You’re here to find rare Game Boy Advance games & how much they’re worth, are ya? Well come in and sit down, let me tell you a tale.
The value of rare collectibles is an interesting phenomena. It’s all based on how desperate a collector is to have that item, right?
I remember back in the day, when I was super into comic books, we heard rumors of high value items and how much they might be worth. But again, ain’t that all based on an individual’s drive to obtain the collectible?
In today’s collectible market, we have official authorities on the values of collectible items that help set the market price.
Between websites like Pricecharting and polling listings on Ebay, we now can narrow down the approximate value of rare items, like Game Boy Advance games.
So which games are currently the hottest on the charts? Let’s find out!
Tiny Toon Adventures: Scary Dreams (2002)
“Tiny Toon Adventures: Scary Dreams”… I mean that sounds like a pretty cool game already.
Also known as “Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster’s Bad Dream”, this was the second Tiny Toon Adventures game to come to the GBA. It was also the last Tiny Toon Adventure game (until the recent announcement of Tiny Toons Looniversity).
It was a pretty cool game and had some creative ideas to the gameplay, such as how you could hit an enemy and they could bump into other enemies.
Apparently the “Scary Dreams” title was a North American exclusive, and was more rare than the European “Buster’s Bad Dream” version.
The pricecharting.com listing was for the “Scary” version specifically, and puts a loose copy at around $125 and a sealed box at around $325.
An ebay search gives me some loose copies between $100 and $200, and one opened box at $464.82 or Best Offer + $4.18 shipping from United Kingdom.
Clearly it is a desirable physical edition and one of the most rare Game Boy Advanced games out there.
Car Battler Joe (2001)
Car Battler Joe is a car battle game developed by Ancient, who also create a little game you may have heard of… Sonic the Hedgehog.
Check out the 15 Best Sonic Games Of All Time if you are unfamiliar with the guy.
Admittedly, Car Battler Joe wasn’t one of Ancient’s more popular titles, but it was a pretty interesting gaming experience with the racing and RPG elements it brought together.
Nintendo Power called it a “one-of-a-kind adventure”. And it has mostly positive reviews across the board.
So with loose carts selling for nearly $200 and boxed copies at $500, it’s easy to consider this one a rare collectible game for the GBA.
There’s one on ebay right now for $3,129.13, so that shows the range of price these things can really go for when you factor in the collector who wants it and the collector who will have to part with it.
Moto Racer Advance (2002)
So there’s more than one racing game for the Game Boy Advance that is considered super rare and super valuable. Cept this time, it’s motorcycles.
Though, this wasn’t one of the most popular games at the time of release, it certainly was one of the best looking racing games for the console.
And there were a bunch of animals in the game, so that is pretty cool in my book.
It was the impressive graphic quality and smooth game play that had gamers racing to the stores to give it go for themselves, and why it is so sought after to this day.
If you have a copy in your possession, especially if you held out and kept it sealed, you’re sitting on a pretty valuable collectors item.
On ebay, I found a few boxed copies between $150 and $450.
Pricecharting.com puts a loose one at $155 and a sealed box at $922.
That safely puts Moto Racer Advance near the top of the list of most rare and valuable Game Boy Advance games out there.
Battlebots Beyond the Battlebox
Do you guys remember when the BattleBots television show was on the air back in the early 2000s?
I freakin loved those robotic battlers trying to flip eachother over, burn eachother out, or just spin themselves with knives attached to the sides to keep any competitors away.
Well in 2002, an officially licensed BattleBots game was released for the Game Boy Advance.
There were sixteen different robots to choose from, and you could compete in your own battle tournament to be the baddest robot out there.
Apparently reviews and sales were not the best. I mean, I don’t think it was that bad of a game. IT looked good, it played smooth. It had robots with buzz saws. What’s not to like?
Well it’s a rare Game Boy Advance game today, and could fetch a nice price on open market.
A loose cart would sell for around $60, and a sealed box would be anywhere up to $800ish.
Not too shabby for a game that received “mixed” reviews. Take that Carmen Electra! (She was on the show.)
DemiKids: Dark Version (2002)
DemiKids is the second generation of the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children franchise.
The game series could be thought of as a mashup between Pokémon and Final Fantasy. Sounds pretty good actually, huh?
Well, despite a pretty cool franchise connection and a decent game concept, they didn’t quite sell as well as you’d think.
Similarly to Pokémon, they also used a dual release scheme, where two game options “Light Version” and “Dark Version” could be purchased for slight variations.
Both games are considered valuable collectibles, today. But it is the “Dark Version” that has the higher pricetag.
