Mario gave a wholesome injection of life to the gaming business in 1985 with the primary Tremendous Mario Bros. on the Famicom (NES) in Japan. Since then, Mario has launched many new consoles and has pushed tech-forward into the 3D house and even jumped into house itself.
There’s hardly a extra wealthy and traditionally important legacy than Mario in gaming, so collectors have naturally held nice curiosity within the storied franchise. Listed here are 10 of the rarest and costliest Mario video games that may empty your pockets.
Like our earlier lists, PriceCharting is the supply used for brand new and used recreation values. We’re rating these Mario gems utilizing the New Value listings, from lowest to highest. We embody the common used worth as effectively based mostly on the “Unfastened Value” from PriceCharting. Console bundles should not included since they usually prime these lists and skew particular person recreation values.
10. Tremendous Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island (SNES)
$1,156 New | $38.86 Used
Nintendo’s follow-up to Tremendous Mario World didn’t come till the Tremendous Nintendo was 4 years outdated. The sport is titled Tremendous Mario World 2 regardless of not starring Mario as the principle character. This title was contentious to gamers since Yoshi’s Island is a prequel to present Mario video games and solely featured Mario as a child. regardless, Nintendo considers it as Tremendous Mario World 2, and its high quality definitely displays that.
The title just isn’t the one factor that put some gamers off of Yoshi’s Island. The Tremendous Nintendo was nearing the tip of its life cycle when Tremendous Mario World 2 was launched. Some gamers have been already fixated on Nintendo’s leap to 3D with the upcoming Nintendo 64, and in consequence, Yoshi’s Island turned certainly one of a handful of video games to turn into considerably uncommon and underrated.
Regardless of the title confusion and launch so near Nintendo’s new 3D console, Yoshi’s Island stays some of the beloved Mario video games. Yoshi’s Island’s high quality could be attributed to Nintendo EAD spending a full 4 years to develop the sport, an unprecedented growth cycle again then. Now, sealed copies of this Tremendous Nintendo basic fetch a premium with current gross sales eclipsing $1,000.
9. Mario Kart 64 [Player’s Choice]
$1,189 New | $39.75 Used
Releasing on the daybreak of 1997 in America, Mario Kart 64 realized Nintendo’s push for 3D in high-octane kart racing type. The Nintendo 64’s emphasis on multiplayer video games launched 4 controller slots to consoles for the primary time. Each 90s child remembers simply how enjoyable get-togethers have been with all of the four-player get together video games the Nintendo 64 had in its lineup.
As such, the console able to rendering 3D environments and 4 simultaneous gamers offered remarkably effectively. Mario Kart 64 would go on to carry the quantity two place by way of Nintendo 64 recreation gross sales with a whopping 10 million models offered as of November 2023. However there’s one version of the sport that turned a bit much less frequent.
Participant’s Selection was a label Nintendo used to promote video games that offered essentially the most copies on the console. As such, these copies typically got here later within the console’s life cycle after the preliminary fervor of the sport died down. The relative shortage of Mario Kart 64 Participant’s Selection Version assist make it some of the costly Mario video games with a current instance being offered for $2,500 in April 2023.
8. Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
$1,700 New | $18.44 Used
The West didn’t get Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 till early 1990, a full yr and a half after the preliminary Japanese launch of the sport. Regardless of being launched near the brand new Tremendous Nintendo console, Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 proved to be one of many all-time greats by way of high quality and gross sales.
Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 marked the second the collection got here into its personal. It firmly takes all the things that got here earlier than and does a masterclass with it. Ranges not adopted one another in a locked linear sample. Mario 3 as a substitute gave gamers a vigorous overworld dotted with branching paths and hidden secrets and techniques. The explorative nature of Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 turned a definitive carryover for the video games that adopted, together with the wildly standard Tremendous Mario World.
Due to its status as one of many all-time greats within the collection and its progressive reputation within the West, North American sealed copies of Tremendous Mario Bros. 3 fetch the best worth of all of them.
7. Tremendous Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
$1,916 New | $89.99 Used
Releasing simply 4 months earlier than the Nintendo 64 console was the brand new Mario RPG co-developed by SquareSoft on the Tremendous Nintendo. Every part about this recreation was weird and superb in equal measure. This might mark the primary time Nintendo collaborated with RPG large Sq. whereas they have been on the top of their craft.
Due to the late launch and the unconventional style coming from Nintendo, Tremendous Mario RPG turned a really uncommon and scorching merchandise on the amassing scene. That is a kind of video games that even sells effectively used. You probably have a beat-up outdated copy of this recreation for Tremendous Nintendo mendacity in a closet like I do, you might simply get $100 for it.
The brand new Tremendous Mario RPG Remake of the identical recreation has since boosted consciousness of the outdated Tremendous Nintendo basic. Now, gross sales for the sport are projected to extend much more than they have been earlier than. A brand new copy of the SNES recreation offered for $1,532 the identical month the Remake was launched.
6. Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
$2,375 New | $21.92 Used
Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 was really based mostly on a prototype tech demo for the Household Laptop Disk System. Introduced on the Yume Kōjō ’87 media expertise expo, Doki Doki Panic used pageant theming for the characters and environments. Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 would develop from this prototype, eschewing the issue of Misplaced Ranges and creating a way more polished and distinctive recreation.
