The Rarest and Most Valuable Playstation (PS1) Games
Even though the original Playstation is one of the most common consoles of all time, there are many valuable PS1 treasures to be found. Its diverse library is filled with RPGs and unique gems that collectors long for. Out of all of the consoles we have covered in the Rare & Valuable series so far, the PS1 has both the most expensive regular issue game and the highest average selling price. This occurrence can can probably be attributed to the PS2 and PS3’s backwards compatibility and its wide range of cult favorites that remain as exclusives for the PS1.
In stark contrast to the Cheapest Games series, this series by JJ Hendricks will round up the rarest and most valuable games for a given console or handheld so you’ll know what to look for whether you are buying or selling. JJ owns the video game pricing website VideoGamePriceCharts.com and writes a Video Game Pricing Blog which analyzes video game prices, pricing trends, and charts historic video game prices. He used his pricing statistics to find both the average selling price and the highest selling price for each game over the last three months.
Below you will see two prices beside each title. The first is the average daily selling price, which is typically the going rate for the game by itself. The second price is the highest price in the past three months which is usually the price for the new/sealed game. The list is ordered by the balance of the two prices. Note that some of these games are not rare in the sense that there are not many available, but rare relative to demand, which makes the games expensive.
Limited Edition Collectibles
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Elemental Gearbolt: Assassin’s Case: $1,200 - $1,379 Rarity =  This treasure chest of sorts was given away as a tournament prize at the 1998 E3 convention in addition to a few people who worked on Elemental Gearbolt at Working Designs. When all was said and done, only 40 of these sets were produced and given out. The set includes a briefcase, gold GunCon, and gold memory card. See Latest Elemental Gearbolt Assassin’s Case on eBay |
Treasured Standard USA Releases
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Suikoden II: $135 - $295 Rarity =  Even though it eventually became one of the most recommended RPGs on the Playstation, a limited printing and tepid initial response means there aren’t many copies of Suikoden II available. The great review scores and better sales for Suikoden III possibly helped increase aftermarket demand for the game. Combining these two factors together makes Suikoden II the most expensive regular-issue game on the Playstation. Check for Suikoden II on eBay |
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Tactics Ogre: $89 - $191 Rarity =  Tactics Ogre was originally released as a Super Famicom game in Japan in 1995 and was re-released on the PS1 in 1998 in addition to other spinoffs on other consoles. This strategy and role playing franchise which are notoriously expensive, and this installment in particular has received critical praise — RPGamer stated that “the game is and forever will be a masterpiece”. Check for Tactics Ogre on eBay |
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Valkyrie Profile: $89 - $155 Rarity =  Valkyrie Profile is an action/turn based RPG hybrid and has become a cult classic to the many RPG fans in the Playstation crowd. The original game is hard to find now, but it has since be released on the PSP, which probably sparked continued interest in the original. Check for Valkyrie Profile on eBay |
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Revelations: Persona: $79 - $123 Rarity = The Persona series has a small but very loyal following. They don’t sell a ton copies as Altus, the publisher typically has smaller print runs, but the fans of the series love it. Persona takes place in modern times, which gives it a unique spin for RPG fans looking for something different. Check for Persona on eBay |
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Final Fantasy VII (Black Label): $74 - $417 Rarity =  For the longest time, you could find this popular game for a reasonable price (after all, it was the second highest selling game on the PS1 at 9.8 million units), but it still has heavy demand behind it from collectors. As with most Playstation games, the original black-label released command far more from collectors. A sealed copy has even sold recently for over $400. Check for Final Fantasy VII on eBay |
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Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix: $75 - $100 Rarity = Cashing on the DDR craze during the turn of the millennium, this installment has techno-version of Disney songs like “It’s a Small World” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” in addition to Disney characters dancing on the screen while you play. The game is relatively hard to find now and all the Disney collectors and Dance Dance fans help to increase the price. Check for Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix on eBay |
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Lunar Silver Star Story Complete $62 - $167 Rarity = Lunar Silver Star Story is seen as a gateway between RPG eras. The game originated on the Sega CD and was one of the first RPGs to use FMV cutscenes and voice acting, but did not get all the attention it deserved. This enhanced re-release on the PS1 helped gain exposure for this great game, but as with most Working Design releases, there was a relatively low print run and a high collectability factor. Check for Lunar Silver Star Story Complete on eBay |
