I bought the Virtual Boy accessory for the Nintendo Switch so that I could play the games that they have added to the Nintendo Switch Online service. I’ve never played a Virtual Boy before, though I did nearly buy one in 1996. It is the only time I have ever been to the United States, and I saw one in the shopping mall. The machine was such a flop that I think it had already been cancelled by that point, and it ended up never getting released in the UK. I bought a Game Boy Pocket instead, which was a much more sensible purchase. Though I guess a much less interesting one.
I regretted never getting a chance to play this game in particular. I’ve always liked the Wario Land series, and I’d read many times that this is the best game on the Virtual Boy, though it’s probably not worth buying the machine for. I found that to be the case. It is a pretty fun platformer and an okay entry in the series, but it is extremely short and very easy. It is also before the Game Boy Color Wario Land games did some very interesting things with how the game played. From memory I think in those ones you cannot die, you just change forms. For instance getting flattened by a boulder, or blown up into a balloon by a bee sting. You then had to use those forms to solve puzzles. This game is far more straightforward and run of the mill. I think I’ll go replay the other games at some point before long.
I found the 3D to be interesting. The game is sprite-based, and you can go back and forth between layers. The boss fights also all use multiple layers where the boss is going back and forth, with you having to wait for your opportunity to attack.