PS1 Game prices are out of control – but for some, it’s the perfect time to buy

Prices of video games have been on the rise over the last year, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Just take a look at all of the articles posted here at Ghettogamer.net and you’ll see prices have been skyrocketing since the start of the pandemic.

Now, the more extreme prices of some games seem to have settled down, but I’d like to take a look at some PS1 game prices that have really taken off over the past 2 years and look to see where the trend is now.

Quick caveat: the prices I’m looking for are for complete copies. While these games are trending upward in general, disc-only sales are typically cheaper, although they’re expensive in their own right. But, what’s the fun in collecting just the disc?

In addition, the trends I’m looking at are provided by Pricecharting.com. While the trends are accurate, the numbers do seem to run a tad lower than eBay and Amazon.

I’m also not going to mention the Lunar 1/2 and Arc the Lad Collection packs.

For one thing, those 3 games have always been on the expensive side and will always climb the charts as new collectors enter the market. Second, the prices of these games now seem to be trending downward since spiking earlier this year. I recommend watching out for these 3 games and grabbing a copy while they’re low if you’re interested.

Speaking of grabbing games while they’re trending downward, there are some games on this list that are worth trying to grab while they’re still trending down. Sadly, there are a few games on this list that are just out of reach price-wise, for me anyway.

In any case, let’s take a look at 12 original PlayStation game prices that keep getting more expensive.

12. Kingsley’s Adventure

Here’s a game I haven’t even heard of until recently. I watched the Kingsley’s Adventure video game trailer that came on the PlayStation magazine demo disc #26 and it looks like a pretty fun game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL5mXEDxsyI

Kingsley’s Adventure is a 3D platformer in the same vein as Croc, Bubsy 3D, and Tomb Raider (minus the guns). By that, I mean it appears to have tank controls from the gameplay footage I’ve seen. Kingsley’s Adventure appears to have gotten average to good reviews but failed to make a lot of sales when it was released.

I’m guessing that the poor sales lead to less copies being produced because for-sale copies of Kingsley’s Adventures seem to be pretty rare. This, of course, also makes it more desirable to collectors as well… which drives up the price.

Kingsley’s Adventure’s price has been fluctuating quite a bit since I first learned about it. I saw complete copies listed for around $125 but there seem to be more copies for under $100 now. If you’re interested in grabbing a copy of this unique game, now may be the time to do it since it seems like the price is dipping a bit.

Get Kingsley’s Adventure on eBay

11. Azure Dreams

Azure Dreams is a game I played the hell out of when I was younger. It was my first experience with roguelike games. It’s a dungeon-crawler with RPG elements, collectible monsters, and dating sim elements.

While I thought Azure Dreams was great, it received mixed-to-poor reviews based on its gameplay. I couldn’t find sales figures on this game, but it didn’t seem to sell a lot of copies and never got a bigger release.

It appears that the craze for this game has died down quite a bit; there was a spike in early-to-mid 2021 that caused the price to jump to over $150. At the moment, the price seems to be trending downward, but I can’t imagine that this game will go back down to the $50 mark, which is where it was prior to the pandemic. Weirder things have happened though.

One fun thing to note about Azure Dreams is that, while it didn’t sell enough to get a direct sequel, a Game Boy Color port was released. Now that version of the game is very expensive and currently goes for over $100 for the cartridge only. Check it out.

There was also a spiritual successor on the Nintendo DS called Tao’s Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal. This game is also fairly expensive on eBay currently sitting at around $75. Regardless, if you’re a collector that likes Rougelike RPGs, be sure to grab a copy before the price jumps back up.

Here’s Azure Dreams on eBay.

10. Parasite Eve 2

Honestly, both Parasite Eve games have increased in price over the past year, but Parasite Eve 2 slightly edges out its predecessor.

Parasite Eve 2 changes the gameplay from the first game to become more of a survival horror game. While I remember the sequel not being as good as the first game, Parasite Eve 2 did receive relatively good reviews.

Parasite Eve 2 was released on the PSN for the PS3, but it was likely taken off. Given that there’s no way to play it digitally, a physical copy is the next best thing. It’s also, as I mentioned, a survival horror game, and survival horror game prices always seem to trend high.

