Ibara: What's up with the price?!

[Kyle15]

There's currently a copy of Ibara on eBay going for $90+ in an auction. I've heard of this game before, but I never knew it went for this much. (BIN prices are as high as Radiant Silvergun!)

So, what's the story behind this one? I know the special edition was apparently short-printed, but not the first print.

[klausien]

I believe Ibara had a single print run outside of the SE. Not sure how many units. There were rumors of a best collection release, but they never panned out. All of the other Cave PS2 ports were rereleased either through best collection or additional runs. I bet it will continue to appreciate favorably unless it gets rereleased in some way. Cave games tend to retain their value, but Ibara is probably the "rarest" outside of the PSX ports of the 'Pachis.

Unlike say, Panzer Dragoon Saga or Radiant Silvergun; which are two typical examples of games that deserve a much wider audience, I don't really feel it's that tragic with Ibara. The whole Raizing/Cave mash-up going on is interesting, but it's simply not as good as the sum of its parts. ESPGaluda, DDP: DOJ, and even the vasoline-o-vision port of Mushihimesama, are much better purchases from a gameplay standpoint.

Ibara is antialiased like Mushi, but the blur hurts it so much more due to the Raizing invisible bullets going on. The contrast drop makes a fiercely difficult game even more impenetrable. I would rather have easy to see bullets, even if they're bubble gum pink & purple.

[smork]

It's the same in Japan, too, so it's not a US thing. Not sure why it's so expensive. It was a fair bit cheaper not all that long ago.

[Kyle15]

So, it actually isn't that hard to find? Must be insane demand a-la Marvel vs Capcom 2 and Final Fantasy 7.

Thanks for letting me know. :)

[Zero-chan]

From what I understand, it's a better port than Mushihimesama, released not much earlier. There was a Best version solicited for preorder about a year later, but I believe it was cancelled due to lack of interest from Japanese distro and retailers (you need a certain number of guaranteed orders to make the reproduction worthwhile).