The Nintendo Wii is 15 years old in 2022 and has finally earned a reputable spot in retro gaming despite its strange catalog of games. The initial positive reception of the Wii was thought mostly to be tied to casual gaming, but the system had hardcore titles and well-designed party games that has led to a fanbase that still searches for titles like Super Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword, and Mario Kart Wii. Many games are rising in price and are still worth their original MSRP or more, especially since remakes and remasters from this era haven’t been as plentiful as the Super Nintendo or Nintendo Entertainment System.

The Wii was the precursor to the underrated Nintendo Wii U console and its unique control scheme meant that unique games could be designed for it. However, a lot of the exclusive games that were produced for the system aren’t readily available on other consoles as a result. Remakes are possible on the Nintendo Switch, but few outside of Nintendo have taken the opportunity to rerelease their content for the Wii on more modern platforms. There may not be a way to obtain many of the weirder games on the platform except through original physical copies sold on the secondary market.

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With a wide array of strange games released for the systems, there are definitely some odd collectibles available for purchase on eBay and other online sellers. Many could be classified as expensive retro games and collector’s items related to pre-existing games, but some are also titles that are scarce on their own. Most of the strangest, most expensive games that the Nintendo Wii has to offer are special editions that have interesting boxes or incredibly low supply.

Twilight Princess Demo Disk Is One of the Most Expensive Wii Games

Not for Resale Big-Box Twilight Princess Wii Disk

This The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess disk might look like many others, but the "Not For Resale” tag elevates its status. This version currently sells for $300.00 according to Pricecharting even though the disks weren’t for sale because they reportedly contained a demo of the game. These were usually given out as store samples for gameplay kiosks at big box stores across the United States.

Many have speculated that these are in low supply due to a lack of copies, but little is known about the standalone discs of the still to be remastered Zelda: Twilight Princess. According to some, the game used to be fully playable within the demo, but no footage with start screens, end screens, or gameplay has been easily available to confirm this information. These disks aren’t usually something a management team would keep, so the relative rarity to the already-expensive Twilight Princess has made this game a tough find.

Dokapon Kingdom Is A Rare Epic Fantasy Party Game For Nintendo Wii

Party Game and RPG Hybrid Dokapon Kingdom for Wii

Many people pin Mario Party as the ultimate friendship destroyer, but Dokapon Kingdom puts up a fight just for its marathon length. The game mixes two fairly unrelated genres - fantasy RPGs and board-based party games, but adds quests, town taking, and an epic story to give it a much different style of play. Playing the game is strange, as matches will often last more than 100 hours and the luck-based aspects present in other games like items and dice-rolling in Mario Party Superstars are here as well and can be incredibly frustrating. However, for those who have the will to complete the game with friends, Dokapon Kingdom can be a fun experience.

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The game is fun to play, but the main reason this game is expensive is that it’s one of the few Dokapon games that’s localized in English (there’s a Switch sequel called Dokapon UP!, but it’s entirely in Japanese). At this point in the Wii’s retro age, many of the games localized from overseas that had small physical print runs in America are becoming expensive, like Fragile Dreams and The Last Story. Dokapon Kingdom is the most valuable game that adheres to this trend, but it’s disappointing for those who want to experience this unique game without paying top dollar.

The Telenovela Atrévete A Soñar Has A Rare Wii Game Tie-in

Spanish Telenovela with Wii Game Tie-in

Movie and video game tie-ins may be back in the form of film crossovers like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with Xbox even making merch based on the sequel, but of all the games discussed, the Atrévete a Soñar television tie-in is probably the one that raises the most eyebrows for English-speaking countries. Atrévete a Soñar is a Mexican telenovela that aired near-daily and followed the adventures of a character named Patito as she leads an arts-school clique and fights against a rival group of girls who have named themselves Las Divinas. While the show only lasted one year, the release window gave the production company an opportunity to create a tie-in game for the Wii.

Sitting at around $600.00 USD on Pricecharting, this game actually mirrors a lot of musical tie-in games from the time - similar to Big Time Rush: Dance Party and Alvin and the Chipmunks, the game features songs that were used in the television show and asks people to sing and dance along with an included microphone. Even though the show aired near-daily, the Atrévete a Soñar game only has twenty included songs, making it short on content as opposed to current and later digital offerings from Nintendo and its online stores. Of course, the game was only released in Mexico and the show only ran for one season which makes it a fairly interesting collector’s item, but few are sold on eBay due to their scarcity.

A Special Edition Of Club Penguin: Game Day Is Worth Over $200.00

Club Penguin Game Day Limited Edition Wii Version

Club Penguin: Game Day is an unassuming title. Based on the free-to-play MMO, the Wii game instead focuses on minigame challenges that don’t have much replayability but might be worth five or so dollars. The version sold on store shelves is still worth that much, but the special edition with black Wii branding carries a heavy premium pricetag. This game definitely has a legacy among Club Penguin fans but outside of nostalgic attachment, the basic game itself isn’t much to write home about.

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Much like lots of fan recreations of Club Penguin, Game Day's graphics were rendered in 3D - a strange aspect of a game whose most popular entries were all 2D. This specific version of the box is rare as it was rumored to have been given out to Club Penguin staff and not released publicly. The Pricecharting price lists the game at $470 USD, although the lack of sales does put this price and more like it into question. Still, it is a collector’s item first and foremost, as its low copy count makes it an interesting curiosity of 2010s memorabilia.

One of Pricecharting’s limitations is that it can only account for the recent sales of a title - many of these games are bought at a rate of once a year or less. While collectors’ editions and never-continued classic Japanese RPG series may seem like strange candidates for the most expensive, their history and strange backstories all make for interesting collectibles. The Wii was home to a lot of third-party games that weren’t perfect or even well-made but still reached a wide audience of casual and hardcore gamers alike.

Compared to other collectibles from other retro systems, the Wii might not reach quadruple-digit heights. However, given enough time the prices will most likely reach that for the most popular games. This spread of games that includes Club Penguin, Atrévete a Soñar, and the Twilight Princess not-for-resale disk represents what the Nintendo Wii was to a lot of players - a family-oriented system with lots of party games and some stand-out nostalgic titles.

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Source: Pricecharting