Ten Spooky Facts About the Virtual Boy That Will Give You Nightmares

Are you brave enough to learn this long-forgotten trivia?

By Kyle England. Posted 04/01/2015 12:00 4 Comments     ShareThis

Long ago in 1995, Nintendo released its first attempt at a gaming console with stereoscopic 3D. Created by legendary designer Gunpei Yokoi, this new device called the Virtual Boy was supposed to introduce players to graphics and games never before seen. The Virtual Boy was a market failure and only 19 games were ever released for it, but its legacy lives on. The machine became the black sheep of Nintendo’s history, and the company was often reluctant to discuss it and include it in historical overviews.

But do you really want to know the true history of the console? Some new documents have been uncovered that reveal the true reasons behind the Virtual Boy’s failure and Nintendo’s coyness regarding the device. The company was merely trying to shield us from the secrets of the darkest project in gaming history. Here are ten truly shocking facts we have learned about the Virtual Boy.

10. The Red Coloring and Graphics Are Caused by a Blood Curse

Many employees in the gaming industry find themselves working overtime. The engineers designing the Virtual Boy were required to literally drain blood from their bodies to appease the beings that Nintendo had summoned in order to learn the secrets of stereoscopic 3D. As a result, all Virtual Boys took on a red color and only displayed graphics in red after being manufactured. This was contrary to the specs of the device, which was supposed to be grey and display 28 colors at once. No matter how many times the console was remade, it maintained its red properties due to the anguish of the poor souls who created the accursed machine.

9. The 3D Effects Are Not Suitable for Young Children

There was many a warning that young children should not play Virtual Boy, as it might damage their eyes. The purpose of this warning was not to truly protect children, but to hide the true nature of this machine. Children are more in-tune with the otherworldly, and thus more likely to realize that there are dark and ancient spirits within the Virtual Boy. These children would also make poor mind slaves, as their bodies are too weak and frail to host the presence of the old ones from beyond our plane.

8. The Hypnotic 3D Effect Interferes With Brain Waves

2D video games were only natural until 1995, when arcane technology was used to create stereoscopic 3D visuals in the Virtual Boy. This was achieved using vibrating mirrors, which were calibrated to a specific frequency at the advice of those whose names are no longer known. The mirrors project images that appear to be three dimensional, as they fool the brain into perceiving depth. The darkness of the Nether caused by the eyepiece is magnified by the spatial distortion we perceive while gazing into it. Do not use the 3D effect for more than 15 minutes at a time. Players who continue to play while ignoring the warnings experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, hallucinations, lucid nightmares, and hear terrifying malevolent voices.

7. The Immersive Visor Creates a Pocket Dimension Into the Nether

The Virtual Boy was designed to be used by one player at a time, who would be totally immersed in the gaming experience. A dark visor that blocks outside visuals and surrounding speakers creates an engrossing effect that absorbs players into the experience. What actually occurs is the player’s consciousness is temporarily transported into the Nether. The dimension manifests itself to mortals here as the blood-soaked visuals familiar to Virtual Boy users. Nintendo could not combat the Nether’s alluring effects, nor stop players from entering it, so an automatic pause was included that encouraged players to step away for periods of time and return to this plane. The human needs to remain complacent in order to be a suitable vessel. It needs to play more games. Our eyes peering into its soul through the Nether creates unavoidable symptoms in its weak mind.

