The plastic version is a replica. It’s never going to be a real Virtual Boy. It may be the choice if you’re a stickler for image quality, but from a functional perspective it’s similar. You’re going to experience strain in some part of your body regardless (neck with plastic and arms with cardboard), but it’s better to strain your arms, given the choice.
In my opinion, the cardboard version is preferable. It’s a refined Labo, prebuilt and with a cool design, perfectly encapsulating Nintendo’s spirit of innovation, past and present.
Captain Toad has four VR levels, made especially for Labo. Unlike other implementations, the gameplay is actually integrated with the technology. The cardboard version is worth it for this alone. It’s the epitome of lateral thinking with withered technology.
Playing some of the Virtual Boy library is a nice bonus, too, of course. When you’re subscribed to the online service, that is.
Agreed that the cardboard version is a better pick if you want to play some of the Switch VR content that requires head tracking, though.
One thing I forgot to mention earlier is the NSO app has a certain amount of latency that really hurts my ability to play certain games. Teleroboxer is pretty bad, I think in part due to the use of analogue sticks which add even more latency.
Where I was able to clear the game without trouble on actual hardware, I was unable to on NSO as pulling off specific moves quickly enough and reliably was much trickier.
They also aren’t using VRR on the Switch 2, so there’s constant judder though it’s most noticeable in games where the entire screen scrolls (Dragon Hopper, Wario Land).
I should clarify my statement. Strictly speaking, the levels were not made especially for Labo. They’re levels from the main game. They just feel different because you can look around corners. Spatially, everything makes more sense, especially judging size and height.
Well worth playing, nonetheless.
Can’t say if it’s worth rebuying the game for these levels, but for a fan it could be.
