Finds 2004: Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy, 1995)

New Addition to the Collection: Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy, 1995)

Today’s pickup is an absolute cosmic classic — Galactic Pinball for the Nintendo Virtual Boy! Released in 1995, this title is one of the standout games for Nintendo’s short-lived but unforgettable 3D experiment.

Developed by Nintendo R&D1, the same internal team responsible for Metroid and Wario Land, Galactic Pinball takes the traditional pinball formula and launches it straight into outer space. Players are treated to four unique tables, each with a space theme, complete with comets, black holes, and even a cameo from Samus Aran’s Gunship — a little nod to Metroid fans.

Like most Virtual Boy titles, Galactic Pinball is presented entirely in red and black visuals, but the 3D depth gives the illusion of real pinball layers and moving parts. It was considered one of the better-designed games on the system, praised for its physics and addictive gameplay.

While the Virtual Boy didn’t stick around long, collecting for it today has become a passion project for retro enthusiasts. Galactic Pinball remains one of the more affordable and accessible titles — though finding it complete in box like this one is always a satisfying score!

Between the futuristic artwork, nostalgic red-and-black aesthetic, and the unique slice of Nintendo history it represents, this addition truly shines in the collection.

🎮✨ Another piece of Virtual Boy history preserved!

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Nintendo Brings Virtual Boy Classics to Switch in Surprise Announcement

Nintendo shocked fans during its latest Nintendo Direct by announcing that games from the infamous Virtual Boy are finally making their way to the Nintendo Switch Online service. Once considered one of Nintendo’s biggest commercial flops, the Virtual Boy is now being given a second chance—nearly 30 years after its original release.

Virtual Boy: From Flop to Cult Classic

Launched in 1995, the Virtual Boy was Nintendo’s bold attempt at a 3D gaming system. With its red-and-black graphics, uncomfortable tabletop design, and a limited library of just 22 games, the system was discontinued after less than a year on the market. Despite its failure, it has since developed a cult following among collectors and retro enthusiasts who admire its experimental spirit.

Now on Switch: Virtual Boy Collection Vol. 1 and 2

Nintendo has announced Virtual Boy: Nintendo Classics Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, which will be available to Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers. Each collection features a curated lineup of titles, many of which never left Japan.

Confirmed titles include:

• Mario’s Tennis – the pack-in launch title that showcased stereoscopic 3D gameplay.

• Wario Land – widely regarded as the best game on the system.

• Teleroboxer – a first-person robot boxing game that highlighted the console’s unique perspective.

• Galactic Pinball – a sci-fi take on pinball with dynamic 3D tables.

Nintendo teased additional games across the two volumes, with some fan favorites such as Red Alarm and Virtual Boy Golf strongly rumored.

A New Way to Play

Perhaps the biggest twist: the Virtual Boy classics will now be playable in full color, thanks to Switch emulation enhancements. Players will also have the option to toggle between the original red-and-black display and the updated visuals. Online leaderboards, save states, and local/online multiplayer (for compatible games) will also be supported.

Why This Matters

The inclusion of Virtual Boy titles on Switch is more than just a novelty. For many, it’s the first accessible opportunity to experience these rare games without hunting down fragile, aging hardware. It also signals Nintendo’s increasing willingness to embrace even its less-successful chapters of history, offering fans both nostalgia and preservation.

Looking Ahead

While the Virtual Boy’s original hardware remains a quirky collector’s item, its legacy now lives on digitally. With Vol. 1 launching later this year and Vol. 2 slated for early 2026, Nintendo has given gamers a chance to rediscover what was once seen as a failure—this time in a form that might finally earn it the recognition it deserves.

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Finds 1947: Wario Land for Virtual Boy

This is an epic addition to the collection. This game I already have loose but just wanted this box so bad! You don't see boxed virtual boxed games anywhere like ever! Totally amazing addition! I will be posting more about this store I am going to in the coming weeks! 

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Finds 1846: Fire Emblem for Wii, Virtual Boy Games, and Disgaea

Here are some new additions from Nostalgia Den which is a shop where they fix consoles and sell games. Totally love it especially since I was able to add really cool stuff to the collection. 