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Intelligent Qube: $69 - $86 Rarity = IQ is very unique and addicting puzzle game that received an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and sold quite well in Japan as a result. It was a initially a relative unknown in the US, but those that gave it a try found it especially compelling. Most fans of the game have been holding onto it, keeping supply low and prices high. Check for Intelligent Qube on eBay |
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Team Buddies: $60 - $120 Rarity =  Not only is Team Buddies pretty hard to find in the wild, but it’s also a remarkably unique and fun game. Mixing a realtime strategy RPG with flavors of a shooter and party game results in a cult classic that is high on PS1 collector’s want lists. Check for Team Buddies on eBay |
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Ogre Battle Limited Edition: $55 - $153 Rarity = This is a re-release of the Ogre Battle March of the Black Queen for the SNES, which is one of the most expensive SNES games ever. In fact, it is almost the exact same game as the SNES version. However, this special releases Includes a map and memory card stickers. Like its predecessor, Atlus only printed limited quantities of the game and never did a second product run. Check for Ogre Battle Limited Edition on eBay |
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Bust A Groove 2: $64 - $90 Rarity = Bust-A-Groove was originally called Bust-A-Move in the Japan but had to change its name in the US to avoid copyright problems with the arcade puzzle game. It is essentially a dancing and fighting combo, which makes Bust a Groove 2 a very unique, genre-bending title. Check for Bust A Grove 2 on eBay |
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Persona 2 Eternal Punishment: $56 - $140 Rarity = Persona 2: Eternal Punishment is a direct sequel to the first Persona game seen earlier on this list and it is part of a duology (of which the US never received the first installment, Innocent Sin). Atlus published this game too so it is not surprising that there are limited quantities available and it is in high demand. Check for Persona 2; Eternal Punishment on eBay |
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Tales of Destiny II / Tales of Eternia: $55 - $135 Rarity = Originally called Tales of Eternia in Japan. The name was changed to Tales of Destiny 2 but is not a direct sequel to any game in the Tales series. This game should also not be confused with Tales of Destiny 2 for PS2. They are completely different games. The game did not perform as well in the US as it did in Japan but is still cherished by Tales series fans. Check for Tales of Destiny II on eBay |
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Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete $54 - $120 Rarity =  Much like it’s predecessor above, Eternal Blue Complete was also an enhanced remake of the treasured Sega CD game, but had a slightly higher print run than Silver Star Story Complete. However, considering that both of these remakes were released in 1999 when 2D games were becoming a rarity, so it should be no surprise that only hardcore fans picked this game up — and typically held onto them. Check for Lunar Eternal Blue Complete on eBay |
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Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena: $55 - $90 Rarity = Brigandine is a turn-based strategy game with some RPG elements and is developed by Atlus. This by itself is a recipe for an expensive game. Atlus doesn’t produce many copies of them games as a publishing strategy, and strategy games and RPG’s typically dominate lists of expensive games. Check for Brigandine: The Legend of Forsena on eBay |
The Expensive Playstation Imports
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Rakugaki Showtime: $190 - $205 Rarity = It is hardly surprising to see a game from Treasure on a list like this, but it is relatively surprising to see a Treasure game on the Playstation as they typically did work on Sega’s and eventually Nintendo’s platforms. Rakagaki Showtime was Treasure’s was one of the first games in the arena fighting genre (like Poy Poy and Power Stone) and used a 3D paper-like graphical technique similar to that used in the Paper Mario series. Check for Rakugaki Showtime on eBay |
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Zanac X Zanac $160 - $210 Rarity =  While it might not have as extensive and impressive shmup library as the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast, the Playstation does have a number of exclusive 2D shooters that are essentials for fans of the genre. Zanac X Zanac is a Japanese exclusive that not only was a sequel of an NES classic from Compile, but also included the orignal game on the same disc. Check for Zanac X Zanac on eBay |
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Harmful Park - $150 - $200 Rarity = Another one of the essential Japan-only shooters to keep an out for is the quirky but fun Harmful Park. This rare shmup will remind many of Konami’s Parodius series. The word of mouth for this gem plus the limited print run from the small development house, Sky Think Systems, makes for a collectible treasure. Check for Harmful Park on eBay |
The Rarest PS1 Games At Affordable Prices
Each of these games have a rarity rating greater than 6, but routinely sell for less than $40. If you are a PS1 collector and see a boxed or sealed copy of any of these on eBay for a low price, you might want to snatch them up — you may never see them again.