A loose cart is valued at around $200, and a sealed box could get you anywhere upwards of $900.
Drill Dozer [Not for Resale] (2005)
Drill Dozer is one of the coolest games for the Game Boy Advance. One of my personal favorites on the console, in fact.
We also ranked it one of the 10 Most Underrated Game Boy Games as well.
It’s an incredible platforming experience on the Game Boy Advance by Game Freak, the developers of Pokémon.
The original release of the game has a pretty high collectible value as well. Those will go for about $100 for a loose cart and $300 for a sealed copy. That ain’t too bad!
But the “[Not for Resale]” carts, which would be used for in-store demos, are way more rare and sought after by collectors.
There had been one known copy sold for $500 in the past. And we can guess if another surfaced, it would go for quite a bit more.
So whether its an original or a “[Not for Resale]”, you’re talkin a highly valuable rare Game Boy Advance game.
Sega Rally Championship (2002)
Sega Rally Championship was a popular arcade racing game from the early 90s.
We actually covered it on our Youtube channel recently on our list of the 10 Best SEGA Saturn Games Of All Time.
It was so popular that it even got a Game Boy Advance port nearly ten years after its original release date!
It was a pretty cool port, and though it took a hit on the graphics, it still had the same excitement it could pack in portable form.
Well apparently they are a rare Game Boy Advance game nowadays.
A loose cartridge values at over $150, and a boxed sealed one would bring in nearly $1500! That’ll have you racin’ to the bank!
Ninja Five-O (2003)
Ninja Five-O aka Ninja Cop is a story of a ninja… who is also a cop.
And your duty is to stop a ground of terrorists (when I first read the description, I thought it said “tourists”) and rescue hostages.
Surprisingly, a game about ninjas and terrorists didn’t move the amount of units Konami had hoped for back in 2003.
But we think the game didn’t get enough credit. The game is not just “rare”, it’s also pretty good!
We included it on our list of the 60 Best Gameboy Advance (GBA) Games.
Loose carts currently sell for around $400, and sealed boxed copies currently are valued at around $1500. But in the past, they have been known to pull in up to $5000!
So that kind of shows 1. how cool this game is, and 2. how the value will vary based on how desperate a collector gets.
Pocky and Rocky With Becky (2001)
So let me get this straight… Her name isn’t “Pocky” or “Rocky”?
Well after some research (I’ve played the games, but I never knew the lore), the originals starred Pocky and Rocky, and the fourth game in the series brought in “Becky”… the most Japanese name, amirite?
The original Japanese name is “Kiki Kaikai Advance”, which sounds like somethin you shouldn’t be doing while holding a Game Boy.
You can play as Pocky, Rocky OR Becky in this rare Game Boy Advance game, so it all makes sense in the end.
Surely that’s enough backstory on the game.
Well when children in 2001 heard they could “Kiki” and “Kaikai” on the Game Boy Advance, they flooded the stores and snagged up all the copies.
If they still had the game, 21 years later, a loose cart could pull in around $300, and a sealed boxed copy could get them about $1750.
So besides being one of the most rare Game Boy Advance games, it’s actually pretty fun too.
If you don’t have a real copy, you could give it a go on one of the 5 Best GBA Emulators.
Pokémon Emerald (2004)
Let’s talk about a lesser known Game Boy Advance title… Pokémon Emerald Version. You ever heard of it?
Well you should have. We shared the 7 Best Pokémon Emerald ROM Hacks…
And Pokémon Emerald was the third highest selling Game Boy Advance game of all time (check out our full list of the Best Selling GBA Games).
You’d think there are a lot of them out there!
But apparently 7 million units in the wild doesn’t stop Pokémon Emerald from being one of the most valuable collectible game carts out there.
Even an original loose cartridge values over $125. But if you are one of the rare few who kept the game boxed and sealed… you’re talkin $2000-3000.
I can see why that might be a rarity… who picked up the game back in the day and didn’t immediately rip it open and play it?
So if you were a weirdo and had the patience to sit on a game for 18 years.. you could now purchase like… a new Macbook Pro.
Or use it to pay your tab at the dentist for a root canal. Literally hand them the boxed game on your way out and call it even.
Anthony has been a video game lover ever since he can remember. He became a fulltime nomad in 2018, living throughout most of Asia. He focused his passion in retro gaming and began creating a game for the Game Boy Color while living in Nara, Japan during the 2020 pandemic. He is now in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he spends most of his time gaming, going on long walks and meeting as many stray dogs as possible.
