In 1995, Nintendo released it’s biggest failure, the Virtual Boy. It’s a pair of goggles with two screens, one for each eye, that created the illusion of depth, not dissimilar to how modern VR sets work. Unlike those sets though, games were only displayed in one color, red. The goggles also sat on a stand rather than being strapped to your face, forcing you to sit in kind of a hunched position to fit your head in properly. But here’s the thing you probably wouldn’t expect, I legitimately love the Virtual Boy.

I don’t remember exactly when I got mine, I know it had already been discontinued and was on clearance at the local Babbage’s. Having gotten to it so late, I didn’t have a ton of games that were easily able to be bought, but I managed to find a few. Among those were Teleroboxer and Virtual Boy Wario Land, which from what I’ve seen are considered the best games on the system. Maybe having access to the best of what there was helped with my generally positive feelings for the thing, but I played those games a ton, beating them multiple times.

All this to say that when Nintendo announced that Virtual Boy games were coming to the Nintendo Switch Online service, I was ecstatic. At the same time, they announced that they were releasing two ways to play the games, a $25 cardboard VR set that housed your Switch or Switch 2, or a $100 version that was made of plastic and was a perfect replica of the Virtual Boy. Of course, I went with the more expensive option. I’m not going to defend Nintendo’s choice to not include a 2D option, as almost all of the games on the system could be played in 2D without losing that much, but I am glad to be able to play the games as they were already intended. I just with there was an option that didn’t require buying another accessory. It’s worth noting that if you still have an original Switch as well as the Labo VR set, that’ll work just fine. I tested it to make sure, and it worked great. I’m not a huge fan of having to hold it up to my face, but it works.

So, let’s talk about the games! Nintendo has already announced that just about the entire Virtual Boy library will be coming to the service, as well as a few games that never released. That’s still not a huge amount of games. In total, the Virtual Boy had 22 games, of which only 14 came out in America. Of those games, everything has been confirmed to be releasing with the exception of Water World, the only Virtual Boy game based on a movie. The Virtual Boy Nintendo Classics app launched with seven games, including one that had only previously released in Japan. That’s almost a third of the library!

The star of the show and the game that you should really find some way to play if you haven’t is Virtual Boy Wario Land. This game is very similar to the first Wario Land game, featuring a similar premise and the same power ups. You, as Wario, travel through several levels, throwing enemies at each other and collecting coins and treasure. Just like the first game in the series, your ending depends on how much you collect. If there’s one thing to criticize, it’s the game doesn’t really take too much advantage of the hardware. Yes, you can jump into the background, and some enemies have attacks that go from the background to the foreground, making for a neat 3D effect, but this is one that you could play totally in 2D and not really feel like you’re missing anything. Still, it’s a really solid 2D platformer, and if you like other Wario games but never played this one, you probably should.

Next up is Teleroboxer. This is a boxing game, not unlike Punch-Out, but with a sci-fi setting. Apparently in the future, boxers control robots telepathically to box, instead of just doing it themselves. That’s what a Teleroboxer is. Neat. While the premise is kind of weird, the thing that always stuck with me is how well the game used the Virtual Boy hardware. It takes place from a first person perspective, with you only being able to see your robot’s hands. The Virtual Boy’s weird controller has two D-pads on it, and Teleroboxer uses that in a really creative way. Each D-pad controls a different hand. Between the first person view and being able to control your hands separately, this game is easily the most immersive game I’ve played on the Virtual Boy. It also has really nice looking sprites and gameplay that’s challenging but never feels impossible. Like Wario Land, this one is a must play in my opinion.

One of the more infamous Virtual Boy games is Red Alarm. This is a a spaceship shooter, kind of like Star Fox although you aren’t moving on rails. You actually have full 3D movement and can stop and turn around at any time. Unfortunately, the game is entirely made of red wire frames, making discerning what’s going on very difficult. In still images, it’s nearly impossible to tell what you’re looking at and is only a little bit more understandable when you see it in motion. It’s not terrible, but it’s kind of a mess. I’m happy to have easy access to it now.

The Mansion of Innsmouth is the previously Japanese only game available to play on the app. It’s kind of a survival horror game, where you’re exploring a mansion, killing or avoiding monsters, and trying to get to the exit. There’s not a ton going on here though, this is not Resident Evil. You do have very limited bullets and monsters can swarm you, so there’s that. It also uses that second D-pad to aim your gun, which is cool. It doesn’t feel great on a Switch controller though. One thing that actually makes things a little easier I found is using the NSO N64 controller, as the second D-pad controls automatically map to the C buttons. This is also good for Teleroboxer, although I didn’t have as much trouble just using the analog sticks on that one. The Mansion of Innsmouth is pretty neat and I’m going to play more of it, but I don’t think you need to run out and get it as soon as possible or anything.

I’m going to rush through the last three games because there’s not that much to say about them. There’s Golf. It’s a golf game. It seems totally fine from what I played, but not very exciting. Then there’s Galactic Pinball, which is just pinball. And then there’s 3D Tetris, which is just a really, really bad version of Tetris. It’s in 3D, as the title implies, but that just makes it slow and confusing. It’s fun to pop in and goof off with these games, but I don’t recommend them.

Speaking of recommending, do I recommend you buy one of these really expensive Virtual Boy things? Honestly, no. This is a thing that I love and I’m going to continue having fun with, but that’s a me thing. I don’t think the average person is going to have as much fun with these games as I do, and certainly not for the price. So, this is to say, I don’t think you should buy one, but I’m really glad it exists.