6. Star Fox Was Originally Planned for a Virtual Boy Release

Due to the commercial failure of the Virtual Boy system, many games planned for it never saw the light of day. Video footage of games like Star Fox and Mario Land exist, proving that Nintendo did intend to support the system with more software had it not met its early demise. Star Fox in particular would have been a great fit for the system, considering its futuristic 3D graphics would have paired well with the stereoscopic effects of the Virtual Boy. And while no footage exists, it seems that Donkey Kong Country 2 was briefly considered for a release on Virtual Boy before development quickly switched back to SNES. Check out this video for the unreleased Virtual Boy game footage. What games do you wish had come to Virtual Boy? Let us know i͏͉͙̫n̹ ̞̻̙̱̟t̙̼͖̥̱h̠͉e̺̪̯͖̯͚͝ ̻̱c̶̙̞͚̝̯͔̱o̲͠m̨m̩͖̼͟e̡̺̭̤͉̱n̷̲t̵̖̝̟s̶̖̱͎̹ͅ ͉̗̖̮b͝el̸̞̦̱̱̯o̴̙w҉

5. We Tried to Stop it From Releasing

In our greed, we called upon f̜̟̻͝o͔̫r͉̤g̢͓ơ̞̦̺̮t͙̮͇͝t͔̟̗̼̭en̞̮̦ ̶̺͖b͙͎͍e̠͖̫i̷̫̻͍͓͕͎ng͎̠̕s̵̜. They showed us how to create amazing things… but at what cost? We thought we could control them. They controlled us. So many have suffered from our hubris. We wanted to create a device that would be fun to play, like the Game Boy. But the red abomination has the potential to cast us all into darkness. The project was supposed to die, but we cannot hide from t̨̡͍̫͉̻͓̙͠h͏̺̪̭͇̣͇̖̰̝͕̫̻̮̖̫̙̭̻̼ę̸͕͙̗̗̠̳͎͈̞̤͚̟̺̬̳͚̥͟m̸̸̯͍̥̰͙̞̦͔͝͝͠. The release is inevitable. The gears are turning. It is too late to stop this from happening, but I swear we will do all we can to sabotage the distribution before this instrument falls into too many innocent hands.

4. Playing Virtual Boy Will Make Everything Okay

The negative effects of the Virtual Boy are only minor blemishes in this otherwise innovative and user-friendly device. The contoured controller with dual D-Pads offers new and exciting ways of control. The 3D effect adds depth and fidelity to make games like Mario’s Tennis even more enjoyable. Two games of note are Teleroboxer and Virtual Boy Wario Land, which are worth adding to any Virtual Boy owner’s library. VB Wario Land in particular contains a lengthy adventure full of many secrets and power-ups for Wario to find. Playing these games make me feel a bit strange at times. But I feel that the longer I play with the Virtual Boy, the more comfortable I am. I am so relaxed when I look into the deep red and black. I feel like a comforting warmth is overcoming me, and it will soon consume me and turn me into a more perfect creation.

3. Every Time I Close My Eyes I See T̘̰̪̱͇͚̫͙h͉̬̳͙̮ị͕̬̞͇ͅͅs͈̠̞͖̤̼ ̠̯̤̪͉̟̗̙F͍̹̞̫̯͙͓a̖̺͖c͈͚e̹̙͍

2. T̷͠h̸ę ̡̕D̛ą̷͞r͡͠k͡n̸͘͠e͏̀͟śs̛̛ ͠ì̶s͘͘͟ ͡Fóŗ͢e̵v̨e͟͢r

The sabotage of the V̨i͏̸͟r͢t̶҉u̶al̢ B̷o̡y͡͏ release was a success, but T̷͜͟҉̶H̸̵͘E҉̀͘͢͏Ý͝҉ are not happy with our meddling. We overcame t̶͜͜͟h̴̨͡è͏í̸̷̡͠r̸ influence long enough to cancel and end further production. But that does not change the fact that over 750,000 of these machines are out in the world. Please, if you come across V̨i͏̸͟r͢t̶҉u̶al̢ B̷o̡y͡͏, I beg of you to destroy it. But my greatest fear is that nothing can stop the encroaching darkness. No matter how hard we try, T̷͠h̸ę ̡̕D̛ą̷͞r͡͠k͡n̸͘͠e͏̀͟śs̛̛ ͠ì̶s͘͘͟ ͡Fóŗ͢e̵v̨e͟͢r