Parasite Eve 2’s price is currently trending downward, falling from the $200s back to the $100s. If the trend continues then we may see this title continue to fall back to “normal” prices… whatever “normal” means in the gaming community these days.

Grab Parasite Eve or Parasite Eve 2 on eBay.

9. PaRappa the Rapper

This one surprised me quite a bit. PaRappa the Rapper is one of the games where I played the demo over and over on the demo disc that came with the PlayStation. PaRappa the Rapper was critically acclaimed by many critics and fans alike. It was so well received that it got ported to the PSP and PS4, although the ratings for those aren’t as high.

Given that PaRappa is so readily available, I’m honestly surprised that the price of the PS1 game is as high as it is. My guess is that copies are just hard to come by. I couldn’t even find a full copy back in the day, so it must be true.

PaRappa’s price is currently all over the place, fluctuating between less than $100 to greater than $100. It looks like the price is staying steady around that $150 mark on eBay though. This may be a game to skip for the moment. It’s hard to say if the price may increase again, but there are other currently other options (i.e. cheaper) if you want to play PaRappa the Rapper.

8. Breath of Fire 4

This game’s price surprised me as well. Breath of Fire IV was another very well-received game. It was critically acclaimed and well-loved by many. I honestly prefer its predecessors, but that’s just me.

Again, I’m of the opinion that games with poor sales leads to low quantities for sale during its initial run which leads to higher prices on the retro game market. I guess I can add PS1 JRPGs to the list of highly sought-after games along with survival horror.

Speaking of JRPGs, Breath of Fire IV has finally surpassed Breath of Fire III in terms of price. It looks like Breath of Fire IV had two increases in price, once in 2020 and again in 2021. The price appears to be trending between $100-$150, but I don’t see Breath of Fire IV lowering past $100 any time soon. I also don’t believe it’s available on the PSN, so if you’re looking to try this game you may have to spend a bit to play it.

Get Breath of Fire IV on eBay

7. Silent Hill

Silent Hill is easy to describe: it’s Silent Hill.

Every Silent Hill game price seems to trend high… some more than others… but it seems like Silent Hill for the PS1 is finally trying to catch up with the rest. That’s another category for the list, or maybe a subcategory, Silent Hill games.

The price of Silent Hill saw a surge in early 2021, but it seems to have come back down to reality. There is a greatest hits version of Silent Hill, but that version is almost as expensive as the black label version on eBay, so I don’t think there’s much difference here.

Silent Hill was very popular back when it was released and is still a great game to play today. If you haven’t experienced it then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Sadly the game is trending pretty high, even for a loose copy.

There was a remake/reimagining for the Wii/PS2, but those games are also trending very high (especially the PS2 version). Aside from that, I’m not sure of any other way to play this game besides the PS1. Unfortunately, you may be stuck paying these ridiculous prices if you want to try this game out.

6. Tomba! 2

Here’s a favorite from my childhood, Tomba! 2. The game was a very bright and colorful side-scroller/adventure game. The characters had charm and the game was very fun to play.

But despite being fun, Tomba! 2 didn’t really sell well. In fact, Tomba! 2 sold fewer copies than Tomba! 1… which ended up causing the developer to disband, but that’s another story.

Tomba! 2 was always on the less expensive side when compared to Tomba! 1. I’m guessing the price in the retro market stayed pretty low since Tomba! 2 was re-released on the PlayStation Network in North America in 2015. Given the pandemic and Sony threatening to close the PSN on PS3 the price of Tomba! 2 seems to have doubled. It has seen its highest price in 2021, but also saw a ~$50 dip mid-year.

Keep your eyes on Tomba! 2. It looks like the current price may be here to stay but it may be good to keep an eye out for the dip in price. You can grab it on eBay when the time is right.

5. Tomba!

I spoke about Tomba! 2, but let’s look at Tomba!

