This article got a little bit out of hand. Besides the length of the list itself, I also have a lot of opinions on the current state of retro collecting. To skip all my nonsense and go straight to the content, use the table of contents here.
Also, if you are thinking of buying any of these, please consider using the affiliate links at the end of each entry. Every purchase earns me a tiny commission and helps keep this site alive. Thank you!
| Skip To Content: |
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| SNES Games Under $20 |
| SNES Games Between $20 and $30 |
| SNES Games Over $30 (But Not Too Much!) |
Now then…
If you found this article because you’re new to retro game collecting and trying to start a collection, then welcome!
…and I’m sorry.
I wrote the original edition of this list (The 52 Best SNES Games that are Still Cheap) back in the Spring of 2020 with the intention of helping make retro game collecting possible for everyone on any budget. Of course, back then I was still hoping COVID would run its course in time for my summer plans. Clearly that didn’t pan out.
And since that time, retro game prices have gone completely bonkers.
It was kind of heartbreaking to write this updated article. I had to move 10 of the games off the Under $20 list. (That’s about 20% of the entire list, you know.) And a few games had to be crossed out entirely as they no longer have any business being on a “Cheap Games” list.
But even before the current market crisis, Super NES game prices seemed significantly higher than other retro consoles. This despite Nintendo having sold a very impressive number of consoles with an extensive library. (SNES games list on Wikipedia.) In other words, most of these games are not rare or hard to find.
Why are SNES Games so Expensive?
Before the pandemic, SNES prices were already high. Part of the reason may be that so many of the best SNES games were JRPGs. And in the 90s in the United States, JRPGs hadn’t quite come into the popularity they would reach in the next console generation.
Games like Final Fantasy II, Final Fantasy III and Secret of Mana were pretty popular in the US, but nowhere near as much as platformers and action/adventure games. So fewer RPGs were made and distributed to the US.
As 90s gamers have matured, there’s been a renewed appreciation for those high-quality RPGs. The limited supply and increasing demand has put the hurts on pricing. Today, some of the most expensive SNES games are the RPGs that came out late in the 16-bit era and sold poorly.
And of course, when the most sought-after games on a console are the most expensive, it drives up the average price of the games and affects the entire market.
So if you’re wondering why there are so few RPGs on this list… that’s why. They are simply, on average, more expensive than other SNES games. There are still a few good, cheap SNES RPGs, though. And you’ll find several on this list. But who knows how long the current pricing will last?
Is it worth buying SNES games in 2022?
If you’re nostalgic for the 16-bit era, then yes! Even with prices continuing to climb, there are still plenty of affordable SNES games to start or grow your collection.
Of course, emulation is an attractive alternative to buying retro games, especially with prices continuing to climb. But there’s something special about owning a physical game! And I don’t care what anyone says; emulation will never feel quite as good as original hardware.
Besides, building a retro game collection is immensely satisfying in its own right. Half of the fun of building a collection (probably more than half) is hunting down good deals, sniping eBay auctions, uncovering hidden troves of classic games at your local thrift… Retro collectors thrive on this kind of stuff.
How much are SNES games worth in 2022?
The cheapest Super Nintendo games are under $10, while the most valuable ones can cost upward to $1,000 for a loose cartridge. There are a handful of Mythic Rare variants (The Nintendo Powerfest 1994 cartridge is listed at $17,500), but the median price for SNES games is reported to be around $17. (Pricecharting.com)
I’ll just make a few more points about the pricing crisis and then we can start the list. If you’re still with me, thanks for sticking around. I promise I’ll shut up soon.
SNES games started out expensive, but over the last 2 years, prices for all retro games have exploded. There are several reasons for that, and I’ll briefly (promise!) cover a few of them.
COVID, Heritage Auctions and the much-reviled Wata Games have each taken a heavy toll on the games market, and I’ve written plenty about their manipulations.
For the purpose of this article, I’ll stay off my soapbox. But if you want to know the whole conspiracy, you should definitely check it out. I’ll drop a few links here for further reading.
Yes, it is much harder to start a retro collection in 2022 than it was in 2017, but it’s still possible! You’ll see there are still quite a few SNES games that are fun and affordable.
Read on to learn all about the best SNES games that are still cheap in 2022, pandemic be damned!
