Ahh, Virtual Boy. Nintendo's first and largest system flop. Hard to believe it came out 5 years ago; if it'd been a success we might still see software for it today...

People who bought them initially got a bit of a bad deal: the system would cost you over $150 along with a game. Not so great for a system for which you can almost count the number of games on your hands.

However, I got mine in early 1997, for $30. At that price, it's a wonderful little gadget to mess around with, though you won't get much serious gaming out of it. The thing is inconvenient to use. You've got to sit it on a stand and lean forward into it for extended time, lay back and try to rest it on your head, or lay down over it (which tends to stagnate your breathing, I've found).

Similar to the Gameboy, the system features 2 colors: in this case, black and red, and lots of them. 256 shades of color, as opposed to the GB's 4, but still, it's red, red, red, red, red. I know a color screen would've been a big hassle and cost, but it's still something to keep in mind.

The 3D effect really is quite nice: you won't be seeing super 3D polygonal models like on Dreamcast or anything, but you will actually be able to tell the difference between different distances: you actually change your focus depending on what you're looking at.

The controller is an oddity... A D-pad and 2 buttons on each side... eh, it does its job, but it isn't anything special. I don't think the 2nd D-pad was used in any games I played.

I only own several games for the system: Mario Tennis, V-Tetris (import), some golf game (import), Teleroboxer, and Mario Clash (which sadly I've lost). Most of 'em were at least decent, my personal favorite being Mario Clash, an update to classic Mario Bros. gameplay. Almost all of these games would've been improved by being able to link up with another Virtual Boy, but unfortunately that wasn't to be, though the Virtual Boy did have a port for one, if it'd been a success. Maybe in an alternate reality...

The thing also messes with you. After an extended play time, I find myself disoriented, and bumping into things. I don't mind, though, I actually sorta enjoy the change of pace. Don't be playing the thing for long if you're going to be performing a surgery thereafter, though.

In the end, it's a failed fluke, but a CHEAP failed fluke nowadays. I've spent well under $100, and it's definitely been worth at least that. There's just nothing like it.

Recommended: Yes