I've owned a lot of Nintendo systems over the years as a tech reviewer, gamer and VR-obsessed individual, but I've never owned a Virtual Boy. It's always made me feel wistful. So finally here I am, playing the newest version. My face is stuck into a large red plastic visor, standing on a tripod on a table at Nintendo's preview event. My takeaway? Nintendo's latest weird retro move feels like an odd success.
I'm old enough to have owned Nintendo Game & Watch handhold games, and I remember the original Virtual Boy when it popped up in Electronics Boutique at my local mall. The red-and-black monochrome 3D game console wasn't fully wearable, and it wasn't TV-connected. It's a tabletop game machine, something closer in spirit to the old Vectrex. Calling the Virtual Boy "VR" isn't really accurate. It's more like a 3D viewer for retro games.
Watch this: Nintendo Virtual Boy First Impressions 01:36
Nintendo's bringing this niche system back as a plastic recreation that turns your Nintendo Switch into the Virtual Boy, along with games you can play on Nintendo's Virtual Console via a Switch Online subscription. It only works on a small subset of retro titles specifically designed for 3D -- Nintendo promises 14 by the end of the year, with roughly half available at launch. You need the full Switch Online and Expansion Pack subscription ($50 a year, or $80 for a family subscription) to use it. That's a lot of money for a little slice of strange retro gaming history.
Me leaning over the Virtual Boy for a game or two. Justin Aclin/CNET
Leaning into a weird tabletop goggle-thing
The $100 viewer and holster for the Switch is absurd. It's like an optical appliance at Tron's eye doctor. It's larger than I thought it would be and not really portable. Instead of strapping it to your head like a VR headset, you set it up on a table with the included tripod, lean in and play.
After a few moments inside the Virtual Boy, I found it surprisingly comfortable. The large eyepiece is big enough to easily fit chunky glasses inside, yet has light-blocking sides that keep the viewing experience relatively glare-free. It feels like peeking into those old antique stereoscope machines that would show 3D photos or flip-films.
You can see the Switch nestled right inside the Virtual Boy if you look closely. Scott Stein/CNET
The Switch (or Switch OLED or Switch 2, but sorry, no Switch Lite compatibility) display acts as the Virtual Boy screen, splitting into a 3D view in the headset. It's like how Nintendo turned the Switch into a pair of VR goggles with Labo VR way back when, but the Virtual Boy feels better than that. I was looking via a Switch 2 display, which is higher-res than Nintendo's original Switch systems, but these games are low-res by default, so the 3D effects don't seem degraded. Imagine a red-and-black 3D Game Boy, because that's basically what it feels like.
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