Continue to Page 2: The Best SNES Games Under $20
Best Cheap SNES Games Under $20
Pilotwings
Super Nintendo’s Mode 7 is in full display here. If you didn’t know, Mode 7 was a display function that allowed the SNES to show sprites stretched out and manipulated to create zoom effects, or create vast (completely flat) landscapes that fade into the horizon. Players see a LOT of horizon in Pilotwings.
There is a wide variety of gameplay modes and different vehicles and plenty of challenge later in the game. It’s definitely worth a look.
Street Fighter II
One of the first great fighting games, Street Fighter II rocked us all in the arcade. The kids would line up their quarters to be the next challenger. There was always one kid would dominate the machine. And it definitely wasn’t me.
So when Street Fighter II came to the SNES, we all jumped on it. You could battle your friends or the CPU opponent. And it changed gaming forever.
For SNES collectors, there are plenty of versions of SFII: World Warrior, Champions Edition, Super Street Fighter II, Turbo… There is plenty of debate over which is best, but TBH, any of them will give you a good time for a miniscule price.
Get it Hadouken this game on eBay
F-Zero
F-Zero was a launch title with the Super NES, and was my favorite racing game until Mario Kart came out. Along with Pilotwings, F-Zero was a perfect means of impressing audiences with the Mode 7 capabilities of the SNES.
Somehow, despite the game’s inherent flatness, the bright colors, bitchin’ tunes and fluid controls make it tons of fun, even in 2022. If only it had been able to support multiplayer…
Judge Dredd
Movie tie-ins have a bad reputation. Usually they are a rush-job cash-grab with little value beyond experiencing a little more of a movie you like. But Judge Dredd is different. It’s a mazelike platformer with great graphics and sprawling maps. There’s a real challenge and plenty of secrets to keep you busy.
Arrest or execute Judge Dredd on eBay
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Like a lot of us “gamers of a certain age,” I was a huge fan of Pitfall! for the Atari 2600. My sister and I used to play the crap out of it at our Grandma’s house. There was nothing else to do there.
Mayan Adventures doesn’t quite live up to the original, but it does offer excellent graphics and animation and some pretty fun exploration. Considering it’s one of the cheapest SNES games around, it’s definitely worth the price.
Fall into the pit of eBay for this one
Buster Busts Loose
As usual, Konami takes no prisoners. Even in a kids’ game.
Tiny Toon Adventures was my favorite cartoon at the time. And Buster Busts Loose really does the show justice. All the favorite characters are there, and they are nearly cartoon-quality.
But the challenge is real and I have yet to beat this game even after 20+ years of trying. Don’t worry though, the difficulty is due to that unforgiving Konami level design only. The controls and gameplay are great.
Stunt Race FX
One of the handful of SNES games that used the Super FX Chip, Stunt Race was revolutionary in its use of high-quality (for the time) polygons in a 3D environment. But the resolution and framerates were both pretty small and didn’t make for a great play experience.
Oddly, Nintendo chose to bring this game back into the spotlight when they launched their Switch Online SNES lineup.
Stunt Race isn’t terrible, and it offers a pretty unique take on the racing genre. If you can forgive abysmal frame rates, you will have a good time with this one.
Race to eBay for Stunt Race FX
Jurassic Park
Every 90s kid grew up with this movie. It was great, and it spawned a cottage industry of dino T-shirts, lunchboxes, coloring books, and of course a handful of video games.
Jurassic Park for allowed players the option to use the SNES Mouse to navigate the many computers and terminals throughout the game, as well as using PC-style navigation in the first-person shooter sequences. Of course back in them days, PC navigation was a far cry from the streamlined WASD movement we enjoy today. In this game you literally roll the mouse forward to move forward and left/right to rotate. It’s much easier to just use the controller indoors.
Regardless, Jurassic Park is really a decent game and well worth the price tag.
Disney’s The Lion King
Another great platformer based on classic animation. The graphics are great and gameplay is tight. However, like many of these games, the difficulty could be maddening. Especially for a kid.
Still, The Lion King is a well-made title that should yield a good amount of fun relative to its paltry price tag.
Mortal Kombat
Another staple of 90s culture, Mortal Kombat did what Street Fighter didn’t. By capitalizing on the blood craze of the era, Mortal Kombat became an incredible success.