- Lifespan Learing Games - $2 - $5 each
- Psychic Detective: $25 - $35
- Fox Hunt: $13 - $20
- Syndicate Wars: $8 - $25
- Motor Toon Grand Prix: $10 - $15
- Guilty Gear: $8 - $23
- Goal Storm ‘97: $4 - $10
Additional Playstation Games of Value
These games aren’t especially rare, but are quite collectible; resulting in a high resale value, especially for complete, boxes copies.
- Bust A Groove - $59 - $80
- Tomba: $56 - $81
- Einhander: $53 - $98
- X-COM UFO Defense: $50 - $90
- Tales of Destiny: $49 - $80
- X-men vs Street Fighter: $50 - $70
- Marvel vs. Capcom: $48 - $70
- Final Fantasy VII (Greatest Hits): $53 - $160
- Spyro Collectors Edition (complete): $53 - $73
- Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Black Label): $57 - $66
- Xenogears (Black Label): $50 - $154
- Suikoden: $50 - $115
- Legend of Mana: $47 - $80
- Klonoa Door to Phantomile: $46 - $61
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories Premium (w/ cards): $45 - $65 (sealed)
- Return Fire: $48 - $50
- Mega Man Legends 2: $45 - $73
- Herc’s Adventure: $45 - $50
- Arc The Lad Collection: $44 - $103
- Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: $40 - $52
Credits: Video Game Prices provided by VideoGamePriceCharts.com. The source for daily updated prices on over 10,000 video games. The prices are the highest daily price and average daily price from February, 1st 2008 to April, 8th 2008. Rarity scores are courtesy of my friends at DigitalPress.
62 Comments:
This is a fantastic list, and I will keep my eye out for these games. But, how could you forget Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a cult favorite for the PS1?
I didn’t forget it at all — in fact I was expecting to see it on here. But I double-checked the value and it didn’t make the cut. Maybe the XBLA and PSN releases brought the value down.
Symphony of the Night usually goes for about $45 or $50 for the black label. The price didn’t go down much if at all when it hit XBLA.
I know this is kind of lame but……………….
I have a Playstation 1 lot on eBay as we speak. Well I guess we aren’t really speaking per say but whatever that doesn’t matter because I am trying to promote a sale of PS1 games. I don’t have any of the uber rares mentioned in the article but there are some pseudo rares like Worms and Ghost in the Shell also Threads of Fate (which by the way is awesome).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190214521097
Lastly, these articles are always a blast to read (as are the ‘Hidden Gem’ articles) and I wonder does value and the quality of a game go hand in hand? I mean aside from the DDR game most of these look like quality titles.
I had a copy of IQ, was a heck of a fun game, never expected it to fetch that much.
I did a search for my idea of a rare game (Sentient), but found out it wasn’t that much. Rare yes, valuable not much
Hmm, didn’t include Tombi (I mean Tomba
on here? The PAL version fetches quite a bit here in europe.
