The Sony PlayStation 1 is quite a revered piece of hardware and a console that every 90s kid remembers playing with. Despite having an impressive collection of games released on this platform, some of them were either not as popular as the others or had a niche hardcore fanbase that played them.
Because of these factors, a lot of hidden gems have flown under the radar, and over time, these games have become legendary in their own right. This is mostly because of how rare these games are to find in modern times and collectors value them really highly. As such, we have curated a list of the 10 rarest PlayStation 1 games that are hardest to find and highly valued.
Top 10 rarest PS1 games
10) Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure
Starting off, we have quite a popular franchise in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, a popular manga and subsequent anime that was created by Hirohiko Araki in 1987. The series had a 17-year runtime and ended in 2004. At the peak of the series’ popularity in the 90s, Capcom released the PlayStation 1 game titled JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure that followed the manga’s characters.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a fighting game that was released in 1998. The game shares a lot of similarities with other popular fighting titles of its time, such as Street Fighter III. But due to games such as Tekken, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter dominating the fighting game market, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and its niche fanbase did not see adequate success.
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Because of this, the PS1 version of the game is considered to be one of the rarest games available today. A mint version copy of the game can fetch you anywhere from $300 to $400 right now.
9) Valkyrie Profile
Valkyrie Profile is the first game in Square Enix’s Valkyrie Profile series. The series started in 1999 with the release of the original Valkyrie Profile, a JRPG with a Norse mythology theme. The ancient Norse mythology was still quite an unexplored theme in gaming history at this time and as such, the game struggled to find its footing in the beginning.
Valkyrie Profile was developed by Tri-Ace, a developer known for creating JRPGs like Star Ocean. The game follows the journey of Valkyrie Lenneth, who is recruiting fallen heroes to serve as her Einherjar for the upcoming Ragnarok. Lenneth also learns about her human life before her death.
Valkyrie Profile was then released in North America in 2000, a year after the original Japanese release of the game. As popular as the game was in Japan, it did not translate as well to an American audience, leaving the sales numbers quite underwhelming. If you had to purchase a copy today, it would be valued close to $200 with some rare editions going up to $400.
8) Tail Concerto
Tail Concerto was developed by CyberConnect and published by Bandai Namco in 1998. The game was quite a popular title in Japan, with the theme of anthropomorphic animals being a major hit among the populace. But once the game was released across Europe and America, it didn’t perform nearly as well. The only European country the game was released in was France.
Tail Concerto performed comparatively better in North America, although it took a while for the game’s global release to happen because of multiple translation issues throughout its release period. Once Atlus took over the translation process, however, the game started to sell faster than earlier. But that period didn’t last quite long either.
Because of the lack of sales, the game was considerably hard to get within its first few years of release, Now, over two decades later, Tail Concerto is quite a collector’s treat, selling for anywhere between $400 to $500.
7) Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
The Persona series was not as big of a hit in the West as it is now. Nowhere is this statistic more prominently noticed than in its first two entries, especially when it comes to Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. The sequel to the original Persona 2: Innocent Sin continues the story where it left off, expanding upon the events of what happened at the end of Innocent Sin.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment was released in 2000. Originally released only in Japan, it made its way to the West a year later but the game didn’t gain as much traction as Atlus had hoped. A few years down the line, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment got a PlayStation Portable version and it really took off from there, which left the original PlayStation 1 version high and dry.
Finding a mint condition copy of the original Persona 2: Eternal Punishment version on the PlayStation is very difficult. Considered by many fans as a true collectible of the series, the game sells for up to $500.
6) Revelations: Persona
If you thought Persona 2: Eternal Punishment was hard to acquire, you haven’t tried to get your hands on Revelations: Persona. The first game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series is one of the rarest PlayStation titles currently being circulated, with the few mint-condition copies of the game only available in the hands of hardcore collectors.
Originally released in 1996 by Atlus, Revelations: Persona kicked off the long-running Persona series. The original two entries were the darkest versions of the game, with subsequent entries after Persona 3 becoming more light-hearted in nature. The theme of a group of teenagers fighting off an underlying source of evil with their inner self manifesting as their weapon of choice started here.
Fast forward to today, the few copies of Revelations: Persona that you will find online can sell for anywhere between $500 to $600.
5) Syphon Filter 3
Syphon Filter 3 is the third installment in the Syphon Filter franchise exclusive to the PlayStation. The series was known for being a third-person stealth shooter with realistic mechanics for its era. The story of Syphon Filter 3 continues exactly after the events of Syphon Filter 2, putting players in the shoes of special agent Gabriel Logan who is framed for treason.
Syphon Filter 3 was set to release on Sept. 25, 2001, but after the events of 9/11, Sony was forced to change its release date. The reason for this is that the original artwork of the game included an American flag with an explosion behind it. After the attack, the studio recalled all copies featuring the now-controversial artwork.
While a copy of Syphon Filter 3 is not expensive by default, getting a rare copy of the version with the recalled artwork is what will cost you a hefty sum because each recalled copy sells for $600 to $700.
4) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is the 1997 offering from the long-running Castlevania series by Konami. When the game was first released, it was quite a hit in Japan but, as we can see a trend by now, it didn’t perform as well in the West. Low sales numbers translated to a poor first showing for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, but fan interest was growing after the initial reviews came out.
By the time fan interest had peaked, most of the original copies of the game were sold out with no new ones being produced. As time passed, Symphony of the Night became the stuff of legends in the Castlevania series because of how rare it was to acquire a copy. The few ones available online right now sell for anywhere between $500 to $800 depending on the seller.
3) The Misadventures of Tron Bonne
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne is a sleeper hit by Capcom especially because it is considered to be the prequel to the original Mega Man: Legends. As expected of a prequel, instead of Mega Man himself, players are put into the shoes of Tron Bonne, sister of the criminal Bonne family of air pirates. Playing from the perspective of an anti-hero in 2000 was quite a treat for players.
By the time the title was available globally, the game wasn’t selling as well as Capcom had hoped. The few copies sold in the first few years soon became the only copies that fans everywhere possessed. Getting your hands on one is definitely not an easy task because there are only a handful of sellers with this title, selling it for upwards of $500 all the way to $850.
2) Cindy’s Fashion World
Cindy’s Fashion World might be one of the most egregious examples of a poorly-designed video game ever developed by a studio. Having been released at the tail end of the PlayStation’s runtime, this 2004 game was aimed towards children being its primary audience. And while the graphics would suggest that, the game had a lot of underlying issues.
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Cindy’s Fashion World was plagued by a host of bugs, some of which literally left the game in an unplayable state. The lack of bug fixes after the initial copies were circulated led to a swift end for this title. Because of this, it is almost impossible to get your hands on a copy of this game. If you do find a seller, expect to pay over $1,000 at least if you want to own this bugged masterpiece.
1) Elemental Gearbolt
While Cindy’s Fashion World is hard enough to get your hands on, one game definitely beats it in terms of rarity. That game would be Elemental Gearbolt, a sci-fi shooter developed by Alfa System in 1997. The American version of the game was released a year later and it was sufficiently popular for its time.
While the game itself isn’t as hard to get, Alfa System released a super rare collector’s edition called Elemental Gearbolt: Assassin’s Case edition. This edition came packed with GunCons that were gold-plated and were never commercially sold. The only ones who have this edition are players that won a competition for it back in 1997.
The value of this collector’s edition is no less than $2,000, making it the most valuable PlayStation asset a collector can possess.