And by including a blood code, Sega’s version outsold the SNES by a wide margin. In fact, until Mortal Kombat II came out in all its bloody glory on the SNES, Sega’s Genesis had a pretty tight Fatality Grip on the US console market. But Nintendo was very concerned about their reputation as a family-oriented company and chose to replace Mortal Kombat’s signature blood with what I assume is sweat? The result was weird.
In a lot of ways, Mortal Kombat II is superior, but the original is still a lot of fun. Pick up both Mortal Kombats and a Street Fighter II and you’ll already have a great multiplayer SNES collection for cheap.
Get Mortal Kombat on eBay and FINISH HIM!!
Mortal Kombat 2 or 3
Take your pick. Or get both?
I’ve listed these together, but separate from MK1, because they are so similar in graphics and play style. Nintendo realized how foolish it had been to disallow blood from the original Mortal Kombat port, and MK2 hit the SNES in all its gooey, gory glory.
The biggest difference between MK2 and MK3 is the set of characters you have to choose from. Choose wisely.
Uppercut Mortal Kombat 2 and 3 on eBay
Jurassic Park 2: the Chaos Continues
Ocean’s follow up to Jurassic Park has heavy Contra vibes.
Taking a completely different approach than its predecessor, Jurassic Park 2 was a Nintendo exclusive that took you and a friend on a side-scrolling shoot-em-up through the long-abandoned dinosaur park. Everything’s out of control and it’s up to Dr. Alan Grant and his plus-one to get the park back under control.
You can choose between non-lethal or lethal ammo. Meaning you can choose to mow through hordes of dinos with an uzi, or with a high-powered syringe gatling gun. But if you kill too many dinos, it’s game over. So pick carefully.
This game features some pretty great—if repetitive—graphics and impressive Dolby Surround Sound digitized noise effects.
Oh yeah… it’s also insanely difficult. But overall, it’s a quality game and definitely justifies its price. As of this writing, Jurassic Park 2 is valued right at our $20 limit. There’s a good chance it will never be this cheap again.
Get Jurassic Park 2 on eBay so the chaos can continue continuing
AD&D Eye of the Beholder
Back when Dungeons & Dragons was still Advanced, it spawned several epic trilogies of PC games. With interfaces designed for mouse-and-keyboard play, developers had a hard time effectively porting these to consoles.
But when the SNES Mouse came into being, a whole new opportunity for PC-style games cropped up. Eye of the Beholder is an absolute classic RPG. Be warned though, that if you’re going to get lost without a guide. Unless you do what we all did as young’uns and sit in front of your screen with a pencil and some graph paper and track every single step.
And of course you can play this with the standard controller, too. The mouse is kind of a pain, let’s all be honest.
Star Fox
The Super FX Chip promised to revolutionize gaming. And Star Fox was its flagship title.
And while Star Fox was definitely fun for its moment, it’s hard to say that gaming was revolutionized. However, the Super FX Chip did allow some nifty 3D graphics on the SNES—like in the case of DOOM—and allowed for some otherwise interesting effects in games—like in Yoshi’s Island.
If you can forgive the painfully slow frame rates and chunky polygon graphics, Star Fox is worth owning and playing.
Fatal Fury
Another classic fighting game. Sure, it’s a gutted arcade port. And yeah, a lot of people prefer the Genesis version (which is also pretty gutted). But if you like fighting games, it’s nice to have another cheap option for multiplayer.
Tetris Attack
It’s hard to call this an actual Tetris game, since Nintendo totally eschews the classic block-twisting formula in favor of color-shuffling squares. But it’s a really fun puzzle game in its own right, and it actually tells a bit of a story. Bowser has returned and cast an evil spell over all the Yoshis. Only the classic green Yoshi is spared. To break the spell and return order, you have to… you know… arrange blocks.
Makes sense, right? Regardless, this is one of the cheapest first-party SNES games you can find. It’s super-colorful with lots of eye candy, great music, frantic head-to-head gameplay and everyone’s favorite dinosaur!
Lemmings
Here’s another SNES port of a PC game. The Lemmings were quite popular at the time, spawning countless sequels and spinoffs on all kinds of home gaming systems.
This port was definitely decent. And the 125 short levels have a way of pulling players in. And the lemmings’ many gruesome deaths are pretty entertaining as well.
