Rarest GBA Games

[pacmanhat]

what about karrnaj rally? Havent seen that one too many times

I was just about to say this as well. I've only seen it once, and I picked it up when I did...it's pretty good. If anyone ever played "Death Rally" on PC, it's a lot like that.

[dbiersdorf]

I've never seen a copy of Mr. Pants in the wild, and I've looked all over.

Recently I'd say Riveria and Magical Quest 3 are pretty rare, and I think this trend will continue as the GBA ends its lifespan.

[sirhansirhan]

I had a shit-ass time trying to find Muppet Pinball Mayhem. I had been looking for it for over a year, and never found one in the wild until about a week ago ($18 cart only; I bought it). What's worse, that game never seems to show up on eBay, even. Sometimes sellers outside of the U.S. post one (which I don't trust), but during this year +/- I was looking for it, I saw two copies in eBay stores and maybe three on auction on eBay. And now that I have it, it's surprisingly fun. The only reason I tried so hard to track it down in the first place was for kitsch value (and because it became more and more clear that it was rare as hell).

[orrimarrko]

Can any GBA games be considered rare yet

Hard to find maybe, but not "the RARE!"

Length of time since a game's release has nothing to do with it being rare or not.

If 2000 copies of a game were manufactured and distributed in the US, I'd say it was rare, regardless of when it was released.

Only difference is ability to locate one.

The distinction between "RARE" and "HARD TO FIND" is always blurred in these threads.

A game can be rare, and not difficult to find (if you know where to look.)

Likewise, a game can be hard to find in terms of availability for sale, but not be rare at all.

I'd be happy to post examples of each, but I think you get the point.

Steve

[mikeetler]

I've never seen a copy of Mr. Pants in the wild, and I've looked all over.

Mr Pants was primarilly distributed in Canada. I did find a few locals strores selling it (independants, not chains) in addition to Wal Mart's website. A few places have the game listed as a pre-order with an October release date, so it's possible there's going to be a second run for the holidays.

Recently I'd say Riveria and Magical Quest 3 are pretty rare, and I think this trend will continue as the GBA ends its lifespan.

MQ3 I've seen fairly often in EB & Gamestop.

I got an update on Bookworm as well as info on Super Collapse II. Both had runs of 20,000 units, which was the smallest run Nintendo would manufacture at the time. At this time, neither game will have a second run for a number of reasons.

-Mike

[Sosage]

Speaking of R-Type III, the local Fry's has a mountain of them. I'm guessing they are still in the 20 bucks range (since I bought my copy at 19.99 almost a year ago...bleh). Same with Super Puzzle Fighter for some strange reason (I know...not super rare or anything...but every Gstop/EB I walked into acted like I was asking for something super hard to find).

Two GBA titles that have been a real pain in the ass for me are Contra Advance: The Alien Wars and Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival. I haven't seen either one of these titles IRL. I'm talking "gone day of release" level-of-scarce for my area. *shrug*

[smork]

Might need to add Riviera, unless Atlus does a second printing. The EBGames and Gamestop near me only got in about a half-dozen copies between them, the last of which I bought, and both chains websites show it as backordered now.

Here in Singapore, I've seen at least 10 stores carrying the US release of Riviera in the past week (yeah, I go to too many game stores). It's really common here. Then again, new, boxed Tactics Ogre is common here. All kinds of weird stuff are common here, while some really common US stuff is impossible to find. One can never tell.

[§ Gideon §]

Might need to add Riviera, unless Atlus does a second printing.

They did, earlier this month.

[§ Gideon §]

(link)

[DigitalSpace]

I'm happy to say I finally found a copy of Car Battler Joe.

And regarding Karnaaj Rally, I think I've only seen two copies in the wild.

[snes_collector]

Someone mentioned the AIA games, I don't think I've never saw any of those. I thought BookWorm would be HTD from the start, I kich my self in the head for not buying a used copy at GameStop for $15(maybe they still have it.) As for RCR:Advance I would consider it HTD, I went in a TRU a few months back that had a bunch of copies on sale. And what Super Dodge Ball Advance? I remember getting the last copy at WalMart I few years back, and I don't think I've seen a copy since.

[Famidrive-16]

And what Super Dodge Ball Advance? I remember getting the last copy at WalMart I few years back, and I don't think I've seen a copy since.

Now that I think of it, I haven't seen that game anywhere since I bought it when it was released...

[DigitalSpace]

I've seen Super Dodge Ball Advance a few too many times for it to be rare. Could be a regional thing, though.

[Iron Draggon]

Got a legit new copy of Sonic Pinball Party on ebay for only $15. Only one person fought me for it, and not very hard.

Now Pinball of the Dead on the other hand...

I don't know if this one is a true rare or a false rare, but it's been selling for around $70 new on ebay and amazon. Had to pay $50 for mine, couldn't find it any cheaper new.

[DarkStraw]

just went to my gamestore and picked up a copy of ninja 5-o also had a mario party advance there, the box had "not for resale" would that be rare? also, isent the super mario brothers classic sort of rare?

[handheldchick]

i got a copy of ninja five-o cib at eb,used for only $15. i love the music for that game. and that was the only time ive ever seen it in stores.
and my bf at the time traded MTG cards to get me a loose copy of doom from some kid.
ive never seen another copy of doom in the wild.
ive seen cima once,used.
ive never seen car battler joe.

[DigitalSpace]

I actually found a loose copy of Urban Yeti at a GameCrazy last month. Only copy I've ever seen in the wild too. From what I played of it, it looks to be an interesting game. Too bad there's a password save instead of a battery save. Oh well.

[vintagegamecrazy]

I just found a sealed copy of Super Collapse II at Game Crazy tonight, 19.99 and they said they had it forever, lucky me. The local EB has Castlevania HOD, Breath Of Fire, Super Dodgeball Advance and a few others too, don't seem to be too rare to me.

[Richter Belmount]

funny most of you cant find the titles listed on this topic but I can find them all in right here in california, but the prob is that cali sucks for the basic gba games like fire emblem , wario ware , mario games , metroids and etc .

[DigitalSpace]

I'm starting to see Karnaaj Rally in the wild a bit more often than I used to. In fact, I recall seeing at least four copies in the last month.

And since Seanbaby recently bashed the game in his EGM column again, let me say that it's actually a pretty fun racing game, and if you liked Racing Gears Advance, it's worth a try if you come across a copy. It's too bad that the boxart was so bad - it really turned a lot of people off.

As for Castlevania HOD, I would say it's not rare at all, just in demand. I have seen it a little more often (along with AOS) since the double pack was released.