Okay... So last week, or so, someone asked for verification of a Zelda cart with just onlythe Rated-E logo added to it, but no  Greatest Hits seal.

It was verified as being a legit variant.  When I see variants I'm not aware of, I add them to my list of games.  At the moment, I still need the "-1" and "-2" versions of Link's Awakening.

But... low and behold, I search eBay this AM, looking for pristine copies, and I find a fourth, "-3" version, which I've not seen yet!

See here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Legend-of...

This is "-3" version and is completely new to me!

My question is, on an NA scale, how rare would you deem each variant?  I know that the original version is basically a 1 and the first revision is probably a 2.  Revisions 3 and 4, however, seem to be much rarer.  I've not been in this market long enough, nor can I easily sift through this data to be sure.

I also ask because I am quite picky about cartridge quality.  But, if that "-3" was a limited run... well, I'm probably going to have to ease my quality requirements.

Thanks for any comments.  Variant collecting is starting to become as fun as searching for generally rare games.  You learn a lot of details about these games you'd never think to research.

For reference, the four variations are:

DMG-ZL-USA:

DMG-ZL-USA-1:


DMG-ZL-USA-2:


DMG-ZL-USA-3:

Bump...

I really am curious if anyone knows anything about that fourth version. I know the third version came in a Target bundle. The Rated-E Player's Choice, though, seems to be a mystery.

All I can think is it comes from the later Ice Blue Target Game Boy Pockets after they realized they forgot the ribbon in the artwork

I'd be surprised if any is worth more than the others, although I'd probably pay an extra dollar for the first one since it's unmarred by any kind of ESRB logo or the Nintendo Player's Choice ribbon, giving it the most clean appearance.

That ribbon had me completely thrown off with the variant I went to pick up.

They are all worth the same.

To be clear, I'm not so much interested in worth as I am in generally how rare and hard to find this version is, and it's origin. I know that variant collector's for the GB are rare but rhat doesn't mean that this cart doesn't have an interesting story.

First one has that cool bug where you can warp to the other side of the screen during a transition if you time your pausing right

Yeah, I used that a lot and ended up having to reset because I got stuck in walls.

I think that's the original. I use to do that too.

You can do that in the players choice version too

I had no idea there were this many variants of LA. I learn so much from the discussion going on here.

Honestly, I only thought there were three variations ans I didn't learn of this one until I stumbled upon it on ebay.  After doing extensive searching online, I've only seen this variant twice and, unfortunately, none are in great condition.  I picked up the eBay auctioned one so I'm happy but I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for a more-perfect one.

Now I just need to pick up the -1 and -2 versions and my LA collection will be complete.

 

I was only aware of two variants as well. This thread opened my eyes! Awesome snag, dude.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just picked one up for myself!

Nice! Congrats.

I just received my -3 revision cartridge and by looking at the date stamps on the inside, it was manufactured after 1997 due to the date stamp on the PCB. So, this game was likely sold in 1997-98, which blows my mind that a single game would be made for so long and could still sell. It's a real testament to how this game was so beloved and a staple of every gamers collection.

I noticed on the label that this cart has revision "B" of the Link's Awakening ROM. I double checked my DMG-ZL-USA and it is a first revision so, in the wild, there are 3 ROM variations for this game. I checked out TCRF.net, but unfortunately it didn't have many details about ROM differences in this game. Anyone know anything about this revision? Was this also used for DMG-ZL-USA-2 (the Target variant.)

That much is quite obvious considering the "E" ESRB rating did not exist until 1998. Yoshi's Story for N64 was the first game to switch from K-A to E.