Welcome to the rare games section of the NES. Here, you will find various games that are more uncommon than your typical NES game. Plus, you'll find out some tips and even a guide to help you increase your collection of rare games. Here's the shortlink for the NES Rarity Guide.

Before you can make a big, grand collection of rare games, you must first scout out and learn what games are rare and why. To start off, most games that are rare are usually unlicensed games which don't have a nintendo logo on them. So if you see a cart that is unlicensed, then there is a chance that the game is somewhat rare. Now here's where the real instincts come into play. The picture on the right is a picture of one of the rarest games for the NES. Even though the game is only Tetris, if you look at the cart, it's both a different color and shape. This is because this version of Tetris is an unlicensed game made by Tengen. Most unlicensed games usually take on different shapes or colors because they didn't have the license to take the shape of an official Nintendo cart. Whenever purchasing a rare game, look for three qualities:

• Unlicensed
• Black/different colored cartridge
• Different designs or shapes

The reason why certain games are rare is mainly due to supply and demand. Some games that were classics with rare accessories are often purchased by collectors. Others reasons may include smaller production counts. Several years back, Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Tengen (a game producer) for producing an unofficial game called Tetris. The problem was that Nintendo held the license to Tetris, however, Tengen decided to make their own Tetris anyway. Nintendo won the court battle and these Tengen Tetrises were forced to be destroyed. That's one good reason why a certain game can be more rare. As I said before, smaller producers often produce smaller production counts of their games. Certain games that weren't so popular didn't produce millions like Super Mario Bros. and thus, are more rare. So you're probably asking yourself:

"Is there anyway to be sure a NES game is rare?"

Of course there is. A few years ago, a guide was produced by a few people and it was called the NES Rarity Guide. The great thing about the guide is that it lists every (almost every?) game for the NES and rates the rarity of the game on a A-F scale, with A+ being the rarest. This is one of the most useful files you can get if you enjoy collecting NES games. I'd also recommend printing this guide out so you can use it when you purchase NES games for reference.

"Where can I get rare NES games?"

There are a couple places that come to mind when buying rare NES games. Your first bet is to try out EBAY and see if you find a couple rare games in complete condition. Otherwise, you can try out local pawn shops, video game stores, or Funcolands. The last resort, which is based on luck, would be yard sales. Even though your chances of finding video games at a yard sale are 10%, you can always try and perhaps get a good find. Sometimes, you might be able to buy a box of NES games and then see if any of the titles are rare.

"What is the absolute rarest NES game?"

Although I can't be absolutely sure, I'm almost positive that it is the NWC gold version cart. The Nintendo World Championship 1990 cart was a special cart made specifically for the video game championships Nintendo held that year. There were 90 grey carts that were handed out to the Nintendo Power winners and a limited 26 gold carts handed out to the finalists. Since there are only 26 of these special gold carts in the world, I'm assuming they're rarer than prototypes and test carts.