An image of a PS1 for the article discussing Rare and Valuable PS1 Games
Gaming

Rare PS1 Games: Your old games might be worth a fortune!

Rare PS1 Games can be worth a fortune! We thought it’d be fun to research some of those rare and valuable PlayStation 1 (PS1) games, whilst some of the prices are out of reach for most of us. Some of you may already own a few of these titles.

Let’s take a look at some of the rarest and greatest PS1 games of all time.

Rare PS1 Games – How many rare PS1 games?

There were around 1300 games released for the PS1. Most of those games went on to sell thousands of copies. Some sold a few thousand and even fewer sold less than a few hundred. The games that had low sales numbers are rare and some of them are worth a small fortune.

The second hand PS1 game market is fast paced so be quick if you want to cash in! Likewise, if you want to hold out for a rare game they do come down in price occasionally.

So let’s take a look at 5 of the most rare and valuable ps1 games.

Rarest and Most Valuable Playstation 1 Games

First up on the list is probably the most expensive game that I’ll cover today. I’d never heard of it before doing my research for this article. A few of these games are really obscure and others are highly collectible.

Rare PS1 Games – Cindy’s Fashion World

An image of Cindy's Fashion World PS1 Game
Cindy’s Fashion World rarity comes from how obscure the game is.

A mint copy of Cindy’s Fashion World will set you back around £600 ($787). That’s one hell of a price for a game that I’d never heard of. The price point is partly due to that obscurity, there where only a few thousand made. It’s also partly due to it being by a small games publisher called Phoenix. They also put out Dalmatians 2 and Dinosaurs. 

Cindy’s Fashion World is known to be a little bit rubbish and a bit buggy. We’ve read stories online of it refusing to play on a lot of Playstation 1 consoles for no apparent reason. 

If you did want to buy it, it’s available on CEX! Don’t though, it’s definitely not worth it.

Rare PS1 Games – Hellnight

An image of the valuable Playstation Game, Hellnight.
Hellnight is another one of those PS1 games that’ll set you a bit less than others on this list!

This first person survival horror game was released in 1998. The publisher is none other than the legends over at Konami. It’s got some really good reviews and the authors of those reviews suggest that the game is actually pretty scary.

At the time, the game sold very few copies which explains the rarity of it today. It’s quite cheap considering the first game on the list would set you back nearly $600.

So, if you wanted to start your Rare PS1 game collection this would be a good starting point.

An ordinary copy will set you back around £25 ($32) but a mint copy will cost you around £100 ($131).

Revelations: Persona

Persona is a really rare PS1 Game.

The Persona series is now quite well-known by hardcore game collectors and casual gamers alike. It wasn’t always like this though, back in the day it was pretty much unheard of. Which caused the price to rise.

When it was first released people noted how Persona broke typical RPG fashion because it took place in a modern day high school setting.

You can pick up a copy today for around $100. It’s not as valuable as some of the games on this list but it’s certainly up there with the rarest and most unheard of.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

An image showing the cover of rare PS1 game, Castlevania.
You must have heard of how rare Castlevania is!

Now, if you haven’t heard of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night you need to carry on reading!

Another one from legendary publisher Konami. Expect to pay over £300 ($393) for a mint copy. This game will crop up on the majority of “greatest ps1 games of all times” lists. This game was a NES original, it came to the Playstation 1 in 1997 and was every bit as good as the original.

The goal of the game is for you to uncover all the mysteries inside Castlevania. Castelvania just so happens to be Dracula’s castle.

Herkules

An image showing PS1 game, Herkules.
Herkules, not spelt wrong. This ultra rare game isn’t actually that expensive considering how rare it is.

Take control of the world’s strongest man, Herkules. Well, you can if you have £250 ($327) to splash on a Playstation One game. This version, spelt Herkules (not a typo) is another game by Phoenix. So don’t confuse this game with the Disney version. The game is pretty terrible as it’s basically a digital colouring book and jigsaw puzzle.

It’s probably in the top 15 rarest PS1 standard release games. So it really only appeals the most hardcore of black label collectors. I have seen some copies sell for as low as £25 ($32) so it depends on where you are buying it from and if you are willing to wait for the price to drop a little bit. 

LSD: Dream Emulator

An image of LSD Emulator! A super rare and super weird game for the PSONE. A super rare ps1 game
An image of LSD Emulator! A super rare and super weird game for the PSONE. A super rare ps1 game

First of all, I’m surprised this game hasn’t been banned. The game, a type of exploration game was publishing by Asmik Ace Entertainment in 1998. As you can expect it was met with some sort of speculation and controversy. According to Wikipedia:

The game was conceived by Japanese artist Osamu Sato, who rejected the idea of games, and wanted to use the PlayStation as a medium for creating contemporary art.

That sounds like a great idea if not a little ahead of it’s time. The game will set you back around £250 ($327) if you want a mint copy. I’d pass on this one though as according to online reports, it’s fairly rubbish.

Elemental Gearbolt

Elemental Gearbolt isn't exactly rare, but it's damn expensive, especially this special edition.
Elemental Gearbolt isn’t exactly rare, but it’s damn expensive, especially this special edition.

Although not the rarest game on the list (there are several listings on Ebay). For a mint copy, it’s pretty damn expensive. If you want to buy this game it’s going to cost you around $120 / £115.

Elemental Gearbolt was released in December 1997, it was very well received by critics due to it’s sci-fi setting. It has an awe inspiring orchestral soundtrack, and beautiful animated cutscenes. Will you be adding it to your collection?

Syphon Filter 3- Rare PS1 Games

Rare PS1 Games
Rare PS1 Games

This is one of those games that’s really only a rare PS1 game because of an event that shocked the world. That event was 9/11.

