Nintendo's Vitrual Boy...What does everyone think?

[kevincal]

I picked one up back in the mid-late 90's for $30 at TRU. I originally was gonna get TLOZ: A Link to the Past for SNES...then I saw the Vboy for 30 bucks and put down Zelda.... It's a fun system I think. I still gotta get that Zelda game.. The Japanese games work on the US system too.

Edited July 7, 2005 by kevincal

[Rezrov]

Here's a shot of all 33:

What's that one on the end in the small box?

887881[/snapback]

 

 

Chalvo 55. It's a Japanese gameboy game, and was supposed to come out for the Virtual Boy as a 3D action game called Bound High. Bound High got scrapped at the last minute by Nintendo, along with a Virtual Boy RPG called Dragon Hopper.

 

- Shawn

[Rhindle The Red]

Here's a shot of all 33:

What's that one on the end in the small box?

Chalvo 55. It's a Japanese gameboy game, and was supposed to come out for the Virtual Boy as a 3D action game called Bound High. Bound High got scrapped at the last minute by Nintendo, along with a Virtual Boy RPG called Dragon Hopper.

Yeah, I remember those two.

 

So I take it that stuff's yours? Very nice. I'm jealous, I don't mind telling you. Did you pay "eBay" prices for the rare ones? Is that 'Chalvo 56' there as a kind of "what might have been"?

[Jacob Rose]

A. The demo units. Who's bright ide was it tu use Red Alarm to show off the system? The game's a half-finished abomination. That and people refused to adjust the system, so they came away disoriented and blamed the system because they can't read instructions.

887811[/snapback]

 

Weird. When I played it in the store here, it was running Mario Clash. Then again, I happen to like that "half-finished abomination" you mention, so that probably wouldn't have turned me off, though the graphics aren't as pretty. Probably has something to do with the fact that I enjoyed Red Baron and Battlezone in the arcades as a kid...

 

They should've built it to be wearable (and to look cool while worn), as someone else mentioned.

 

It also would have mattered if the vaporous link cable had materialized and there had been two-player games for it. It's kind of hard to get another person excited about playing a game when all they can see is you hunched over into the device, pushing buttons. That doesn't exactly make onlookers scream "My turn! My turn!" or ask "How did you do that?" and it prevents you from saying "Now jump!" while you (the expert) watch them (the newbie) learn the game.

 

If they could watch from a second VB hooked up via link cable as you played, or play simultaneously, then games could be shared and the word could be spread...of course, they'd also have to be cheaper, too, so that you could have two. So, I guess my thinking is that if it had been a console, with visor ports and controller ports, it could have worked.

[ZylonBane]

It's perfectly portable.  It's just not "hand-held".

Right. It's portable in the same sense that any console system is. Yes you can pick it up and carry it around, but to actually play it you need a specific physical setup, usually involving a tabletop and a chair.

 

The upshot of this was that the Virtual Boy had all the disadvantages of a handheld system (small screen, lo-res graphics, tinny sound, no two-player simultaneous play, your buddies can't watch you play) without any of the advantages (small size, can play anywhere). On top of this you had the VB's unique disadvantages, like the necessity to fiddle with all the knobs and levers, the need for a tabletop, and the way it visually cut you off from the real world. You couldn't even see your controller! In short, it was a system for people to play at home by themselves.

 

Considering that the only desirable feature of the VB is the stereoscopic display, and that it's severely lacking in EVERY other regard, IMHO Nintendo would have been better off making an LCD shutter glasses peripheral for the SNES.

[dalton4life]

I really like my Virtually boy. I have 14 games for it. 13 US and one Japanese. I can play it 2 hours straight without a problem but I am also colorblind so that may help me out there.

[JB]

A. The demo units. Who's bright ide was it tu use Red Alarm to show off the system? The game's a half-finished abomination. That and people refused to adjust the system, so they came away disoriented and blamed the system because they can't read instructions.

887811[/snapback]

 

Weird. When I played it in the store here, it was running Mario Clash.

I saw them running Red Alarm usually.

They swapped out for Wario Land towards the end, though.

 

Then again, I happen to like that "half-finished abomination" you mention, so that probably wouldn't have turned me off,  though the graphics aren't as pretty. Probably has something to do with the fact that I enjoyed Red Baron and Battlezone in the arcades as a kid...

If the draw distance wasn't abysmally short, and it was always clear what was wall and what was empty space...

 

As I said, the game is half-finished. I think it shows a lot of promise, but shouldn't've been released as-is.

[Rhindle The Red]

It's portable in the same sense that any console system is. Yes you can pick it up and carry it around, but to actually play it you need a specific physical setup, usually involving a tabletop and a chair.

It's portable in the sense that it is portable. You don't have to lug a TV around to play it in a different room. True, it's more comfortable with the AC adapter (which infringes on the portability), but you don't *need* it. It's a portable system.

