I love the Nintendo Switch Virtual Boy because it sucks so much

March 5, 2026 - 08:15

A curious phenomenon is taking root in the Nintendo Switch Online's Expansion Pack library. The recent, surprise addition of the Virtual Boy—Nintendo’s infamous 1995 red-and-black stereoscopic console—has been met not with scorn, but with a wave of affectionate nostalgia. Critics and players alike are arriving at a surprising consensus: its profound shortcomings are precisely what make it worth celebrating today.

The Virtual Boy was a commercial and critical disaster, notorious for its monochrome red graphics, headache-inducing gameplay, and awkward, table-bound design. Yet, preserved in the digital amber of the Switch, these flaws transform into historical artifacts. Experiencing titles like "Virtual Boy Wario Land" or "Teleroboxer" is no longer an exercise in frustration but a fascinating trip through a bold, dead-end branch of gaming evolution. The discomfort is part of the authentic package, a reminder of a time when 3D gaming was a wild, untamed frontier.

This release serves as a perfect, pressure-free museum. Players can appreciate the ambition behind the failure, dissect the oddball game design, and share in the collective memory of a legendary misfire. Its inclusion doesn’t ask for a reevaluation of the Virtual Boy as a good console, but rather a celebration of it as a wonderfully bad one. In its full, flawed glory, it offers a unique and oddly charming glimpse into the past that a more successful system might never provide.