Nintendo's Lost Virtual Boy Games Zero Racers and D-Hopper Finally Arrive on Switch Online in August 2026

The Two Long-Cancelled Virtual Boy Games

Zero Racers

Originally titled G-Zero (renamed to Zero Racers by mid-1996), this was an F-Zero spin-off planned for a Fall 1996 North American release. It was reportedly finished but scrapped when Nintendo discontinued the Virtual Boy due to abysmal sales .

Zero Racers would have been the first F-Zero entry with 3D graphics — a futuristic anti-gravity racing game featuring four playable characters: Captain Falcon, Samurai Goroh, James McCloud, and Jody Summer. Notably, McCloud and Summer were originally slated to debut in this game but ended up appearing first in F-Zero X on N64 after Zero Racers was cancelled . The game was developed internally by Nintendo . It was previewed in Nintendo Power and shown at E3 1996 . A former Nintendo staff member confirmed the game was complete .

D-Hopper (originally Dragon Hopper)

An action-adventure game developed by Intelligent Systems (the studio behind Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, and WarioWare). It was cancelled in 1996 due to the Virtual Boy's commercial failure . The original "Dragon Hopper" trademark was claimed by a Malta-based gambling company in March 2024, forcing Nintendo to shorten the title to D-Hopper for the re-release .

D-Hopper was a 3D action-adventure title with an announced American price of $34.95 and a planned release date of August 26, 1996 . It was shown at Space World 1995 and E3 1996 . It's believed to be one of only two Virtual Boy titles (alongside Bound High!) to have been fully completed before cancellation .

Pricing and Availability

Both games are included at no extra cost within the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. The Expansion Pack costs $69.99/year and is required to access the Virtual Boy – Nintendo Classics app . The games are not sold individually . They are playable on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 .

Additional Virtual Boy Service Update

Alongside the two games, the Virtual Boy app is receiving a screen color customization feature (also announced earlier in 2026), allowing players to change the classic red-and-black display filter . This was first teased in January 2026 when Nintendo announced it was reviving these two lost Virtual Boy titles for the service .

Super Mario Sunshine on GameCube Library

Super Mario Sunshine (originally released for GameCube in 2002) will be added to the Switch Online + Expansion Pack GameCube library on August 13, 2026 . Notably, the GameCube app is currently only available on Nintendo Switch 2, not the original Switch — so Sunshine requires a Switch 2 to play .

Timeline Summary