It's good too see a thorough review of this system, as they were not released here at all. Hope you are recovering from your operation. The 1st rival to Mario was DK of course :)
Thanks for the heads up on the focus. I got mine out the other day and the focus was jammed in one spot but it was in focus and I could see it perfect. I guess I shouldn't mess with it if it breaks like you said.
I agree with your point, although I don't really think it applies to this particular video. It lasts almost 17 minutes, and I can't really think of what more you would have wanted him to go over. He talked about all the key points and gave an overview of the history. He could have shown longer game play for each game, but it was long enough to give an idea. If you want more game play I'm sure there's plenty of other videos on UA-cam that show extended game play on particular games.
Technical stuff here: Actually there isn't any screen inside the Virtual Boy. Yokoi wanted to use LCD color screen but it was impossibile at the time (and also now) build active matrix LCD screens capable to change state at such high speed to accomodate a proper image for eye. Utilizing 2 screens means other problems: Costs (TFT backlight LCDs was very pricy at time), computational power (nearly double), power consumption (much more) and, again, speed.(do you remember mid '90's laptop screens?)
i'm glad to see me and keith apicary aren't the only two people in the world who like the virtual boy. ;) as much as i love james rolfe, i think whenever he reviews something he instantly changes everyone's opinions on it or totally turns people away from it all together. castlevania 2, the first ninja turtles on nes, silver surfer, virtual boy, landing the plane in top gun, etc...
I've always wanted one. On Sunday I walked into a local game store. They had got in a Virtual Boy! Asked if it was for sale but unfortunately they still needed to test it. Hopefully I can be able to pick it up for a decent price.
Thanks , I never thought about that. I was very disapointed by the emulator I tried on PC as it runs the game in one small window that I cannot make bigger and no 3D options. I was using Red Dragon emulator. I tried another one and it simply kept crashing. I was hoping I would have been able to get a decent emulator for it. Whats the best PC emulator for VB?. The one in this review looks rather good?
If it takes longer to put up a quality video (still, I am thankful for the content), then take the time and it will be appreciated more. I especially think this is the case with videos like this, where they are meant to be informative.
I'd love for Nintendo to re-release these games for 3DS Virtual Console. It could let you select what color you want to view in or maybe different colors for each shade of red like Gameboy Color did with regular Gameboy games.
Found one of these in a dumpster with just the headset, foam and the controller. I had it for over a year, just sitting in the closet before I finally got a copy of Mario Tennis. It works perfectly! Didn't even need to do the ribbon reheating thing. It isn't a great system, but it is definitely fun.
An that Emu in the video looks like Mednafen for the PC but im not sure im just guessing. Wiimednafen is port of the Multi System Emulator Mednafen on PC. An it looks like that or better on Wii.
I really like the Virtual Boy controller. I thought the dual cross pads was a great innovation (and it predated dual analog), it also introduced trigger buttons to controllers. Plus it has the most comfortable grips out of any controller I've ever used.
Is Super Mario Land 3 on the original Gameboy the firt debut of Wario?. Oh and Donkey Kong was jump mans first enemy?. Can I asked what emulator you use for Virtual Boy?. i wanted one of these so bad as a kid but it didn't launch in UK. I have Red Dragon emulator and it's nowhere near as good as this one you have shown. I can only view in small screen mode and no 3D support. I was hoping with having a 3D TV I could get a decent sense of what it would be like to own one , alas i have no joy.sigh
Great review. The answer to the first trivia question is.. 1.) An old famicom disk system game called Mario or Wario Bucket was in fact wario's first apperance. It was a strange famicom game which wario first appearead in. It was a type of maze game. 2.) First rival would be... Donkey Kong!!
I never liked the Virtual Boy, but another good video Gamester81. I'm into history and stuff lol so I find it interesting to hear opinions on this system today.
