Nintendo’s cult-favorite flop is returning on the Switch. I spent some time with the new Virtual Boy, and all its quirks—and flaws—are still there.
The Virtual Boy is the black sheep of Nintendo’s console family. Released in 1995, it was awkward to use, and its start red-and-black « 3D » visuals were infamous for causing headaches. Unsurprisingly, it lasted only a year and ended its run with just 22 games. Unless you owned one, those titles have been effectively unplayable for 30 years—but that changes on February 17. Virtual Boy games are coming to the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, with a $99.99 shell accessory designed to replicate the original system.
I got my hands on the games and hardware at a recent Nintendo preview event. Part of me—the classic game collector—was thrilled at the idea of revisiting the Virtual Boy titles and displaying one on my shelf. But another part of me quickly remembered why the system failed in the first place—and why its integration into Nintendo Switch Online isn’t likely to change its reputation.$99.99 Nostalgia: Holding History in Your Hands
The new Virtual Boy is a physical enclosure designed to hold your Switch or Switch 2, with lenses that let you stare at two halves of the system’s screen, enabling stereoscopic 3D. It isn’t new technology, and in that sense is similar to older phone-based VR headsets like the Google Daydream View.
What really makes the Virtual Boy shell stand out is how faithfully it reproduces the original system’s design. It looks identical to the Virtual Boy, with its red-and-black plastic body, black rubber facemask, and wire tabletop stand. It even has a molded focus slider and IPD knob, even though they aren’t used (IPD adjustment is handled through the Nintendo Switch Online Virtual Boy app). Visually, it’s indistinguishable from the original, and that makes it great for collectors. Nintendo reps didn’t let me open the shell to see how the Switch or Switch 2 fit in it, though.
A controller is missing from the mix, and that’s a little disappointing, as it was both a unique and significant part of the original system (it’s where you inserted the game cartridges). It had two grips, each with a direction pad and two buttons, providing directional input with both thumbs. That might be standard now with dual analog sticks on every major gamepad, but it was pretty unheard of in 1995. The Switch and Switch 2’s Joy-Con controllers have more than enough inputs to support Virtual Boy games, but you won’t be able to get the full original Virtual Boy experience without the controller.
Even without a controller, the shell looks great. It’s the same dedication to the original style that the NES Classic and SNES Classic got, and that means a lot.
Unlike typical VR headsets, the original Virtual Boy wasn’t a head-mounted display. Instead, you placed it on a table and shoved your face straight into it. The stand let you tilt the system up and down, but that was it.
Since the new Virtual Boy is so dedicated to the bit, all of that applies to it, too. Insert the Switch, put the combo on a table, and mash your face in. I did all of that, and it was predictably awkward. It wasn’t entirely uncomfortable, unlike some headsets with their too-tight straps or unbalanced weight, but that’s because I kept my head in a specific position while using it. Of course, that leads to its own discomfort over time; my neck began to ache a bit after a while. Fortunately, Virtual Boy games have built-in pause timers to remind you to take a break every 10 to 30 minutes. That was implemented to reduce eye strain, but it can also help protect your neck.
As for eye strain, I didn’t really feel it while playing games with the new Virtual Boy. Their black-and-red graphics weren’t pleasant to look at, but everything was sharp and in focus. In fact, the games were sharper and easier on the eyes than the times I tried a real Virtual Boy in the past. Part of that is thanks to the Switch 2’s much higher resolution and frame rate. Its 1,920-by-1,080 120Hz screen provides about six times the number of pixels as the two 384-by-224 50.
