"Why Nintendo why?"

Nintendo stands as one of the most respectable companies out there when it comes to systems and games. With many of the best systems (NES, Super NES, GameBoy, GameBoy Color, and GameBoy Advance) and best game franchises (Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Metroid, Starfox, etc) to their name you would think that their track record would be flawless. But even Nintendo is guilty of entering the territory of failed systems (an area usually dominated by Sega). I'm not talking about the Nintendo 64 (which despite it's flaws was actually a pretty good system) but rather the little known and little appreciated (and for good reason I might add) VirtualBoy.

HISTORY OF THE VIRTUALBOY:

The VirtualBoy was originally released in late 1995. Apparently it was planned as a way to help Nintendo to compete with it's recently released 32 bit competitors the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn while Nintendo put the finishing touches on the the N64 (still not due to be released for about another year). The VirtualBoy itself a 32 bit machine has a misleading name, although you might think of it as a virtual reality device it is actually more of a 3D image system by nature. The system was also supposably portable, although once again this is not very accurate (more on this later). The games were played by inserting a cartridge into the main unit and then looking through a pair of goggles that were connected to it. You would then be able to see the game. This idea sounds pretty good on paper so why such a low rating you might ask? Well it's because like so many other failed consoles born on a good idea the idea was executed extremely poorly. The system suffered from countless hardware faults and a serious lack of software to entice consumers to buy it. The price was also quite high which put the system into an even worse position to attract potential gamers. The system failed miserably, and in probably the shortest time ever of a failure around four or five months (most failed systems usually last about a year or two).

GRAPHICS AND SOUND:

Both the graphic and sound abilities of the VirtualBoy were extremely poor. The system like the GameBoy was only capable of showing two colors and several shades of them. But while GameBoy was black and white the VirtualBoy had the worst combination possible Red and Black. The Red lines seen throughout the VirtualBoy's games were extremely hard on the eyes and many people experienced headaches and nausea after playing it. In fact Nintendo even warned that playing it for more than about thirty minutes could be harmful. Not only did the Virtual Boy's graphics stink but they also posed a health hazard. The sound although not quite as bad was still pretty horrible. Even though the system was released in 1995 it sounded about the same if not worse than the GameBoy which was released in 1989.

CONTROLS:

At least this area was done right . The controller is not only good for the system but is one of the best controllers for a system period. It has a enough buttons to suit the gameplay and is also comfortable to hold (don't let the odd shape fool you). Thanks to its two control pads (one on the right and one on the left) it is also one of the few good controllers if you happen to be left handed.

GAMES:

There are fifteen games for this system. Not fifteen good games not fifteen worthwhile owning games not even fifteen moderately good games but fifteen games period and for the most part the games are terrible. VirtualBoy has by far the smallest library of any system ever released. It also had the least support of any system with all of it's games (give or take one or two) being made by Nintendo. What saves this system from a score of one in the game section is an excellent game called Wario Land. Not only is it the best VirtualBoy game but it is also a very good game in general. Mario's Tennis and V-Tetris also aren't too bad but they are not nearly good enough to recommend the system.

SYSTEM DESIGN:

The system was almost certainly doomed before it was even released due to it's horrible design. First off although it was supposed to be portable it was very bulky and difficult to move around. The system was also very uncomfortable on you neck when you were looking through the goggles and many people suffered cramps.

FEATURES:

Other then the portability (not) there were really no special features. Like wise there were never any accessories released for it.

FINAL EVALUATION:
(as it would have been at the time of it's release)

GRAPHICS: 1.5
SOUND: 2
CONTROLS: 9
GAMES: 2
SYSTEM DESIGN: 2

Overall 3.3/10
Rounded to 3 for Gamefaqs

CLOSING STATEMENT:

Terrible terrible terrible this is by far the worst system ever made (even the 32X is better) and worse yet it was made by Nintendo one of the most highly regarded system developers in the video game market. Do not buy this system I repeat do not buy this system be happy with your NES, Super NES, N64, and GameBoy and just forget that you ever heard of this thing. If you already have a VirtualBoy make sure that you have Wario Land and keep it as a novelty item just as it should be kept.

And that is my two cents.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/01, Updated 11/26/01