Virtual Boy emulators
| |
| Virtual Boy with controller | |
| Developer | Nintendo R&D1 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Nintendo |
| Type | Luggable video game console |
| Generation | Fifth |
| Release date | JP: July 21, 1995 NA: August 14, 1995 BR: September 1995 |
| Discontinued | JP: December 22, 1995 NA: August 1996 BR: 1996 |
| Emulated | ✓ |
The Virtual Boy is a fifth-generation luggable game console released by Nintendo and created by Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi on August 14, 1995. It has a NEC V810 CPU. It was the first games console to utilize 3D effects, however, is notable for only displaying graphics in red and black, as well as requiring users to attach the console to their head, usually while rested on the included tripod. The product was pulled shortly after release due to the majority of users getting headaches from using it. Notably, it was rushed to market and was never meant to be released in its current form.
Emulators
| Name | Platform(s) | Latest version | libretro | RetroAchievements | Netplay | License | Active | Recommended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PC / x86 | |||||||||
| Mednafen Beetle VB |
    
|
1.32.1 libretro core |
✓ | ~[N 1] | ✓ | GPLv2 (Copyleft) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| VBjin |
|
svn103 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | GPLv2 (Copyleft) | ✗ | ~ | |
| Rustual Boy |
|
git | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Dual licensed (Permissive) (Apache 2.0 or MIT) | ✗ | ✗ | |
| MAME |
|
0.289 | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause |
✓ | ✗ | |
| BizHawk |
|
2.11.1 | ? | ? | ? | MIT GPL |
✓ | ? | |
| Planet Virtual Boy emulator |
|
2019-03-27 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | zlib License (Permissive) | ~ | ✗ | |
| Red Dragon |
|
0.38 Final | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ? | ✗ | ✗ | |
| Mobile / ARM | |||||||||
| Beetle VB |   
|
libretro core | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | GPLv2 (Copyleft) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Virtual Virtual Boy |
|
git 1.18.2 |
✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Hippocratic License 2.1 | ✓ | ~ | |
| Manic EMU | 
|
2.0.0 git |
? | ? | ? | AGPLv3 (Copyleft) | ✓ | ? | |
| Provenance |
|
3.3.0 git |
? | ? | ? | ? | ✓ | ? | |
| Console | |||||||||
| Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics |
 
|
NC | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | Proprietary | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Beetle VB |     
|
libretro core | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | GPLv2 (Copyleft) | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Red Viper |
|
1.3.2 | ✗ | roadmap | ✗ | Custom[1] Non-commercial MIT |
✓ | ✓ | |
| Red Dragon |
|
1019 | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Proprietary | ✗ | ✗ | |
| r3Ddragon |
|
git | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Custom[1] Non-commercial MIT |
✗ | ✗ | |
- ↑ Exclusive to libretro core.
Hardware features
| Name | Mednafen | VBjin |
|---|---|---|
| GameLink cable | ✗ | ? |
Comparisons
- Mednafen
- Has 100% compatibility with commercial games. Lets you change the Virtual Boy's color output to any hex color. For example, changing it to white shows all the games in greyscale instead of red, which really helps. 3D is enabled by default, but you can turn it off. To play it on platforms not supported by Mednafen use the libretro port which also supports SBS 3D by using glsl shaders, check this Reddit post for instructions. Doesn't seem to run at playable speeds on 3DS using the latest nightly build as of 2020-06-15. (Side by side 3D is now available built into the normal Beetle core options. A special shader is not necessary.)
- VBjin
- Also has 100% compatibility with commercial games. Has a fork that supports the Oculus Rift.
- Rustual Boy
- Claims 100% compatibility, however, accuracy isn't as good as Mednafen or even VBjin, and speed is even worse.
- Red Viper
- An updated fork of r3Ddragon, which itself is based on Reality Boy / Red Dragon. Runs all officially released Virtual Boy games at full speed on the original 3DS and has 3D support with the 3D depth slider (and anaglyph mode for 2DS users with 3D glasses). Also lets you change the Virtual Boy's color output (including individual layers) to any hex color, customize controls and touchscreen buttons (including support for New 3DS inputs and Circle Pad Pro), save settings per game. Local multiplayer support is also available in v1.2.0 onward, allowing two nearby 3DS systems to play multiplayer locally together (New 3DS systems recommended for full speed in multiplayer, as there may be slowdown for both players if one is on an Old 3DS).
- MAME
- The games run and are playable, since 0.254, most non-pirate games (and one pirate game) got promoted to "working". However, accuracy is very poor, specially graphics wise. Lastly, it's slow, but not as slow as Rustual Boy.
- Planet Virtual Boy emulator
- A Virtual Boy emulator written in Java, and it was first released in 2018. 3DS support was planned. Forum thread.
- Virtual Boy - Nintendo Classics
- The first official emulator of the system from Nintendo. Released on February 17, 2026; it supports at least 17 different games for Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscribers (of these 17, one is exclusive to Japan and two were originally unreleased). Although a set of special set of lens that are "required" to play does exist from Nintendo, it only implies that the emulator does not run in TV mode when docked.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Reality Boy is code is licensed under a Custom Non-commercial license
