases being made for relatively recent games. Emulation has helped some games remain playable, though with older digital storefronts closing down, companies cracking down on ROM sites and the Internet Archive in trouble, it’s getting harder to preserve games digitally as well as physically.

The same goes for games for the classic PlayStation, as its library now ranges between 20–30 years old. Soon, its mainstream classics like Tekken 3 and Resident Evil 2 may become as hard to find physically as its lesser-known entries like Kula World and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. But even then, they’ll still be easier to find than these rare PS1 games, now updated with their current prices, alongside some new hidden gems that could earn owners a pretty penny on the market.

1 Wu-Tang: Taste The Pain (Limited Edition)

A Fitting Title For Would-Be Buyers

Released toward the end of the PS1’s lifecycle in 1999, Wu-Tang: Taste the Pain, or Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style in the US, is a fighting game based on the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. It was basically a reworked version of Thrill Kill, a bloody multiplayer fighter that was canceled right as it was basically complete. Wu-Tang: TtP just toned the violence down, locking most of the blood behind a cheat code hidden in the game’s manual.

The game actually isn’t so tricky to find, costing about $31 loose. But finding the Limited Edition is another matter. It was exclusive to Europe and included the notorious Wu-Tang controller, shaped just like the group’s logo to help people play the game in style, or with hand cramps. It’ll set collectors back $124 to find it in a complete set.

2 Suikoden 2

A Priceless Game Goes For A High Cost

Suikoden 2 got a better deal than most JPRGs of the time, as it managed to reach North America and Europe too, albeit in limited quantities and often ages after its Japanese release. Despite that, it’s often considered to be one of the greatest RPGs of all time, let alone on the PlayStation. This was thanks to its unique leveling system that helped cut down on grinding, and its dramatic storyline that saw its leads caught up in the intrigue surrounding the series’ special MacGuffins, the True Runes.

The story’s focus on war and loss was ahead of its rivals, making it more of a contender to moodier RPGs like FF7 than the chirpier, Tolkien-esque efforts from before. It’s since received a port to the PSP with the original Suikoden, and an HD remaster. But if people want the original PS1 game, they’ll have to set aside $208 for an intact copy. Unless they have a PAL PS1, which will cost $255 instead. Weirdly, new PAL copies are much cheaper than their NTSC equivalents, costing $663 to $891.49.

3 Tales Of Destiny 2

Fated To Cut Down Bank Balances

Not to be confused with the PS2 game Tales of Destiny 2, the PS1 Tales of Destiny 2 was originally released in Japan as Tales of Eternia. It does take place chronologically after ToD1, but it follows a different set of leads, as Reid Hershel tries to stop his home world of Inferia from crashing into its twin planet, Celestia, with the help of his friends and a mysterious girl called Meredy. It reached North America in 2001, and wouldn’t hit Europe and Australia until its 2006 PSP port.

Its limited worldwide release means that the game still holds a lot of value with Japanese RPG fans even after its PSP port. Tales of Destiny 2 is a whimsical adventure with a solid combat system, beautiful anime cutscenes, and stunning pre-rendered backgrounds. Though whether that’s enough to make it worth $218 for a complete box is up to the buyer. While anyone who’s kept their copy sealed and pristine can earn a decent $480 if they find someone to pick it up.

4 JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

The World Can’t Stop Its Rising Prices

The team that worked on Street Fighter 3 couldn’t squeeze those games onto the PS1’s slender frame, as it had enough trouble managing CPS2 arcade games, let alone SF3‘s CPS3 architecture. Yet it somehow managed to receive a port of the CPS3 classic Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Based on Part 3: Stardust Crusaders, it maintained the series’ trademark anime-style visuals, and insane Stand-based gameplay, including Dio’s time-stopping Road Roller super.

Even though the Sega Dreamcast port is ultimately the best version of the game, as it doesn’t cut out as many animation frames, the PS1 version has retained its value over the years. This could be due to Jojo being much more popular today than it was back in 1998, or because of its exclusive ‘Super Story Mode’ that replicated scenes from the manga. It goes for a fairly pricey $224, give or take a few pennies, and isn’t any cheaper loose at $170. Fans might prefer to get the PAL edition at $123 loose, but its complete editions are more expensive at $318.

5 Valkyrie Profile

Sending Wallets To Valhalla

Name any pre-PS2 era JRPG, and chances are it only got as far as North America. The mighty Dragon Quest series didn’t get its official European debut until Dragon Quest 7, and most of them didn’t know they had already tried Final Fantasy before FF7 because the simplified Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest was renamed Mystic Quest Legend there. So, Valkyrie Profile had no chance, as on top of its masses of dialogue being a daunting task for translators, it was also a late PS1 release, reaching US PS1 in 2000.

