Hunting For Value (2/22/23) - 16-Bit Gems

Staff writer Lauren Sisselman digs through the Standard Gaming inventory and highlights a handful of 16-bit retro graded games that may be worth a deeper look.

Whether you're new to the hobby of graded video games or a seasoned veteran, everyone likes to get a good deal. Prices on games can vary widely depending on where you look and games on marketplaces like eBay are often listed without context. At Standard Gaming, we have games for every type of collector, all available for immediate purchase. Below are a few titles that stand out, and may help you as you Hunt for Value in the graded video game market.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie ($385)

In the early 1990s kids across America had Power Ranger fever. The show originally featured five color-coordinated teenagers with attitude, who defended the world against the evil Rita Repulsa and her henchmen. Power Rangers was based off fo the Japanese Super Sentai series, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, the 16th installment of the already popular franchise. While sentai and Power Rangers had a focused demographic of boys ages 6-10, the show was a hit outside of that demographic. In the summer of 1995, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie was released in theaters. The movie would go on to make over $66 million during its theatrical run. 

MMPR: The Movie also got its own spinoff video game, which was cross released for the Super Nintendo, the Nintendo Game Boy, the Sega Genesis, and the Sega Game Gear. The Sega release was a single or multiplayer side-scroller with decent graphics and gameplay. This sealed 9.2 A+ WATA-graded copy is a great copy. Not many of these have been graded, making this an attractive price. This game is perfect for sentai collectors, Power Ranger collectors, cross-platform collectors, and Sega Genesis completionists.

World Series Baseball ‘95 ($200)

With baseball season right around the corner, it seems only fitting to include this classic Sega game. World Series Baseball ‘95 gave players the ability to use any Major League Baseball team from 1994 in the game, or the player could create two new teams if they preferred. This game was highly acclaimed on its release and was ported to the Sega Game Gear and the Sega 32 X respectively. The series would continue on for a few years after, but was canceled after World Series Baseball 2K3.

This sealed 9.6 A+ WATA-graded game is a homerun of a copy. This game looks like it was just released to stores, but since it isn’t a 9.8 you won’t have to pay 9.8 prices. While there isn’t a ton of sales data for this game, this is still a great way to add this classic title to your collection. This is perfect for Sega collectors, cross-platform collectors, sports collectors, and of course baseball collectors.

Wario’s Woods ($300)

For the last few decades Wario, Marios mostly friendly nemesis, has amassed a following of his own. Wario made his first appearance in Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins and would quickly become the star of his own video games. In 1994, Wario’s Woods was released for the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo. Wario’s Woods was a puzzle game similar to Tetris with bright, fun graphics with Wario acting as the games antagonist. Toad, with the help of Birdo, must stop Wario from destroying the Peaceful Woods with his greedy ambitious drive. The storyline is to the point and simple, and overall the game was met with mostly positive reviews, as has since been re-released on the Nintendo Switch. 

This sealed 9.0 A+ WATA-graded copy is as clean as they come. The box art pops right off the black background of the SNES box, making this a very attractive game to have on display. Mario-related games are a fun niche to collect, and have become more popular in the last few years. This game is perfect for Mario collectors, Wario collectors, cross platform collectors, and SNES completionists!

Super Bomberman 2 ($240)

Super Nintendo’s Super Bomberman 2 was released in the midst of the 16 bit wars in 1994. The game is a follow up to Super Bomberman, and is a part of the much larger Bomberman universe. Like many of the other Bomberman games, this is a single or multiplayer action maze game. Super Bomberman 2 was a critical success on its release, and nearly 30 years later the game is still widely praised. The game was especially noted for having an engaging multiplayer mode, which some say is more exciting than the single-player mode. Yet despite its popularity, this would be the last time a Super Bomberman game would be released for the North American market. Super Bomberman 3, 4, and 5 were not released for our market. Bomberman games are still produced to this day, with the newest one – Amazing Bomberman – being released in August of 2022 for the Apple Arcade. 

This sealed blue label CGC 8.0 is a crisp, dynamic copy. While it isn’t a perfect 9.8, this game still presents well despite the flaws on the box. This copy is also much more affordable than higher graded copies. By comparison,a sealed 9.8 WATA-graded copy has a one-year average of $1,003. We don’t have a lot of sales data on CGC graded comparisons as of yet. Despite that, this is a great price for a great entry in the Bomberman world. This game is perfect for    collectors, SNES completionists, or maze video game collectors. 

Looking For More General Information on Graded Games?

· If any of the terminology used in this guide was confusing or new to you, please refer to our convenient glossary of terms here.
· Need more information about graded games in general? Check out this intro to the different types of certified video games here.