The Rare Super Nintendo Role-Playing Game That Could Make You A Fortune

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES), Nintendo's second programmable home console, housed some of the gaming giant's most popular titles, including Tetris, the Super Mario Bros. games, The Legend of Zelda, and more. About 49.1 million SNES consoles sold after its release in 1990. In 2009, IGN listed the SNES as the fourth best console of all time.

The SNES and its games have become popular collector's items for retro gamers. Super Mario RPG, for example, may not have the quality graphics and depth players know today, but even just looking at it brings on the nostalgia for many, making it a valuable find. There's plenty more valuable SNES titles where that came from, so dig out your collection. If you've got a copy of this Super NES game in excellent condition lying around and you're willing to part with it, you could be looking at a pretty decent fortune.

Have you ever played as Ness in Super Smash Bros. but had no idea where he was from? The young boy's origin can be traced back to the 1995 cult classic RPG EarthBound, the second installment in the Mother series. EarthBound follows Ness and his friends as they travel the world to collect melodies that will stop a universal evil threat named Giygas before the Earth reaches imminent destruction. The RPG became known for its dedicated fan community, which bolstered recognition for EarthBound in the United States.

EarthbBund received rave reviews after its explosion in popularity. In a review of EarthBound's follow-up, Mother 3, Eurogamer's Simon Parkin even referred to EarthBound as "a sacred cow amongst gaming's cognoscenti." Because of its popularity, EarthBound copies in excellent condition are hard to find and very pricey. According to PriceCharting, new copies are sold at upwards of $2,300. On eBay, the highest listing for EarthBound in "beautiful" condition was $5,500, and 25 people had their eyes on it at the time of this writing.

EarthBound may not be the rarest SNES game, but it is quite the collector's item.