Even then, its release outside Japan was limited, despite its positive reception from critics, where it became a cult hit among fans. Enough of a cult hit for English speakers outside North America to either import it or hold on for its PSP remake Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. Today, its original PS1 version will set them back by $262 for a complete copy. If they’re already fluent in Japanese, they can grab a Japanese copy for $33, or its Limited Edition for $179.99, approximately $80 less than its basic NA equivalent.

6 Batman Forever: The Arcade Game

A Job For The Bat-Credit Card

Batman Forever was going to be a darker adventure until Warner Bros asked for a more ‘toyetic’ movie. The final result holds up mainly because it’s not quite as campy as its sequel, Batman & Robin, nor as bad as its tie-in games. The Mortal Kombat-esque beat ’em ups on 16-bit consoles felt outdated on release. Its 32-bit equivalent, Batman Forever: The Arcade Game, came out nearly a year after the movie hit cinemas, and showed how dire the Dark Knight’s games could be before the Batman: Arkham series.

It was another beat ’em up that hit the PS1 and Sega Saturn after appearing in arcades, and was only slightly better than its SNES/Genesis counterparts. Even so, despite its graphical flare with scaling sprites, it was a dull, overpriced affair. Especially compared to rivals like Guardian Heroes. Even today, Saturn owners would get more value for their buck by getting Guardian Heroes, as a complete box costs $170, nearly $130 cheaper than the PS1 version of Batman Forever: The Arcade Game.

7 Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

Eternally Punishing People’s Savings

The Persona series has arguably outgrown Shin Megami Tensei, the RPG series it spun off from. Though much of that growth came from its later entries, with Persona 4 & 5 becoming especially popular. Nonetheless, some old-school fans got their start with the earlier games, like Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. Despite the name, it’s more accurate to call it Persona 2.5, as it’s a direct sequel to Persona 2: Innocent Sin, where Maya Amano investigates the Joker Curse.

Weirdly, P2: IS wasn’t released in North America or Europe until its PSP port, but P2: EP did reach the US back in 2000. It remains the only official English localization of the game too, as its own PSP port was limited to Japan. It can also be found on the North American PS Store as a PlayStation Classic if people still have their PS3s and don’t fancy shelling out $335 for a boxed copy. The same goes for Europeans, where the game was never released either physically or digitally.

8 Clock Tower 2: The Struggle Within

Struggling To Afford Its Price

For a dose of chronological confusion, Clock Tower 2: The Struggle Within is actually the third game in the Clock Tower series. The original point-and-click horror adventure game was exclusive to Japanese Super Famicoms, leaving its PS1 sequel to become the first Clock Tower in the West, before it led into CT2: TSW. It follows protagonist Alyssa Hale, who players have to switch between her regular self and her twisted alter-ego Mr Bates to learn more about her past and her family’s dark secret.

The game stayed true to the Clock Tower formula, featuring a moveable cursor that could be used to move Alyssa around and would change shape if objects could be interacted with. Players could go through the game with either a PS1 controller or a PlayStation Mouse if they had one. Still, it was criticized for being slow and stodgy, no matter which peripheral they used. Gamespot‘s Joe Fielder told players back in 1999 to “leave this one for the antique collectors”, where they could earn $349 for a complete box, or over $500 if they kept it in mint condition.

9 Tail Concerto

Better known for making the .hack games and anime tie-ins like the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja series, CyberConnect (later CyberConnect2) got their start by making Tail Concerto, the first game in the Little Tale Bronx series. It was an action-adventure platformer where the cop dog Waffle took on the Black Cats gang from his mech Police Robo. It technically reached Europe via an exclusive French release before reaching North America a year later in 1999. The game was delayed in the West several times due to translation issues.

As a result, it had a limited release due to the publishing rights transferring between multiple studios. Atlus would eventually publish the game in North America, but its humble quantities and humble critical reception have made Tail Concerto a collector’s item. People who want to play it in English will have to pay $364 for a complete set. Francophones only need to spend $108 for the French copy, while Japanese speakers get the best deal at $27.33.