It’s #2 on the runner-up list.
How much does it go for out there?
I Have Syndicate Wars Got it for £2 like 4 years ago or somat lol
Huh! I got Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete at a garage sale for $10 and just the game itself at a thrift store for $5.
I had no idea that this game was getting rare.
I actually had a copy of that game Fox Hunt. Who woulda known it would be rare later in life. It wasn’t even really that good. But I am surprised that Dragon Ball GT Final Bout and Ultimate Battle 22 didn’t make the cut.
Nice list, I think you hit just about everything. Sadly, I only have 2 from the main list and several from the addtional list. I had no idea Einhander had jumped that much in value. I haven’t checked on it for a while. Nice.
Great article.
Are you sure Bust A Groove 2 is more expensive that Bust A Groove 1??? I have been checking those games and thought the first game was more expensive and more desirable due to better music. Anyway, I had both games but sold the second game around 3 years ago because it was not as good as the first. I got about 35 dollars for it.
I think you forgot Valkyrie Profile and Final Fantasy Tactics BL.
oops, my mistake on that valkyrie profile. I am blind. HA HA HA
Do you think ff7 will stay that high? I found the gh copy at a thrift store a few weeks ago for- no lie- three dollars. The price is written on the case in magic marker. I have the black label version and don’t even like the game that much so i’m planning on flipping it soon. Seems like with millions of copies It’ll drop soon.
Hey, What about Star Ocean: The Second story, thats rare as hell and id no cos it took me hella long to find a copy
I find the fact that FF7 is selling for such high prices to be mind boggling. I can understand working design and atlus RPG’s selling for higher prices, but a game with almost 10 million copies sold, now selling 10 years later for more than it sold for new? something is odd. glad I was into RPG’s when I was younger. I don’t have many of these rare ones, but still have quite a few PS1 square games in the collection.
I’ve been collecting PS1 games for about 10 years now and I have around 230 titles(including the ones listed here). Unfortunately, I a missing 3 big titles-Revelations: Persona, Ogre Battle, and Tactics Ogre. Sometimes I get close to just paying the full price online for one of these titles, but I feel like I might run into them eventually. I’ve been a pretty lucky hunter, finding Suikoden II for $5, and other rarities at low prices.
peace4myheart, I initially questioned JJ on the Bust a Groove vs Bust A Groove 2 issue, but he showed me a few months worth of actual sales, and it’s true — at least for that time period.
Also, I was expecting to see Tactics as well, but the value seemed to have cooled off in comparison to the ones on the list.
Bob, I think FF7 will eventually cool down. If you have a copy I would sell it if you are remotely interested in the money.
SO: Second Story actually isn’t worth a ton. A sealed copy actually closed for $75 — $40 is typical.
Haha no way. Ogre Battle is on here? I have that laying around somewhere..
I have X-Men vs Street Fighter…interesting…
I have these (order as appeared here): Suikoden II, Valkyrie Profile, Revelations: Persona (2 copies), Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (full copy with all extras), Team Buddies, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment, Tales of Destiny II, Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete (full copy with all extras), Einhander, Tales of Destiny, Castlevania Symphony of the Night (Black Label), Xenogears (Black Label), Suikoden, Legend of Mana, Klonoa Door to Phantomile (2 copies) and just about every other decent RPG released for PSX. Awesome games. Would sell some but I dunno… others, I’d still like to play.
i have most of those besides the stuuuupid fuckin disney shit and crappy TEAM BUDDIES game and shit….
cant believe Poy Poy isnt on there… good selection.
suikoden 2 and valkyrie profile are my favorite rpgs (and i hate rpgs)…oh and lufia 2 but thats for snes…lol…
what about Lengend of the Dragoon?