Walk mindlessly off a cliff to eBay for this game
Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
The 16-bit era was amazing for those who were there. Game developers could finally recreate our favorite cartoons in almost the same color palettes we were used to seeing them. And in nearly the same resolution.
Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions features beautiful cartoon-quality graphics and animation, along with digitized sounds from the classic cartoons. The graphics look fantastic and the gameplay is tight. This game is quite long though, and really challenging at times. Capcom was ruthless as ever.
Zap this game off eBay with your space modulator
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
One of the more divisive Final Fantasy games, (if it even IS a Final Fantasy game) Mystic Quest is the only Final Fantasy SNES game for under $20.
There are two reasons to own this game.
- You are a Final Fantasy fan and need it for your collection.
- You (or a young family member) want an easy, easy, easy game to pass some time.
Mystic Quest was introduced to the western gaming world as an “Entry-level role-playing adventure.” The belief (in Japan) was that western audiences just didn’t get RPGs, so this game was released as a sort of training adventure for those who were interested, but needed a long tutorial to understand the genre.
Sounds like a bad premise to me, as I was rocking Dragon Warrior long before 16-bit RPGs hit the shelves. And I played Mystic Quest, too. It was the first Final Fantasy game I ever played all the way through and, even though I was never challenged once (even as a kid), I enjoyed the story, graphics, and music just fine.
It’s a quality game, certainly. But holy moly is it a cakewalk!
Quest mystically to eBay for this one
Uniracers
This is a really unique twist on the racing genre, and it features some pretty impressive (for the time) pre-rendered 3D graphics.
Instead of the typical racing game’s race toward the horizon, uniracers takes an entirely 2D approach, pitting sentient unicycles (not sure how I know they’re sentient, but…) against each other in the style of a 2D platformer. During jumps you can rotate your cycle along the X, Y, or Z axis, creating Tony Hawk-esque combos to earn points and speed up your racer.
There are quite a few courses, though they are often hard to distinguish from one another, and you can play against the computer or a human opponent. The action feels super fast, even without Blast Processing.
It’s kind of weird. But it’s a lot of fun. It would be interesting to see this franchise resurrected with modern, full-3D graphics.
Unicycle to eBay for this game
Super R-Type
Gotta have some shoot-em-ups on the list. Super R-Type continues the long R-Type tradition of smearing your puny ship across all kinds of space madness and crushing your bloated ego. But if you like a challenge, and don’t want to waste money, give this one a shot.
Shmup on over to eBay for Super R-Type
Super Star Wars
The Super Star Wars trio is at best challenging, and at worst straight up masochistic.
The first one is probably my favorite, and I can actually make it a whole entire half of the way through the game. The Empire Strikes Back, though? No way. Can’t even finish level 1.
If you think you’re good at games and you crave a challenge, check out any of the original Super Star Wars games for SNES. They’re pretty cheap, well-made, and infuriatingly fun.
Bullseye this one like a womp rat at eBeggar’s Canyon
Gradius III
Another classic shoot-em-up series makes its SNES debut as a launch title.
Like with most launch titles, it is cheap, fun, and a great representative of its genre.
The object of the game is to shoot them up. All of them.
NBA Jam Tournament Edition
NBA Jam was a blast in the arcade. But not just the arcade; it was also great fun at most any Pizza Hut you visited in the 90s. Bless you, Pizza Hut in the 90s.
If you’re not nostalgic for it, NBA Jam won’t be as fun. But if you play it like an anthropologist, you’ll have a good idea of what it was like to be a 90s kid. And who knows? You may just become an addict like the rest of us!
Browse eBay from downtown; boom shakalaka!
Total Carnage
The kinda-sorta follow-up to Super Smash T.V., Total Carnage reuses a lot of what made Smash TV great: novel (for the time) twin-stick controls, over-the-top blood and guts, intense top-down multiplayer co-op action and tons of loot.
Total Carnage attempts to take Smash T.V. out of a one-room-at-a-time recording studio and into a Commando-style battlefield. It doesn’t work as well, but it’s still pretty fun with a friend.
I’d buy THAT for a dollar! …wait…
Final Fight
A classic beat-em-up! And an example of how well an arcade port can actually be done.
