Mega Man

The 1987 original invented the formula — pick your stage, beat the boss, take its weapon — and modestly sold, which is exactly why it is the scarcest and most valuable object in the franchise. It is also home to the legendary 'bad box art Mega Man', the American cover so infamously off-model it became a meme; a high-grade sealed first print is a five-figure cartridge and the historical root of everything that followed.

The 1989 sequel is, for most of the fanbase, the high point of the entire series — the perfect refinement of the formula, the iconic soundtrack, the definitive 8-bit action-platformer. It sold far better than the original, so loose copies are cheap; the value is in a high-grade sealed first print of the game that made Mega Man a household name.

The 1995 SNES sequel shipped with a special Cx4 enhancement chip for its wireframe 3D effects — an expensive cartridge that printed in smaller numbers right as the 16-bit market was collapsing. The result is one of the scarcest mainline carts in the series; a sealed X2 trades into five figures and is the surprise grail of the SNES line.

The 1993 SNES debut of the X series rebuilt the formula for the 16-bit era — wall-jumps, dashes, armour upgrades and a darker tone. It is the second pillar of the franchise and the entry point to its most beloved sub-series; a sealed first print is the cornerstone of an X-series shelf.

The 1990 third entry introduced the slide and Rush, the robot dog — expanding the toolkit that defined the rest of the Classic line. A connoisseur's favourite a half-step behind MM2, and a sealed first print is a strong, attainable NES grail.