10 Revelations: Persona

Negotiating With Demons May Be Easier Than With Sellers

Europeans might consider themselves lucky to get late releases of certain RPGs. They didn’t get to play an official copy of Revelations: Persona until the 2010 PSP edition, which received a more faithful localization. The original North American release was infamous for changing character designs, changing names and references, and removing an entire plot route to get it out for its late 1996 release. Nonetheless, this was where the iconic Shin Megami Tensei spin-off began, with high schoolers using their Persona powers to save the world.

If players want to check out the original localization of the first Persona game, be they in the US or Europe, they might get a better deal looking for a PlayStation Classic, as it was included in its meager line-up. Getting an original complete PS1 copy requires coughing up over $400, with loose discs going for approximately half the price.

11 The Misadventures Of Tron Bonne

Tron Won’t Be The Only One Trying To Pay Off A Loan

Fans of Mega Man Legends have had a rough time, with Capcom’s failed attempt to make a third game, and its spiritual successor Red Ash: The Indelible Legend likely being canceled after years of silence since its last news update in 2015. Still, they’ll always have the original duology and The Misadventures of Tron Bonne. It’s a prequel to the first Mega Man Legends title where players help the air pirate pay off a 1 million zenny loan to free her compatriots Teisel and Bon.

It’s a unique game as it’s not strictly another action platformer. Tron and her army of Servbots have to do all sorts of odd jobs and missions to earn that zenny and get new parts to upgrade Gustaff, Tron’s mech. Even though it had a global release, the game had a limited print run. As a result, the game became a cult hit that’s a must-have for Mega Man fans. Shame it costs nearly $500 to get a complete copy nowadays. It is available on the North American PlayStation Store as a PSOne classic, but it hasn’t had any other re-releases since.

12 LSD: Dream Emulator

A Bad Trip In Digital Form

People might be familiar with LSD: Dream Emulator, as it was a popular choice for Let’s Play videos in the 2010s, and appeared in a range of creepypasta stories too. It likely inspired the current wave of low-poly PS1/N64-esque indie horror games that have grown popular online as well. Yet there’s no grand lore to the game. It was made more as an art piece by Osamu Sato, who based its wandering premise, strange visuals, and dreamlike/nightmarish figures on a dream diary by Hiroko Nishikawa, an employee at developers Asmik Ace.

Sato hoped it would get a US release, but the game remained a Japanese exclusive, where some editions came with a bonus CD called Lucy in the Sky With Dynamites, and a book, Lovely Sweet Dream, where artists recollect and illustrate their dreams. With or without these additions, the complete game goes for $828, which is quite steep for a game that’ll weird players out at best and induce nightmares at worst. It was released on the Japanese PS Store in 2010, so there is a cheaper alternative for people who want to try it out on their PS3s.

13 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night [Limited Edition] PAL

Mankind Ill Needs A Price Tag Such As This

At the time of its release, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night wasn’t a big hit in terms of sales but was a massive hit with critics and fans. It’s since become one of the most sought-after and influential titles of all time, putting the ‘-vania’ in ‘Metroidvania’, and inspiring subsequent Castlevania games to follow its mix of non-linear exploration and RPG elements. Even so, its sleeper hit status depended on its territory. It was a snoozer in North America, where original PS1 copies go for $50 or less as loose discs.

In Europe, it was practically comatose, as its late 1997 release saw it contend with Tomb Raider 2, Final Fantasy 7, and Crash Bandicoot 2. In an age where 2D gameplay was out of style, the game had no chance. Ordinary PAL copies of C:SotN go for nearly $500 complete. The real jewel in the crown is the Limited Edition, a Europe-exclusive release that included an art book and a music CD with the game. The chance to see more of Ayami Kojima’s luscious artwork, and to listen to its soundtrack outside the game’s sound test see it go for $847 complete.

14 Mortal Kombat 3 (Jewel Case)

A Big Price For A Tiny Case

Ed Boon considered the PS1 version of Mortal Kombat 3 to be arcade-perfect, or at least he did at the time. It looked more faithful compared to the 16-bit versions, but the load times on Shang Tsung’s morphs made it a stodgier experience. That and it was notorious for cutting out classic characters like Kitana, Mileena, and Scorpion. So, most players would’ve been more satisfied with its later update, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which reintroduced those characters and more.

But if players back then picked MK3 up in a jewel case, they could earn themselves a small fortune. The game was mass-produced in longboxes, with only a few releases later on receiving the more compact cases. A few lucky people have picked up a complete box for $300 or so when they usually go for over $851. Then, if it’s in particularly pristine condition, it can go for over $1,000, or $2,000+ for sealed copies.