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Retro Gaming News: Mario Clash Controller Fix

"This is a hack for Mario Clash on the Nintendo Virtual Boy. This hack changes the controller layout to the Mario standard by swapping A and B (A jump, B throw) and also puts “run” on both triggers buttons.

The patch is an IPS file. Apply to a clean ROM. Verified to function on actual hardware."

Source

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Retro Gaming News: Virtual League Baseball Select Any Team

"This patch allows you to select any team in the normal game (Regular teams, plus All Star and Miracle/Galaxy) in Virtual League Baseball and also allows selecting the same team for both the player and computer.

Included are patches for both the U and J ROM dumps.

Because of the limited space to do any tricks, the default selection method has been modified. Now, rather than wrapping left and right when you get to the edge of the team selection, it goes to the next or previous team. It only wraps at the first team (USA) and the last team (All-E-League). To select the new teams, either go left from USA or right from Switzerland.

There is a glitch that the COM selection square appears at the top when selecting some of the new teams as your opponent.

You can not select new teams for the Pennant Race. This could not be added because the game locks up when there aren’t enough teams in the same league."

Source

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Retro Gaming News: Space Pinball Score Reset Fix

"Space Pinball is the name given to the prototype that would eventually become Galactic Pinball. Space Pinball was near complete before it was scrapped. It features 5 tables, where Galactic Pinball only has 4. All 5 of the prototype pinball tables are different from those that were included in the retail game.

In the prototype, all tables are linked together. Beating a table just starts you off at the next table, and there is no ending of any kind. There is also no “puck” counter, the game simply returns to the stage select screen when you lose a “puck”.

Since the game never resets, the score continues to rise with each new play. This makes it impossible to keep track of high scores. This patch fixes this by resetting the high score each time a new game is started.

Please note that the only released dump of this prototype was padded to 2MB for the Virtual Boy Flash Kit. This is the ROM you’ll need to locate and patch."

Source

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Retro Gaming News: Panic Bomber Debug Menu and Stage Select

"This patch for the Virtual Boy game, Panic Bomber, will restore the debug menu. When the patched ROM loads, you will see a debug menu with 5 items.

The first menu item takes you to the normal game. The second and third items are similar. Both load the same sub-menu, but only the former allows you to actually play the game. With the latter, you will be watching the CPU play against itself. The forth menu item is a sound test. The fifth menu item takes you directly to the end sequence.

The debug sub-menus are filled with several items for you to play with. Each affects the way the game plays. They include such things as background and enemy selection.

The second included patch restores the stage select debug menu. You must use each patch on separate ROMs! THEY ARE NOT COMPATIBLE. With the Stage Select patch, the stage select menu will appear in place of the debug menu. To get to the intro/title screen, lose to the CPU, then choose not to continue.

Both patches are verified to function on actual hardware."

Source

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Retro Gaming News: Mansion of Insmouse: Mario Madness Edition

"This is a complete ROM hack of the Virtual Boy game Insmouse No Yakata. All levels have been designed using the InsmEdit editor. Each of the new levels has been designed to reference a Mario character. The game has 4 endings and the path you take depends more on time than on kills. Included in the archive is a level tree diagram and maps for each of the levels as PDF files.

There are two patches in the archive. The first is the .IMP file which much be patched using the InsmEditeditor. You can find the editor in the utilities section of this site, just search by name or by the “Virtual Boy” category. To patch the ROM click file open and select the .IMP file. Then click “Patch ROM” and select the correct ROM for patching. Once the patch has been applied to the ROM you can then apply the second patch. The second patch is an IPS file that will change the caution screen into the custom title screen for this hack. The title screen patch is not required to enjoy the new levels.

These patches have been tested and verified as working on actual hardware."

Source

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Retro Gaming News: Mario Clash Level Select

"When you start a game of Mario Clash only the first 40 levels are selectable from the main screen. The game forces you to play through the remaining 59 levels in order. The game does not give you any other way to see, experience, or practice them. This patch makes all 99 levels selectable from the start menu.

