The Virtual Boy Wario Land is a platforming video game released in 1995 by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy game system. It stars Wario, a treasure hunter who must find treasure and defeat enemies in order to advance. Wario's basic abilities are to jump and charge with his shoulder, but he can also equip special hats to gain abilities such as fire breathing and bull horns. He can enter the background at certain points by using the console's stereoscopic 3D effect. It was created by Nintendo R&D1, which included a large portion of its staff, and it uses the standard red-and-black color scheme for Virtual Boy releases.

Arguably the system's only truly indispensable title, this platformer starring Mario's greedy counterpart has fantastic visuals and audio to match and plays similarly to Wario Land on the Game Boy. It's easily the best game on the console, and if you're a proud Virtual Boy owner, you've almost certainly already played it.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action

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T&E Soft's 1996 puzzle video game 3D Tetris was published by Nintendo. It was released in North America for the Virtual Boy in 1996. Similar to Tetris, players control multiple falling blocks, rotating and positioning them to clear layers in a three-dimensional environment. The game includes a variety of modes and variations, as well as various difficulty settings and levels. 3D wire-frame models are used to render parts of 3D Tetris. A Polygo Block version of the game was supposed to be released in Japanese markets in February 1996, but it never materialized. The game received mostly negative feedback, with critics praising its lack of originality.

3D Tetris, a North American exclusive, changed the standard formula by having you look down into the well as the blocks fell away from you. The fact that you must fill in layers rather than draw lines feels different from standard Tetris, and the game includes 30 different block types, but the spirit of the game you know and love is very well preserved. And, let's be honest, the proliferation of Tetris titles makes purchasing a Virtual Boy to play regular old Tetris seem a little silly, doesn't it? 3D Tetris, on the other hand, is definitely worth investigating.

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Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Strategy

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Jack Bros. is an action video game developed and published by Atlus for the Virtual Boy that was released in late 1995 in Japan and North America. It is a spin-off of Atlus' video game series Megami Tensei, and it was the first entry to be released outside of Japan. The player assumes the role of one of the three Jack brothers – Jack Frost, Jack Lantern, or Jack Skelton – who have visited the human world for Halloween and must return to the fairy world before the portal between the two worlds closes. To advance to the next floor, the player must progress through six areas, each of which consists of a number of floors, defeating enemies with character-specific attacks and collecting keys.

The fact that most Virtual Boy games are short is probably for the best; the system's reputation for causing headaches means that shorter games and frequent breaks are preferable to an 80-hour JRPG epic. Atlus' Jack Bros., a Megami Tensei spin-off, is a short-but-sweet top-down action game with excellent audio that should be near the top of your Virtual Boy games-to-play list. It's not perfect, and it has a lot of untapped potential, but it's a must-have for any VB owner.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action

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Red Alarm is a shoot 'em up video game released by Nintendo in 1995. It was developed by T&E Soft. It was released as a Virtual Boy launch game, and the player must pilot a space fighter to defeat the army of a malevolent artificial intelligence known as "KAOS." The game is based on the 1993 game Star Fox and is one of the Virtual Boy's few third-party titles. Red Alarm, unlike the majority of the console's games, uses three-dimensional (3D) polygonal graphics. However, due to hardware constraints, the visuals were limited to bare wire-frame models, similar to those seen in the 1980 arcade game Battlezone. Red Alarm's graphics were described as confusing by reviewers, but it was praised as one of the most enjoyable Virtual Boy titles by some publications.

Red Alarm is a wireframe on-rails shooter with crude visuals, but the 3D effect works very well and there's plenty of variety in enemies you'll encounter throughout the game. Add in some tight controls, and you've got an impressive little game that's a system must-have.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action, Simulation

View Details: ebay.com/p/5700

Space Squash is a 1995 sports video game for the Virtual Boy developed by Tomcat System and published in Japan by Coconuts Japan Entertainment. In the game, the player takes on the role of a robot named Peatron in an intergalactic squash tournament to defeat a group of space pirates who have taken over the planet Animal Star. In order to advance in the tournament, Peatron must ricochet a ball across a three-dimensional court and defeat the opponent on the other side. Space Squash was one of four projects in development for the Virtual Boy by Coconuts Japan when it was first announced at E3 1995.