With big, detailed character sprites, great animation and responsive controls, this is a great beat ‘em up. There’s just one problem. It’s single-player only.
If you want to team up with a Final Fight buddy, you’re going to have to splurge on Final Fight 2 or 3. They are each many times more expensive than the original, so weigh your options carefully.
Kick this game on eBay with both feet!
Darius Twin
What do you do to an evil race of space fish? Shoot ‘em up!
This is relatively easy for a shoot-em-up. Which, for a lot of us broke gamers, is a good thing. Basically, an “easy” shoot ‘em up is still pretty hard for a regular game. This one is definitely quality, though. Especially for the price.
Goof Troop
By the time you read this, Goof Troop might have priced out of the $20-and-under category. While I was updating this, I found one single loose copy for $19.99 and Pricecharting puts it at $20.10.
I’ll leave it in the Under $20 category for now because I believe vigilant hunters will still be able to score a cheaper copy of this. Also, I’m hopeful SNES prices will drop a teeny bit more before they get crazy forever.
Disney’s Goof Troop is included on so many “SNES Hidden Gems” lists that it can probably safely be removed from them.
This is really an interesting game. Think of it as a co-op Adventures of Lolo, in a Disney world, with a Zelda: A link to the Past aesthetic. Capcom really nailed this one. Get it before the price goes up!
Quit goofing around and head to eBay, hyuck!
Super Mario All Stars
It’s hard to beat the value here. Super Mario All-Stars includes 16-bit upgrades of four official Mario games from the 8-bit era: Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 2 (US version), Super Mario Bros Lost Levels (Super Mario Bros 2 in Japan), and Super Mario Bros 3!
There is another version that also includes Super Mario World, but it’s a bit pricey for this list. At any rate, you should already have Super Mario World.
Flap your raccoon tail over to eBay and throw a turnip at this game!
Donkey Kong Country
Kids today will never understand. Games in the 80s and 90s were just really tough. And Donkey Kong Country stands out among those.
This is another classic title with perfectly retro pre-rendered 3D graphics. Trust me, kids. At the time, they were mind-blowing!
Shoot yourself out of a barrel over to eBay for DKC
True Lies
R.I.P. – I regret to inform you that this formerly extremely cheap and underrated LJN game is no longer cheap. As of this moment, it goes for $60 for a loose cart. I’m truly sorry for our loss and deeply saddened that I never added it to my own collection.
Just for preservation purposes, here is the entry for True Lies back when it was still under $20:
Another top-down shooter, published by LJN, based on a Schwarzenegger film. Sounds like a recipe for 16 bits of mediocrity. But ackchually, this game has a pretty good reputation among retrogamers.
Play as Harry (Schwarzeneger’s character, of course). The stages are mission-based, so you have to actually perform actions beyond mowing down hordes of enemies. In fact, you have to watch out for civilians; if Harry kills too many, it’s game over, man!
– April 2020 (When the price was $19.)
Disney’s Aladdin
Does it seem like there’s a LOT of Disney on this list? For some reason, movie and cartoon tie-ins tend to stay cheap. Maybe it’s because so many SNES gamers in the 90s were in their tweens and considered themselves too “cool” for Disney and cartoon games. Not that I would know or anything.
At any rate, there are a lot of Disney and other cartoon-based games that have yet to get crazy expensive and are a lot of fun for the price. This is one of ’em.
Go to eBay to toss apples at this game (meanwhile Genesis players stab it with their scimitars)
Continue to Page 3: SNES Games Between $20 and $30
Best Cheap SNES Games Between $20 and $30
When I published the first edition of this article back in the distant, simpler year of 2020, the “Under $20” list was quite long! I’ve had to remove 10 items from the first part of the list, and at least a few of those remaining will be more than $20 within a month or two.
As we continue through the list, you’ll find more in-demand titles on this part of the list and could bag a few of the real classic SNES games that will make your collection even more playable.
Super Punch Out
The brilliant followup to Punch Out!! for the NES. There are plenty of new characters, new patterns to memorize and more fantastic character sprites that fill the screen with dread and detail.
Of course it’s hard. But like the original, the difficulty ramp feels fair and doesn’t get in the way of having tons of fun with this one.
PSA: I found tons of counterfeit cartridges of this one on eBay. Proceed with caution and don’t buy anything that’s listed as “Brand New”.