The patch is an IPS file. Apply to a clean ROM. Verified to function on actual hardware."

Source

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Finds 832: Findings in the Weirdest Places

Here is a nice lot of goodies! The best part is that the Sega CD works flawlessly. Everything is in top shape. I need to get one more item from this seller. I shall not give up! 

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Finds 447: SNES Gems plus Virtual Boy Stuff and PC Sealed Game

 Here are a couple of awesome finds from the other day. I decided to hit a couple of thrift stores near my campus and found some pretty wicked finds. Some Virtual Boy stuff, a sealed PC game, and some SNES Gems. Lets go through them.

Here are the SNES games. All three of them cost me ten bucks together. Not a bad deal since two of them can go for 20+ each.

Here is a very awesome PC game. I love picking old PC games especially sealed. It cost me three bucks but man I was able to check it out on eBay and it's quite rare! Good for me!

Finally, here are some Virtual Boy finds. I don't get these that often but they are good to have when you do get them. It's nothing major but a controller, Wario Land, and an AC adapter. Of all the items, the AC adapter is the rarest. I paid 2.95 for all of them. Good for me they were in a bag with a price tag ^_^

XF5700 Mantis (PC)

Virtual Boy controller 

Virtual Boy AC Adapter 

Wario Land (VB)

Contra 3 (SNES)

Mega Man X (SNES)

Super Metroid (SNES)

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Finds 336: Water World, Xmen vs Street Fighter, Harvest Moon and Lots More!

Let the game hunt continue! This week I was able to pick up quite a few interesting items including Pokemon cards! Can't go wrong with a little high tech gaming with Marvel vs Capcom 3 and of course a whole lot of retro gaming items! Lets take a look!

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Finds 200: Famicom Goodness, the reason I collect!

Well it took a while to get here but just in the nick of time. New famicom stuff and probably one of the more interesting finds I will ever have. So lets begin!

Here we have Final Fight Guy CIB for the Super Famicom. It's one of the games I always wanted to play as you can play as GUY! WOOT!! There is also on the right a Virtual Boy game called Virtual 3D shooting Game which is of course a virtual boy shooting game. I heard it sucks but one must wonder if there is anything more to it.
Here we have nine Famicom Disk System games. 8 of them are CIB as you can see while the one in the bottom is missing the box. It's odd enough to bring a cassette tape....makes me want to find me a cassette player to listen what amazing message from the past it withholds! As you can see there are some known titles for the disk system like Mario Golf and Doki Doki Panic!
Here we have five pirate carts which were declared non working. I was able to work my magic and make four of the five work again. The one that didn't make it? Mortal Kombat 2....
Here are more pirates and some official carts. Starting from the top you have Adventures of Lolo, Spelunker, Rockman X, Pocket Monsters Gold, and Shin Chan. I didn't realized I already had Pocket Monsters Gold so this is a duplicate I will sell off when I get a chance. The Shin Chan is unique in many ways....

This is one of the ways it's unique, the label art is just well you tell me! Enjoy this shot you child molesting bastards!
I was able to pick up more porno famicom games. These are from the Mimi series. I really liked the first one I got, it's more interesting box art wise.
Here is another one, this is #4 of the series.
Here is #1 of the series. I'm not sure, but I think I need an special adapter to play these horny games.
All the boxes have the same artwork in the back. See all those wonderful gals waiting for you big boy?
Here we have another one, released by Super Pig, makes you wonder what magical girls it might contain.
To finish things off, here is the only porno Famicom game I have that is an actual cartridge. I played it and I have no idea how to win. It's ok though, the box art makes up for the lack of understanding I have to play this game.

OHHHHH YEAHHHHHH!!!!!! I AM IN HEAVEN!!


Anyways, this was truly worth a 200th finds post. There is still so much to come as my collection is just getting started. Please be sure to comment and check out my items for sale on eBay, who knows you might see one of these in my shoppe someday! har har har! Thanks everyone and lets get to 300 now!!!

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