Actually I discovered a way to reduce eye strain. By wearing a good pair of Sun Glasses during game play it will defuse the light and reduce eye strain and to play it in a comfortable position, just lay don on your bed and place it on your head. The weight will keep it still. And I brought mine with me to Conbravo where I had a small line of people who wanted to play it and they all said their eyes feel fine.
You actually can get the virtual boy experience thru the Wii VB emulator. It's able to output the 3D effect, you'll just need to have old-school red&blue 3D glasses ready.
I would love to get me a Virtual Boy. I remember that I played it at a KB Store in Puerto Rico and I think it was very unique and amazing of its time. A very N64ish style very playable. I would love to have one!
Wario debuted in super mario land 2 for the original Game Boy, he was the last boss there. First rival of Mario was Donkey Kong, when Mario's name was jumpman and Peach was Daisy, the very same game pictured on your t-shirt John.
I'll try to answer those questions... I think Wario's first game was Wario's Woods on NES, and Mario's first enemy was Donkey Kong on the arcade before the NES. Awesome video dude! :D
I enjoyed your perspective on VB! Warioland is definitely a MUST have game for the system but I chucked when you said one of your fave games is Mario's Tennis! I thought the game was damn near impossible to even return the ball once! I was thinking that it may have been me just sucking at it, but then I watched your gameplay of it and you lost too! Haha! Being in the UK it was a shame we never got the VB, but I would recommend it to anyone who is into their Nintendo - a sure fire collectors item! Also, I often check ebay for games, there seems to be a tonne always based in Mexico. I don't know that much about their game history, was the console more of a success there? Is it a similar case to places like Brazil where the Master System is still going strong!
Wario's first appearance was in super mario land 2: 6 golden coins.. However Mario's first "rival" can be taken one way or the other technically, then the answer can be really interesting depending on how you view it. Technically it's Donkey Kong, since it was his first game, how weever in 1981 he wasn't known as "Mario" he was merely, "Jumpman" it was after the fact that he was recognized as "Mario". So if that's the case then his first game as Mario was back in 1983, in the arcade game...
...and I always though he had initially appeared on 8-bit NES' "Wrecking Crew" as "Spike" that eventually was named Wario in 1992's Mario Land 2 for GameBoy. Donkey Kong definitely was his first rival in 1981.
8:20 What the hell are you talking about? Space Squash was a Space version of volleyball that played NOTHING AT ALL like Tetris. (Otherwise, good review.)
So actualy, gompai yoko dit NOT wanted to release the virtual boy YET , because he wanted to make some final adjustments to it, but nintendo was in hurry to release their system to quickly oppose other systems, and they knew that the console wasn't that save so they had put a warning label about possible eye strain on it, to aware parrents.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Gameboy was Wario's debut. Loved that game! I wish Nintendo would bring something like that back.The rabbit ears were always fun. Also as has been mentioned Donkey Kong was Mario's rival.
Playing on your back, the unit is heavy on the face and also that just ruins your eye visor over time. The material starts to rip off around the lining of it. Don’t play it any other way than designed. It’s a table top experience
dogeymon83 I play it on my back quite often. I keep the stand attached and balance that against my chest. I put a piece of felt over the nose hole on the system, so the unit sits comfortably. Easiest and most comfortable way to play this!
great video. i love the VB. red alarm is a legitimately awesome game, regardless of system. being on the vb just makes it even cooler. of course wario land is ace, and bound high is great too.
The mighty Virtual Boy! Played twice (I live in Europe, so here wasn't released and now is ultra rare), got headache twice! But it was a fascinating and unique experience! I particulary liked Vertical Force as a game and Red Alert for its unique graphic style (3D all-red-vectors graphic, fuck yeah!). Great video! Oh, the aswers are: Super Mario Land 2 (first Wario apparence) and Donkey Kong (first Mario's rival).
They could realise each VB game on the 3DS including the original red and black version. That would be great and would work due to the 3D effect of the 3DS.
