The Rarest PS2 Games (& How Much They’re Worth)

The PlayStation 2‘s legacy is undeniable, and the same can be said for its absurdly massive library of games. While we can spend hours arguing over the console’s crowning achievements, the rarest PS2 games make for a more interesting discussion, especially since data exists that provides a general overview of which releases actually qualify. Which titles rank as the most expensive?

A game becoming rare can be due to a wide assortment of reasons, but they almost all involve a limited run that came and went without too many folks noticing at the time. While this could mean a game flopped in North America, publishers also love to release collector’s editions that eventually become nearly impossible to track down. Using PriceCharting, let’s count down the most expensive PS2 games, a ranking that changes pretty frequently.

August 2026 Update

• Added Silent Hill 4 and Gitaroo Man
• Updated the prices and rankings

30

God Hand

Complete In Box Price: $216.14

Coming out in late 2006, just before the release of the PS3, God Hand was always going to face an uphill battle for exposure, and it would take a while for the game to become regarded as an all-time great. Clover Studio’s other 2006 release, Okami, is better known for its countless re-releases, but God Hand is arguably just as good and offers better combat than 99% of games.

If you aren’t familiar with God Hand, it is essentially a 3D beat ’em up, albeit one that gives you an absurd range of moves that can be customized to create unique combo chains. The campaign is very difficult but rewarding and, at times, unapologetically silly. If you love PlatinumGames’ releases like Madworld, definitely track down God Hand. Hopefully, Capcom will remake it one day.

29

Rock Band 2 Bundle

Complete In Box Price: $220

I miss many things from the PS2 era, but the one I miss the most might be instrument controller games. Guitar Hero and Rock Band were straight-up inescapable for years, to the point of releasing multiple entries per month. Honestly, that overexposure might be the reason this movement eventually came to a screeching halt; they burned bright and quickly, like The Beatles.

Rock Band 2 was and still is a marvelous rhythm game guaranteed to get people laughing at any meet-up. From Metallica to Linkin Park, Mastodon, Modest Mouse, and Rage Against the Machine, the setlist is phenomenal, with pretty much all the songs being bangers in their own right. This bundle comes with the drum kit.

Rock Band 2

Released

December 18, 2008

ESRB

t // Lyrics, Suggestive Themes

Developer(s)

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.

28

Silent Hill 4: The Room

Complete In Box Price: $222.05

In general, Silent Hill‘s PS2 games demand hefty price tags, surprisingly so considering the series was massive and successful during this era. While far from the best entry in the franchise, Silent Hill 4: The Room nevertheless earns its place in horror history by serving as Team Silent’s end-of-an-era project.

Disliked upon release, SH4 has enjoyed a critical reevaluation over the years and nowadays attracts praise for its claustrophobic atmosphere, serial-killer shift, and haunting room design. As long as you go in expecting a wildly different experience from its predecessors, you should have a good time.

27

Gitaroo Man

Complete In Box Price: $229.41

After making its PS Plus debut, Gitaroo Man is no longer as obscure as it used to be, but we are still talking about one of the rarer PS2 games. iNiS’s rhythm game blends action elements by focusing on battles, with both participants having HP bars that drain whenever they make mistakes.

Although the genre remains popular to some extent, rhythm games were far more plentiful during the 2000s, and not all of them have aged extremely well. Gitaroo Man comes with a higher skill ceiling than most of its peers, but it’s exactly this aspect that has allowed it to stand the test of time. The graphics also look pretty darn good for the era.

26

Dragon Ball Z Budokai 3 [Limited Edition]

Complete In Box Price: $230.79

Starting things off with a really cool limited edition, this version of DBZ Budokai 3 comes in a unique box and features a Broly chibi toy and a Dragon Ball toy. Here is an ongoing listing of the limited edition.

Like most entries on this list, this package’s value has very little to do with the actual game, as Budokai 3 is relatively easy and cheap to obtain. It is all about that box and toys within, and this limited edition tends to show up in listings fairly frequently. You would need to keep an eye out for a CIB listing, as new versions are almost unheard of.

Complete In Box Price: $242.50

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence is just an all-around great deal, as we are talking about the definitive version of arguably the greatest PS2 game. If you just want a standard copy of the game, Subsistence will not set you back too badly, provided you don’t try to find a new version. However, the limited edition is a different beast entirely, as it is far harder to find than the base iteration. Along with coming in a box, this version includes an extra disc with a 3.5-hour movie featuring the cinematics. That’s a nice addition, but the real selling point is the cool-as-all-hell box.

Even with the release of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, I would still recommend playing the original version if you can get your hands on it. Some of Subsistence‘s value has diminished with Metal Gear Online no longer available, but the game also comes with a few changes and new features.

24

Coraline

Complete In Box Price: $243.72

Coraline is one of the best animated movies of the 2000s, so you would think its game would be well known. However, I never knew an adaptation existed, and based on its generally negative reception, maybe that was for the better. Every version of the game is fairly expensive, but the PS2 NTSC release is comfortably the highest, as it is the only one with a CIB price over $200.

Apparently, it was an action-adventure game that focuses on puzzles and mini-games, which makes sense for a kids’ movie tie-in project; that said, considering the source material, horror might have been a better pick for Coraline, or something that only loosely stuck to the movie and instead went for a more over-the-top adventure with action combat. Sort of like The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge, which is also on the PS2.

23

Samurai Western

Complete In Box Price: $243.96

A largely forgotten PS2 gem, Samurai Western is a Way of the Samurai spin-off that puts the focus squarely on hack and slash combat rather than incorporating some RPG and adventure elements. Considering Acquire’s mainline entries are underrated in their own right, it is really not a surprise that Samurai Western has mostly slipped by the wayside, especially since it got fairly middling reviews.

Clunky as the gameplay is at times, this game can be a lot of fun, and I would definitely recommend it to anybody who loves Way of the Samurai. Honestly, I prefer Samurai Western to the two WOTS games on the PS2, just because the combat is my favorite part of all these titles. There is little reason to revisit the original WOTS due to the existence of the 3rd and 4th entries, but Samurai Western is still worth tracking down.

22

Chulip

Complete In Box Price: $287.50

Want to know a trick for predicting whether a game is rare? Look at its name, and if your first thought is “what the heck is that?” then that might be a sign.

To be fair, Chulip isn’t that small of a game and might be familiar to some people, but it led a strange life that doomed it to relative obscurity. Punchline’s adventure sim debuted in 2002 in Japan, which would have been the perfect time for a Western release. Unfortunately, the North American version didn’t launch until February 2007, a whole 3 months after the PS3’s debut. At that point, it was basically sent out to die.

In 2012, Chulip was released as a PS2 classic, making it playable on the PS3 for anyone with access to the store on their console (which won’t be possible for much longer).

Chulip

Released

October 3, 2002

ESRB

T For Teen // Crude Humor, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco

Developer(s)

Punchline

21

The Guy Game

Complete In Box Price: $299.97

Going from a string of PS2 masterpieces to maybe the absolute worst, The Guy Game is, well, barely a game. Its claim to fame is that it is one of the only “adult” games on the console, and that it managed to get an M-17+ ESRB rating instead of an Adults Only one was pretty surprising. Technically, for a time, the game could have been purchased from your local GameStop. However, The Guy Game was pulled from distribution once an injunction came in claiming one of the women was underage.

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