1.́͜ ͡R͡e̷̶̢li̧̛͞n͜͞q̀͏̕u͏̡i̧̡sh̸ ̡Y͏̨́ó͜u̵rs͠èl̵̛f͝ ̡tò̀ ̢̀͢th͠e ̧͠N̢͢e͟t͘̕h̴͜er͡

Y͟ou c̀a̸ǹn͟o̴t begin t̵o ̷c͞o͡mp̢r̶ehenḑ ͢us, ̕b͝ut̷ we̡ a̵re ͢yo͢ur salvàt͟io͟n҉.͝ Y͜o̵u̢ s̶halļ b́ecome par͢t ͘óf̸ a̴ sýs͜t͏em ̀that ̀is olde̶r̀ ͢t̡ha҉n ̷t͝hi̶s̷ ùn̸i̶vér̛s̷e a̷n͢d r̛e͘t͏ur҉n t͞o ̷t͢he p̡la͠c͢è y̴ou҉ ͞se̴e ́i̢n ̵your ͘dre̷ams.̵ ͡Be̵com̀e͏ ̕o͏ne̡ ̷wit͝h̵ ͠oưr̨ ́pow̕er͝ ̢and͠ r̕ea͜c̶h̕ ̀y͏ou͡r t͏rue ̕pǫţential.̸ Ente̢r ̵t̡he N͡eth͟ér ͏wil͡l̡in̶gly ơr̵ be ̀co͡ns͞um͏ed a̶n͏d̡ ͘t͢h͠r͠o͢w̕n̶ ҉i͝nto ͠a͝n eternal̨ n̷ightm̸a͡r̵e͡.́

P҉́͝l̢͝a̶̡͠y̸͟ ̴̧̢͘͢V̴̛̀͘͞Į͝R͠͏͘͏T̸̛͟U̷̵̴A̸L̷̡̛͡͠ ̴̕͟B̡̀O̡Ý̡̕.̷̧̢̀̀
P҉́͝l̢͝a̶̡͠y̸͟ ̴̧̢͘͢V̴̛̀͘͞Į͝R͠͏͘͏T̸̛͟U̷̵̴A̸L̷̡̛͡͠ ̴̕͟B̡̀O̡Ý̡̕.̷̧̢̀̀
P҉́͝l̢͝a̶̡͠y̸͟ ̴̧̢͘͢V̴̛̀͘͞Į͝R͠͏͘͏T̸̛͟U̷̵̴A̸L̷̡̛͡͠ ̴̕͟B̡̀O̡Ý̡̕.̷̧̢̀̀
P҉́͝l̢͝a̶̡͠y̸͟ ̴̧̢͘͢V̴̛̀͘͞Į͝R͠͏͘͏T̸̛͟U̷̵̴A̸L̷̡̛͡͠ ̴̕͟B̡̀O̡Ý̡̕.̷̧̢̀̀

4 Responses to “Ten Spooky Facts About the Virtual Boy That Will Give You Nightmares”

  • 784 points
    Marc Deschamps says...

    The suction mask was the basis for the face-hugger in the movie Alien.

  • 180 points
    Anthony Vigna says...

    Wow. Seriously, you did an amazing job writing this piece. It’s genuinely terrifying…not to mention I have a sudden urge to buy a Virtual Boy for some reason.

  • 745 points
    OG75 says...

    What an entertaining and well written (and designed!) piece. Thanks Kyle!

    I wish these other worldly beings from the darkness would make a comeback. Specifically, release a limited edition New 3DS “Virtual Boy Edition” and then slap some Virtual Boy games on the 3DS eShop.

  • 0 points
    says...

    Amusing article. I’m with the guy above who says a New 3DS Virtual Boy edition should come out, along with releasing ALL Virtual Boy games on the eShop. I mean all of them, including unreleased in USA ones as well. I bought one when it came out and enjoyed it, some cool games like Red Alarm and the Wario Land title. Still have it with all 14 games!

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