Nintendo is finally giving the Virtual Boy, its doomed, mid-’90s stereoscopic 3D console, its due. The company has announced that it will be releasing a library of Virtual Boy games for Switch Online subscribers next month. Among these titles is Zero Racers, a futuristic racing game that was originally developed internally by Nintendo as a spinoff of F-Zero.
The game features anti-gravity ships and free three-dimensional movement, making it more akin to AeroGauge on the N64. However, unlike its F-Zero counterpart, Zero Racers has wireframe courses and requires players to finish above a certain position each race to qualify for the next one. Despite being previewed multiple times by the media in 1996, the game was never released due to the Virtual Boy’s commercial failure.
It was shelved around the same time that it started getting press coverage, and nobody outside of Nintendo has ever played it until now. Zero Racers will be making its debut later this year as part of a new virtual reality experience for the Switch. The company's decision to release these games is seen as a way to value their history and provide fans with a unique gaming experience that was lost to time.
Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics – Overview Trailer demonstrates the system’s innovative display technology, which uses an LED strip to create a 384-pixel wide image. The system was infamous for giving people headaches and was recommended not to be used by young children, but it remains a fascinating piece of gaming history. With the release of Zero Racers and other Virtual Boy games, Nintendo is providing fans with a chance to experience this forgotten console in a new way.
The release of Zero Racers and other Virtual Boy games is a great opportunity for gamers to experience a piece of Nintendo's history that was previously unknown. It will be interesting to see how the game holds up today, and whether it lives up to its original promise.
