What Cancelled Virtual Boy Games Could Come to Nintendo Switch Online?

The Virtual Boy is one of Nintendo’s biggest flops of all time. This “portable” console aimed to simulate the experience of virtual reality (before VR headsets were even a thing), but it failed miserably at doing so. All of the games designed for the Virtual Boy had a gaudy black-and-red colour palette that was very harsh on the eyes. Considering that you had to shove your face into the system to play it properly, this wasn’t exactly a good thing.

Nintendo released the Virtual Boy in Japan in July 1995. It then brought the system to North America in August of that year. Despite all the effort the company put into making the Virtual Boy, it ended support for the console literally months after its initial release. The Virtual Boy was discontinued in December 1995 in Japan, and in August 1996 in North America.

Owing to its ridiculously short lifespan, there were very few games that were ever released for the Virtual Boy. Heck, you could probably hold the entire system’s library in both hands! The Virtual Boy’s abrupt discontinuation, however, did cause many games that were in development for it to be outright cancelled. This partially explains why the system’s lineup of games was so underwhelming.

The Virtual Boy’s Library of Games Was Very Limited

Against all odds, Nintendo has decided to bring back the Virtual Boy and its mediocre library of games to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service. Just a few months ago, the company released a dedicated accessory designed for playing Virtual Boy titles on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2. I’m not sure how many people were asking to play Virtual Boy games on Switch, but hey, at least this is a win for game preservation.

So far, many different titles have already been added to the Virtual Boy category on Nintendo Switch Online, such as Teleroboxer, 3D Tetris, and Mario Clash. Earlier this week, however, Nintendo announced two other surprise Virtual Boy games that will be added to NSO in the future: D-Hopper (also known as Dragon Hopper) and Zero Racers. Both of these, interestingly, are cancelled titles.

Indeed, despite them being completed several decades ago, these two games were never released due to the Virtual Boy’s discontinuation. This has got me thinking: if D-Hopper and Zero Racers can be revived by Nintendo, roughly 30 years after their initially planned launches, then what other cancelled Virtual Boy games can come back?

As previously mentioned, the Virtual Boy had no shortage of canned titles. But for this list specifically, I am going to be focusing on the Virtual Boy games that were either close to being released or were at least presented in some capacity prior to their cancellations. Now, let’s get started, shall we?

There Are Loads of Cancelled Virtual Boy Games that Nintendo Can Release on NSO

The first and, perhaps most obvious, Virtual Boy game that Nintendo could revive in the future is Bound High! This was an unreleased action puzzle game that was developed and published by a company called Japan Supply System. The protagonist of the game was a transforming robot named Chalvo who, across a series of levels, had to destroy and knock out alien invaders while avoiding dangerous obstacles. Bound High! was presented at E3 1996 and was also finished, but the game never officially came out. A playable build of the title does exist online, but a proper release from Nintendo would be much appreciated.

Next on the list is Doraemon: Nobita no Doki Doki! Obake Land, otherwise known as Doraemon: Nobita’s Pounding Heart! Ghostland. As its name suggests, this was a game based on the Doraemon franchise, which featured various minigames that highlighted the Virtual Boy’s 3D effects. The title was close to being released, but it was sadly canned before it could see the light of day.

The Virtual Boy version of Faceball is another title that met a similar fate. Unlike the other games on this list, Faceball was actually released on platforms like the Atari ST, as well as the Game Boy, SNES, and Game Gear. A port of this first-person maze shooter for the Virtual Boy was basically completed, but never formally released.

Nintendo Announced and Cancelled Some First-Party Games for the Virtual Boy

Prior to the death of the Virtual Boy, Nintendo announced and showcased multiple first-party titles that didn’t come out. One of these was something called Mario Bros. VB. This was, in essence, a port of the original Mario Bros arcade game that tried to take advantage of the Virtual Boy’s unique features. It was lambasted by journalists when it was first shown off, however, so Nintendo seemingly reworked it into Mario Clash.

The same can be said of Virtual Boy Mario Land, which was sort of like Virtual Boy Wario Land, but with Mario instead of Wario. This game was demonstrated at CES 1995, but it was unfortunately cancelled. An unnamed Star Fox title and an F1-style 3D racing game were shown off by Nintendo at CES 1995 and E3 1995, and they sadly faced similar fates. If remnants of their code still exist, then perhaps playable builds of them could be brought back for NSO in the future.

Moving on to more third-party titles, it’s worth taking a look at Out of the Deathmount. Developed by J-Wing, this game was a rail shooter that involved escaping a dangerous mountain. It was shown off at Nintendo’s Space World event in 1995, but was ultimately cancelled.

Virtual League Baseball 2 and Bound High! Make the Most Sense to Bring Back

Two other games shown at Space World 1995 were cancelled, too. These were Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling: Gekitō Densetsu and Sora Tobu Henry (a.k.a. Flying Henry). The former was a Japanese wrestling game made by Tomy, while the latter was a side-scrolling/first-person shooter that was developed by Human Entertainment. Both games were seemingly close to completion, so Nintendo could theoretically add them to NSO.

Last but certainly not least is Virtual League Baseball 2. This was a sequel to 1995’s Virtual League Baseball for the Virtual Boy. It was developed and published by Kemco, a company which is now known for the low-budget JRPGs it releases on modern platforms. Virtual League Baseball 2 received an ESRB rating and, despite it being unreleased, was quite literally finished. A playable ROM of the title, in fact, was found not too long ago.

Out of all the games mentioned here, this and Bound High! are definitely the most likely to get Nintendo Switch Online releases in the future. But time will tell if this actually happens.