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Issue #81: The Legacy of the Virtual Boy – January/February 2026
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Have you ever been excited to shove your face into a foam- lined hunk of bright red plastic? By golly, I have!
The summer of 1995. As I was beginning to do more and more frequently thanks to my growing admiration for all things Nintendo, I strolled into the nearest Best Buy store to see what the latest and greatest games on display might be. I turned the corner, scanned around with my eyes and then locked in on it — yes, it was there. The demo had been set up. It was a real Virtual Boy!
As a loyal Nintendo Power reader I’d known this new device was on its way soon, and that there was a chance I’d get to try it out before it officially went on sale that August. But still I remember being surprised to actually see it in the wild — and set up for anyone to play!
Years earlier, my first experience seeing the SNES inspired similar awe, but it was locked behind glass and I could only stand and stare at the attract mode of Super Mario World cycling over itself over and over again. But with the Virtual Boy, hands-on — and eyes-on — were not only allowed, but fully encouraged. Nintendo knew there was no way to accurately convey the 3D technology powering this machine’s appeal in unmoving magazine ads or 2D TV commercials. With the Virtual Boy, you really had to see to believe!
Decades later I’m struck by how unsanitary that moment must have been, because how many other kids before me had walked in out of the blazing summer heat and inserted their heads straight into that same foam facemask that lined the edges of that same VB demo station? But the thought didn’t occur to me then. I just wanted to actually experience the Nintendo vision of 3D VR for myself.
And it’s that moment of discovery that I’m most excited to see return, now that Nintendo is officially bringing back the Virtual Boy in the form of a Nintendo Classics app for Switch and Switch 2. I’m eager to see my sons have that same first experience of seeing the 3D effect for themselves! I recall being impressed as a 13-year-old, but that was back in 1995. Will kids today be blown away? Or will it underwhelm them?
And how about the quality of the games themselves — the handful of interactive activities that were actually built with the VB’s VR in mind? Have any of those been able to stand the test of time? Were any of them ever any good to begin with?
These are topics we’re tackling in this NF issue. Primarily in our central feature, The Legacy of the Virtual Boy, in which we’ll present looks back on the 14 titles Nintendo has already confirmed will be re-released beginning this February. We’ve also got VB-themed supporting content elsewhere throughout this issue, and our lead review this time is Metroid Prime 4: Beyond — which doesn’t have a really direct Virtual Boy connection, but does kind of involve sticking your face into a different kind of visor! (Hopefully Samus keeps the inside of her helmet clean.)
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