Sorry if this has been posted hundreds of times before. I’m not necessarily asking what the best games are, more like what everyone’s favorites are, even if the game is not particularly good.
I ask because I have managed to fix my refurbed Virtual Boy and, for the most part, there are no graphics glitches in either display. I am absolutely loving my Virtual Boy, it’s so unique and fun to play. But, only 3 games (Mario’s Tennis, Teleroboxer, VB Wario Land), while all excellent, is limiting my VB experience. I’d love to get some more. I’m hoping to find these loose carts at some point (don’t care for cardboard):
3D Tetris
Galactic Pinball
Mario Clash
Nester’s Funky Bowling
Panic Bomber
Red Alarm
Vertical Force
(and the eyeshade/visor if I can find it)
I’m open to suggestions though.
Also, is it just me or is it easier to find CIB Virtual Boy games than loose carts?
You gotta get Bound High it doesn’t look that fun but trust me looks can be deceiving. Also Wario Land is Awesome too did’nt see that one on your list.
This reply was modified 11 years ago by Morintari.
Bound High does look like fun, but nobody made any loose copies, only CIB. I think I’ll just buy a Mario’s Tennis and make it into a Bound High, I’ve had to deal with surface mount chips before.
VB Wario Land is indeed a great game, so far it’s my favorite VB game. I love every other Wario Land game, especially the first one, because it was more about being greedy than using power-ups to solve puzzles, which started with Wario Land 2. I only found out about VB Wario Land in recent years, I was so happy to hear it didn’t have puzzles, just good old coin and treasure hunting.
If only for VB Wario Land, I’m not selling my Virtual Boy anytime soon, it’s too much fun. 🙂
SirGuntz wrote:
I think I’ll just buy a Mario’s Tennis and make it into a Bound High, I’ve had to deal with surface mount chips before.
The problem with that plan is that there exists no “drop-in” replacement for the MaskROMs used in VB carts. Your only real options are to try to “dead-bug” some chips using lots of thin wire, or make a cart PCB from scratch and just re-use the connector/case from the MT cart. Or, you know, just get a FlashBoy… 😛
You mean using a MX29L1611 (or similar 16Mbit flash chip) doesn’t work? Looks like the VB mask ROM pinout matches that of the flash chip. Only major differences I can see are the flash chip runs on 3.3v (I assume VB uses 5v) and I think VB mask ROMs are a bit wider.
I paid $100 for my Flashboy. At that price, it’s a steal. For simplicity sake lets say the loose carts average $20. There are definitely more than 5 great games out there you don’t own yet, and more keep popping up.
If your short on cash and want some quick entertainment, Vertical Force (JPN) is usually less than $10 shipped for the cart, and gives you a good ol top down aircraft shooter.
Jack Bros is just awesome, but you may as well buy a flashboy for the price it is.
Red Alarm is a stellar game that usually sells for pretty cheap.
I also have to throw in my recommendation for Jack Bros. Not only that, but Space Squash must be highly recommended as well. Space Squash utilizes the stereoscopic effect of the Virtual Boy to a great degree and is a lot of fun. Both of these games receive very high ratings from the majority of Virtual Boy players who have tried them, but both games are pretty costly, so it would indeed make sense to purchase a FlashBoy Plus and be able to play both games on it.
I have an extra Red Alarm, wireframe but one of best uses of 3-D in the original VB launch. Arguably best 3-D of all the games. Also fun. Let me know mailing address and will send it on, hey it’s Christmastime.
speedyink wrote:
I paid $100 for my Flashboy. At that price, it’s a steal. For simplicity sake lets say the loose carts average $20. There are definitely more than 5 great games out there you don’t own yet, and more keep popping up.
If your short on cash and want some quick entertainment, Vertical Force (JPN) is usually less than $10 shipped for the cart, and gives you a good ol top down aircraft shooter.
Jack Bros is just awesome, but you may as well buy a flashboy for the price it is.
Red Alarm is a stellar game that usually sells for pretty cheap.
The more I think about it, the more you guys are right. I think the best option really is a FlashBoy Plus (I’d still love to hear if bigmak/other repro makers have tried SOP flash chips). Even at 90 euros, it’s still cheaper than Jack Bros., 3D Tetris and the various repro releases combined. Better start saving up I suppose.
I still wouldn’t say no to real cartridges given the option though. I do notice Vertical Force is pretty cheap, but I don’t see many loose carts on eBay, I guess there’s better selection on eBay.com.
Benjamin Stevens wrote:
I also have to throw in my recommendation for Jack Bros. Not only that, but Space Squash must be highly recommended as well. Space Squash utilizes the stereoscopic effect of the Virtual Boy to a great degree and is a lot of fun. Both of these games receive very high ratings from the majority of Virtual Boy players who have tried them, but both games are pretty costly, so it would indeed make sense to purchase a FlashBoy Plus and be able to play both games on it.
Thanks, I will definitely try Jack Bros. (although I don’t particularly care for Megami Tensei). I heard Space Squash is really just tennis (Squash as in the sport), I trust it’s better than it sounds?