I have two copies of Intelligence Qube, and a few of the other games on this list. FF7 is super popular because of the college kids buying it for nostalgic reasons. Star Ocean is easy to find, as is Bust-a-Move 1. Symphony of the Night saw a cut in price with the release of the HD version. Super Puzzle Fighter can’t be played on a PS2 as far as I know, but I haven’t yet tried it using a PSX controller. Tomba 1 is worth about $50 unsealed. I’d also like to point out that the Lunar’s come with a bunch of stuff, including a map, a medallion, and bonus CD’s. Without those or the case to contain all of the items the cost of the game drops sharply.
Verum:
Super Puzzle Fighter can be played on all FAT PS2. It is not compatible with the slim version.
You’re forgetting Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure! It’s such a cute and underrated game!
I forgot to mention that you’re also missing out on Brave Fencer Musashi and Threads of Fate (aka DewPrism). There’s also Parasite Eve.
And hey! What happened to Tales of Destiny? The original Tales of Destiny because American Tales of Destiny 2 is actually Tales of Eternia.
MegaMan Legends 2 was one of my favourites, who would have guessed it was worth something? i dont have the case anymore i wonder if its still good?
what? No Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball_GT:_Final_Bout
If you asked me, it’s seems like the ‘rare’ games are those games that the US market often ignore like RPG types or the strategic types. I played most of the games on the list and maybe including the jap versions too. PS1 was one of the highest selling machines because it was easily modded and not too expensive. We can now play PS1 games on the PC. If you are looking for any of the games, the internet is your friend.
I’m pretty sure I already mentioned Dragon Ball GT Final Bout. That game will always be a hard one to track down. It’s like they only made three copies…
Final Bout isn’t rare. It used to be in demand by all the DBZ fans. Now it’s pretty cheap and abundant.
All the other ones mentioned weren’t forgotten, they just aren’t as rare and valuable. Please check ebay for yourself before flinging a bunch of names out there
problem with VideoGamePriceCharts is that the truely rare stuff isnt included. Although I wouldnt expect to find super high values on them, try finding a copy of Tail of The Sun and No One Can Stop Mr. Domino [both Artdink games].
and Puzzle fighter wouldnt be included because it was reprinted a few years back and its value plummeted [sucks for those of us that owned it since day one… also the packaging is identical]
I almost fell over when I found a legitimate (unboxed, however) copy of the original Suikoden on craigslist. The kid (18 years old) was selling it for 7$. When I asked him why he didn’t sell it on ebay for tons of money, he just told me he wanted somebody who really liked the game to buy it. Needless to say, I haven’t found the same generosity for Suikoden II.
Actually, you have left out a game in which is now impossible to find new, and used copies typically start at $60 if the seller knows anything
Dragon Seed.
This was essentially the first pocket monster or pokemon ever made, but in a very basic form. You hatched a dragon, fought it in turn based battle on a rock, paper, scissor format.
I can not tell you how many hours my friend and i spent on this game, hatching new dragons and creating our own combos. Not only that, but the blockbuster near us only had one copy; which was ALWAYS rented even if not by us.
Brave Fencer Musashi should probably also be on the list, concidering the US version really didnt sell well and it was such an intriguing, unique game. the art is very cool as well.
anyways, thats my two cents!
I don’t think that I have any of those which is unfortunate as there are many titles that interest me on the list. Especially some of those RPGs, fortunately some of them have seen re-releases.
So HOW much will FFVII sell for?! *greedy smile*
Don’t forget the Armored Core series:
I just saw a copy of Project Phantasma and Master of Arena go for 125$ each in a second-hand video game store here in Montana.
AC4 (360 & PS3) was going for 80$ disc only.
