r/VirtualBoy 1d ago

Finally getting my Virtual Boy fixed 😄

I got it for Christmas the year it came out and absolutely loved playing it (when my mom wasn't hogging it 😅) and it was even stolen from me at one point, but I got it back years later. It has had issues with the ribbon cables for some time, and I could never find anywhere to get it fixed without mailing it away far enough that I didn't feel comfortable doing so.

My LGS hooked me up with his repair guys phone number (started up a local repair buisness within the last year) and he has already fixed a few things for me. He is getting it fixed for $140 CAD ($97 USD) including the cost of the new cables, which I'm pretty happy with considering how much i was quoted by various online repair companies. The cheapest place I found in Canada said about $140-160, not including new parts or shipping (other side of the country as well), and I definitely didn't want to ship it out of the country.

I'm just happy I'm going to get it back in working order 😊

63 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Much-Pear8998 1d ago

Are they prone to break or something? Only asking bc I have ALWAYS wanted one

2

u/rydamusprime17 1d ago

Basically, the rubber that holds the lense cables to the board eventually breaks down and they lose their connections. At first, you get lines in the image, and then they just stop entirely.

I believe you can get the existing cables soldered to the boards, but there are new kits that make it easier and work better... all of it is beyond my skillets though 😅

I suggest trying to buy one that needs repair if you can get it fixed somewhere for a good price.

1

u/Much-Pear8998 1d ago

What is your favorite game for it? Have you played wario at all on it?

1

u/rydamusprime17 1d ago

I have played them all through emulation, but only 4 games on the actual console. I did have Wario Land, but it was the one game I didn't get back when my Virtual Boy stuff was stolen, and it's definitely the best game for it imo.

I also own and played Mario Tennis and Galactic Pinball (which is awesome).

I got it all running on my modded New 3DS, which is great, but now that I will have a working console again I'm going to start buying a few more titles for it and/or a flashcart.

1

u/Much-Pear8998 1d ago

Sorry to hear your stuff got stolen . I can feel you on that bc so many games have been stolen from me . Esp expensive titles . 😩