X-Men Mutant Apocalypse
Here’s another side-scrolling beat-em-up with great graphics and challenging gameplay.
As usual, Capcom knows what they’re doing, and the comic art style, and characters are on point. All our favorite mutants from the 90s are here: Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, Cyclops, and Beast.
Mutant Apocalypse is set up a bit like Mega Man, there’s a level select screen, and each X-Men character has their own level. You can choose which character to use for the final fight against Magneto and each of them has their own ending. Sorta.
Get this on eBay like it was an X-Men promo at Pizza Hut in the ’90s
Super Ghouls ‘N Ghosts
I’ve mentioned enough times that these old games are difficult. Same goes for this one.
Unlike its NES predecessor, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, this one is at least playable. I’ve made it as far as halfway through the game, so an actual “gud” player should do quite well. The graphics and music are nice, and Capcom knew how to make a nice SNES game, so you can be assured this is a quality title.
Get this on eBay or be haunted for the rest of your life
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
Same as everything in the Donkey Kong Country entry, but with a 2 on the end. (And about $5 more.)
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble
The Donkey Kong Country series was immensely popular. Nintendo made more than enough copies of this trilogy to go around and as a result, the price for each of these games has been relatively stable.
If you like barrels, this is a great series.
Get all the Donkey Kong Country games why dont‘cha
Batman Returns
Another beat-em-up with big, beautiful sprites!
This one is also single-player only, but what are you going to have? Two Batmans? Batmen?
This one is extremely popular thanks to the graphics and gameplay, but it is pretty tough and can get repetitive. Which is saying a lot for a beat-em-up.
Return to eBay to find this one
Alien 3
Movie tie-ins tend to stay cheap. It’s like the games’ popularity is based on the movie’s popularity. In the case of Alien 3, that’s our good fortune, because this game is legitimately good.
You play as Ellen Ripley, clearing out the Fiorina 161 prison colony of its unwanted inhabitants. And there are tons upon tons of those inhabitants.
Choose from a wide range of weapons to eliminate a wide range of aliens in a mission-based complex that sprawls far and wide.
It’s hard to overstate how big this game is. There is much to keep you busy across 6 stages consisting of several missions each.
The biggest drawback to this game is how repetitive the stages become, with their limited “realistic” color palettes and just tons and tons of unforgiving xenomorphs. But for its price, Alien 3 hits very hard with a glut of quality gaming content and serious challenge.
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
As usual, Capcom was out to destroy children with punishing gameplay in a happy-fun package. Seems like Konami and Capcom were in a contest to see what favorite childhood franchises could crush the most young egos.
Magical Quest looks great. Like a lot of 90s games, it really looks like you’re playing a cartoon. The controls are slick. It’s Capcom, after all. But despite all of that, you’re in for a serious whoopin’. Capcom in the 90s did not care if you were an innocent child. You better git gud.
Exploit this game on eBay like it’s the Star Wars franchise
Secret of Evermore
R.I.P. – I’m sad to announce that Secret of Evermore is no longer a secret. What used to be an affordable alternative to one of my favorite SNES games is now officially not a cheap SNES game.
I’m still hopeful that prices will relax a bit when COVID runs its course and the Wata bubble bursts. But even still… this is an excellent game and now that the secret is out, there’s a good chance the price will continue to rise.
Here’s the Pricecharting chart and I’ll leave the original entry below so we can all read and remember when this awesome game was still cheap.
Unfortunately, The Secret of Mana is a bit expensive for this list. I still highly recommend it, but for a more price-friendly alternative, try SoM’s time-travelling cousin Secret of Evermore.
This game features the same great play style as Secret of Mana, with the same graphics engine. It’s not a sequel, though. Just a “spiritual successor,” and it doesn’t have the same haunting, emotional quality to its music. But it is still really a solid play, and one of the better action RPGs if you’re collecting on a budget.
– Me in 2020
Too bad you can’t time travel on eBay
Mega Man X
Mega Man’s (well, not the original Mega Man, but a robo-descendant) debut on the SNES, this is a true classic in the platformer genre. With all the white-knuckle gameplay you expect from a Mega Man game, but massively expanded and with mad replayability, this is a great one and one last essential cheap game for your growing SNES collection.
