Zelda: BotW on Virtual Boy gets a permanent Blood Moon mode

It's so... red

Nintendo’s new throwback Virtual Boy headset is out today, but Polygon got our hands on a review unit a day early… before the retro console’s library of games were added to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack suite of offerings. Tragic! But having seen VGC’s recent report that the Virtual Boy headset will work with games that feature a Nintendo Labo VR mode, I soon figured out how to whet my appetite before the main course — exploring The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Hyrule in glorious stereoscopic 3D.

Turns out, the biggest caveat of the old Virtual Boy also applies to the new one. You have one color option, and it is red. While there’s a small plate you can swap out on the headset to ensure it fits your particular model of Nintendo Switch, the lenses in the headset are firmly fixed, and they are only red. Imagine all the glory of Hyrule, but only red. It’s like a Blood Moon is happening all the time, only everyone you encounter is really nonchalant about it.

Breath of the Wild’s calm, contemplative environments are dappled with impressionistic shades of green, blue, and brown. So the transition to a 'Guy Fieri convertible meets Flamin' Hot Cheetos' aesthetic is one that’s hard to endure for longer than a few minutes. But if you’re not looking to get into any intense fights or make meaningful progress, it’s actually pretty amusing to revisit the game in this way. The Virtual Boy headset does provide a noticeable 3D effect, lifting the UI away from what’s happening on-screen. There’s also a newfound depth to the environments and the people who inhabit them, especially in towns. I can't get screenshots from the Virtual Boy, so you're gonna have to trust me when I say it's a little something like this:

The low-stakes activities you’ve done a million times in Breath of the Wild get a fresh dusting of novelty thanks to the Virtual Boy, like chatting to NPCs, exploring a village, gliding, and chopping trees. Somehow, the 3D effect makes the water look clearer and more inviting. Only the reflections and ripples on the surface are red, allowing you to see straight to the bottom, so going for a swim as Link is surprisingly delightful. Tranquil pleasures aside, if you’re a sicko who enjoys watching Link plummet to his death from a great height, as I am, you owe it to yourself to experience a classic Zelda “You Died” moment in 3D.

The Virtual Boy is clearly intended to work with games made in the 4:3 aspect ratio of the 1990s, as opposed to the modern standard of 16:9. This means that the far left and right sides of the screen are completely cut off: you can’t see all of Link’s heart containers, dialogue options are lopped off in the middle, and place names like Hateno Village are abbreviated to “no Village.” The all-red visuals also transform the key text that’s normally highlighted in blue into black text on a black background, making it completely illegible. It’s almost as if this headset wasn’t designed to work with Switch games at all!

To be clear, the fact that Nintendo’s new Virtual Boy kinda-sorta works with Labo VR-compatible games — the short list also includes Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker — is absolutely not a reason to buy one. It wasn’t designed to be used with these games, and it does not work well with them. But if you’re already planning to add a Virtual Boy to your retro collection, definitely set aside a few moments to experiment with any of those first-party titles you already own, especially Breath of the Wild. You're in for a treat! But only red.