15 Syphon Filter 3 (Pre-911 Edition)

Never Forget This Narrow Escape From A PR Crisis

Syphon Filter 3 was the third entry in Bend Studio’s stealth-action series, which rivaled Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell in popularity at the time. While it is possible to pick up a copy of the game for less than $20 without much trouble, it had some trouble on its original release that led to a certain edition of the game going for nearly $1,000 complete today. It was originally slated for release on 25th September 2001, complete with cover art of Gabe and Lian narrowly avoiding an explosion in a courthouse, complete with a US flag in the background.

Thanks to 9/11 and the following anthrax scare, this terrorist attack-based art didn’t feel appropriate. So, Sony postponed its release until November, complete with more neutral art of Gabe and Lian’s faces and a less intense marketing campaign. However, people were still able to get their hands on the game with the pre-9/11 cover art, be it due to stores getting stocks of the game, or people grabbing a few copies during its recall. The European release reused the figures from the original pre-9/11 art but without the flag or the explosion.

16 Cindy’s Fashion World

Prices Rising From The Ashes

If there is ever a game that proves that it doesn’t have to be good to be valuable, it’s Cindy’s Fashion World. Debuting very late into the PlayStation’s lifecycle with a 2004 release, it’s a very low-budget title for young children made by Phoenix Games. If that name sounds familiar, they’re behind the game-based releases of Dingo Pictures’ cartoons, like Animal Soccer World, Snow White & The 7 Clever Boys, and Dalmatians 2.

Cindy’s Fashion World sticks to the minigames but became one of the rarest games on the PS1 due to it having a game-breaking bug. It would refuse to run on certain PS1 models, leading to Phoenix Games pulling the game from the shelves. However, it did run perfectly on the PS2 via backwards compatibility, meaning some people likely didn’t notice a problem back in the day if they played it that way. So, there’s still a way to play the game without tweaking things, if anyone actually wants to do that. It’s more valuable as a $1,000+ collectors’ item.

17 Germs: Nerawareta Machi

As Surreal As It Is Expensive

According to PriceCharting.com, Germs: Nerawareta Machi (‘Germs: The Targeted City’) is the most expensive game on the Japanese PS1 market. It’s a unique survival horror game made by KAJ, as it’s a first-person open-world game, where the player must investigate the appearance of mutant creatures across the city. They can walk around, drive cars, or take buses to key locations to talk to people, find clues, or fight the mutants head-on. They don’t die if they lose, but they will need to go to the hospital to cure their infection.

It’s a strange game to play, as it looks more like a modern indie horror game made deliberately low-poly to look creepy. But it’s a genuine 1999 release that pushed the console to its limit to manage open-world gameplay, albeit in an aged and fiddly way. It’s worth playing for any horror game aficionado. That is if they can afford it. There are English translation patches available, but unless people have a spare $2,000+ lying around, they’re likely emulating this entry.

18 NFL Blitz 2000 (Greatest Hits)

The Greatest Hits games were meant to be budget re-releases of old PS1 games that were bestsellers. So, why is the NFL Blitz 2000 Greatest Hits release so darn expensive? The regular PS1 version can be picked up for $8-14, depending on its condition, but its re-release now goes for $1,007 for a loose disc. Getting it complete is no different from finding a sealed copy either, costing $2,500, though the latter has reached heights of $5,000+ per copy.

The reason for its value comes in its scarcity, as it technically wasn’t meant to receive a GH edition. Despite offering some minor improvements, its stock was recalled en masse, and the only people who really bought copies were some football-loving store employees. Since then, a few of them have hit the market, where they go for gargantuan prices. Though even if people could afford them, they rarely turn up for sale due to their high value as collectors’ items.

19 Elemental Gearbolt: Assassin’s Case

Worth Its Price In Gold

Lightgun shooters were usually released worldwide, with the PS1 housing classics like Time Crisis and Point Blank. But Elemental Gearbolt remained exclusive to Japan and North America, as it had a lengthy, RPG-style story where the mysterious Tagami investigates how the world was brought to ruin by the Sulunkan and their oppression of the Audo. It was localized by Working Designs, who developed a good reputation for releasing beautiful boxsets for games like Arc the Lad: Collection and the Lunar series.

However, they really outdid themselves with the rare Elemental Gearbolt: Assassin’s Case edition, which featured a copy of the game, a memory card, and gold-plated GunCons all in their own little briefcase. This special edition was only available as a prize for people who took part in a competition arranged by Working Designs. The winners received their cases at E3 1998, though any stray cases have since become the most highly-prized items to hit the market, costing just over $8,000 to own the complete set.