What is it about collecting games that is so addictive? Is it simply having them up on our shelves, or is it just that we like having a large catalogue of games to choose from?
One thing is for sure – price isn’t an issue. Nothing will stand between us and the game that we’ve been obsessing over for the past 3, 4, 5 weeks running, especially if it’s a rare one.
The PS2 is, for me and many others, one of the best retro consoles of our time. It ironed out some of the problems from the first PlayStation console, came with a cool new design, and had some cracking titles that we all still play today.
But what about the ones that we couldn’t get our hands on?
Sure; Spyro and Crash were great, but what about those titles of legend, those rare PS2 games that you’ve only ever heard spoken about by old fishermen on a full moon at midnight?
It doesn’t matter whether you are new to the world of PlayStation or are simply interested in delving into the forgotten realms of retro gaming. Either way, this list of mysterious and unknown games will blow your mind!
1. Kuon
If you scare easily, then you might want to look away now. Kuon is a horror/survival game based on urban myths and ghost stories that have taken root deep with Japanese culture. It revolves around a haunted mansion, but don’t expect a green plumber sucking up ghosts in this one!
You play as two different women, each with nerves of steel. They each have their own phase to play through in this dark and foreboding horror title, and there’s lots of blood and gore throughout.
It’s made by the same people as ‘Dark Souls’, which explains why so many people are hunting for it!
Kuon could have been a household name, but due to its graphic content and short length, it didn’t have as many production runs as the creators might have liked. If you can manage to get your hands on a copy, you’ll love it.
It’s horrifyingly good and might leave you with some sleepless nights, but it’ll be totally worth it… by worth it we mean $900 for a copy, or as of March 2024, $2,499 for a sealed and graded copy.
2. God Of War (First Print Black Label)
Before we go any further, we advise that you shouldn’t buy a copy of this game unsealed or ungraded. There are a lot of fakes out there on the the internet, so only get a copy that has been officially graded and proved to be the real deal.
I’ve seen a lot of first print covers that look incredibly shady selling for very cheap, and the same goes for the next game in our list too.
I think because of how expensive this game has become and because of the limited number of prints, people have tried to pull the wool over our eyes, so don’t buy unless you’re sure it’s a propper first print edition!
Anyone playing God of War Ragnarok might want to go back and give the first PS2 game a try. Wielding the Blades of Chaos through Ancient Greece, players must take down huge enemies and eventually the God of War himself.
Imagine how stressful your boss makes your life now, and then imagine what it would be like if your boss was a God on mount Olympus. Ten times worse, right?
Graded first print black label copies of God of War range from $500 – $900. How many times can you remortgage a house, again?
3. Kingdom Hearts II (First Print Black Label)
Like with God of War above, there are a lot of first print covers for Kingdom Hearts too that look like they’ve just shot out of an Epson printer.
We advise that getting a graded copy is one of the best ways of confirming the authenticity of this game as there are so few true first prints on the market.
Disney Characters fighting side-by-side with Final Fantasy characters; it shouldn’t be as good as it is, and it is amazing to play.
See everyone from Tron characters through to Goofy taking the bull by the horns in this fantasy RPG mash up. It’s a weird amalgamation, and I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing Mickey Mouse in armour.
Normal copies sell for around $400, but if you want a perfect copy sealed and graded to sit up on your shelf, then you’re looking at spending $1,299.
4. Rule of Rose
Aside from having the coolest cover art of any game, the Rule of Rose is a cracking title that has recently sold for over $400, and over $1,000 for a sealed copy.
It’s a psychological horror, and again, not one for the faint-hearted. It has a strong feeling of ‘Silent Hill’ around it and incorporated some pretty harrowing issues.
Like Kuon, it’s also based on the ‘mysterious and misunderstood nature’ of Young Girls. I’m not quite sure that this description fits in with what I’m about to write in the next paragraph – this still comes across as one crazy game!
So why did Rule of Rose become so popular? Well, it probably had something to do with the subject content. In the same way that Night Trap (one of our best SEGA CD games) became banned, this game joined the ranks of rare PS2 games due to its scenes of burying children underground and child sexuality/cruelty.
These topics don’t seem as scary compared to some of the horrors that we see today, but they were enough to force production to be cancelled in a number of countries back in 2006.
Morbid curiosity and the need to find out whether it really is ‘all that bad’ has made Rule of Rose one of the most sought after games on the console. Do you dare to give it a try?
5. Michigan: Report From Hell
Next up on this list of rare PS2 games is a bona fide scarefest. Michigan: Report From Hell feels a little like the Blair Witch Project in the sense that the entire game is seen through a camera.
