The Real Ghostbusters Prototype
This 1993 single-player platformer has an interesting secret (that technically isn't a secret). This game had been reskinned to be three different franchise games: The Real Ghostbusters in North America, Garfield Labyrinth in Europe, and Mickey Mouse IV: Maho no Labyrinth in Japan. This game is also a part of the Crazy Castle series, which started with The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. Even worse, this game plagiarized from the 1991 Amiga and Commodore 64 game P. P. Hammer. That's quite the history of this game. There was The Real Ghostbusters arcade game released around the same time, but neither game is affiliated with the other.
Taking all of that in, this game goes for a surprising amount when graded. A sealed 9.8 WATA-graded copy has a one-year average of 1,920. A sealed 8.0 WATA-graded copy has a one-year average of $1,080. This game is the prototype, making it a rare collectible -- so it has the potential to go for more.
Mario Bros for the Atari 2600
Before there was the Super Mario Bros that we know and love, there was simply Mario Bros, an arcade game that would lay the pipeline down for the franchise we are all familiar with. The game was released in 1983 and is technically considered one of the first few games in the Donkey Kong series. While Nintendo held the rights for the home-use game in Japan, in America the rights were licensed out to Atari for home use. Thus, Mario Bros was initially introduced for a number of Atari consoles.
This sealed 8.0 A+ WATA-graded copy features a blue background (there is also a red background version) and looks phenomenal. The last time a sealed 8.0 WATA-graded version was sold was in November of 2020 for $1,260. This is a unique entry in both the Mario and Donkey Kong franchises and would be a great game for almost any collector.
Last Action Hero
Based on the 1993 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Last Action Hero, this single-player action game was a poorly received game. While the movie itself was a fun romp about a kid who fights bad guys with his favorite action star, this game failed to capture the magic of the film. Yet when you look 30 years later, this was really an adequate fighting game. The game even has a big boss battle with Mr. Benedict, who is also the movie's antagonist. The Genesis game was released alongside the home video release of the film -- so if you missed it in theaters, you could watch the movie at home and then play the game.
This sealed 9.4 A WATA-graded copy looks like it was just bought from your local Toys R Us -- save for the Not For Resale logo on the box. The Not For Resale collectibles interest me the most, as it seems like I'm getting away with something by having them in my possession. The one-year average for similarly graded copies is $204, but this could potentially go for more.