 

The upshot of this was that the Virtual Boy had all the disadvantages of a handheld system (small screen, lo-res graphics, tinny sound, no two-player simultaneous play, your buddies can't watch you play) without any of the advantages (small size, can play anywhere). On top of this you had the VB's unique disadvantages, like the necessity to fiddle with all the knobs and levers, the need for a tabletop, and the way it visually cut you off from the real world. You couldn't even see your controller!

Many of your points there are valid. But I will disagree with you about the "visually cut off" thing. Given the nature of the unit, I'm perfectly OK with being 'cut off' from the distractions of the rest of the world. And as far as I'm concerned, if you have to look at your controller in order to use it, it's not very well designed.

 

In short, it was a system for people to play at home by themselves.

Which, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Considering that the only desirable feature of the VB is the stereoscopic display, and that it's severely lacking in EVERY other regard, IMHO Nintendo would have been better off making an LCD shutter glasses peripheral for the SNES.

Well, the stereoscopic display works very well, better than any peripheral would have. And while I agree that perhaps some of the innovative games for the VB could have worked on the SNES, I think the VB shows how Nintendo always at least *tries* to do something new and interesting, even if it doesn't work.

 

 

A. The demo units. Who's bright ide was it tu use Red Alarm to show off the system?

Weird. When I played it in the store here, it was running Mario Clash.

I saw them running Red Alarm usually.

They swapped out for Wario Land towards the end, though.

I remember Red Alarm being shown at Toys 'R Us and my being very frustrated with it. But Electronics Boutique had Mario's Tennis on display and *then* I understood...

[JB]

The upshot of this was that the Virtual Boy had all the disadvantages of a handheld system (small screen...

It fills my entire field of view. Therefore, it is big enough.

 

... lo-res graphics, ...

384*224. Better than the SNES and Genesis, which is what it was up against.

 

tinny sound,

Not that I noticed last time I played.

Gonna have to set up my VB again(not up right now because I don't have a good space to leave it).

 

 

... it visually cut you off from the real world.

Ain't seen a 3D game system yet that doesn't.

Aside from which, this makes it easier to "get into" the game.

There's less stuff that shouldn't be there distracting you.

 

You couldn't even see your controller!

So? I usually look at the game, and let my thumbs deal with the pad.

 

Considering that the only desirable feature of the VB is the stereoscopic display, and that it's severely lacking in EVERY other regard, IMHO Nintendo would have been better off making an LCD shutter glasses peripheral for the SNES.

A. The VB is far more powerful than the SNES. Of particular note is the SNES total lack of sprite scaling capabilities, or any sort of 3D effect whatsoever aside from the obscenely limited mode 7.

B. And lose the immersion factor? NEVER.

[rockman_x_2002]

A. The demo units. Who's bright ide was it tu use Red Alarm to show off the system?

Weird. When I played it in the store here, it was running Mario Clash.

I saw them running Red Alarm usually.

They swapped out for Wario Land towards the end, though.

I remember Red Alarm being shown at Toys 'R Us and my being very frustrated with it. But Electronics Boutique had Mario's Tennis on display and *then* I understood...

888036[/snapback]

 

As with JB, my first experience was Red Alarm. Then the local Sears store had theirs running with Wario Land VB.

 

I really enjoyed Wario Land VB and that was the game that hooked me on the system. But personally I enjoyed Red Alarm as well. Visiually, Red Alarm is nothing to grin about, and they really should have shaded those polygons. But it's still not too bad a game once you got used to it after a while. The only major crime against T&E Soft concerning Red Alarm is their inclusion of just four (very) short stages and an end boss battle. Should've had more stages to keep the action going, if you ask me.

[JB]

A. The demo units. Who's bright ide was it tu use Red Alarm to show off the system?

Weird. When I played it in the store here, it was running Mario Clash.

I saw them running Red Alarm usually.

They swapped out for Wario Land towards the end, though.

I remember Red Alarm being shown at Toys 'R Us and my being very frustrated with it. But Electronics Boutique had Mario's Tennis on display and *then* I understood...

888036[/snapback]

 

As with JB, my first experience was Red Alarm. Then the local Sears store had theirs running with Wario Land VB.

 

I really enjoyed Wario Land VB and that was the game that hooked me on the system. But personally I enjoyed Red Alarm as well. Visiually, Red Alarm is nothing to grin about, and they really should have shaded those polygons. But it's still not too bad a game once you got used to it after a while. The only major crime against T&E Soft concerning Red Alarm is their inclusion of just four (very) short stages and an end boss battle. Should've had more stages to keep the action going, if you ask me.

888070[/snapback]

I WANT to like Red Alarm.

 

But having run out of time while fkying through teh first boss' room before, as well as running out of time in stage ... 4, I think is the one with teh hall full of pillars and forcefields, I just can't overlook the flaws.

