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

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.

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Updated January 27, 2025 by David Heath: Retro game collecting has gotten pricier over the past few years. Older games are getting rarer, and fewer physical releases are being made for relatively recent games. Emulation has helped some games remain playable, but 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 with some more particularly unusual entries that could earn their owners a pretty penny or two.

1 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 $198 for a complete box is up to the buyer. While anyone who's kept their copy sealed and pristine can earn a decent $432 if they find someone to pick it up.

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 $210 for a complete copy. Unless they have a PAL PS1, where they can get the disc loose for just $81. Weirdly, new PAL copies are much cheaper than their NTSC equivalents, costing $563 to $872.78.

3 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.

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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 $230, give or take a few pennies, and isn't any cheaper loose at $135. Fans might prefer to get the PAL edition at $123 loose, but its complete editions are more expensive at $365.

4 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 $240 for a complete copy. If they're already fluent in Japanese, they can grab a Japanese copy for $15, or its Limited Edition for $180 complete, approximately $60 less than its basic NA equivalent.

5 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 the sidescrolling RPG brawler, as a loose copy of Guardian Heroes costs $137, approximately $130 cheaper than the PS1 version of Batman Forever: The Arcade Game.

6 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.

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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 $300 to find it in a complete set, as it's doubled over in price since October 2024.

7 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 $340 for a complete box, or over $500 if they kept it in mint condition.

8 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 $349.50 for a boxed copy. The same goes for Europeans, where the game was never released either physically or digitally.

9 Tail Concerto

A Studio's Humble Beginning Becomes An Extravagant Purchase

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.

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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 $400 for a complete set. Francophones only need to spend $116 for the French copy, while Japanese speakers get the best deal at $27.27.

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 $420, with loose discs going for approximately half the price. It's even worse for people seeking new, sealed copies, as the prices have doubled up to $1,093 since November 2024.