Nintendo’s Virtual Boy review: a (far too) faithful retro revival

Domagoj Belancic

19.2.2026

Translation: Megan Cornish

Pictures: Domagoj Belancic

Nintendo’s launching a replica of one of the biggest flops in its history. I tested this strange device – here’s my verdict on whether it’s worth making a trip into Nintendo’s past.

Nintendo fans were stunned when the company announced a revival of its biggest flop last autumn. The Virtual Boy – Nintendo’s first failed foray into the VR world – is returning as an accessory for the Switch and Switch 2. Virtual Boy games are being re-released in the retro library of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription.

I tested the red diving goggles and played my way through pixellated 3D worlds. The Virtual Boy’s revival has been a success – however, I can only recommend this gadget to the biggest Nintendo nerds and retro fanatics.

Before you read on, take a moment to enjoy this fantastic Virtual Boy advert from the nineties:

Wait a minute – what on earth is a Virtual Boy?

Not familiar with the Virtual Boy? The semi-portable «handheld» was released in 1995 and – with a meagre 770,000 units sold – is one of the biggest flops in Nintendo’s history.

What’s special about the hardware is that it uses two separate lenses to create a stereoscopic 3D effect while gaming. The downside, though, is that the screen’s unpleasant red tint causes headaches. What’s more, the odd stand makes it awkward to use.

The fact that Nintendo’s decided to bring back this failed piece of hardware’s wonderfully weird.

How does the new version of the Virtual Boy work?

Generally speaking, the replica works the same way as the original. The stylish packaging contains the goggles and their stands, which are quick and easy to assemble.

Compared to the original, the replica’s just an empty shell. The hardware has neither a motherboard nor a screen, and the buttons and sliders don’t work. Likewise, the ports on the underside – used for headphones and controllers on the original – are also missing.

To play, you have to slide your Switch 2 in from the top. The Virtual Boy’s also compatible with the Switch 1 (both the OLED and LCD versions). However, to play with the last-gen console, you have to screw a different holder onto the bottom of the goggles.

You have to use some force to open the Virtual Boy. It feels like you’re going to break it. I wish it had a smoother mechanism. When you insert the Switch 2, it inevitably touches the plastic inside the replica. I don’t even want to think about how many scratches it’s going to cause.

You view the game through two separate lenses in the goggles. This creates a stereoscopic 3D effect. A red filter’s attached in front of the actual lenses, which can be removed if needed – albeit with some force.

This doesn’t change much yet, because all retro games are rendered in shades of red anyway, just like the originals. However, Nintendo promises that a software update will bring other colour combinations – including simple black and white.

Importantly, you can’t play Virtual Boy games included in the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription without the additional hardware. While you can open the Virtual Boy application and even start games, they’ll always be displayed in VR mode with two small windows. In this mini format, they’re unplayable on a normal screen.

For me, this is an unfathomable decision – the 3D effect’s just a nice bonus in many games rather than an essential part of the design. I understand that Nintendo wants players to experience the games exactly as they were originally intended. But giving fans options is always better than artificially limiting them, especially at the hefty price of 80 Swiss francs or euros.

How does the Virtual Boy feel to play?

To play, you look through the two lenses in the goggles. Hold the controller behind the stands to position the goggles as close to your face as possible.

I think it’s disappointing that Nintendo doesn’t include a dedicated controller for the Virtual Boy. The replica places great emphasis on authenticity – and then I’m supposed to play with Joy-Cons?

Aside from that, I find the gameplay experience very authentic. It feels like the original, with all its pros and cons.

The red tones force me to take a short break after a few minutes. Emerging from the goggles feels like catching your breath before disappearing back into the hellish, red pixel world. It’s baffling that Nintendo didn’t include an option for alternative colour combinations at launch.

The hunched posture you have to adopt to look through the goggles is also uncomfortable. No matter how I position myself, it feels cramped. It’s a shame Nintendo didn’t include height-adjustable stands for the re-release. I know the replica’s supposed to be as close to the original as possible and offer an authentic experience. But for me, small improvements like these are essential – especially when a piece of hardware notorious for its quirks is being deliberately re-released.

Pro tip: try gaming on a height-adjustable desk so you don’t have to hunch down into the goggles and you can delay the onset of neck pain a bit.

The Switch 2’s higher screen quality means the 3D effect looks better than on the original. I especially like how bright the image looks compared to the real Virtual Boy console.

