The Sega Dreamcast was one of the shortest-lived consoles in video game history. Despite a lifespan only lasting from 1998 to 2001, there were a host of fascinating games that provided value to gamers and collectors over the years. The Dreamcast is notable for its high-tech 3D graphics and unique controller, but there are also some rare gems not seen anywhere else. But what’s the resell market like for Dreamcast games today? Here are the top 10 rarest Dreamcast games that are worth a fortune.
Like our previous ‘worth a fortune’ lists, PriceCharting is our source for new and used game values. We’re ranking these Dreamcast games using the New Price listings, from lowest to highest. Used prices are taken from the “Loose Price” filter from PriceCharting. Console bundles are not included since they typically top these lists and skew individual game values. Now on to the list!
10. Marvel Vs Capcom
$349.49 New | $45 Used
One of the most well-received games in the series, Marvel Vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes is worth a pretty penny on the Dreamcast. This is actually the third game in the Marvel Vs Capcom series and was the first time Capcom characters outside of Street Fighter were playable in fights. You could do crazy team battles using Mega Man and Morrigan against The Hulk and Venom.
There are several reasons the Dreamcast version of Marvel Vs Capcom is generally held as the superior version. For one, the graphics and sound featured on the Dreamcast outpaced the arcades and PS1 versions. Though, what really clinches the Dreamcast version as definitive is the PS1’s lack of tag team battles. Unfortunately for Sony players, the PS1’s aging RAM capacity couldn’t handle the extra characters on-screen, so the arcade and Dreamcast versions were the only ones to feature tag teams at the time of release.
9. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
$349.99 New | $145.63 Used
Just like Marvel Vs Capcom, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was first released on arcade machines and then ported to Dreamcast and PS1. This title was a traditional fighting game through and through, developed by the Street Fighter III team no less. Unlike Marvel Vs Capcom, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is regarded as superior on PS1 due to the exclusive Super Story Mode. Despite lacking a story mode, the Dreamcast version boasted a vibrant color scheme and, best of all for collectors, a very high return on investment. New copies of JoJo’s on Dreamcast fetch an average of $350, while average used copies go for $145. Even if you just have that classic JoJo box cover lying around somewhere, it can sell for up to $70.
8. Giga Wing 2
$388 New | $190.32 Used
Giga Wing was a short-lived duology of vertical-scrolling arcade shooters. They’re perhaps best known for their similarities to Radiant Silvergun, and for the ridiculously ludicrous score ranges possible in the game. Do you get whiplash seeing scores scrolling up into the millions? Hah, Giga Wing 2 eats those babies for breakfast, boasting scores far into the quintillions. The Dreamcast version of Giga Wing 2 is notable for its exclusive score attack mode, 4-player mode, and gallery. It’s a shame the series didn’t make it far because it tried some ambitious stuff for a 2001 game. The orchestral soundtrack and online matchmaking were ahead of their time and helped set Giga Wing 2 apart from its more popular shooter brethren.
7. Project Justice
$400 New | $110 Used
Think of Project Justice as a polygonal Marvel Vs Capcom, except with rival schools duking it out against each other. Project Justice is a sequel to Rival Schools: United by Fate and features tag-team battles and an ambitious character creator. The character creator mode was exclusive to the Japanese version of Project Justice, with the Western editions instead having to make do with some additional characters made from the Japanese character creator engine. Unfortunately, the series didn’t succeed commercially and ended up stopping after Project Justice. If you were niche enough to get a copy back in the day, you’re sure to get a lot of cash for it, even if it’s just a loose disk.
6. Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Fight For The Future
$423.31 New | $60 Used
The second sequel to Street Fighter III goes for a pretty penny nowadays. Like other games on this list, 3rd Strike was originally developed for CP System III Arcade hardware. 3rd Strike is widely regarded as the best of the Street Fighter III trilogy and is notable for bringing back Street Fighter 2’s Chun Li into its large roster. Being a fan favorite has done wonders for this game, such as granting it numerous ports to modern systems as part of the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Edition. But the Dreamcast was the first console 3rd Strike called home and so it’s also the most valuable edition, regularly demanding over $400 for new copies.
