Nintendo Virtual Boy games will be arriving on both the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 next month via a Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, after being announced last year alongside the Switch 2 System. Among the upcoming library, two never-released games for the Virtual Boy will be available.
The Virtual Boy library is set to officially join the retro services of the Switch Online on February 17, with a total of seven titles available at launch, and nine additional titles scheduled for a later date. Zero Racer and D-Hopper, two never-released titles for the platform, are scheduled to join the nine additional games, although no release dates have been announced yet.
Originally released in 1995, the Virtual Boy was a very early attempt by Nintendo at a home Virtual Reality platform. The platform never reached a mainstream level of success and was discontinued less than a year after release. Because of this short shelf life, there were a lot of games for the platform that never saw release. Some of these probably saw cancellation early in their lifecycles as it became clear the system would not survive, but it is possible we could see more unmaterialized titles reappear.
Unfortunately, players will not only require a subscription to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion, the higher tier of the Online service, but also a peripheral device to use the stereoscopic 3D visuals. Two versions of this device are being sold, one will be a plastic attachment made to look like the original Virtual Boy, that will retail at $99.99, with a second cardboard application similar to the Nintendo Labo accessories that will retail at $24.99.
Here is a complete list of the line-up as announced:
February 17:
- Galactic Pinball
- Teleroboxer
- Red Alarm
- Virtual Boy Wario Land
- 3D Tetris
- Golf
- The Mansion of Innsmouth
Coming soon:
- Jack Bros.
- Mario Clash
- Mario Tennis
- Space Invaders Virtual Collection
- Virtual Bowling
- Vertical Force
- V-Tetris
- Zero Racers
- D-Hopper
Similar to other libraries on the platform, players will be able to rewind gameplay, create save states, and remap controls. An additional feature that will be added later will allow players to change the screen color, which feels necessary given the original console famously caused issues like eye strain, nausea, dizziness, as well as red-tinted afterimage. The red and black color of the original console was chosen as a cost-saving measure, as other colors like blue and green where not practical at the time.
While a few good choices are coming on February 17, Jack Bros. is the only reason I will be getting into the platform at some point. A spin-off by Atlus using the mascots for their popular Shin Megami Tensai series it was also very well received at the time.
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