Sanma no Meitantei
Nintendo Entertainment System · 1987
About this game
Sanma no Meitantei (or, Sanma the Great Detective ) casts the player as the assistant to the famous Japanese comedian and television personality Sanma Akashiya (who for the purposes of this game is apparently also a renowned private detective).
A party at the villa of a wealthy company president is marred by the death of a guest and the disappearance of a priceless diamond, the Star of Africa, and Sanma is called on to investigate.
↓ Read more
As the plot progresses, the player opens up various locations around Osaka, where the player encounters a seemingly endless stream of suspicious characters - most of whom just happen to be other well known real-life comedians (all of whom worked for the same studio as Sanma at that time).
Gameplay follows the standard adventure game first-person menu driven model (Look, Examine, Take, Use, etc.).
There is also a pointer to examine specific points of interest, and a third-person map used to move between locations.
The game features various action-oriented minigames which must be passed to advance the plot, most notably a parody of Namco's own Galaxian .
About Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (1983 in Japan, 1985 in the West) revived the North American video game industry after the 1983 crash and established conventions — cartridges, licensing seals, save systems — that shaped the industry for decades. NES collecting is one of the most established retro markets: common titles remain cheap, but a well-known handful of low-print-run games (many from smaller third-party publishers) are among the most expensive video games in existence.
Gamevaro tracks Sanma no Meitantei for Nintendo Entertainment System with separate market values for loose, complete-in-box (CIB) and factory-sealed copies, sourced from real eBay sales. Prices also vary by region — PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J releases of the same game often sell for different amounts due to print run sizes and regional collector demand.
Adding Sanma no Meitantei to a Gamevaro collection takes seconds — search by title or scan the box barcode, and the app fills in cover art, release details and current pricing automatically. This NES release dates back to 1987.
Market values by condition
NTSC-J
Recent sales
| Date | Type | Region | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-13 | Loose / Item only | NTSC-J | €1.23 |
Rarity & condition
Only a handful of market sales have been tracked for Sanma no Meitantei, suggesting it doesn't trade hands very often — a sign of relative scarcity compared to more common Nintendo Entertainment System titles.
Complete-in-box (CIB) copies typically command a premium over loose cartridges/discs because the original box and manual are more fragile and get discarded or damaged over time — fewer complete sets survive.
Frequently asked questions
How much is Sanma no Meitantei worth?
Sanma no Meitantei for Nintendo Entertainment System is currently worth €1.23 loose. Prices are based on real sales and update regularly on Gamevaro.
Is Sanma no Meitantei rare?
Sanma no Meitantei has only a handful of tracked market sales, suggesting relative scarcity compared to more common Nintendo Entertainment System titles.
What's the difference between loose, CIB and sealed for Sanma no Meitantei?
Loose means cartridge or disc only, CIB (complete in box) includes the original box and manual, and sealed means factory-sealed and never opened. These are tracked as separate market values because the price gap between them can be significant, especially for older releases.
Ratings & Reviews
More Nintendo Entertainment System games