Chaz wrote:
I have an extra Red Alarm, wireframe but one of best uses of 3-D in the original VB launch. Arguably best 3-D of all the games. Also fun. Let me know mailing address and will send it on, hey it’s Christmastime.
SirGuntz wrote:
You mean using a MX29L1611 (or similar 16Mbit flash chip) doesn’t work? Looks like the VB mask ROM pinout matches that of the flash chip. Only major differences I can see are the flash chip runs on 3.3v (I assume VB uses 5v) and I think VB mask ROMs are a bit wider.
No… unfortunately the VB used the smaller 44 pin TSOP II (not the standard 44 pin SOP), which is a pretty uncommon package type for any chip… and seemingly nonexistant for flash ROMs. Here’s a zip with the datasheets: http://www.goliathindustries.com/vb/download/vbrom.zip . And yeah, they’re 5V devices.
No… unfortunately the VB used the smaller 44 pin TSOP II (not the standard 44 pin SOP), which is a pretty uncommon package type for any chip… and seemingly nonexistant for flash ROMs. Here’s a zip with the datasheets: http://www.goliathindustries.com/vb/download/vbrom.zip . And yeah, they’re 5V devices.
DogP
Ah, I see. Well, if the package wasn’t an issue, would a 44pin SOP chip still work? I’m thinking a 3.3v chip might not work, depends how the data/address lines hold up. One can sneak by with 3.3v chips on SNES carts with a SA-1 co-processor, but the voltages involved are less than 5v in that case (normal SNES games are 5v all the way).
SirGuntz wrote:
Ah, I see. Well, if the package wasn’t an issue, would a 44pin SOP chip still work? I’m thinking a 3.3v chip might not work, depends how the data/address lines hold up. One can sneak by with 3.3v chips on SNES carts with a SA-1 co-processor, but the voltages involved are less than 5v in that case (normal SNES games are 5v all the way).
A 44 pin SOP would work, just not as a drop in replacement for the mask ROM, and not that flash chip. You need a 16-bit wide 5V flash chip, or 2x 8-bit wide 5V flash chips… and your own board. IIRC, the Flashboy uses a 44 pin SOP.
I heard Space Squash is really just tennis (Squash as in the sport), I trust it’s better than it sounds?
Well, I certainly think it is a lot more than simply squash or tennis. As for mixing sports, one could say that to some extent, it is partially a cross between squash and air hockey, but on top of that, it adds a variety of special ups that can be collected while playing and all sorts of obstacles located in the courts. Plus, the boss battles are more like actual battles than trying to play a sport for points, since you actually have to destroy the bosses by hitting their weak points.
I don’t know, I guess the person who told you “it’s just tennis” must not like tennis at all, and I really love tennis, especially all of the Mario Tennis games. I guess if one has no desire for tennis or squash or air hockey, one might not like this game, though it does add a good bit of stuff on top of that.
So it’s kind of like 3D Breakout then? I do like Air Hockey / Tennis (I end up playing lots of Mario’s Tennis). If I get a FlashBoy I’ll try out Space Squash. Thanks for the recommendation.
Just as other have suggested, Wario Land is definitely a prime choice to get if you like platformers even a little bit. It’s more or less the killer app of the released games. Has great boss fights, plenty of secrets, and uses 3D in effective ways and not just for the sake of being 3D.
Vertical Force is also very excellent too, for a classic top down space shooter. The AI buddies add a nice twist too being able to swap and change them at will. Has a few nice 3D effects and plays nice. Just be sure to quickly pause when you die if you plan to submit a highscore screenshot, it doesn’t display it after nor has any highscore records.
Mario Clash does take some getting used to I feel due to how it controls a bit sluggishly and rigidly, and isn’t quite as polished as any other Mario game… but despite that still enjoyable in it’s own way. I find myself coming back to it from time to time. Has a nice 3D style too.
Mario Tennis is pretty fun too, plays fairly similar to others in the series. Has an excellent depth effect going on to really help with judging, though you do need to get an initial feel for it. The only thing that would have made it even better though was of course having link cable support.
Teleroboxer is also pretty exciting, though I haven’t played much yet so I can’t rate it too well. I feel it’s pretty close to Punchout though if you ever played it. All about learning the enemies moves, and timing yourself right.
Had a brief time with Jack Bros. via emulation. From what I played though was fantastic! Definitely planning on trying to get a cart one day… or use the FlashBoy. Been a little while so I have nothing in particular to say about it other than I had a lot of fun with it.
I just bought Red Alarm too so I can let you know how it is after I give it a try. 😉
HollowedEmpire wrote:Had a brief time with Jack Bros. via emulation. From what I played though was fantastic! Definitely planning on trying to get a cart one day… or use the FlashBoy. Been a little while so I have nothing in particular to say about it other than I had a lot of fun with it.
I just bought Red Alarm too so I can let you know how it is after I give it a try. 😉
Jack Bros is awesome! I highly recommend it.
And I think you’ll enjoy Red Alarm, it’s definitely one of my favorites for the system. It just oozes style and is a very unique wireframe shooter. I Love it!
