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Nintendo releases cancelled Virtual Boy games D-Hopper and Zero Racers
Developed over time first seen 4 months ago
Nintendo released two previously cancelled Virtual Boy games, D-Hopper and Zero Racers, for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on 4 August. The releases matter because both titles were originally planned for 1996 but shelved after the Virtual Boy’s commercial failure, giving players an official first chance to experience them.
D-Hopper, developed by Intelligent Systems, is a fantasy action-adventure about a prince rescuing allies and opposing a corrupt politician. Zero Racers is an F-Zero-style racer with Grand Prix and Practice modes; Nintendo also made Virtual Boy game soundtracks available through Nintendo Music.
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In short
- Two cancelled Virtual Boy games reached Switch Online
- Both were originally due in 1996
- Virtual Boy soundtracks joined Nintendo Music
How this story developed
- 3 months ago Nintendo subsequently described the same 4 August releases as forthcoming, reiterating that the cancelled 1996 games would receive their first official availability.
- 4 months ago Nintendo released the long-shelved Virtual Boy titles D-Hopper and Zero Racers on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on 4 August, alongside Virtual Boy music on Nintendo Music.
Explained simply
Nintendo’s Virtual Boy was a tabletop games machine released in 1995. It displayed red-and-black 3D images through a headset-like viewer, but it sold poorly and Nintendo stopped making it within a year.
The short life of the machine meant that several planned games were cancelled before release. D-Hopper was being made by Intelligent Systems, a Nintendo-linked studio known for series including Fire Emblem and WarioWare, while Zero Racers was designed as a futuristic racing game in the style of F-Zero.
Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack is the company’s subscription service for older games and related features on the Switch. Releasing previously cancelled titles gives players access to part of Nintendo’s history that had largely remained unavailable to the public.
Coverage · 2 sources
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Originally published by Polygon as “Nintendo Switch’s Virtual Boy pays off with 2 newly released games”.