Also, while the price of Mega Man X has almost doubled since 2020, it seems to be steady at its current range between $25 and just a hair under $30. This is probably due to Mega Man X having multiple production runs, including a “budget” release by Majesco. These were made in Mexico and came with a black-and-white instruction manual.
If you’re collecting naked carts (and if you’re looking for “cheap” SNES games, why wouldn’t you be?), it shouldn’t matter a bit. The Majesco version plays exactly the same. Mega Man X is absolute peak SNES and you simply must own it.
Mega-bust this one on eBay. (The price may have already gone up!)
Continue to Page 4: SNES Games Over $30 (But Not Too Much!)
Best SNES Games Over $30 (But Not Too Much!)
Welcome to the next level! Oh, wait…
This page is where you’ll find some of the most iconic Super Nintendo games of my childhood and probably yours, too.
If you’re serious about building your SNES collection, my advice is to get these games sooner rather than later. Even if the pricing bubble pops, this part of the list contains some of the best-loved retro classics. These games will always be in demand and SNES fans will always try to hoard them.
Even if the bottom tier of sub-$20 games drop in price, I’m doubtful that the rest of the games on this list will ever drop significantly. But if the current trend continues, they will continue to rise indefinitely.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The all-time great. The GOAT. My personal favorite game ever and an absolute steal even today at an average price around $35. If someone tries to charge you more, look for a different seller. There were a gazillion copies produced and this game is nowhere close to being rare.
No SNES collection is complete without this masterpiece. If you don’t already have it, get it right now!
Go to eBay and rescue Zelda from the evil monsters at Wata Games!
Super Mario Kart
Mario Kart changed racing games forever. And they’re still making games for this series today.
This isn’t the best Mario Kart game, but it is the original, and absolutely essential for any SNES collector.
…or at least it was, back when this game was listed in the Under $20 section. Today the price averages around $30 and, as fun as Mario Kart was back in the day, I’ve got to concede that it is only a teeny bit cheaper than Double Dash, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 64, all of which are superior in my opinion.
That being said, the original Mario Kart is still a great game, and a classic part of many Millennial childhoods. If you get a good deal on it, Mario Kart belongs in any reasonable SNES collection.
Throw a Koopa shell at this on eBay
Lost Vikings
Before Warcraft or Diablo, Blizzard published this little gem.
It’s a side-scrolling puzzle platformer starring three goofy Vikings lost in time and space. They must use their unique skills together in order to progress through the levels. You can play alone or with a friend, taking control of whichever Viking you think can help get the job done.
Don’t get lost in a Blizzard looking for this on eBay
Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures
This one’s another casualty of 2021. I just moved it here from the $20-$30 section. Should probably get this before it goes even higher.
The eponymous archaeologist hasn’t been known for great action games. His NES attempts have been less than stellar. But his Greatest Adventures seem to be quite good by all accounts.
You can find this one on eBay, but it belongs in a museum!
Super Smash TV
PRICE ALERT – As of this update, Super Smash TV has graduated from the Under $20 class to its current spot here at the Over $30. Since 2020, this game has doubled in value and currently sits around $40. (Of course, there are a LOT of sellers asking for waaaay more. Don’t encourage them.)
That’s a bit pricey for this list, but I’m leaving it here because Super Smash TV is one of the best multiplayer co-op games on the SNES. If you’re into that, you may want to grab this before it gets any more expensive.
This is an excellent port of an excellent arcade game. Smash TV was a twin-stick shooter way before twin-sticks was even considered a sub-genre.
While games like Commando gave you a rotary stick to shoot different directions, Smash TV bestowed players with an additional joystick to move and shoot freely. And constantly. No buttons to tap; just point where you want to spread the destruction.
This is definitely one of the great multiplayer shooters of the system, and often overlooked as such. Combine that with the over-the-top gore and violence and you’ve got yourself a great game!
Go to eBay for big money, big prizes. I love it!
UN Squadron
One of my all-time favorite shoot-em-ups, UN Squadron is just addictive fun.
Unlike so many other shmups, this one allows your plane to take more than one hit. You have a life bar, rather than just exploding with every single hit. This makes UN Squadron a great shmup for those of us who aren’t super-skilled at these kind of games.
