A return to stereoscopic 3D above all for nostalgia
Only Nintendo can highlight the return of a monumental flop so much. However, the firm is not launching completely wholeheartedly and intends to take advantage of this failure, thirty years later, in order to attract collectors and fans of the brand. Today there is a real attraction for the retro style, and Nintendo has already understood this with its various initiatives, such as the NES and SNES Mini, or the GameCube and SNES controllers compatible with the Switch. We can also cite the reissues of the Atari 2600, which seem to have some success.
Obviously, the Virtual Boy has since surpassed its dud status to become a collector’s item and a piece of Japanese company history. Originally, it was a separate machine: a “headphone console” placed on a support, designed to display an image in relief using a stereoscopic process. On paper, the depth effect works. In practice, the lack of color is not very attractive, the resolution remains limited and the posture required to enjoy it clearly lacks comfort. The machine will thus become infamous for causing visual fatigue, headaches, and even nausea. A major problem for a product supposed to impress with its immersion.
Today, the concept returns in a much more “plug and play” form with the Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics, which will arrive here on February 17. It will provide access to a selection of Virtual Boy games on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, but only via a dedicated accessory (or its cardboard version) and a Nintendo Switch Online + Additional Pack subscription.
The cardboard version of the accessory offers an experience at a lower cost, but if you want to take full advantage of the object, you might as well follow through with the process. Unfortunately, we were not able to handle this version, only the classic version. In short, it is a nice gadget, above all intended to be a collector’s item, while allowing you to (re)discover certain titles in a modernized and more pleasant experience.
An almost heritage catalog
When it is released, Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics will offer the following games:
- Virtual Boy Wario Land
- 3-D Tetris
- Galactic Pinball
- Golf
- Red Alarm
- Teleroboxer
- The Mansion of Innsmouth
During the year, Nintendo promises to enrich the catalog with new titles: D-HOPPER, Mario Clash, Mario’s Tennis, Jack Bros., Space Invaders Virtual Collection, Vertical Force, Virtual Bowling, V-Tetris and Zero Racers. One of the most attractive arguments for fans is the possibility of playing productions never officially released, such as Zero Racers or D-HOPPER. Even if the interest in these titles will depend on their intrinsic quality, the idea of seeing “lost media” officially join the Nintendo ecosystem is particularly positive, if only for reasons of cultural preservation.
With the limited time we were able to spend with the headset, we were only able to approach two games: Virtual Boy Wario Land and 3-D Tetris. What emerges from this short introduction is above all the variety of the proposal. A title like Wario Land is immediately readable thanks to its 2D platform and its perspective effects, especially when our anti-hero moves directly in the background. Conversely, other games, like Tetris, require time to adapt, if only to get to grips with the very particular visual dynamics of the Virtual Boy display.
Virtual Boy Wario Land logically stands out as the star of the catalog, to the extent that it gives a real glimpse of what the machine could have become with more support. Despite an “old-fashioned” handling, the headset being placed on a table using its support, Nintendo has added several comfort elements, starting with the adjustment of the image in order to obtain a sharpness adapted to the vision of each person, but also options for remapping the controls and rewind. In practice the 3D effect works well and the illusion of relief can really serve the gameplay even if it obviously remains very gimmicky.
However, let’s be honest, this Virtual Boy is not for everyone. The obligation to use a dedicated accessory and a premium subscription limits it to a very specific niche. It is primarily aimed at the curious, collectors and video game history enthusiasts. We clearly won’t play it for hours, and it’s more of a collector’s item that we bring out from time to time. Ultimately, this “rebirth” of the Virtual Boy looks less like a rehabilitation than a fully embraced reissue, with its strengths (the 3D effect, the selection of titles, access to new games) and its constraints (the required ecosystem, comfort and ergonomics). Despite everything, one thing is certain, Nintendo has just transformed a cult failure into a beautiful object of curiosity.