I made it earlier this year, thought I would share. Now my VB can safely travel with me!
Haven't seen a Virtual Boy in nearly 20yrs. It was an... interesting idea. Only game I remember is a warrio game.
this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2023
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One of the best games in the (small) library!
The system still has a pretty loyal and active fan community around it. There's been some impressive new homebrew and hardware accessories that have been released in recent years.
Pros: Your Virtual Boy can be safely carried without risking damaging it or losing parts.
Cons: You own a Virtual Boy.
I'm kidding, this is neat. c: Always love seeing people taking care of their older systems.
Have to expect this comment in some form or other whenever you post about the Virtual Boy on the internet. 😅
I really only got into soldering and electronics repair in order to maintain my old systems. Gotta take care of this stuff!
Honestly, I appreciate the Virtual Boy. It was ahead of it's time, both positively and negatively. The 3D was a sort of prototype for the 3DS' technology, and it worked well, especially for the mid-90s. Having a 32-bit console you can (kind of) carry with you was a dream back then.
The only issue was having to make so many concessions due to the cost of the 3D technology. 2bpp display? Bright red? Giant-ass brick you have to tape to your head? Bleh.
I've always loved it, didn't get one as a kid - but drooled over store kiosks and dreamed.
Shortly after I got married, my (then new) wife surprised me with one after hearing me make a comment once about how cool I thought they were as a kid.
She then helped me track down every NA game for it over the course of that next year or so.
The system means a lot more to me now. 🙂
That’s awesome! My friend had one growing up and I briefly played it for just a few minutes. The only thing I remember is red lol. Would love to try one again.
They're unfortunately getting to be pretty pricey things to track down nowadays. Emulation is a thing, but this is one of those quirky systems where it's almost impossible to really replicate the original experience. I've heard there's a really good emulation solution for the Oculus Go though, if you have access to one of those!
(And "red" is a big part of the experience lol)
Man I wish I had the foresight. I distinctly remember the game store at my local mall had a bunch of virtual boys in a bargain bin.
Is that 3 different HyperFlash carts!? Why!?
Good eye lol! Yes it is, and 1 HyperBoy cart!
I was helping the guy that designed and produced them at RetroOnyx, I did a lot of beta-testing. I also did quite a bit of digital artwork to contribute to the community and he told me to just keep the carts. I bought one of them, the rest came from him for testing/development.
It's nice to be able to flash several of my favorite unreleased commercial games and homebrew onto different carts and be able to just swap them out instead of constantly reflashing 🤷🏻.
Nice. I have one myself so that's why I recognized them. I actually got the first one that had a new non-salvaged from original carts connector. So the entire thing is brand new parts, which was important to me to not destroy an original VB game.
The OEM cart connectors are much better (in terms of fit in the system), but not destroying original carts more than makes up for the new connectors' shortcomings. New plastic cart shells have come a long way in terms of quality in the past few years too. Very happy that we have these options now and can make legitimately new carts!
The HF32 is a lot of fun to customize, hope you're getting some good use out of yours 👍
If this got put away and remained unopened for 40+/- years, what’s the risk of the foam going funky and eating away at the Virtual Boy plastic and rubber?
No idea! Good question, that thought hadn't occurred to me. 🤔
I guess I'll have to make sure to check on on it periodically if I store it away.
Probably a good question to bring up in the Virtual Boy community, not sure if the Blockbuster cases did any damage to the systems as the foam in those decayed?
Epic! Love the hyper flash as well! What games do you have?
Thanks!
I have all 14 North American releases (loose carts) and a loose copy of V-Tetris. 👍
I had several CIB, but I traded/sold the boxes and manuals away. I'm not a collector - just a gamer and I don't care about having anything to display.
Even Jack Bros? That’s so sick. I got the hyper flash because I wanted to play all the games without paying crazy money so I feel you.
It's not as impressive when you consider that I grabbed Jack Bros (and all the others) 16-17 years ago. Virtual Boy stuff wasn't nearly as expensive back then. I think I only paid around $100 for Jack Bros. (And at the time felt like I was paying WAY too much for a single game)
very nice! should keep it safe for years to come.
I've always been nervous about taking it out of my house (like when someone I know really wants to try one out), but now I feel so much better about it. I've been able to easily take this with me on several trips now just to have it with me!
Wow, great work! I'd love a travel case like this for my various devices
I definitely want more. I have another Virtual Boy that would be nice to store like this too, and I'd love to make one for my Game Boy(s) and another for Game Gear.
I have a VB and 4 loose carts, thinking i'm king shit an turd mountain. Way to go on your setup and collection.
Thanks!
Though there are Virtual Boy collectors out there that have collections that put what I have to shame!
There's always going to be someone crazier (and richer) than you.
This is just me, but I wouldn't use it if I had one. Be more of a display like you would with a power glove. Cool though.
They're a lot of fun!
I'm sure it's not for everyone though, they do make great display pieces too!
Can I have it when you die?
I mean... I guess so. But if you need a case for your Virtual Boy, no need to wait for me to die - there are tons of cases readily available at sites like Amazon that you can get to make your own!
Oh I meant the virtual boy, the case would be nice. The only way I could justify having one would be inheritance.