Like most video video games launched earlier than the yr 2000, the true sequel to the primary Tremendous Mario Bros. got here to the West after its preliminary Japanese launch. At this time, English variations of Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 promote for over $2,000, granted it’s a sealed copy of the sport. Out of all of the video games on this listing, Tremendous Mario Bros. 2 has been some of the constant sellers with steady gross sales on the thousand-dollar mark month after month.
5. Tremendous Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
$2,557 New | $32.36 Used
Lengthy thought of some of the revolutionary video games of all time, Tremendous Mario 64 launched with the forward-thinking Nintendo 64. Tremendous Mario 64 rendered complicated platforming phases in full 3D and but someway nonetheless retained that Nintendo high quality we’ve come to depend on.
Properly, collectors adore it simply as a lot as we avid gamers do, because the English version has turn into some of the useful Mario video games. A bit a part of the rationale for its excessive worth could be attributed to the easy undeniable fact that Mario’s first foray into 3D generated a lot hype and recognition. Tremendous Mario 64 is the best-selling recreation on the Nintendo 64 console, and discovering a sealed copy is like operating right into a gold mine at present.
4. Mario Bros. Arcade Traditional Sequence (NES)
$3,259 New | $32.02 Used
The unique Mario Bros. on the Atari 2600 wasn’t the revolutionary hit that Tremendous Mario Bros. would go on to be, however it was nonetheless standard. Mario Bros. wasn’t a platformer in any respect, however slightly a bout of fight in a vertical enviornment. Variations of Mario Bros. can be included in lots of Nintendo video games to return such because the Mario All Stars model of Tremendous Mario. Bros 3.
Whereas the unique Atari Mario Bros. is price a fairly penny averaging round $800 for a brand new copy, its NES sibling model would go on to be actually useful. The Nintendo Leisure System launched a collection of basic arcade video games with touched-up visuals and controls titled the Arcade Traditional Sequence. Mario Bros. was one such recreation to grace the lineup and has since rocketed in worth turning into the fourth highest-selling Mario recreation in the marketplace.
3. Tremendous Mario Bros. YM-901 (Recreation & Watch)
$3,487 New | $750 Used
This one’s wild. Most avid gamers at present know Recreation & Watch from Smash Bros. The odd character’s stilted actions echo the {hardware} it was based mostly on. Recreation & Watch was a transportable machine used to play first-party arcade video games with a watch inbuilt to inform time and set alarms to. It turned a scorching vendor in Japan because of the nature of commuting and the necessity for handheld gadgets.
Recreation & Watch was often filled with only one or two video games put in, which entailed many many variations tailor-made for particular video games. One notably standard Recreation & Watch title was Tremendous Mario Bros. No, not that Tremendous Mario Bros., a unique Recreation & Watch model with all of the stilted animation and quirkiness that comes with it. It’s a very totally different recreation from the basic we’ve come to know, as could be seen on this playthrough of the sport:
Tremendous Mario Bros. for the Recreation & Watch nonetheless retained that eight world platforming construction the unique had, however all the things from platforms to Mario himself was designed within the Recreation & Watch fashion. The YM-901 launch of Tremendous Mario Bros. had a singular yellow “Mr. Famicom” recreation case with googly eyes on the entrance. Solely 10,000 of those restricted version Recreation & Watch copies have been printed, and will solely be obtained by successful Nintendo’s Japanese raffles from 1987.
2. Tremendous Mario Bros. (NES)
$3,692 New | $13.33 Used
The sport that legitimized video gaming as a factor, Tremendous Mario. Bros single-handedly saved the gaming crash of the 80s. It was one of many first platforming video games to attach dozens of distinctive ranges throughout a single marketing campaign. Most video games as much as that time have been recognized for his or her brevity and short-term playability from the arcade format. Tremendous Mario Bros. gave gamers a prolonged recreation with distinctive design from begin to end proper from the consolation of their house.
This reputation would proceed on into the 2000s when the earliest sealed copy of Tremendous Mario Bros. was offered for a whopping $2 million on the Pawn Stars present. Whereas that $2 million worth was in actual fact an anomaly based mostly on the primary version grading of the cartridge, sealed copies of the sport nonetheless promote effectively over $3,000. As of 2023, NES copies of English variations of Tremendous Mario Bros. promote for $3,500 new.
1. Tremendous Mario World (SNES)
$4,200 New | $16.50 Used
Tremendous Mario World launched the world to the Tremendous Nintendo Leisure System again in 1991 as a launch title. The sport would outsell each online game on the time. Not solely has Tremendous Mario World stood the take a look at of time on the resell market, however it’s held up as among the best platforming video games of all time.
Whether or not it’s due to its reputation on the Tremendous Nintendo, or as a result of Tremendous Mario World continues to be extremely thought to be the most effective Mario recreation at present, copies promote for insanely excessive quantities new. Tremendous Mario World is a really uncommon recreation to seek out unopened as a result of it was such a darn enjoyable recreation that demanded to be performed. Due to this, the discrepancy between new and used costs is laughably huge. Used copies of Tremendous Mario World could be present in each retro recreation retailer possible fetching costs as little as $15, but sealed copies stay a distant dream for collectors demanding $4,000 and up.
That sums up the highest 10 rarest and costliest Mario video games we’ll by no means get our palms on. What are some useful video games you personal? Take a look at our different uncommon video games lists right here on Twinfinite.