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dragon warrior iv nintendo nes psa pop report

Dragon Warrior IV Nintendo NES: PSA Pop Report + Loose / CIB / Sealed Prices

Published 2026-05-29 · Updated 2026-05-31 · by Jason Trogdon
Retro Video Games 10 min read

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PSA has graded 52 Dragon Warrior IV Nintendo NES copies on record — 2 loose, 35 CIB, 15 sealed. PSA tracks 2 distinct production variants separately because they’re priced differently by collectors. Sealed copies trade for $1,584+ on the open market. This page is the per-game pop + price + grading reference for Dragon Warrior IV on Nintendo NES — updated weekly from PSA’s official population data and PriceCharting’s market catalog.

Loose
POP 2
Market: $150
CIB
POP 35
Market: $396
Sealed
POP 15
Market: $1,584

Quick Facts

Variant Comparison

PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of Dragon Warrior IV, each tracked on its own population row because collectors value them differently. The variants this game discriminates on: USA-region production code labeling.

Variant Loose Pop CIB Pop Sealed Pop Total
3 Screw, USA Code 2 2
Made in Japan 35 15 50

PSA Pop by Condition

PSA tracks Dragon Warrior IV populations independently for loose carts, complete-in-box (CIB), and factory-sealed copies — collectors price each condition separately because rarity and demand diverge sharply. Tables below show the grade-tier breakdown per condition, aggregated across 2 variants PSA recognizes for this title.

Loose Cartridge

Total graded: 2

Variant Pop Grade Breakdown
3 Screw, USA Code 2 9.0: 1 · 8.0: 1

PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: Made in Japan.

Complete in Box (CIB)

Total graded: 35

Variant Pop Grade Breakdown
Made in Japan 35 9.6: 3 · 9.4: 3 · 9.2: 1 · 9.0: 1 · 8.5: 6 · 8.0: 9 · 7.5: 4 · 7.0: 2 · 6.5: 3 · <6.5: 3

PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: 3 Screw, USA Code.

Factory Sealed

Total graded: 15

Sealed summary by variant:

Variant Total Pop Top Numeric Grade Best Seal Grade
Made in Japan 15 9.8 A+

Factory Sealed Grade × Seal Matrix

Rows show PSA numeric grades. Columns show seal grades. Cell values are PSA population counts. Aggregated across all variants. Top observed grade: 9.8 (PSA scale extends to 10).

Grade A+ A B+ B NS Total
9.8 1 1
9.4 1 1 1 3
9.2 2 2
9.0 2 1 3
8.5 1 1 1 3
8.0 2 2
6.5 1 1
Total 6 5 2 1 1 15

PSA has not graded the following variant in this condition: 3 Screw, USA Code.

Current Market Prices

All prices below are pulled directly from PriceCharting’s public catalog and refreshed each time this article regenerates (typically weekly). PriceCharting computes their values from active and recently-sold listings on eBay + their dealer network — independent of any data on this page. The Sealed column reflects PriceCharting’s “manual-only” / new tier — factory-sealed retail at average condition; specific graded-sealed prices vary sharply by numeric grade + seal letter (use the Sealed eBay browse link below for grade-specific comps).

All 2 PSA-tracked variants share the same PriceCharting prices because PriceCharting indexes at the title level, not the variant level. Variant-specific pricing surfaces on eBay sold-comp data — check the Sealed / CIB / Loose browse links below for variant-aware market signals.

Heritage Graded Sales

Heritage Auctions sold results below are real auction transactions for Dragon Warrior IV on Nintendo NES. They complement the PriceCharting loose / CIB / sealed benchmarks above; they are not estimates and they are not blended into PriceCharting’s ungraded market prices.

Summary rows are title-level Heritage sale signals, sorted by format, recency, and realized-price signal. PSA production variants can price differently, so the sale records keep Heritage’s own variant notes visible instead of pretending every auction lot maps cleanly to a PSA variant row.

High-grade games can trade years apart, so older auction records stay visible; treat the latest-sale date as part of the comp, not just the dollar amount.

Format Grade Sale signal Latest sale Comps
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 9.0 A+ Last sale $4,500 Nov 23, 2024 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 9.2 A+ Last sale $3,750 Nov 22, 2025 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 8.5 B+ Last sale $2,000 Jul 24, 2025 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 9.4 A Last sale $15,600 Jan 28, 2022 1
Factory sealed WATA 9.0 A+ Last sale $10,800 Apr 5, 2021 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 9.0 A Last sale $9,000 Jan 29, 2022 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) CGC 9.0 A Last sale $4,875 May 25, 2024 1
Factory sealed WATA 8.5 B+ Last sale $2,520 Mar 8, 2020 1
Factory sealed (Oval Soq R) WATA 6.5 B Last sale $1,050 Aug 2, 2022 1
CIB (Oval Soq R) CGC 9.6 Last sale $969 Jan 22, 2026 1
CIB (Oval Soq R) CGC 9.0 Last sale $375 Feb 10, 2026 1
CIB (Oval Soq R) WATA 8.0 $336-$375 range Jul 29, 2025 2

Showing the top 12 Heritage sale signals; the sale-record table below includes every Heritage auction sale used on this page.