The retro games are rendered on the Switch 2 screen in two separate windows to create a stereoscopic 3D effect with the separate lenses. The distance between the windows can be adjusted at any time by setting your personal interpupillary distance (IPD). On the original Switch, this was done with a physical IPD slider on the top – on the replica, it’s easily done via software in the pause menu.

It’s great that it’s so easy. And important – because depending on the game, the right setting means the difference between «I feel sick» and «wow, that looks cool».

Which games are currently available – and are they fun?

Seven games are available at launch with the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. More are expected to follow at irregular intervals. The Virtual Boy game library’s limited – only 22 titles have ever been released for the flop handheld. To compensate for this small selection, Nintendo promises to add previously unreleased games to the library. Very cool!

Below you’ll find an overview of all the games released so far. It’s a solid lineup. However, apart from the Wario game, there are no compelling reasons to buy them.

Virtual Boy: Wario Land

A «real» Wario game, just like the ones I remember and love from my Game Boy days. The villain jumps and bodychecks his way through cute 2D levels, diligently collecting treasures. True to the series, there are plenty of wacky power-ups and transformations to discover. The simple 3D effect comes into play during enemy attacks and when switching between foreground and background. The game’s aged well and is still perfectly playable today.

5 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽🥽🥽🥽

The Mansion of Innsmouth

This was the biggest surprise for me. You fight your way through a villa in first-person perspective, with all sorts of Lovecraftian monsters lurking. The levels are designed like labyrinths. If you encounter a monster, you have to shoot it – or flee. The game successfully conveys the essence of modern horror games with simple means. You flee from enemies in a panic, hide in rooms and search for ammunition – all under constant time pressure. However, the gameplay is very simple, which reduces long-term motivation.

4 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽🥽🥽

Red Alarm

Like Star Fox, only uglier. You blast your way through enemy alien fleets aboard an intergalactic fighter jet. The gameplay’s compelling – shooting, dodging, collecting upgrades. However, the Virtual Boy’s technical limitations restrict the three-dimensional polygon graphics to wire frame models. This isn’t ideal. With so many enemies and so much gunfire, it becomes difficult to work out your location and what’s happening. This was impressive in the nineties – today, it’s a headache.

3 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽🥽

Galactic Pinball

A bit of pinball’s always welcome. The 3D effect’s subtle but pleasant and the tables are imaginative and detailed. It’s just the strange ball physics that drive me mad. I don’t play for long – the gameplay’s just too simple.

3 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽🥽

Teleroboxer

Like Punch-Out!!, but with robots and in 3D. The character designs are well done, as are the animations. However, the controls are too complicated and not intuitive enough for me. I keep forgetting how to dodge and where to attack. It’s a shame – otherwise it would be a pretty cool game.

3 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽🥽

3D Tetris

I love Tetris. But not this version. In the Virtual Boy spin-off, you have to fill a three-dimensional well with building blocks. The idea fails due to clunky execution. Adjusting the perspective is cumbersome and, despite the 3D effect, you can’t tell how deep the well is. As a result, I keep placing blocks incorrectly. On top of all that, the controls are awful.

2 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽

Golf

The controls feel archaic compared to modern golf games. Determining the precision of your shot is particularly annoying. I also don’t like the graphical representation of the golf courses with their jittery patterns in the grass. At least the game offers plenty of content.

2 out of 5 VR goggles.
🥽🥽

Bonus: a cardboard Virtual Boy

Want to play Virtual Boy games on your Switch but don’t want to spend around 80 Swiss francs or euros on the replica? Generous as ever, Nintendo offers a second, cheaper option: a cardboard Virtual Boy for 20 Swiss francs or euros.

It’s a similar principle: slide the Switch 2 in (this time from the side) and look through the two lenses to play.

The cardboard version doesn’t have a stand, so you have to hold it up to your face while playing. The Joy-Cons stay attached to the console. It looks and feels ridiculous. But it works, as long as your arm muscles can cope.

Basically, the cardboard version’s nothing more than a re-release of the Nintendo Labo VR kit for the Switch.

The cardboard version has one advantage over the faithful replica: you can also play various Switch games in VR mode with it, including Super Smash Bros, Super Mario Odyssey and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. These games require me to actively look and move around, so they don’t work with the replica on its stand.

The VR modes for these games were released as part of updates for the Nintendo Labo VR kit. Most are limited game modes specifically designed for VR. One exception is the VR mode for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which allows me to play through the entire game (without motion controls) in VR.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

---

Product test

Our experts test products and their applications. Independently and neutrally.

Show all

These articles might also interest you