SB Recommends Virtual Boy Games

Nintendo's most spectacular failure by far in the hardware market. Famously, the Virtual Boy could only display red and black, and had a never-duplicated dual-padded controller that only two games ever fully utilized. It produced an interesting handful of optimistic experiments and tech demos in the very short span of time it was supported, and one very solid Wario adventure. Allegedly causes eyestrain, and most games had a built-in timer to warn you to take a break.

• Galactic Pinball
  • Koji: I'm not a pinball player, but I freaking loved Galactic Pinball on the Virtual Boy. Any other video pinball I've played since felt kind of stale in comparison.

• Innsmouth no Yakata
  • Sniper Honeyviper: By far the most unique entry in the VB's tiny catalog, it's a sort of dungeon-crawling FPS with Wizardry-style movement, featuring the earliest example of dual-analog aiming in a shooter (or dual-digital, in this case.) You run around repetitive corridors in a mad dash to the exit, racing the horribly unforgiving time limit while occasionally popping shots at well-drawn Lovecraftian grotesqueries. Ammo is rare and easily depleted, and it's usually impossible to finish the stage if you run out. It's unfair to the point of not really being fun at all, but still definitely worth checking out if you're into Virtual Boy/Cthulhu curio.

• Jack Bros.
  • Sniper Honeyviper: The other really rare/obscure VB game is a cutesy MegaTen spinoff starring series mascot Jack Frost in an overhead maze-running adventure. It brings to mind Bomberman more than anything else, and there's even enemies that lay bombs in the exact same way. You advance down all the stages by jumping down layers of platforms, in an obvious plug to the 3D aspect. Easy and repetitive, but again, worth a look for curiosity's sake.

• Mario Clash
  • Isfet: Take the original Mario Bros. arcade game and bring it into 3D. Rather than concentrating on vertical stages, Mario alternates between and interacts with the foreground and background of each stage. These days, it would be the kind of game that would probably be included as a minigame within another game. It's good in short intervals unless you absolutely love playing classic-arcade-style games for hours.

• Mario's Tennis
  • Isfet: It's really a pretty solid little game for what it is. Nowhere near as in depth as the latter N64 or GCN versions, but it's fun nonetheless. A 2-player Vs. mode could have pushed this game way over the top (although it more than likely would have been underutilized). The backgrounds and music really make the game relaxing, in an odd sort of way. It was the pack-in game for the Virtual Boy in the U.S.

• Teleroboxer
  • B coma: Do you like Punchout? Well now you can finally BE Little Mac, except not really because this game is set in the future where only robots engage in pugilism.

• Virtual Boy Wario Land
  • B coma: Probably the best thing Virtual Boy has going for it. If you ever enjoyed Wario on Gameboy then you'll find a treasure of a platformer here. Running into the depths of the background is a thrill because of well designed levels, and you owe it to yourself to see the final boss play out in AMAZING 3D-ESQUE 2D“
  • Focus: i have played that game to its entirety and i can vouch for it being one of the best virtual boy games. no irony.
  • Chris B: It's like Wario Land without the fat (less levels, each packed to the brim). It felt more varied and streamlined, possibly because so few levels meant that they could give each of 'em a very distinct look and feel. It's probably also high on replay value (well I haven't beaten the last boss yet) as I've heard there's a higher difficulty (or even a timed run?) unlocked after beating it once. I'd say get a Virtual Boy for it, the 3D effect isn't really necessary, but it adds a bit visual flair, especially for some of the the boss battles.

• V-Tetris
  • Isfet: A great version of Tetris that plays very similarly to the Gameboy version. It includes a “New Type” mode where blocks fall into a container that players can rotate (in order to have more room) with the L and R triggers.”