Like a lot of Capcom games, there is a mission select screen to create a less-linear approach to completing the game. There are enemy convoys headed toward your base, too. If they get too close, you’ll have to stop what you’re doing and do a special mission to defend the base.
The ability to upgrade your weapons between levels makes this one even more engaging and fun.
Get it on a half-assedly reskinned American version of a Japanese animeBay show
Earthworm Jim 2
PRICE ALERT: Here’s another victim of the completely insane inflation from the last two years. As of this writing, Earthworm Jim 2 is around $35 and I think I’ve kept it on this list more because of my own nostalgia than anything else. But if you want it in your collection, this may be your last chance before pricing gets even crazier.
Groovy! Sprawling maps will keep you busy and incredible, raunchy cartoon graphics will keep your eyeballs satisfied.
Earthworm Jim is definitely a product of the Ren and Stimpy era of animation. There is plenty of weird, gross stuff to look at. The characters are ridiculous, the action is intense and you’re generally guaranteed to have a good time.
Get this on eBay while the price is still groovy!
Illusion of Gaia
From Quintet, the incredible developers that made Actraiser, Illusion of Gaia is a truly engrossing top-down action RPG. The main character can move between worlds, trading places with a legendary hero to reach otherwise inaccessible places.
Quintet didn’t develop a whole lot of games during their time, but they definitely put a lot into each of their creations. Illusion of Gaia is one of the few SNES RPGs I ever played to completion as a kid and I was totally immersed from beginning to end.
It’s not an illusion… this one’s still affordable on eBay. For now.
Arcana
PRICE WARNING! In this update, I had to move Arcana from the Under $20 section to here. Turns out, I’m not the only one who loves this game, and this is probably the last time you’ll see it on a “Cheap SNES Games” list.
According to Pricecharting, Arcana’s price has been rising steadily over the last decade. 2020 pushed it over the top, though. Based on that, I would expect the price to continue rising. Here’s the pricing history for reference:
Anyway, Arcana is a dangerously underrated PC-style dungeon crawl.
And please note that I don’t use “underrated” very often. So when I use it, you know I mean it. And Arcana fits the definition perfectly. It has similar gameplay to Eye of the Beholder, but seems to be a bit more streamlined for the SNES.
Characters and spells in the game are represented by playing cards. But don’t worry, it’s not even close to being a card game, it’s a purely aesthetic choice. Perhaps this was to capitalize on the rapidly-increasing popularity of games like Magic: The Gathering. Whatever the reason, it somehow just works!
And unlike Eye of the Beholder, Arcana features an auto-mapping system, which was unusual for the time. You will still probably get lost and may just consider the map a tool to help you as you map the world yourself.
I love this game and could nerd out about it for hours. But best if you just check it out for yourself.
Cybernator
Price Warning! This game has also risen substantially since the last update. If you like mech-based platforming adventures, I suggest you get this one soon!
If you think you’re pretty good at games, give this one a try. It’s classic side-scrolling mech combat and it is incredibly challenging.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors
ZAMN is a bit of a sleeper hit. It sold fairly well upon release, but over the last decade, it’s only grown in popularity.
There’s a lot to like about this game. With its cheeky theme and humor, dozens of sprawling levels and nonstop co-op action, it’s no wonder this has become such a cult classic.
You can still find this one on eBay for around $35 if you keep an eye out and stay vigilant.
Get this one on eBay, but don’t let your neighbors find out
Soldiers of Fortune
As with ZAMN, you can team up with a friend to take down mobs of baddies. Soldiers of Fortune shares a lot in common with ZAMN, actually. It offers dozens of sprawling, top-down stages through lots of interesting environments.
One big difference is the character selection. You have several different classes to choose between, each with their unique weapons and abilities. This is a fun game. And at just a touch under $40, it’s still a pretty good deal.
Get it on eBay… That’s all.
Afterthought…
Wow, you’re still reading this? That’s crazy!
I thought I should add that the pricing here is based on Pricecharting.com as of the final week of 2021. I originally got the idea when I saw that Google’s number-one result for “best cheap SNES games” is a post from 2007 that features very few games that are still under $20. The post was so outdated, Chrono Trigger was on it.
If you found this article helpful, please share it and link back to it so we can get to the top of Google and actually share helpful info to budding retro collectors who want to enjoy this awesome hobby.