Immediately upon its 1986 release in Japan, Dragon Quest buried its mighty axe firmly in the skull of the burgeoning RPG market. Nintendo had such high hopes for Enix’s brainchild, it decided to publish the game in America itself. But by the time it hit US shores in 1989, it had to be rebranded as Warrior to avoid confusion with a tabletop game, and it was looking pretty dated. Yes, even by NES standards.

Above: Nintendo Power’s map taught us the difference between green and dark green

By 1990, Nintendo and Enix knew full well it had three more titles to potentially localize and took drastic measures not unlike that of a drug dealer. “The first hit is free.” A subscription to Nintendo Power would nail you a free copy of Dragon Warrior, plus an included strategy guide and who knows how much that’s worth once you adjust for inflation.

We’re tired of WWII games too, but you still gotta feel bad for Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway. While games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor merely exploited the 1940’s setting, BoA told a far more personal tale focusing specifically on the final missions of the 101st Airborne Division, and wrapped it in the utmost of authenticity to appeal more to fans of the era than kill hungry fraggers.

Above: “How will I put food on my regiment’s table?”

Too bad that within the three years between the second and third BoA games, the public had had enough. And it certainly didn’t help that the game’s subtitle, Hell’s Highway, had already been featured in a billion other WWII games. On September 23, 2008 BoA: HH was deployed with an asking price of $59.99, as well as a more expensive Limited Edition, which sold dismally. By Christmas of that year, Amazon was liberating the thing for $17.99, even lower than a Greatest Hits title. Ouch.