 

The draw distance is short. Painfully so.

And the vectors need clipping.

 

2 changes would've taken this from sub-mediocre to damn good. And hey, vector clipping would've freed up more power to increase the draw distance.

[AlexKIDD]

I'll bet that the complete collection is worth a lot  does anyone have all of them ?

887745[/snapback]

 

Here's a shot of all 33:

 

 

- Shawn

887879[/snapback]

 

 

I've seen your collection before(on digital press) and i've always wondered did you or do you work for Nintendo? Seems like the only way you could've gotten all that stuff. Either way it's very impressive.

[Jess Ragan]

You want to know what I think of the system? Let's put it this way... if Apple had released it, they would have called it the iSore.

 

JR

[shadow460]

I played it once at a display kiosk. I was disappointed with the red display because I just assumed it would be in color.

At the time I was deep into arcade gaming and I had a Gameboy and a Game Gear. I was also one of those people who wouldn't adjust to the system.

 

I guess I'm an example of the average Joe trying out the Virtual Boy. Had it been more appealing, maybe I would have checked the price, and perhaps bought one.

 

Also the thing didn't fit well over my glasses, and it was very difficult to see the demo game without them.

Edited July 8, 2005 by shadow460

[ZylonBane]

I guess JB can explain away every flaw of the Virtual Boy, except for why it was a colossal failure. And no, it wasn't the price. Systems far more expensive than the VB have been successful.

[kickinwing]

i don't think price was an issue either, wasn't it out at around the same time as the 3DO and CDI and yet those retailed for $700 at launch.

 

I had the opportunity to get one at launch, i had to chose between a Sega CDX and a virtual boy. I chose the CDX and later bought a virtual boy for $10 at a flea market with Tennsi and Warioland. I enjoy both games.

[+FujiSkunk]

I have one, with one game, Mario Tennis. It's interesting. I certainly wouldn't mind getting a few more games for it, but it hasn't hooked me enough that I feel I have to collect for it. The one time I really sat down and played it for a while, I fet some dizziness afterward. I'm perhaps a little more susceptible to vertigo than the average person (I get car sick if I try to read in a moving car), so I can understand why some people would get queazy while others wouldn't.

 

Those of you hoping to acquire one, keep an eye on those thrifts. That's where I found mine.

[sega saturn x]

You want to know what I think of the system? Let's put it this way... if Apple had released it, they would have called it the iSore.

 

JR

That was actually really clever.

And in my mind the virual boy is a classic case of "could have been". Just like the turbo grafx before it and the saturn after. These are systems that could have been great. But all died for one reason or another. But it's rarely the games fault the system failed. Bad marketing or bad price is all that was needed to make your system flop. The reason the cd-i and 3do failed was because the games sucked and the systems were expensive to boot.

 

I don't own a virtual boy and i think i have only played one briefly at some kind mart. With that said if i ever buy another classic console (not soon) it would most likely be a virtual boy. Since i can't seem to appreciate the 20+ years old stuff. And buying a cd-i or 3do would just be a waste of time and money.

[JB]

I guess JB can explain away every flaw of the Virtual Boy, except for why it was a colossal failure. And no, it wasn't the price. Systems far more expensive than the VB have been successful.

888318[/snapback]

I DID mention what, in my opinion, killed it.

 

 

You're just mad because you're wrong.

[davepesc]

I have one and only keep it for the novelty factor.

I only have mario tennis and Red Alarm and both are OK, but not worth the effort to play.

 

I can't help but wonder why they didn't make Mario Tennis a 1st person game. The 3d effect is wasted on the game as it is. But first person, that would have been cool.

[JB]

I have one and only keep it for the novelty factor.

I only have mario tennis and Red Alarm and both are OK, but not worth the effort to play.

 

I can't help but wonder why they didn't make Mario Tennis a 1st person game. The 3d effect is wasted on the game as it is. But first person, that would have been cool.

888462[/snapback]

Vertical Force and Jack Brothers are both pretty good games. If you have the chance to grab them cheap, take it.

[ZylonBane]

I DID mention what, in my opinion, killed it.

Oh, right, you think the demo units and the advertising killed it.

 

A show of hands, everyone who believes that?

[JB]

I DID mention what, in my opinion, killed it.

Oh, right, you think the demo units and the advertising killed it.

 

A show of hands, everyone who believes that?

888509[/snapback]

Right, because everyone knows that if you show the system off at it's worst, you're gonna generate major sales...

[Bryan]

I actually think that a large amount of the interest in a new system is generated before anyone actually sees one in person. I think most people just saw it as weird and expensive. It was a very neat idea, but not an experiment the public was interested in at $180.

 

-Bry

[Lord Helmet]

I bought a virtual boy used from Blockbuster for like $20 and I feel that it was a great buy. It came with the suitcase like storage box that blockbuster used to rent their systems in.