Highlights
- Pokemon Snap, A Link to the Past, Super Mario Bros. 3, and Tetris are classic games that are still easily accessible and relatively cheap.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Mario 64, Final Fantasy 7, Resident Evil: Directors Cut, and Star Wars: Battlefront 2 are also readily available at retro shops and online.
- Pong, being one of the earliest games, is a mainstay on various consoles and can be found almost everywhere, making it widely accessible.
As time goes on, you might think that it will only get more and more difficult to find some of your favorite classic video games. While that can be true for certain gems like Chrono Trigger, there are still tons of older games that aren’t hard to come by and are relatively cheap.
For whatever reason, it can feel like some classic games will never go away, even if some of them were originally released all the way back in the eighties. Copies of games have to run out at some point, but it seems like these truly never will.
10 Pokemon Snap - Nintendo 64
This silly little game about taking pictures of Pokemon was a surprise hit, so you might think it would be a bit rarer to come by these days. While that could be said of the complete in-the-box presentation, it’s certainly not the case for loose cartridges.
Almost every retro game shop seems to have at least one copy of this game available for someone to pick up, and the price is usually somewhere between twenty and forty dollars. Not bad for a game that lets you toss apples at Pokemon for some pretty pictures.
9 A Link To The Past - Super Nintendo
A Link To The Past is one of the all-time classic Zelda games, and it might even be your favorite from the series to this day. Due to its popularity and how long it’s been since its initial release in 1991, no one could be blamed for thinking it might be a rare collector's item at this point.
While it’s not one of the cheaper games in the Super Nintendo’s library, it is almost always readily available at fan events, retro shops, and even online. Usually, a copy will set you back a bit over fifty bucks on the low end, but the game does always seem to be lurking around for fans of the series.
8 Super Mario Bros. 3 - Nintendo Entertainment System
When most people name a classic from the NES, one of the first titles that will spring to your mind is Super Mario Bros 3. The classic platformer still holds up to this day, making it a fairly widely sought-after game to add to a collection.
It might be due to the fact that the game has been re-released so often, but it really isn’t tough to find the original NES copy. If you’re lucky, a copy of this game will only set you back around twenty bucks, and it’s pretty much always available anywhere that sells classic games.
7 Tetris - Game Boy
There still being plenty of copies available of console games is one thing, but handheld games can be a lot harder to come by at times. Tetris is one of the most successful games on the original Game Boy thanks to its simple but replayable gameplay loop.
With just how many people wanted to get their hands on a portable version of Tetris, it’s not impossible that a game like that could have become tough to find all these years later. Somehow, this game is everywhere and often goes for ten to fifteen dollars, so go snag a copy!
6 Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Sega Genesis
It’s almost strange just how readily available both Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 are. A lot of the time, retro stores tend to bundle one of the titles in with Sega Genesis systems, showing just how easy to come by the games are.
The classic Sonic adventures may just see the hedgehog taking on his classic foe with a few twists, but people absolutely love them and their incredible soundtracks. It’s a great surprise that Sonic 2 is so easy to get your hands on for some wickedly low prices.
5 Super Mario 64 - Nintendo 64
Considering Super Mario 64 is both a legendary platformer that defined 3D movement and has become a hit with speedrunners, it’s kind of shocking you can get the game so easily. Having multiple copies of the game is a great way to attract customers to a retro game shop.
Thanks to that fact, it’s not hard to walk into a shop and find at least one copy ready for the taking. As long as you aren’t looking for a full presentation, you’re not going to be paying unreasonable prices for a cartridge of this Nintendo classic.
4 Final Fantasy 7 - PlayStation
Final Fantasy 7 is arguably the most beloved game from the Final Fantasy series, thanks to it introducing so many people to the RPG genre. The twisting adventure of Cloud and the gang is a multi-disc adventure, but one that you won’t struggle to find.
This is a game that can be a bit tougher to come by in retro stores in certain regions, but even if you somehow can’t find it near you, it’s always available online. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to pick up a copy for just under fifty bucks.
3 Resident Evil: Directors Cut - PlayStation
With the original Resident Evil being a game that defined an entire genre and the Directors Cut being a re-release of sorts, it would make sense for the game to be hard to come by. Luckily, your trip to the Spencer Mansion isn’t a pain to track down.
You probably will be forced to pay a pretty penny for a copy of the game, but it’s not uncommon for most retro shops to have a few copies kicking around somewhere, if you ask. Even if it is a bit pricey, it’s worth it to experience all the cheesy goodness of Resident Evil quotes.
2 Star Wars: Battlefront 2 - PS2
Ignoring the drama of the modern Battlefront 2, the PS2 version of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is easily one of the best games on an absolutely stacked console. It’s legendary among even people who aren’t the biggest Star Wars fans for good reason.
It being a bit more modern than many other games on this list does help with it being available, but it is nearly two decades old at this point. Grabbing yourself a copy of this game is both simple and low cost, with most places carrying it at around the twenty to thirty dollar price point.
1 Pong - Pretty Much Every System
Just face it, Pong has always been and likely always will be one of the most readily available games of all time. It was one of the earliest games you could get your hands on, and as a result, it's been featured all over the place.
A form of the game has existed on tons of consoles, and it’s practically a mainstay on all those odd little plug-and-play consoles you can find. You actually have probably accidentally acquired the game at some point, but that’s okay because who doesn’t love some Pong?