Figured I’d introduce myself and share my experience with the VB recently.

I’ve had one before, well 3 others in the past, which included a kiosk model that I sold to a co-worker a couple years ago. Now that things keep getting more expensive, I no longer sell gaming goods to buy other gaming goods. By the time you want to play a certain game or system again, it usually goes up by quite a large margin than what you sold it for, so I started on a quest to find another VB for my permanent collection. It’s basically the very last system I needed to re-collect for, so I took some weeks to really dig and search for the best sales I could find.

I ended up finding a Virtual Boy with box, controller, AC back/plug, stand and four games. Red Alarm, Wario Land, Mario’s Tennis, and Galactic Pinball. Everything is nearly mint, with the exception of the box which has wear to it, and the set came from it’s original owner. The system has spent most of its life in a closet.

While I waited on the box to come in the mail I ended up picking up Gundam, a boxed copy of Panic Bomber (weird I know, but one of my favorite games of all time), Waterworld, Nester’s Funky Bowling, Vertical Force, and a copy of Hyper Fighting.

Box came in the mail, and I immediately knew I was in trouble. While the VB’s box had packing material between it and the outer box, the inside of the VB box lacked ANY. While everything made it cosmetically perfect (which shocked me, as everything literally fell out of the box), it seems that due to its bumpy travel, a ribbon has come lose, and a black horizontal line now resides on screen.

So I need someone to help fix that (and no, not the oven route way… been there done that in the past, and it never seems to work in the long term). But otherwise, I’m super happy with everything. I forgot how neat the 3D effect was, and how much I absolutely love the controller. I’ve never had a VB in such good condition, and playing it on what seems like a new foam visor (or a stand that isn’t broken in one way or another) feels like a new experience.

Not sure if I have something odd here, but much like the AVGN episode, I’ve always had issues with the AC pack on the back of the controller where if you rest the controller on a table, the thing comes off and you lose power to the system. This particular system has NO such problem. In fact, I’ve actively FORCED the controller down and it doesn’t unclip despite my intentions. Were there two versions of the power pack or something, or is this just a weird anomaly?

I’m an Art Director by trade, working for fortune 500 companies in my career, and I’d happily offer my years of experience in any art the community needs. While I can’t program, I know that my services in design should be a help to someone here, be it for in game sprites or box/label artwork.

I’ll stop it here. Good meeting you all in advance.

Welcome! I believe there are folks around these parts who have fixed those ribbon cables many times and may be able to help you. If not, it’s a fix I’ve done myself on my personal VB, so I could help as well.

Welcome to the site!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have just a single black line on a display, it’s probably there for good 🙁

There could be a few different causes, but in your case – considering the rough treatment of the system in transit – it’s most likely that a bond wire has become detached from the LED array. It’s a fairly common problem, and one that may never have a solution. I have one display PCB (not installed in a VB) that actually has eight of these “dead pixels”, despite having been soldered. BTW, you should still get them soldered, but it won’t fix that one line.

Welcome to the site! Was a good read.

I’ve never had the issue of my power pack becoming loose. I think it’s more of an isolated issue than a widespread one.

Hi and welcome to the community! Your offer regarding artwork sounds intriguing. Can we check out samples of your work somewhere?

Welcome! You landed in the best community in gaming. I’m excited to follow your VB adventures and see your artwork 🙂

Sorry for the late reply.

If any of you want to see my professional portfolio, you can find it at http://www.daabgrafx.com . It won’t have any illustrations that I’ve done, as this is aimed towards my graphic design / layout design abilities, but it gives you an idea of what I’m capable of. I’ve done pixel artwork in the past, actually, so if that’s of any use as well, I can help.

That’s really disappointing to hear about the display issue being something non-reparable. Can I ask why this connection can’t be addressed? Are black lines a definite sign of this happening, or is it still possible it’s just the main ribbon cables?

If that’s the case, it almost sounds like I might need a new head unit, which wouldn’t be good. Maybe this system is destined to become a consolized unit then, if it can’t be fixed.

Thanks again for the warm welcomes. Can’t wait to start playing more games I’ve never had before. I know the library is quite limited, but hey, it’s still a fun experience, and homebrew has made that an even better venture.

Forgot I had some pixel art right in my game room. Of my favorite game, of course.

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I think im in luck! Was going off memory and the line is only in the left eye. Does that mean its the normal ribbon that needs repaired? Left and right pics for comparison attached.

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