As survival horror games go, this one has you playing as part of a film crew on the ground. It’s so jumpy that you’ll have a hard time not playing from behind the sofa.
The thing is… it’s a little bit weird and seedy, which is probably why it’s now such a rare game.
The aim of the game is to film things going on around you. You get suspense points for filming horrific scenes like corpses or monsters eating people, and erotic points for perving on female news anchors.
No, it hasn’t aged well at all… but that said normal boxed copies are selling for approximately $300 and the rare PAL variants sell for closer to $650!
6. Ocean Commander
Ocean Commander is so hard to get hold of that you’ll need to head to the Italian eBay site to grab hold of a copy. It’s strongly believed that the PS2 version of this popular Wii game only ever say the light of day in Italy.
As an Italian, I can see why this would be. I mean, everything is better in Italy… that’s just a fact.
Still, it seems weird to just release a computer game for the best selling console of all time in one European country, especially when the Dutch makers didn’t release it in The Netherlands!
Back when this game released, times were pretty hard for the Italian people. Money was tight, and this game had a low cost price for consumers to try and entice them in.
Needless to say, it didn’t work very well. But it does mean that those people that do have a copy can now make some serious cash. Mint condition copies are selling for $380!
7. Futurama
I’ve always loved Futurama, but like Garfield, I wouldn’t have expected it to be a name that featured in our list of rare PS2 games.
This is a prime example of a game coming out at the wrong time, and a bit of a blow for Groening fans.
Audiences were still struggling to get to grips with Fry and the gang when this title came out, and as such, it kind of fell by the wayside.
It was released after the show’s cancellation, which isn’t exactly a great time to be marketing a new video game. It had new material that had never been seen before too – a homage to the space delivery squad, perhaps?
Even though the show was later revived, the game never really made a comeback. Fox’s choice to abandon the series must have put other developers off, and the completed runs of the XBOX and PS2 game were very small.
As such, you can be looking at a cost of up to $350 for a game that would have originally cost around $30, but it must be the rare, alternate artwork version of the game, so check to see if you actually have the correct version of Futurama before assuming you can sell it for over $300!
It would be nice to see a remake, but maybe Matt Groening thinks that it’s a bit of a bad omen now. Still, the graphics were good and it was pretty fun to play through, and I’ll always be a fan.
8. Haunting Ground: $60 – $549
Ok, so with the exception of Garfield, there seems to be a pattern forming with these rare PS2 games. It turns out that defenceless young girls trying to survive in creepy places was a common theme back in the day!
Haunting Ground is a horror/survival game where staying alive is much harder than you might think and has recently sold on eBay for over $320 in great condition.
You play as an unarmed girl with nothing but her trusty dog to keep her company as she tries to protect herself from an army of weird characters. It’s filled with danger and not a game that you should play if you’re trying to unwind.
Haunting Ground received mixed reviews on release, but has steadily become a collectors item over the years. It’s almost quadrupled in price, with mint edition copies selling for over $549.
If you’re a fan of ‘The Clocktower’ series, ‘Dark Souls’, or that feeling that you get when someone is chasing you with an axe, then this is the game for you.
9. Blood Will Tell
Everyone loves a good Samurai game, which makes the lack of good reviews for Blood Will Tell very surprising.
Unfortunately, this title got lost amongst other more popular action games that were released at the same time. Despite the glowing sword, it wasn’t strong enough to hold its own and break through the crowd.
Still, all good things come back around, and now BWT is one of most rare PS2 games on the console. Recently sold listings put this at $300 for a boxed copy, and as of March 2024, a sealed and graded copy sold for close to $1,000!
If you want to know some credentials for this game, it was developed by SEGA Wow (House of the Dead, Skies of Arcadia).
It’s also based on the Japanese manga series ‘Dororo’. A lot of work into making this title, and it’s actually a really fun game to play.
If you’ve got the cash, give it a bash! (Catchphrase is still a work in progress).
10. Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3
You know how much we love Dragon Ball Z here at Retro Dodo, so believe me when I say that it’s a shame that this game didn’t make more of an impact with the public.
I think, if truth be told, this fighting series had got a little stale for most people; it wasn’t offering up enough of a change in gameplay to the previous entries in the series.
Which is a massive shame, as the amount of characters available for players to use in this game could have given Smash Bros a run for its money!
With poor reviews comes poor sales, and it’s not till recently that people have started getting back into the game again.
Maybe it’s because of a long break or maybe it’s because it’s now rare and people want what they cant have. Either way, it’s now around $180+ for a copy in great condition.
If you managed to have on sealed, you are looking at over $400 according to eBay sold listings.
