Duane Beckett
When it comes to collecting all things video games, something I’ve dabbled in off-and-on over multiple decades, it’s often the lesser-known games with unique variants that collectors covet.
A great example is how a sealed CGC 9.4 A++ copy of ClayFighter: Sculptor’s Cut sold via Heritage Auctions for $175,000. The game was awful, but the copy’s condition made it super rare.
With ClayFighter and the N64 in mind, here are six forgotten Nintendo 64 games that collectors covet and why.
Stunt Racer 64
Stunt Racer 64 was a futuristic racing game released back in 2000. It focused on sharp turns, big jumps, and tracks that felt more Hot Wheels-inspired than a normal race. It was a late-era N64 game and was sold for around $40 to $50.
According to PriceCharting, the game now sits at around $399 for a loose cartridge, while a complete copy can be worth around $1,499. That’s a huge jump, but even the price of a loose cartridge is unreal.
As for collectors, they want the box most of all because Stunt Racer 64 was tied closely to Blockbuster distribution, making clean boxed copies painfully scarce.
Bomberman 64: The Second Attack
Bomberman 64: The Second Attack hit the Nintendo 64 in 2000, after a Japanese release in 1999. It gave players more of Bomberman’s maze-based action, explosions, boss battles, and the companion character Pommy. It was a fun game, but the release timing was awful. The N64-era was winding down, and the release didn’t do well on the platform.
This is where it gets interesting. According to PriceCharting, a loose U.S. copy is worth around $370, while complete copies sit near $938. Unsurprisingly, the box and manual make a huge difference. Yet, a loose cart is still worth a princely sum and is not impossible to find out in the wild.
Super Bowling
Super Bowling sounds like the kind of game you’d find in a discount bin and walk past. That’s the funny part. The Nintendo 64 version was a basic 3D bowling game, released in January 2001, when the system was already near the finish line. Original retail was around $50 at the time.
Information from PriceCharting shows why collectors covet this game now. Loose copies can fetch around $720, and complete copies, with boxes and manuals, can hit $2,300. That’s a monster number for a bowling game. Collectors look for the standard box, manual, and inserts when it comes to forgotten Nintendo 64 games.
Worms: Armageddon
Worms: Armageddon was much better known on PC and PlayStation, which is probably why the N64 version slipped past so many people. The game used turn-based battles where cartoon worms fired ridiculous weapons at each other across destructible maps.
MobyGames lists the Nintendo 64 version among the 1999 platform releases, with the North American N64 release appearing in March 2000 in its release data.
PriceCharting currently places the U.S. loose cartridge at around $272, while complete copies are valued at around $923. Another interesting point is that collectors want the NTSC-U version with the box and manual only, as PAL versions are worth far less.
StarCraft 64
StarCraft 64 still feels like a weird little timeline glitch. Blizzard’s legendary real-time strategy game came to Nintendo 64 in June 2000, which was not exactly the natural home for a PC strategy giant. I owned an N64, played Blizzard games heavily on other platforms, and still missed this one completely back then.
PriceCharting now lists a loose cartridge version at around $100 and a complete version for north of $290. Surprisingly, PAL copies are far more expensive than the NTSC versions. Collectors look for the manual, box, and clean label, with added interest from Blizzard fans and forgotten Nintendo 64 games overall.
Body Harvest
Body Harvest was released for Nintendo 64 in North America in 1998, and its reputation has grown because of who made it. DMA Design developed the game before becoming famous for Grand Theft Auto. The game mixed alien invasions, vehicles, time periods, and open-world design ideas that felt ahead of its time.
PCMag reported Body Harvest as a forgotten Nintendo 64 classic, and the GTA connection gives it collector appeal beyond raw price. I’ve included it on this list for that exact reason and to show that not all forgotten N64 games now have huge value. For instance, PriceCharting shows loose U.S. copies worth around $28, with complete copies around $82. That’s affordable compared with the heavy hitters elsewhere on this list.