Our Top Ten Rarest NES Games feature was so popular that we sent Adrian back in to the mixer to do the same for the SNES – the results may shock you…
**If you like this, check out our rare PS2 games, rare N64 games, and rare Mega Drive/Genesis games top tens**
10. Mega Man 7
Mega Man 7 was developed by Capcom and is the only title in the main Mega Man series to feature on a 16-bit console. Many people were less than impressed when the game was first launched and instead preferred the Mega Man X series of games. The game was accused of offering little extra to the Mega Man brand. A boxed and new version of the game is now extremely valuable.
Chance of finding a new copy: Mega-No-Collectormania
Cart Price – £117.00/$180.00 New/Boxed – £1658.00/$2550.00
9. Wild Guns
Wild Guns was a fixed view western shooting game developed by Natsume. This slick looking SNES game is set in a weird wild west steampunk setting (comparable to Chaos Engine). The gameplay is similar to the excellent Cabal. The game is notoriously difficult – even on easy setting, but is a must have title for any SNES game collector.
Chance of finding a new copy: The Not Good, The Very Bad and The Unlikely
Cart Price – £137.00/$211.00 New/Boxed – £676.00/$1040.00
8. StarFox Super Weekend Competition
StarFox (known as StarWing in Europe) is a classic SNES title and to help promote the launch of the game, Nintendo held the Super StarFox Weekend – a competition held across shopping centres around the United States and Europe.
The time-limited competition gave contestants the chance to win t-shirts, jackets and holidays. It is rumoured that 2,000 cartridges of this specially adapted game were made. A limited number of these games were sold by Nintendo Power magazine for $45.00. The Starfox Super Weekend Competition cartridges are now worth a lot more due to their small supply.
Chance of finding a new copy: You’ve better chance finding a new actual star.
Cart Price – £286.00/$440.00
7. Aero Fighters
Aero Fighters was released on the SNES in 1993. This vertical-scrolling shoot ‘em up would eventually span two sequels. You can choose which country you wish to fight for and will then be assigned a character – my favourites being Blaster Keaton from the United States and the sinister sounding Villiam Syd Pride from the UK. Please note, the NTSC version is a lot rarer than the PAL version.
Chance of finding a new copy: Aer on the side of caution…
Cart Price – £286.00/$440.00 New/Boxed – £1300.00/$2000.00
6. Hagane: The Final Conflict
Hagane: The Final Conflict is a side-scrolling action game, similar to Ninja Gaiden. The games poor graphics have not deterred collectors for wanting to add this rare game to their collections.
Chance of finding a new copy: Here today, Hagone tomorrow
Cart Price – £300.00/$460.00 New/Boxed – £1300.00/$2000.00
5. M.A.C.S. Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator
Do you ever play a shoot-em up and think you could transfer your video game skills onto a real war zone? Well, this is what the U.S. Army actually did! M.A.C.S. is a shooting simulator developed by the U.S. Army to teach soldiers how to shoot. The cartridge and realistic looking gun (Jäger AP 74) combo took the Nintendo Super Scope to another level by being a lot more accurate and authentic. It is rumoured only 600 cartridges were made, making this title very rare indeed.
Chance of finding a new copy: There is more chance of comeback from Mark Morrison – Return of the M.A.C.
Cart Price – £430.00/$660.00
4. Donkey Kong Country Competition Edition
This special competition edition of Donkey Kong Country is easily one of the rarest SNES titles ever made. It was originally created for Blockbuster Video to be used in their 1994 Blockbuster World Video Game Championships II. The game is a cut down version of Donkey Kong Country with a few tweaks. There is now a point counter on the screen and some of the levels have been slightly adapted to encourage scoring. Only 2,500 of these specially made cartridges were ever made so it has now become a prized collector item.
Chance of finding a new copy: It won’t be like shooting bananas in a barrel.
Cart Price – £526.00/$810.00
3. Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally / Speed Racer
This rare cartridge actually consists of two games, Mountain Bike Rally and Speed Racer, that are both mediocre games at best. What makes this 2in1 cart so special is that it is meant to be plugged into a special Life Cycle exercise bike. The Life Cycles are also very rare and surely go down in history as one of the most bizarre console add-ons ever made! No one is completely sure if Exertainment Mountain Bike Rally / Speed Racer was officially sold to the public, so if you ever lay your eyes on a copy make sure you grab it quick.
Chance of finding a new copy: On your bike son, nothing to see here!
Cart Price – £975.00/$1500.00 New/Boxed – £2394.00/$3683.00
2. Nintendo Campus Challenge 1992
After the success of the first Campus Challenge in 1991, Nintendo decided to follow up with a SNES campus challenge the following year. The competition was played across 35 US college campuses where the overall winner was awarded $10,000. The competition was played across 3 Nintendo games; Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilotwings. The bizarre looking cartridge really stands out from your usual SNES titles, with the PCB board parallel to the SNES. With only 3 cartridges known to exist, this is easily one of the rarest carts ever made.
Chance of finding a new copy: F-Zero chance!
Cart Price – £2600.00/$4000.00
1. Nintendo PowerFest 1994
With only two known cartridges in existence, it is quite clear why the Nintendo PowerFest 1994 title is the rarest SNES game in the world.
Very similar to The Nintendo Campus Challenge (above) contestants had to battle through three timed Nintendo titles to be crowned the overall winner. The cartridge contained levels from Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Super Mario Kart and Ken Griffey, Jr. Major League Baseball. 33 of these special cartridges were initially created to be used across the US, but with many being returned to Nintendo and used for parts, it is believed only 2 survived. The rarest SNES title is now worth over $10,000!!
Chance of finding a new copy: More like Nintendo PowerInJest…
Cart Price – £7144.00/$10988.00
Adrian
Now you’re done here, check out our top ten SNES racing games.