Castlevania

The 1997 PlayStation entry threw out the linear stage structure, opened Dracula's castle as one explorable map with RPG levelling, and — alongside Super Metroid — founded the genre the hobby now calls 'Metroidvania'. It was a modest seller that became a legend, so the original SLUS black-label print is structurally scarce and the later 'Greatest Hits' green-spine reissue is the common copy. A sealed black-label SOTN is the modern survival-grail of the PS1 library.

The 1995 SNES adaptation of Rondo of Blood arrived late in the system's life, in tiny numbers, and is one of the genuinely rare retail SNES cartridges — the single most valuable mainline Castlevania object. Loose it already commands hundreds; a sealed first print is a four-to-five-figure cartridge and the connoisseur's prize of the franchise.

The 1986 NES original defined the gothic action-platformer: Simon Belmont, the Vampire Killer whip, the climb through Dracula's castle. A high-grade WATA sealed first print is a five-figure object — the foundation the whole genre was built on.

The 1990 NES sequel added branching paths and three recruitable companions, and the Japanese cartridge carried a custom VRC6 sound chip the Western version couldn't replicate. The consensus best 8-bit Castlevania and a cornerstone NES first print.

The 1993 PC Engine CD entry never left Japan in its day, yet it's the most important pre-SOTN Castlevania: Richter Belmont's story, the basis for both the SNES Dracula X and Symphony of the Night. A sealed copy is the import grail of the franchise.