Space Squash, which plays like a cross between air hockey and Pong, makes good use of the system's 3D and controls well with its dual D-pads to provide a satisfying slice of virtual (boy) gaming. The graphics are simple but effective, and while not a game-changer, Space Squash is a solid addition to the VB software library.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action, Sports

View Details: ebay.com/p/56258473

Bomberman: Panic Bomber is a PC Engine puzzle video game released in 1994 by Hudson Soft. Later, it was ported to the Neo Geo, Super Famicom, Sharp X68000, FM Towns, NEC PC-9821, Virtual Boy, and PlayStation Portable. It was re-released for the Virtual Console services on the Wii and Wii U. Panic Bomber is a falling block game in which players must clear matching blocks with bombs while ensuring that their screens do not fill and their opponents' screens do. It received mixed to positive reviews, with many critics describing it as a good game. It has been compared to the Tetris-style falling block puzzle game. The Virtual Boy version received mixed reviews for how well it handled the platform's visual capabilities.

Panic Bomber is a visually appealing falling block puzzler starring Bomberman. Expect disappointment that it isn't a proper Bomberman title, but because the Virtual Boy didn't have a link cable, simultaneous local multiplayer was out of the question. Once you get past that, you're left with a rather nice, if simple, little puzzle game that's well worth a look. Is it worth purchasing the system? Almost certainly not, but if you already own the console, Panic Bomber should be on your shelf.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action

View Details: ebay.com/p/1823886549

Vertical Force is a 1995 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Hudson Soft in Japan and Nintendo in North America for the Virtual Boy. The player pilots the Ragnarok, a starship that must destroy a malfunctioning supercomputer on a human colony planet before it wipes out humanity. The gameplay is reminiscent of Hudson's own Star Soldier series, with power-up items that improve the player's abilities and parallax scrolling. To avoid enemies and obstacles, the player can also move their ship further into the background.

Vertical Force is a fun, challenging little shooter that will keep you returning to the game's four levels long after you've completed them. It won't surprise you in any way, but it makes good use of the system's 3D effect and is easy to find at reasonable prices. Vertical Force is thus a must-have for any Virtual Boy collection.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action

View Details: ebay.com/p/5687

Galactic Pinball is a pinball video game for the Nintendo Virtual Boy. It is set in the Milky Way galaxy, and players control a puck around one of four pinball tables available. Because of the Virtual Boy's standard red-and-black color scheme, this and other games on the platform have been criticized for causing nausea, headaches, and eye strain. It also employs parallax, which enables the game to show three-dimensional effects. Its reception has been mixed; it has been praised for its authenticity, but reactions to its physics and controls have been mixed. It has also been chastised for a lack of ambition and originality.

Galactic Pinball isn't a game you'll return to again and again, but neither are the majority of the games on this list. As far as pinball titles go, this is a good one, with good controls and physics, and if you fancy yourself a pinball wizard, this is your first, last, and only port of call on Virtual Boy. Fortunately, it's quite good.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Action

View Details: ebay.com/p/5556

Mario's Tennis is a tennis game in which the player takes control of one of seven different Mario characters and competes in tennis matches. The action on the court is seen from directly behind the player character in the third person. The stereoscopic 3D graphics on the Virtual Boy allow the player to perceive depth within the tennis court, allowing for a better perception of the distance between a tennis ball and the respective character. Unlike subsequent entries in the Mario Tennis series, which introduced gameplay elements not found in traditional tennis, such as "power-up items", special "power shots", or external obstacles interfering with the game, Mario's Tennis focuses solely on tennis fundamentals.

Mario has a decent track record in this sport, and his Virtual Boy outing (which is clearly his tennis, according to the title) doesn't tarnish the plumber's reputation. Mario's Tennis is one of the console's first easily recommended games, thanks to its solid visuals and one of the best examples of 3D on the system.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Sports

View Details: ebay.com/itm/275178417336

Nester's Funky Bowling is a bowling video game for the Virtual Boy console developed by Saffire and published by Nintendo. It was only released in North America on February 26, 1996, and was the system's second-to-last game before it was discontinued. Nester, a character from the Nintendo Power comics, or his twin sister Hester compete to see who is the better bowler. It has standard bowling mechanics and rules, as well as three modes of play: Bowling, Challenge, and Practice, each of which can support one or two players.

While some, such as IGN and GamePro staff, found it to be a poor or average game, Nintendo Power and Allgame were more forgiving, hailing it as a quality game when compared to other titles in the Virtual Boy library. Its graphics received some praise, but it was criticized for lacking a save function and game modes.

Detailed information:

Number of Players: Single Player

Genre: Sports

View Details: virtual-boy.com/games/nesters-funky-bowling/