The story of Tomba! is sounds very similar to Tomba! 2. It’s a fun adventure platformer with great music and an innovative quest system and was actually very well received by critics. Unfortunately, the good reviews didn’t lead to good sales. Like I mentioned earlier, limited sales typically leads to a more rare/sought after game.

Unfortunately, Tomba! has always eluded my collection. I should have snagged a copy back in the day when the game was ~$50, but I was determined to find a copy in the wild.

I wish I hadn’t waited so long because the price has increased dramatically over the past 2 years. It has seen new highs since the start of the pandemic as well as a few dips. Tomba! reached even higher prices in 2021 and it looks like it may stay around that price for a while.

Find a copy on eBay

4. Alundra

Here’s another category to add to the expensive retro game list: games published by Working Designs.

Alundra is a spiritual successor to Landstalker from the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, another expensive retro game. Alundra plays a lot like the Legend of Zelda, for those unfamiliar with either Alundra or Landstalker. Alundra apparently had good sales when it was released, but I guess not enough to get a Greatest Hits edition.

Alundra was pretty hard to find even back in the day. I managed to grab a copy, but just the disc.

Prices saw two all-time highs, once during the height of the pandemic and again in 2021. The price did see a dip prior to reaching its all-time high in 2021and it dipped again after reaching that all-time high. Hopefully we see a dip in the price to reach a more reasonable price, but it looks like this game may continue to trend upward.

Here it is on eBay.

3. Vanguard Bandits

Speaking of Working Designs games, Vanguard Bandits is quickly climbing the charts. For those that don’t know, Vanguard Bandits is a Tactical RPG that featured several different endings. It was a fairly generic game, but it did garner average to good reviews.

Aside from the fact that it’s a Working Designs game, I believe there is another reason Vanguard Bandits is climbing in price. It came with a demo of Lunar 2. While that itself probably isn’t enough reason to drive the price up, it could certainly be a contributing factor.

Vanguard Bandits saw a major spike during the pandemic and is currently trending in a positive direction.

It looks like a complete copy of Vanguard Bandits may become too much to bother with, especially if you’re looking for a complete copy including the Lunar 2 demo. If anything, you can just purchase the disc only for a somewhat reasonable price.

Vanguard Bandits on eBay

2. Tail Concerto

Now we’re getting into really expensive PS1 games territory. Here’s another category for expensive games: Atlus games. Without fail, Atlus games tend to trend upward fairly quickly, for the most part.

Tail Concerto is another sad tale of a game that got fairly good reviews from critics but sold very poorly. Fun Fact, or sad in this case: A sequel for Tail Concerto was planned, but poor sales put an end to it. There was a spiritual sequel that was released for the Nintendo DS called SolatoRobo. Funny enough, that’s one of the more expensive games for that system.

Tail Concerto’s price has exploded since the start of the pandemic and is currently trending down. Current eBay buy listings have this game listed for far more than what Pricecharting currently has the price set at though. I believe this is one of those games that will keep appreciating in value, despite what the trends are showing.

1. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

Here’s a loveable little mascot that certainly deserves more attention. Klonoa: Door to Phantomile is a fantastic 2.5D side scroller that was highly praised by critics and players alike. It got a few sequels and received a remake on the Wii as well).

The Wii remake of Klonoa is also on the expensive side, but nowhere near as crazy as the PS1 version. Heck, Klonoa was so popular in Japan that it even had a manga based on the game.

Unfortunately, Klonoa: Door to Phantomile fell victim to poor sales in North America.

There was a slight increase in the price at the start of the pandemic, but the price really exploded in 2021. Even the game disc by itself is steadily increasing.

I don’t see Klonoa: Door to Phantomile’s price decreasing anytime soon so if you missed out on purchasing a copy of this game back when it was cheaper then you may be out of luck… unless you want to spend that much money. Be warned, prices on eBay are much higher than what Pricecharting is reporting.

Are there more PS1 games that are currently trending downward?

Probably.

These are just some of the games that caught my eye when I looked them up. A lot of these games are games that I had in my collection back in the day and a few others are some that I was interested in. Given how rare and expensive these PlayStation 1 games are… looks like I won’t be adding some of these back to my collection any time soon.