The Rarest Nintendo 3DS Game Probably Isn't What You'd Expect

The Nintendo 3DS hosted a solid library of games during its lifetime. While it did eventually get discontinued in 2020, that hasn't stopped dedicated fans from continuing to purchase games for this platform. In fact, there's one rare game in particular that gamers are still trying to get their hands on to this day.

The game in question actually comes in two versions – Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps and Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: White Dog Squad. The games are beat-'em-up RPGs from Level-5, the developers behind the Yo-Kai Watch entries. Yo-Kai Watch Blasters is a spin-off of the Yo-kai Watch series, a franchise of games, toys, and films that revolves around the protagonist interacting with Yo-kai spirits and using them in battle. Yo-Kai Watch Blasters, however, was more focused on action, allowing players to take on the role of actual Yo-kai instead. In the game, players would fight their way through several missions in order to progress the story and power up their Yo-kai. Despite Yo-Kai Watch Blasters' okay reception, this game remains a rare title. Why?

Both of the Yo-Kai Watch Blasters games currently have a price point that ranges from $130 to a whopping $160 on eBay. There are a variety of factors that contribute to the rarity of the game and its wild price. One of the main reasons is that both Yo-Kai Watch Blasters titles were near the end of the 3DS' life span. With the Nintendo Switch already dominating the handheld scene in 2018, it's more than likely that publishers were looking to move their games onto the new system. This essentially left few developers that were willing to continue supporting the 3DS — one of these being Level-5.

Another major factor that contributed to the Yo-Kai Watch Blasters' rarity could have been the dwindling popularity of Yo-Kai Watch outside of Japan. Many fans of the series speculate that this more than likely led to a limited printing of these games. Additionally, the franchise's lack of popularity was also cited as one of the main reasons why the sequel to Yo-Kai Watch Blasters was never localized for North America. With so much working against it, it's no surprise that this game is sought after by collectors of rare games.