Crystal Castles
This one or two-player action maze game was originally an arcade cab published by Atari. The game was ported to several consoles, including the Atari 2600 (1984), the Atari ST in 1986, and the Atari 8-bit in 1988. This game was well received by players and is historically important as it was one of the first video games to have an end to the game. This game is still a ton of fun to play to this day!
This sealed 9.4 A+ WATA-graded copy is an eye-catcher thanks to cover artist Judy Richter. The cover features the protagonist Bentley Bear as he runs away from trouble. This is an affordable game for almost any grade. 9.4 WATA-graded copies have a one-year average of $139, while 9.6 WATA-graded copies have a one-year average of $129. This is a cute game with some historical value, making it a great addition to any collection.
The Lion King 1 1/2
During the late 1990s and early 2000 Disney released dozens of direct-to-VHS/DVD sequels to many of their timeless classics. Movies such as Pocahontas II: Journey To A New World, The Lion King II, and Cinderella II: Dreams Come True were, in a nutshell, absolutely terrible. Some movies fared better than others, but overall these direct-to-home media movies are a blight in Disney Animation. The Lion King is one of Disney's biggest animated hits, and its 2019 shot-for-shot CGI remake is one of the highest-grossing animated movies of all time. The 1994 movie spawned a few sequels of its own -- including The Lion King 1 1/2.
The movie fared better than most sequels and even got its own video game. The Lion King 1 1/2 is a single-player platformer only released for the Game Bou Advance. The game wasn't completely panned by critics, but it didn't serve as a challenging game even for the most novice of players. This sealed 8.5 A WATA-graded copy is still really cool to look at. The infamous poster shines bright, with a young Simba, Timon, and Pumba walking across the bottom. 8.5 WATA-graded copies currently have a one-year average of $114, making this an ideal piece for collectors.
The Legend of Zelda
This ubiquitous gold box for the original Legend of Zelda is as iconic as it is valuable -- depending on which version you have. The game made waves when it was released in Japan in 1986 for the Family Computer as a floppy disc, and then in North America in 1987 for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game sold over 6 million copies and birthed one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. There isn't much more to say about this Nintendo classic that hasn't already been said, so let's jump right into the numbers.
This copy of The Legend of Zelda was a part of the last production run and features the oval Nintendo Seal of Quality. This complete in-box CGC Blue label 8.0 is an eye-catching game. Early production CIB 8.0 WATA-graded copies have a one-year average of $2,109. Currently, there is little sales data for CGC-graded versions. As this is a later production game it could potentially go for less, but it's still an important (and somewhat affordable) key video game.