5. Resident Evil 2
$444.62 New | $102.17 Used
What more can be said of Resident Evil 2 that hasn’t been said already? It’s easily one of the most highly regarded survival horror games in existence and was one of the first major remake titles during the modern remake boom. What’s not as widely known is just how many differences the RE2 ports feature from the original PS1 version. The Dreamcast version was based on the PC port, which was based on the Dual Shock version. As the name suggests, the Duel Shock version was made to incorporate the later iterations of PlayStation’s DualShock rumble and analog controls. The wildest addition exclusively for the Dreamcast edition of RE2 has to be the Visual Memory Unit add-on functionality.
This pocket-sized add-on displays your character’s condition in real-time and was only featured on the Dreamcast. While the Visual Memory Unit itself doesn’t sell for much on the second-hand market today (only $25 used), Resident Evil 2 for the Dreamcast fetches values well over $400 new and $100 loose.
4. Cannon Spike
$452.59 New | $157 Used
The last game released for the Dreamcast in Europe, Cannon Spike was a top-down shooter featuring various characters from Capcom’s library of games. This wacky Capcom shooter has been on my backlog of games to eventually play due to the Mega Man Legends style tone that it oozes. The game’s cast of characters is wild, with Cammy, Mega Man, and Arthur from Ghosts and Goblins taking center stage in multi-directional shooter action. If you like campaigns with a heavy emphasis on difficult boss fights, Cannon Spike has you covered.
Despite the zany cast of characters and colorful art style, Cannon Spike didn’t sell tremendously well or achieve acclaim from critics. Cannon Spike eventually faded into obscurity, gradually increasing the value of Dreamcast copies. Today, Cannon Spike is a rare and valuable gem, fetching over $150 for used loose copies and well over $400 for new.
3. Speed Devils [Clean Cover]
$475 New | $156.25 Used
Otherwise known as Speed Busters in North America, this was Ubisoft Montreal’s try at an arcade racing game. Think Cruis’n World, except with better controls. Speed Devils features boulders being rolled by dinos, UFOs abducting racers, and even some cop chases thrown into the mix. The game had more realistic handling and engine sounds than its arcade competition, but it just wasn’t enough to out-sell the likes of Need for Speed or its arcade inspiration, Cruis’n.
Despite pretty good critical reception, Speed Devils didn’t sell well in any corner of the globe and has remained a relic of the Dreamcast ever since. If you’ve been holding onto a Dreamcast copy of Speed Devils, it’s not worth much unless it happens to be the rare clean cover variant. The clean cover edition features a giant sticker on the cover, omitting the original devil graphic completely, as seen here:
The giant sticker featured on the clean cover edition is reportedly there to cover a printing error from the first editions of the game.
2. Marvel Vs Capcom 2
$500 New | $108.47 Used
Widely considered one of the greatest fighting games of all time, Marvel Vs Capcom 2 is well worth its prestige in cash today. The game is notable for being the first in the series to take a step towards 3D with its unique 2.5D fighting perspective. The frantic, yet refined gameplay of the 3v3 fights was addicting and glorious for fighting game fans.
While this game didn’t add any huge additions to past entries, it managed to iterate past features to a sheen and up the anti to three partners from the previous two. The character roster of classic Capcom favorites and Marvel superheroes never got old either. Several factors make the original Dreamcast version worth a fortune, but the sheer quality of the experience might just convince you to keep it regardless.
1. Sonic Adventure [Limited Edition]
$836 New | $50 Used
Sonic’s first true foray into 3D became the ultimate system seller for the Sega Dreamcast. Sonic Adventure would go on to sell around $2.5 million copies, becoming one of the foundational lifelines of the Dreamcast console. While Sonic Adventure wasn’t enough to keep the Dreamcast going, it did cement itself as one of the all-time great 3D platformer games.
Regular editions of Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast only sell for around $60 new, but the limited edition versions sell for more than any other Dreamcast game in existence. These limited editions were only distributed to the press during Sega’s Hollywood Video Premiere in the USA. Think of the limited edition versions as review embargo copies for video games press and you have the gist of it. These copies sell for a whopping $836 new, but only around $50 used.
That does it for the top 10 rarest Dreamcast games worth a fortune. Interestingly, this Dreamcast list boasts far smaller price points than our other ones analyzing the Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, etc. Dreamcast games aren’t in high demand on the collector market, as opposed to its Sega Genesis predecessor which commands over $1000 for the top four priciest games. Check out our other lists and come back for reviews and guides here on Twinfinite!