Syphon Filter 3 was originally scheduled to be released on September 21, 2001. Which in it’s self wasn’t the problem. The problem was that the cover originally feature artwork that was pretty controversial. It had a US Flag draped over exploding buildings. Which, was slightly sensitive as 9/11 had only just happened.

The initial shipments of the game were already sent out to retailers in advance of the release, but were recalled to allow the distributor to quickly to swap out the controversial artwork. This obviously caused a delay to the launch.

These “American Flag” variants were never officially released for sale but obviously some of the boxes were opened by the retailers and a few copies where held back. Some of these copies were then sold to customers.

Back in 2017, thee sealed copies were selling from anywhere between $900 up to $3000. As more and more of these copies were unearthed the price quickly feel. But, we’ve seen the price climb in recent times and there are a few copies currently for sale on eBay for $3000.

If you enjoyed this, check out our list of the best PS1 Horror Games. It’s a long read but well worth it.

Rare PS1 Games F.A.Q’s

What makes a PS1 game valuable?

It’s normally due to how scarce it is and the number of copies sold. The lower the number the rarer the game.

Where can I buy rare PS1 games?

You can buy rare Playstation games from CEX, Ebay or other online platforms.

Can I sell my rare Playstation One games?

You can. We’d recommend trying Ebay for more exposure or trying CEX, they will offer you a fixed price. CEX are safer due to being a company but often offer a lower than market value price.

Are mint PS1 games worth more?

Usually mint, unopened games are worth the most.

What’s the rarest PS1 game?

It’s difficult to say. A lot of times people mistake rarity with popularity. Just because a game is expensive doesn’t make it rare. The list we’ve compiled is pretty accurate.

More Gaming Content

Liked our article on the best weapons in The Last Of Us Part 1? For more awesome gaming content like this, check out our gaming category pages. They’re jam packed with reviews, guides and opinion pieces. For any tech recommendations and reviews, hit up our tech pages.

You can also check out these tips for playing online games!

Disclosure

The Amazon links in this article are affiliate links. This means that if you go onto buy something from Amazon after clicking on them we may get a small commission. It won’t cost you anything extra but it helps us pay towards the running costs of the blog. It allows us to bring you great content! Thank you so much for your support.

CodeWithMike is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.co.uk.

CodeWithMike is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com.

35 Comments

  1. Kathleen Marsden

    I’m so annoyed I got rid of mine now.

  2. Iain maciver

    crash bandicoot

    • CodeWithMike

      A well loved game regardless of the console! It’s been remastered and all 3 games are available on the Nintendo Switch now.

  3. Love ours

  4. Eva Lorraine Appleby

    Metal Gear Solid

  5. Courtney Randall

    Spyro all the way, I loved that game!

  6. Crash bandicoot! Best game ever

  7. My ultimate fav has got to be ty the Tasmanian tiger,loved it,played for hours!

  8. Jasbir Purewal

    Still have mine! Love the retro aspect of it now playing games like crash bandicoot, medal of honour and the original tekken!

  9. paula cheadle

    My son still has his an sometimes he gets it to play on for a change

  10. I remember an LSD demo on an old PSM disc. Very odd. Like Fluid too on PS1 where you controlled an ambient dance dolphin.

  11. Laura Pyper

    Crash bandicoot was our favorite

  12. Croc was the first full game I had for the PS1, I spent a lot of time playing demos! I think my favourite though is destruction derby!

  13. Jill Fairbanks

    Got rid of all ours just goes to show crash bandicot was a firm favourite here

  14. Kate Cunningham

    Oops I maybe shouldn’t have binned ours when the kids moved out. Didn’t have these games though.

  15. CodeWithMike

    Hi all,

    Don’t forgot to register for our new monthly competition called Gamerday.

    It’s launching in March, go to the top of the site and click ‘Win Games’ that page will explain all of the rules and entry requirements.

    Mike.

  16. Daniel Harrison

    The first-ever game I played was the creatively titled ‘Formula 1’ – I had a book (which still sits proudly on my shelf) that had a cheat in it which meant Murray Walker’s commentary was shuffled so he could be announcing the start of Monaco whilst I was crashing in Adelaide!

  17. sandy lynn ralph

    my boy still have one in the loft , i used to love playing Bust a move on it

  18. Crash Bandicoot!

  19. Helen Sherpa

    The best game for me for the PS1 would be Silent Hill, it was one of first PS1 games I played and it scared the hell out of me lol, great use of sounds 🙂

  20. I loved playing Pandemonium on the PS1

  21. I loved Bust a move and Bubble Bobble, spent many a happy hour on those and Hogs of war

  22. Denise walton

    Spyro was the best game I played

  23. James McLaughlin

    Syndicate Wars. I spent many hours playing that one. Definitely my favourite title on the PS1.

  24. Pillpoppermethhead

    NBA live 2001 is the best ps1 game ever created.

    • CodeWithMike

      It’s a decent game for sure but I don’t think it’s the greatest PS1 game ever created. For me it would have to be Final Fantasy 7/8/9 or Crash Bandicoot!

  25. How many of you still have gta triple pack with maps and the London version.? If so what would you recommend a price tag onit,

    • CodeWithMike

      To be honest, I’m not so sure on the price. Probably best to get it appraised. What kind of condition is it in?

  26. Thank you so much mike for inadvertently helping me remember the name of a game I played as a kid.
    You showed Syphon Filter.
    For at least 10 years I’ve been trying to remember a game where a character named Ben dies and gives you his power glove and you fight an insect queen. And also search this game on this blog “xfire”
    It was Ted from Suikoden 1.
    Thank you, it’s a load off my mind.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*