Switch’s Virtual Boy add-on reminded me that Nintendo’s biggest flop wasn’t all bad

As far as full console launches go, 1995’s Virtual Boy is by far Nintendo’s biggest flop. But a surprise upcoming add-on for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 is about to remind modern players that the much-maligned VR system wasn’t all bad.

Set to release on February 17 alongside the system’s addition to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription, the Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch 2/Nintendo Switch accessory will cost $100 / £67 and is required to play the library of retro games (though a cheaper cardboard model will also be available for $25 / £17) by inserting your console into the device.

Ahead of the launch, I recently had the opportunity to try out Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch at Nintendo’s European HQ in Frankfurt, Germany. Although I wasn’t able to go too in-depth with the offering, as an owner of the original Virtual Boy, I came away impressed by its authenticity, in both aesthetic and gameplay experience, and the improvements made.

For those who haven’t had the chance to experience Virtual Boy – and that’s a lot of people, since it sold fewer than 800,000 units and never made it to Europe and other markets – this strange LCD system was Nintendo’s early attempt at bringing virtual reality to the mainstream, nearly 20 years before Oculus Rift became a thing.

Even in today’s widely populated VR market, Virtual Boy is a true oddity: it’s a headset, but rather than attaching to the user’s head, it sits on a stand for you to peek into. And the stereoscopic 3D graphics are displayed in striking red-and-black, giving games a retro-sci-fi aesthetic that still feels unique today. It also sports one of Nintendo’s most comfortable controllers, which sadly hasn’t been re-released to this day.

Ultimately, the system’s confusing positioning between the Super NES and Game Boy – allegedly due to concerns of children bumping into furniture, Virtual Boy is neither truly portable nor a traditional home console – combined with overzealous safety warnings that put off Nintendo’s core audience of families, the console swiftly failed and was discontinued in less than a year, with only 22 games released.

However, in truth, there’s a lot to like about Virtual Boy. Those of us eccentric enough to have picked up the system will know that the 3D effect is actually quite impressive. Placed on a desk, positioned just right so that you can rest your forehead on its rubber exterior, playing Virtual Boy is a more comfortable experience than wearing a traditional headset. And because your vision isn’t moving all over the place, the 3D effect is more consistent than with, say, a Nintendo 3DS, with a slider able to quickly adjust the effect to your eyesight.

The system also has a decent library of classics to be discovered. Virtual Boy Wario Land is one of the best games in the series, Teleroboxer is a cracking VR-style Punch-Out!! clone, and Jack Bros. is a memorable action-puzzler from Atlus. There are also plenty of arcade oddities to be discovered, like V-Tetris, Space Squash, and Galactic Pinball.

As an owner of the original Virtual Boy, I was impressed by how authentic the Switch 2 accessory feels to the original system. Although I wasn’t able to place the add-on side-by-side with a real Virtual Boy, in my head, they looked and felt exactly the same. The attention to detail extends to features of the console, such as the ability to adjust the inter-pupil distance from NSO’s suspend menu or switch on auto-pausing when pulling your head away from the device.

“As an owner of the original Virtual Boy, I was impressed by how authentic the Switch 2 accessory feels to the original system.”

The Virtual Boy Nintendo Switch Online launch lineup of games includes Teleroboxer, Galactic Pinball, Red Alarm, Golf, Virtual Boy Wario Land, 3D Tetris, and The Mansion of Innsmouth. Nine more games will be added to the service in the future, including, intriguingly, a pair of unannounced games including a racing spin-off in the F-Zero franchise.

I was only able to try out a handful of the launch games, but it was enough to feel confident that Nintendo has done a great job of replicating the stereoscopic 3D effect on its modern console. Playing Wario Land and Teleroboxer in 3D is still striking, with projectiles (and fists) moving towards your vision convincingly, without the inconsistency of the launch 3DS models.

In short bursts, like my experience at Nintendo of Europe, playing Virtual Boy is a comfortable experience, like stepping into a 16-bit movie theatre, and I could even see myself playing new, modern games that make use of this accessory, like some titles did with Labo’s own VR attempt. Like the original system, lengthy play sessions are likely to result in mixed experiences, though Nintendo has at least added the ability to switch the red colours – which caused headaches for some in the 90s – to alternative shades (though sadly, this won’t be live at launch).

Recently, in preparation for this hands-on, I fired up my original Virtual Boy and discovered that one of its lenses has begun glitching – a common issue that affects many owners of the aging hardware. So, comparing the original system with the Switch 2 emulation wasn’t ideal, but in my head, the 3D effect did seem crisper and enlarged compared to the old system. At the very least, it will save me some money on a repair.

However, as a prospect, I suspect that Virtual Boy’s Nintendo Switch revival will be far more compelling for those who didn’t experience it back in the day. With this add-on, there’s an alluring Nintendo time capsule waiting to be cracked open, with new 90s-era pixel games to be discovered, chiptunes, quirky controls, and all. There’s still nothing quite like Virtual Boy and, despite what you might’ve read on the internet over the past decades, there’s plenty of fun to be had.