Part of what makes it so fun to cover Nintendo is the unexpected swings that the Japanese gaming giant will take.
In the past year alone, the company has debuted a Mario-themed Talking Flower accessory, a sequel to the critically panned Kirby Air Ride, a Pokémon spin-off in which you play as a Ditto assuming the form of a human in a post-apocalypse, among other things. That’s to say nothing of the many weird peripherals it’s released over the years, like Nintendo Labo, the Power Glove, NES Laser Scope and, of course, R.O.B.
Now, the company has made the strange move of bringing back the Virtual Boy, its tabletop console from 1995, which was the first system capable of stereoscopic 3D glasses. Given that it was a critical and commercial failure during its brief year-and-change on the market, it’s surprising to see Nintendo coming out with a Switch and Switch 2 version of the device in 2026 that includes both a physical peripheral and Switch Online emulation.
But honestly, I’m so glad that the company did. While it’s undeniably niche, the Virtual Boy is a notable part of gaming history, and so it’s genuinely meaningful to revisit. As I’ve been playing around with the modern replica, I’ve become rather enamoured with it. Sure, most of its seven-title launch lineup isn’t something you’d spend all that much time with, and the red monochrome display is limiting, but it’s nonetheless fascinating to see early versions of prominent games and technology today.
For instance, Red Alarm takes inspiration from Star Fox to deliver a different space fighter experience from the perspective of stereoscopic 3D, which enhances immersion by making you feel like you’re in the cockpit. While the wire-frame visuals are rudimentary, they do also evoke the feeling of a simulation. Again, Red Alarm predates high-fidelity graphics and VR by many years, so I got a kick out of comparing this to modern flight games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Montreal-based Motive’s Star Wars Squadrons, and Ace Combat.
Likewise, The Mansion of Innsmouth can be viewed as a precursor to modern survival horror. In the first-person action-adventure game, you have to escape a maze-like Lovecraftian mansion while using limited ammo to shoot off monsters. It’s easy to see overlap between this and, say, Resident Evil Requiem, a modern horror game in which you navigate zombie-infested labyrinthine settings in first-person with scarce resources.
Golf is also pretty interesting. While I haven’t played a recent golf game in many years, I did go through several of the 2000s ones with my uncle when I was a kid, and even that 10-odd-year leap from the Virtual Boy is notable. Above all else, I was surprised to see options to tweak direction, club, power and even stance.
The Virtual Boy even makes you appreciate an all-time classic like Tetris a bit more. While there are seemingly infinite versions of the puzzle game nowadays, this full 3D version, naturally, has you viewing the falling blocks in a whole different way.
Admittedly, some of the games don’t really benefit all that much from the 3D effect. Galactic Pinball is basically just the same pinball I played on my grandparents’ Windows XP computer as a kid, while Teleroboxer, which does have a sometimes neat 3D flourish of the punches flying towards you, is otherwise a fairly standard riff on Punch-Out!
Honestly, Wario Land is probably the best all-around title here. For one, it uses the 3D effect in some clever ways, from hazards like swinging spike balls coming through the screen at you to Wario being able to jump to-and-from platforms in the background. In fact, that latter element actually influenced games like Donkey Kong Country Returns, adding to its historical appeal.
My only major gripe surrounding this launch lineup is that it’s pretty limited at just seven games. To its credit, Nintendo has confirmed that 16 of the Virtual Boy’s total 22 games will eventually come to Switch Online. Two of these titles, Zero Racers and Dragon Hopper, were previously never released, further building on the Virtual Boy’s time capsule feel. Knowing all of these games are coming is good, but it makes it a bit harder to recommend buying the device now versus later on when more titles have been released.
On the flip side, I will give Nintendo credit for offering flexibility when it comes to accessing these games. While the main way to check out the Virtual Boy is through a $109.99 replica device that rests atop a table with a stand, a much more affordable $29.99 cardboard version is also available. Both of these have slots that you can slide your Switch or Switch 2 into, although the Switch Lite isn’t supported. That said, I find the plastic Virtual Boy more natural to use, since the cardboard model requires you to hold up your Switch to your face like some sort of goofy visor. (I’ll also mention that I didn’t find myself getting any eye strain with either model, though your mileage will, of course, vary.)
All of this is to say that the Virtual Boy has a very specific appeal. For most people, the Switch Online’s existing catalogue of classic games will be more than enough to scratch that retro itch, especially since they’re of a higher quality and don’t require any peripherals.
But if you’re someone who appreciates the history of gaming as both an art form and technical showcase, the Virtual Boy is very much worth checking out. Game preservation is incredibly important yet rarely pursued by companies, so I have to give Nintendo a lot of credit for releasing this.