Sale records:

View all 14 Heritage sale records
Date Sold For Grader / Grade Format Variant Notes Source
Feb 10, 2026 $375 CGC 9.0 CIB Oval Soq R Lot 312606-67005
Jan 22, 2026 $969 CGC 9.6 CIB Oval Soq R Lot 44343-79008
Nov 22, 2025 $3,750 WATA 9.2 A+ Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 7428-28012
Jul 29, 2025 $375 WATA 8.0 CIB Oval Soq R Lot 312530-70009
Jul 24, 2025 $2,000 WATA 8.5 B+ Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 44318-80022
Nov 23, 2024 $4,500 WATA 9.0 A+ Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 7382-28015
May 25, 2024 $4,875 CGC 9.0 A Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 7372-28014
Apr 4, 2023 $408 WATA 8.5 CIB Oval Soq R Lot 312314-66024
Mar 21, 2023 $336 WATA 8.0 CIB Oval Soq R Lot 312312-68034
Aug 2, 2022 $1,050 WATA 6.5 B Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 312231-66012
Jan 29, 2022 $9,000 WATA 9.0 A Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 7284-29023
Jan 28, 2022 $15,600 WATA 9.4 A Factory sealed Oval Soq R Lot 7284-28015
Apr 5, 2021 $10,800 WATA 9.0 A+ Factory sealed Lot 7242-93011
Mar 8, 2020 $2,520 WATA 8.5 B+ Factory sealed Lot 7224-93013

Listings

Each link below opens an eBay search filtered to that condition, scoped to Dragon Warrior IV on Nintendo NES. “Sold” pulls completed/sold listings (use this for price research). “Listings” pulls current active listings (use this to find a copy to buy).

Why Dragon Warrior IV Matters for Grading

Dragon Warrior IV is one of the more heavily-graded Nintendo NES titles, with 52 PSA populations on record across loose, CIB, and sealed. Strong submission volume signals collector demand — and grade premiums are the market’s vote on which copies are scarce. The sealed-to-loose price ratio is roughly 10× — sealed copies trade at $1,584 while loose carts move around $150. That spread means a fresh sealed find is the move; raw cart flips have thinner margins after grading fees. Because PSA tracks 2 variants separately, production-code identification matters before submission. The pop-by-variant breakdown above tells you which variant is the rarer find.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dragon Warrior IV Nintendo NES worth grading?

Yes for clean, top-condition copies. Dragon Warrior IV has a healthy 52-copy graded population, and the higher-tier grades (9.4+) consistently command meaningful premiums over raw. Mid-tier grades (7-8) often net break-even after grading fees, so submission strategy matters.

How rare is a graded CIB copy of Dragon Warrior IV?

PSA tracks 35 graded CIB copies of Dragon Warrior IV for Nintendo NES. The grade-tier breakdown above shows how those split across PSA’s numeric grades — top-grade copies (9.4+) are the scarcest and typically command the strongest premiums.

Should I buy a graded or raw copy of Dragon Warrior IV?

Depends on your goal. Graded copies cost more upfront but come with PSA’s authenticity + condition guarantee — the right move for buy-and-hold collectors. Raw copies are cheaper but require condition assessment yourself, and the grading lottery means a $50 raw cart can come back as a $25 PSA 7 OR a $200 PSA 9.4. Use the per-condition pop and price data above to calculate expected value before you commit.

Why does PSA track multiple variants of Dragon Warrior IV?

PSA recognizes 2 distinct production variants of Dragon Warrior IV on Nintendo NES. Variants reflect real production differences — different factories (Made in Japan vs Made in Mexico), packaging die changes, ESRB-rating retrofits added partway through the console’s life, or Players Choice reissues from later runs. Collectors price them differently because rarity diverges, and PSA tracks each on its own population row so the data reflects the real market structure.

Sources

Pop counts pulled weekly from PSA Video Games population data. Prices from PriceCharting. PSA acquired WATA in July 2021 and completed the rebrand to PSA Video Games on October 20, 2025. PSA Video Games population data is the continuation of WATA’s population history. Heritage graded-sale comps come from Heritage Auctions sold archive lot pages linked in the sale-record table.

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About Jason

Jason has been collecting cards since 1999 and retro video games since 2008. Based in the Southeast US. What The Slab cites real eBay sold comps, PriceCharting data, and PSA pop reports — no guesswork. Read more →