Nintendo Switch Virtual Boy Pro Review: A $130 Nostalgic Flop?

Nintendo's Virtual Boy: A Nostalgic Nightmare or a Worthy Revisit?

Nintendo is a company built on the art of the pivot. They transitioned from playing cards to love hotels to taxi services before finally conquering the world with a mustachioed plumber. Their track record is legendary, filled with consoles that defined childhoods and games that are now considered high art. But even the most brilliant creators occasionally trip over their own ambitions. In 1995, that trip took the form of the Virtual Boy, a red-and-black fever dream of a console that promised 3D immersion but delivered mostly nausea and neck cramps.

It was a colossal flop, the kind of failure that would have sunk a lesser company. Yet, in a move that is quintessentially Nintendo, they have decided to exhume this ghost. The new Virtual Boy Pro for the Nintendo Switch is a $129.99 premium accessory designed to turn your modern console into a portal to 1995. But after spending time with this heavy, monochromatic curiosity, I’m left wondering: is this a clever tribute to gaming history, or just an expensive way to give yourself a headache?

The Physical Reality of a Red-Tinted Dream

Unlike the Labo kits of years past, which used charmingly low-tech cardboard, this new Virtual Boy accessory is a serious piece of hardware. It is an official Nintendo peripheral made of high-density, matte-finished polycarbonate. You slide your Switch console into the front, strap the device to your face—or mount it on the included adjustable tripod—and prepare for a sensory assault.

The original Virtual Boy was notorious for its eye-searing red LEDs. Nintendo has stayed faithful to that aesthetic, but faithfulness comes with a physical price. Even with the improved resolution of the Switch’s OLED screen, the experience of staring at high-contrast red-on-black pixels for more than twenty minutes leads to a very specific kind of retinal exhaustion. It’s not just that your eyes get tired; it’s that the world looks slightly green for a few minutes after you take the headset off.

Then there is the ergonomics. The headset, combined with the weight of the Switch itself, creates a significant front-heavy pull. If you use the head strap, you’ll feel the strain in your neck within half an hour. If you use the tripod, you find yourself hunched over a desk in a pose that I can only describe as "the gargoyle." It is a physical commitment to gaming that few other modern devices demand, and frankly, few gamers want.

Who Is This For, Really?

When evaluating a $130 accessory, the question of value is paramount. For the Virtual Boy Pro, the target audience is a vanishingly small Venn diagram of "hardcore Nintendo historians" and "completionist collectors." This isn't a product for the casual gamer who wants to spice up their Mario Kart sessions. It’s for the person who owns a R.O.B. the Robot, knows exactly what a Power Glove is, and cherishes Nintendo's failures as much as its successes.

Think about this from a gift-giving perspective. If you are looking for a present for a nephew who just got a Switch, or a friend who enjoys a few rounds of Smash Bros on the weekend, this is a dangerous choice. Unless your recipient has a deep, perhaps slightly masochistic appreciation for the 32-bit era's most infamous mistake, the Virtual Boy Pro will likely end up as a very expensive dust collector on a shelf. It is a museum piece you can technically play, rather than a functional upgrade to the gaming experience.

The High Price of Nostalgia

Let’s be blunt: $129.99 is a lot of money in the world of gaming accessories. For that price, you could buy two brand-new AAA games, or a wealth of more practical hardware. The high MSRP seems to lean into the "collector's item" status, but it makes the device’s flaws harder to stomach. When you invest over a hundred dollars into a peripheral, you expect it to be something you look forward to using. With the Virtual Boy Pro, the anticipation is often replaced by the dread of the impending "Virtual Boy headache."

Innovation is the lifeblood of Nintendo, and I admire their willingness to acknowledge their own history—warts and all. There is something undeniably cool about seeing these lost titles, like Virtual Boy Wario Land, rendered on modern hardware. But the tech hasn't solved the fundamental issue of the original: the 3D effect, while neat, is niche, and the monochromatic display is a relic that was left behind for a reason. It feels less like a step forward and more like a curated, expensive haunting.

A Better Path for Your Gift Budget

If you have $70 to $130 to spend on a Nintendo fan, there are significantly better ways to spend that money that will actually result in more hours of enjoyment and fewer trips to the medicine cabinet for ibuprofen.

Instead of the Virtual Boy Pro, consider the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Retailing for $69.99, it is widely considered one of the most comfortable and durable controllers ever made. It’s an essential upgrade for anyone who plays in docked mode. If you’re looking for something with a bit more retro flair, the 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller (roughly $59.99) offers incredible build quality, hall-effect sensors to prevent stick drift, and a charging dock that looks great on any setup.

Both of these options provide immediate, tangible value. They make gaming better, more comfortable, and more precise. They aren't novelties that wear off after the third time you use them; they are tools that stay in a gamer’s hands for years.

The Final Verdict: Leave This Ghost in the Attic

As a reviewer, I love a good story, and the return of the Virtual Boy is a fantastic story. It’s a bold, weird, and distinctly Nintendo move. But as a consumer advocate, I have to tell you to keep your wallet closed.

The Virtual Boy Pro is a beautifully built, official tribute to a fascinating failure. But it inherits too many of its ancestor's sins. The price is too high, the physical strain is too real, and the actual gaming library is too limited to justify the investment for 99% of Switch owners. Unless you are writing a doctoral thesis on the history of stereoscopic displays or you simply must own every piece of plastic Nintendo produces, this is a hard pass.

Save your money for the games that make the Switch great, or for the accessories that make those games easier to play. Some parts of history are best remembered through a YouTube documentary rather than strapped to your face. Let the Virtual Boy remain what it has always been: a fascinating, flawed legend that is much more fun to talk about than it is to actually play.