Sonic the Hedgehog: $300 – $500 Now, don’t get confused on this one (or some of the others to follow). If you look on eBay for a Sonic the Hedgehog for the Master System, you will indeed find some inexpensive games that will play on the North American Sega Master System, but most likely, it is actually just the more common European version. The only way to tell the European versions from the North American counterparts is that US releases have a sticker barcode on the back (and the code often begins with “01008” as opposed to the PAL’s “49743”) Because of this, you need a complete game (not just the cart) to have much value.

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James Buster Douglas Knockout Boxing: $150 – $400 This games is just hard to find all-around. After the real US Sonic release, this is the next in line in terms of rarirty. It is also the most sought-after loose cartridge (you don’t have to worry about the more-common European version).

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Golden Axe Warrior: $65 – $200 This one is a mix of rarity and demand for a solid exclusive title. Warrior is a real challenge to find at an affordable price and it’s also Zelda-like spinoff of Sega’s classic Golden Axe franchise. If you’re looking to build a top-notch Master System collection, this is a solid entry that will command respect in more ways than one.

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Out Run (Blue Label) 1990 Re-Release: $50 – $100 It isn’t hard to find Out Run for the Master System, but there are a handful of games that saw a late re-release with a simple packaging change. This 1990 release has a blue label on the cartridge instead of the original red one. That’s the only difference.

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Power Strike II: $60 – $85 Like Golden Axe Warrior, Power Strike II is both hard to find and an excellent Master System exclusive. If you like 2D shooters then you owe it to yourself to try this game out (at least on an emulator). This is easily one of the best 8 bit shmups and can even hold its own against many 16-bit shooters.

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Phantasy Star: $23 – $60 While it isn’t super common, Phantasy Star’s value rides more on the fact that it’s the first installment of Sega’s classic RPG series. It is still regarded as one of the best 8-bit RPGs and other than a few releases in compilations many years down the line, it also remained an exclusive to the Master System

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Out Run 3D: $40 – $80 Here’s Out Run again! This time it’s the version that makes use of the Master System’s ahead-of-its-time 3D glasses. There were a handful of games that utilized the 3D, but Out Run is one of the harder games to find and also one of the most in-demand. It’s a cool little collectible if you can scoop it up.

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Spiderman: $45 – $70 This is another rare North American release that can be easily found in other regions.

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Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker: $30 – $50 Yes, another rare North American release. The passing of the King of Pop also helped drive the value of this release up. Both the Master System and the Genesis version saw a huge spike in value after MJ’s death, but it’s calmed down since then.

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