Whoosh! That’s the sound that this CGC-certified Kid Icarus made when it soared past $70,000 in a recent eBay sale. The sealed Kid Icarus for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1987) graded CGC 9.6 A+ realized $71,099 on May 10, 2026.
In addition to being sealed, this CGC-certified copy of Kid Icarus is an early production of the game, as indicated by the hangtab at the back of the box and the circle Seal of Quality (SoQ) from Nintendo on the front of the box. NES collectors watch for these attributes because they are clear indicators of an NES game being an early production — Nintendo only used hangtabs on its NES boxes for a short period in the 80s, while the circle SoQ was changed to an oval SoQ in March 1989. Earlier productions of NES games often realize a premium at auction, and Kid Icarus’ status as one of them — along with an excellent numerical and seal grade from CGC — likely contributed to this impressive sale.
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Kid Icarus was released in Japan in 1986, then in Europe and North America in 1987. The game takes place in “Angel Land” and follows the story of Kid Icarus — more commonly known as Pit — as he travels through Angel Land to retrieve three sacred treasures and rescue the land’s goddess, Palutena, from the clutches of Medusa. Players guide Pit through side-scrolling levels and must jump platforms, fight monsters using an upgradable bow and arrow, and discover secrets.
What sets Kid Icarus apart from other NES games is its role-playing elements. The game keeps track of Pit’s health as the player goes through the game, and certain abilities and upgrades won’t work if Pit’s health is too low. Additionally, the player’s score is tracked at the top left-hand corner of the screen. Depending on the player’s total score at the end of the game, the player has the chance to experience one of five different endings, ranging from Pit losing the battle with Medusa to Palutena transforming Pit into a full-grown angel as thanks for his efforts.
When Kid Icarus was released in North America in 1987, it was initially met with mixed reviews. Critics believed that the game didn’t really capture the theme of Greek mythology, while others thought that the side-scrolling elements of the game were outdated. Others thought the game was too difficult and didn’t reward players enough for winning tough battles. Despite these less-than-stellar reviews, Kid Icarus did eventually gain a cult following and spawned several sequels, including Kid Icarus: Uprising on the Nintendo 3DS.
Want to learn more about how to identify early productions of NES games? Check out the CGC Video Games Reference Guide! It’s a great resource for video game collectors looking to check variant information, regional differences, key titles, and more, for nearly every console that CGC grades.
Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games, and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs, and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation, and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray, and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.
CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.
