Nintendo has always been one of the great console innovators, just look at the Game Boy and the Wii, both adopted by casual and hardcore gamers alike.
But what about the Virtual Boy? Sure, it wasn’t the success story Nintendo had hoped for but now has legendary status with retro gaming fans.
So what’s the best way to play Virtual Boy games today? In this article, we recommend the best Virtual Boy emulators so you too can experience its red-coloured monochrome games firsthand, but without ruining your vision!
Best Virtual Boy Emulator For PC
VBjin
The best dedicated Virtual Boy emulator for PC is VBjin. VBjin is a standalone emulator which offers a no-frills, but reliable way to play Virtual Boy games on your Windows PC.
VBjin has been around for some time and is no longer in active development, BUT, I’ve found it’s one of the easiest ways to play Virtual Boy games, so I still actively use VBjin regularly.
RetroArch – Beetle VB Core
RetroArch of course has a Virtual Boy core that provides one of the best ways to play Virtual Boy games on your PC.
The Beetle VB Core provides excellent Virtual Boy emulation and of course, you can benefit from all the amazing RetroArch that comes as standard such as filters, retro-inspired shaders, excellent upscaling features, and of course the ease of using multiple types of controller, with RetroArch auto-configuration making things a breeze.
Best Virtual Boy Emulator For Android
RetroArch – Beetle VB Core
There is a dedicated Virtual Boy emulator for Android called Virtual Virtual Boy, but having tested it, I found that the Beetle VB Core with RetroArch performs much better.
Plus as mentioned above with the PC version of RetroArch, you have all the convenience of using RetroArch with your Android device as a bonus too. So grab your favourite Bluetooth controller, connects it to your device and you’ll be ready to play Virtual Boy games in no time!
Best Virtual Boy Emulator For Mac
OpenEmu
OpenEmu stands head and shoulders above the rest on the Mac. It’s your one-stop shop for multi-system emulation, supporting an impressive lineup of over 30 game systems, including the Virtual Boy.
Like RetroArch, OpenEmu rolls up its sleeves and functions as the ringleader for emulation, running multiple emulator cores. It leans on the respected Mednafen core when it’s time for some Virtual Boy emulation, promising stellar performance and a performance that’s as close to the real thing as you can get.
But OpenEmu isn’t just about power. It’s a looker too, offering up a slick, visually appealing game ROM library management system. In a lineup of retro game emulators, it’s the one that stands out and catches your eye.
OpenEmu Features Include:-
- Video filters designed to deliver a vintage gaming ambiance
- High-grade Metal API scaling coupled with multithreaded playback for unmatched performance
- Instantaneous 3D effects and intricate image processing
- Efficient ROM scanning features for swift localization and categorization of your ROMs
- Eye-catching cover artwork for every game
- Compatibility with a variety of ROM hacks
- Visually striking and user-friendly interface coupled with a well-organized library for your ROMs
- Instantly recall your game position with Save state functionality
- Comprehensive support for a wide range of game controllers
A lifelong avid gamer and computing enthusiast, Matt has decades of Retro Gaming experience. Now over 40 years old, Matt now even considers himself retro, but fortunately, nobody has developed a Matt emulator (not yet at least!).