5 Classic Casio Video Game Watches That Are Pure Nostalgia Today

These days, if you want to play a video game on the go, you can do so as easily as pulling out your phone and tapping the screen. Back in the 1980s, that wasn't possible, though there were portable game systems that featured a single game played on an LCD screen. Tiger Electronics made many of these, and Nintendo got in on the fun with its Game & Watch line, so there were options. Another cool concept that's pure nostalgia today came in the form of Casio Video Game Watches.

These were Casio watches, and while they told the time, they also featured artwork and buttons you could use to play a single game. Many of the games on these watches were well-made given the technological constraints of the period, and for anyone who had one, they were the envy of the schoolyard. For the most part, Casio Video Game Watches were marketed toward kids, and now that those children have grown up and found themselves with some extra cash, they've exploded into a small but costly collectors' market.

Casio produced many of its video game watches between 1980 and 1985, resulting in dozens of games of various genres. The line included racing games, shoot-'em-ups, platformers, and more. Many are collectible due to their current scarcity, which is partly due to their somewhat poor construction and a nostalgia factor. Because of this, they can fetch high prices, from a few hundred dollars to a couple of thousand for an especially hard-to-find watch. Here are five Casio Video Game Watches that collectors shell out tons of cash to obtain.

One of the more collectible Casio Video Game Watches is "Egg Panic," a two-button game that pits the player against a bunch of egg-dropping bats. The game features art that's meant to set the scene, where the player is a small character who moves to avoid the falling eggs and attacking bats. The attack buttons allow the player to take the fight to the bats by hitting them with his two axes.

It features levels and a timer, as well as digital beeps and clicking sounds during gameplay. It's similar to Nintendo's Game & Watch "Ball," where the player must catch falling balls. Collectors can occasionally find "Egg Panic" for sale on sites like eBay, though they can go for $500 or more. That's considerably pricier than what the watch cost when it first came out.

There are even auctions for just the face cover, which can run upwards of $100 on its own. "Egg Panic" maintains a high score feature as well, and like Casio's other Video Game Watches, it's also a watch with the functions and capabilities common to watches produced throughout the early 1980s. "Egg Panic" came at the tail end of Casio's Video Game Watch line, arriving in 1985.

"Scramble Fighter" is a combat flight game that puts the player in the cockpit to take on enemy fighter jets. It has a large central set of crosshairs meant to look like a fighter pilot's heads-up display. As the player fires off their guns and missiles, the watch beeps with each attack. The two buttons are used to move left and right, and when it's time to shoot down the enemy, all you need to do is mash both at the right time.

Failure is met with a flashing plane and sad little beeps that let you know the game is over. It's unclear when Casio released "Scramble Fighter," though various sources online point to around 1987 or 1988, a few years outside of the main Casio Video Game Watch line's production. Regardless, "Scramble Fighter" is another highly sought-after model, which can sell for anywhere between $300 and $600 on auction sites.

Of course, condition is everything, and there are more 'sold for parts' listings than there are working ones. Outside of the game, the watch features the usual functions, including an alarm, telling the time, and everything you'd expect from a mid-1980s Casio watch. While Amazon stocks a variety of retro-inspired gadgets, the interactive gameplay and somewhat realistic movements make "Scramble Fighter" an impressive piece of original '80s tech.

While the artwork and gameplay differ across Casio's line of Video Game Watches, most feature a two-button standard for gameplay. This is true of "Heli-Fighter," which is a helicopter combat game. The two buttons move the chopper up and down to evade enemy helicopter fire, and smashing both buttons simultaneously returns fire, employing the same mechanic as games like "Scramble Fighter."

Unlike other shooters, "Heli-Fighter" is a horizontal side-scrolling game, though it's rudimentary as far as that particular genre is concerned. As you play the game, the watch beeps accordingly, indicating successful strikes as well as the ones that take you out. To guide the player, the friendly helicopter is a fixed image on the watch face's right side. Movement up and down shifts the attacking helicopters and their respective missiles, making it into a fixed rail-shooter of sorts.

Outside of the game, the watch functions like any other in the line, featuring typical modes with alarms, and it displays the time and score. Like other Casio Video Game Watches, "Heli-Fighter" is rare and highly collectible. Outside of auctions for parts only, you can typically find them listed on eBay for between $300 and $600, though it's almost impossible to locate one in excellent condition.

Casio reused several of its designs in various Video Game Watches, and as you can see, "Aero Batics" shares a few similarities with "Egg Panic." The time and mode portion of the screen is identical, and even some of the cloud art is similar between the two. Of course, the games are quite different despite these similarities, so while "Egg Panic" is about dodging threats, "Aero Batics" is about flying with style in a single-engine propeller-driven plane.

The game places the player at the bottom, and while the graphics are in a fixed position on the watch's face, the left and right buttons move around obstacles that come in the form of other planes. Essentially, it's an aerial racing game where the goal is to outmaneuver other planes as you progress forward. The further you get, the more points you score, and the difficulty scales.

Gameplay gets faster the longer you play, making it more challenging. In addition to the images on the LCD screen moving more quickly, the watch clicks rapidly to keep pace with the gameplay. It's surprisingly exciting and fun to play, and "Aero Batics" is a highly sought-after model in Casio's line. They are listed online for as much as $850 when in excellent condition, though it's possible to find them at lower prices on occasion.

Perhaps the most collectible and hard-to-find model is Casio's "Basketball," which, as you can see, is different from the watches mentioned above. Unlike those, it lacks any buttons on the face, while it features a stainless steel build and band. The game is played via a single button, which affects the shots of a basketball player as he attempts to sink a basket with one player blocking.

Other than that, the watch has a digital clock, and that's about it outside of the bezel artwork showing the game's name and two players on either side. Finding a working "Basketball" watch is tough enough, but finding one in good condition is almost impossible. That said, as of writing, one is up for sale on eBay for $2,500, which shows how high the asking prices can go.

Casio produced a similar model with different artwork in black, and an auction for that piece of '80s tech costs $2,999. Many call it their holy grail, as it's incredibly hard to find, and once you do, it's not going to be cheap to acquire. That's not bad for a watch that cost around $25 when it was released.