The Virtual Boy launched in 1995 only in Japan and North America, never getting a UK release. We’ve never played one… UNTIL NOW. As it’s just had an official launch on the Nintendo Switch 2 with its full original design available to buy for £60.
It may be Nintendo’s worst ever selling games console (shifting only 500,000 units worldwide), but it’s a piece of retro gaming history we just had to experience. Here it is in all its weirdly charming, headache-inducing glory.
Going Red and Black for Virtual Boy on Nintendo Switch 2
For our retro gaming section, we covered a bunch of Virtual Boy games across 2021 and 2022 (five in total). And our review of the tabletop virtual reality console was back in July 2015 (see Virtual Boy: Failed VR Headset with the optimistic title there).
We didn’t really get into much nitty gritty there, but the console failed as its concept was a bit off. Yet playing it now, the rendered stereoscopic 3D graphics really are very cool.
Certain games, most notably Nintendo’s Virtual Boy Wario Land (1995), have moments that genuinely look brilliant. Here it is in all its red and black glory.
This doesn’t really capture how well the Virtual Boy creates a sense of VR and all that. The only way to find out for yourself is jam your head into the eye socket bit and have a gander, but that brings with it some problems (more on that later).
This was a 32 bit console after all, so had more power to play with than even the 16 bit Super Nintendo. The reason the console failed comes down to three reasons:
- Its games were generally of a low quality
- Only 22 games ever launched
- The console’s red and black graphics caused headaches after extended play
When you boot up the Virtual Boy on Switch 2, you immediately get a warning not to play the thing for more than 30 minutes at a time (legal waiver there). Yeah, you can feel why within 10 minutes as your brain starts to turn to mush. It’s an odd sensation, but highlights the plight of the Virtual Boy right there.
You couldn’t play this for too long without getting ill.
Exploring the Virtual Boy’s 1995 Era History and Technology
There aren’t many games launched yet, and there can only ever be 22 made available on NSO, with the launch batch being:
- Wario Land
- Teleroboxer
- 3-D Tetris
- Galactic Pinball
- Golf
- Red Alarm
- The Mansion of Innsmouth
Now, we did a review of the curious wonder that is The Mansion of Innsmouth (1995), as it’s one of the Virtual Boy games we played online using a ROM back in early 2022. That and Wario Land are the two we’d played, albeit briefly, thanks to online ROMs.
Getting to play Red Alarm, then, was an alarming experience. In a good way! This 1995 shoot ’em up was by T&E Soft and offers a polygonal approach to space shooting stuff. Although it’ll destroy your brain looking at it, the thing is actually good fun.
That’s really what surprised us about all this. We… enjoy the Virtual Boy games!
Back in 1995, the gaming press (and gamers) weren’t kind to the console. It was considered a bit crap, what with its red and black graphics just as the first PlayStation had launched and was being all uber cool. Lara Croft was on the scene with her huge chest and randy teenage gamers wanted a bit more of that type of thing.
And the whole headache element meant the Virtual Boy died a death.
And yet now, launching as it has in early 2026, it’s perfectly positioned to be welcomed by the retro gaming scene. This curiosity from Nintendo’s past, created by the late and great Gunpei Yokoi (1941-1997). He’d created the Game Boy, plus the successful ’80 series of Game & Watch titles, so then Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi enthusiastically backed the VB concept.
Yokei’s idea was very clever and way ahead of its time. Keep in mind, VR still isn’t really successful even now and that’s despite massive businesses such as Facebook and Valve giving it a proper go. It’s just not really taking off.
Even with its flaws, you can see why Yamauchi wanted to market the product. It’ll have come across as an almost certain success story, with Nintendo of America marketing is as a “cool” product for cool people.
After it failed, Yamauchi rather unfairly heaped all blame on Yokoi. This contributed to him leaving the company, although the main reason was his desire to retire in his early 50s. Unfortunately, he died in a car crash in October 1997 at 56.
Now over 30 years later, Nintendo’s biggest commercial error has a retro charm to it.
The full recreation of the original system is the real deal and well worth the £60. All you have to do is slide the Switch 2 in and you’re away. For retro gamers, it’s an absolute dream come true as it’s now easy to add this rare system to your collection.
Downsides? This thing will never be comfortable to play. Ever.
And with a total of 22 games to expect, which Nintendo will roll out gradually, we’re not looking at a vast library to experience. In comparison, the Super Nintendo had 1,749 official releases across its lifespan.
Yet, here is an incredible piece of history and, despite all the urban legends swelling about it since 1995, it’s not terrible at all. It’s actually quite good, has at least three good/great games on it, and we’re delighted to have experience the Virtual Boy.
ADDENDUM ALERT!!! Health & Safety Warnings Galore on the Virtual Boy
“Remain in a seated position while playing and make sure to take regular breaks.
- Take a 10-15 minute break at least every 30 minutes, even if you don’t think you need it.
What we find amusing (and even endearing) about this re-release is Nintendo’s pre-playing time warning. Children under the age of six are banned from playing on the thing. Anyone over that age must adhere to the above warning.
The thing does leave you feeling a bit weird after playing it.
The headache aspect hasn’t affected us as we stuck to Nintendo’s rules. The big issue is just playing it. You can’t get into a comfortable position at any point, you have to:
- Angle the headset into your face
- Balance your nose and eyes around the sockets
- Sit at a weird angle
- Endure
The frustrating thing is you can’t just jam your eyes into the sockets, you have to balance there to be able to see everything. That we found uncomfortable and our necks started to hurt after a bit, plus you never get a fully stable view of the game you’re playing.
Modern gamers can be massively entitled and will have a temper tantrum rage about the most minor things, blowing them out of all proportions like a toddler. If the Virtual Boy launched now as a new product they’d go into a meltdown.
However, part of the joys with retro gaming is embracing these product foibles, realising nothing is perfect, and seeing what was going on with technology 30+ years ago.
Gunpei Yokoi was a genius and a visionary. His weird console has so many surprising merits, with the games created trying new and interesting things, which make a fun time of it.
Even if you can only play for 30 minutes at a time.