IT JUST CAME OUT A YEAR AGO!
hmm well I have FFVII and Lunar Silver Star Story with the little book and map and everything… hehehhe
Interestin, even tho i’m not a game collector or anything… hmm cool I do have black label Castlevania: Symphony of the Night in good shape, my dad bought it back in 1997 lol
shut your mouth team buddies is brillant espically the ninja or superman dude there brillant better than you andmore rare than your house and everything (he lives in a box) im talking about you spanks saying TEAM BUDDIES is crap!!!! your crap!!! lol!!!!!!!!!
shut your mouth team buddies is brillant espically the ninja or superman dude there brillant better than you andmore rare than your house and everything (he lives in a box) im talking about you spanks saying TEAM BUDDIES is crap!!!! your crap!!! lol!!!!!!!!!
i’ve got like 4 of these games. i feel well enough accomplished ^_^ thats pretty cool though
i got FFVII, lunar, disney mix( which i found surprising) and intelligent qube, AWESOME game.
Got FFVII and both Lunar games; probably my three favorite RPGs ever. The Lunar games weren’t the most complex games ever, but the stories were epic, and the gameplay was just plain fun.
I only have FFVII at the moment. I’m into Nintendo collecting at the moment though so I didn’t expect to see too many acquisitions on that list.
FF7 is hands down the best game to ever come out on a system. Nothing else can compete
TEAM BUDDIES can for sure
I live in upstate NY and I have a gamestore as does my friend, and we get copies of most of these games almost weekly, usually let them go for less than the ebay prices too same w alot of older stuff as well. I put a link to my friends website, but if you ask him about his friend Joe I also have a ton of old games in my own store like supermario RPG and Ogre Battle 64. Ebay is way over priced and a hassle so I dont feel bad shamelessly advertising here. And BTW where is Breath Of Fire III on this list I mean cmon somewhere it should be here thats my favorite game and a hard one to get.
Awhile back I sold my copy of Suikoden 2 to a Gamestop for only $20 wish I had only known then that it was a rare game and worth much more then that.
hey racketboy i have a question for you. someone is offering me a playstation 1 with a memory card and a game genie and the following games (non which made your list but i heard were valuable games).
Breath of Fire IV
Legend of Legaia
Legend of the Dragoon
Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot 2
Heart of Darkness(With 3D Glasses)
Final Fantasy IX
Chocobo’s Dungeon 2
Star Ocean
How much is this package worth? i respect your opion and ill check back tomorrow. thanks
Ah man! I used to own like four of those (damn all of you people who borrowed/never returned those games)! And I definitely remember passing up buying Valkyrie Profile (for $10). Although, I must say I still have a few games that I think are worthy of the list: Breath of Fire III, Final Fantasy Tactics, Grandia, and (one of my personal favorites) Vagrant Story. (This might be stretching it but, I also have a buddy who owns Dragon Warrior VII!)
Hey Daniel — I don’t know all the values off the top of my head, and the PAL values may be different than the US versions.
I would just check the completed auction values of all of them and then round it down to give a bit of a discount for the complete set.
I’m surprised I have quite a few of the less rare rare titles, from my years of collecting. They’re even more difficult if you live outside the US, as I do.
I have nothing here, except Yu-gi-oh Forbidden Memories… with no cards. I think my friend has Team Buddies… If he does, I’ll buy it from him.
Oh, I forgot to ask, is Worms World Party worth anything? I’ve never seen any other copies, even on eBay…
Hmm — haven’t heard of it being rare, but I may be wrong.
Where’s Grandia? That game is usually 50-200 dollars- and it’s my favorite
BF Musashi is great but not all that rare since it came with the much anticipated demo for FF8. I got a copy cheap off eBay recently (my original was stepped on)
The only game from the list I (used to) have is Tactics Ogre. Don’t remember what happened to it. I REALLY want FF7 but even with no case it’s expensive! Where are you guys all finding these great deals? Yard sales?!?
HAVE U EVER SEEN A PLAYSTATION ONE GAME WITH A PURPLE RABBIT IN IT AND IT HAD RED EYES AND ANOTHER GAME ON THE CD HAD A BOY WITH PINK HAIR IF U EVER FIND OUT THE NAME OF THE GAME PLESE EMAIL ME!!!!!!!!1
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