The Rarest Nintendo GameCube Game Isn't What You'd Expect
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The GameCube helped Nintendo join the rest of the gaming industry in the use of discs — albeit with tiny 8 cm discs instead of the standard 12 cm discs. And, the console was the last one Nintendo launched before it opened an online storefront so players could purchase digital titles. So, if there was any time for a company to produce rare games, the GameCube's lifespan marked it.
Nintendo obliged the purveyors of rare and limited video games and provided a sizable list of limited releases for the GameCube. While some titles, such as Cubivore and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance are indeed rare (and will fetch a pretty penny if you're willing to part with them), others are so uncommon and obscure you might have forgotten they ever existed. No, not games like Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. That was just a Lovecraftian and unexpectedly mature title — words you don't usually associate with Nintendo.
If you want to discover the rarest GameCube game ever, keep reading.
Runner-up: Metroid Prime & The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker 2 Pack
Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker are two of the most beloved GameCube titles. They are so beloved that Prime was re-released for the Nintendo Wii — complete with Wii remote waggle controls — and Wind Waker received an HD port for the Wii U. So, in what bizarro universe are they rare? Alone, they are common, but together, they are gaming collection holy grails.
To help push GameCubes during the 2005 holiday season, Nintendo bundled Metroid Prime and Wind Waker into one box and gave them away with each system. Buy the console, get two award-winning games for free. It was the deal of a lifetime since the bundle was only available during the 2005 rush. The games were unaltered, but they came in a snazzy two-disc case that held both titles.
While Metroid Prime and Wind Waker are available separately for pennies on the dollar, the bundle is a pricey purchase. If you want the complete set, expect to spend around $440. But, if you want the bundle new and unopened, prepare to shell out a staggering $1500.
Winner: Super Monkey Ball 2 Pack
An object only has as much value as buyers assign, and sometimes gamers will pay out the nose for even the most mundane of items, so long as it is rare. Super Monkey Ball 2 Pack is a good example of this practice.
Nintendo loved to create game bundles for the GameCube. There was the Pure Evil 2-pack with Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0, the Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition with four Zelda titles included, and rarest of all, Super Monkey Ball 2 Pack with Super Monkey Ball 1 and 2. What made a 2-pack about monkeys in hamster balls so rare? The general consensus is it came down to a special cardboard sleeve. The games within were identical to the original releases, but the bundle set itself apart thanks to a thin piece of corrugated paper. No, seriously.
A complete copy of Super Monkey Ball 2 Pack goes for around $645, but if you want it new in packaging, you will have to pay $1,500. That is some really expensive cardboard.