I finally had a chance to play the VB and being a bit of a 3D enthusiast I was impressed with the 3D effects. If it was marketed as say 3D Boy maybe people wouldnt be so pissed about no virtual reality. I still believe Virtual Reality is the goal for gaming but before we can tackle that. We have to master 3D technology.
I dont know why when I was growing up this system was released and I wanted one but before I got it I played a demo of it at kb toys and man after playing for a 1 hour or so it gave me a headache
I just picked one up in box complete aaaand its brand new !!! ...some guy named baron r.k. von something was having a garage sale and he supposedly worked for Atari and commodore,activision,konami and made games for 3DO he had a bunch of video game systems boxed and games ..score !!!
How could you not like Teleroboxer! That's my favorite game on the system (granted it's one of the few games I own). Sure it's not an easy game, but it has some solid gameplay and animations in my opinion.
Most people have never played the Virtualboy, but to be honest I like the weight the batteries add. I like solid, heavy controllers (which is why not a fan of the Xbox360), and the controller is actually one of the better aspects of the Virtualboy in my opinion. It's probably the best controller Nintendo has made since the SNES.
Sadly the Virtual Boy would be one of Yokoi's last projects with Nintendo, and indeed ended up being one of the last projects of his life as he died a year later in a car crash.
If you have a Pair of Anaglyph Glasses and wanna see the 3D for the Virtual Boy in this Review. Do this Step 1 = Set this Video into 720p or 1080p Step 2 = Set this Video to Full Screen Mode Step 3 = Turn of all the lights in your Room Step 4 = Go to 13:48 Step 5 = Put on your Anaglyph Glasses on and Enjoy. I just tried this and it's awesome ewe
Got two Virtual Boys from Blockbuster in the giant plastic cases along with all but 3 games (including Jack Bros.) for like $100 back in the day. Back when they were trying to get rid of them because they weren't able to rent them. Lol.
"The emulator is in 3D so if you have a pair of 3d glasses..." Immediately went OOH, neat! and grabbed my copy of America Again: Re-Becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't.
I remember testing it at blockbuster when I was young. It was Mario Tennis. I was never interested in sports games, so it didn't appeal to me. I might have asked my dad to buy it, if it was a different game.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the first game with Wario and the Original Donkey Kong (as known as Cranky Kong) was Mario's the first main villain.
Donkey Kong was Mario's first rival. Wario first starred in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on Game Boy. I still have it along with my original Game Boy.
i always like this system, was going to buy it with my paper route money, but i got an snes instead. im still looking for one too. everyone already answered, but marios first name was jumpman if i remember right
Wasn't Mario's first enemy Donkey Kong? That's the first one I can remember, and I believe Wario's 1st game was Super Mario Land 2 for the original Game Boy.
I remember that deal with blockbuster because I wanted to rent one but my mom didn't have a credit card to put down the 50$ deposit so I wasn't able to : ( . I did play it on the store display(mario tennis) and thought it was awesome.
All hail the Virtual Boy!
I have been really having a Renaissance for the Virtual Boy. This was really great John. Very informative, very thorough.
Great job. I like how in depth you are with everything. not only does it bring me back but I learn something new.
With regard to game play is the images suppose to have a shadow/split fading view? That would give me a headache. Is it suppose to be clear?
I got my hands on a virtual boy complete in boy, had to fix it, now work like new, very happy so far, thanks for your review!
Got a question bro, does the japanese version of Mario tennis show everything in japense writing or is it still in English?
Great video Gamester! I really enjoy your reviews.
Awesome video! Really liked it. The 6 AA batteries was to power the whole system? It's crazy
It's good too see a thorough review of this system, as they were not released here at all.
Hope you are recovering from your operation.
The 1st rival to Mario was DK of course :)
Hey John, are you getting the Bound High Virtual Boy reproduction cart that was just released and if so, are you going to review it?
Great review John ! Never came out over here in England but would love to own one !
9:41 Oh damn.. what happened to the audio? That was painful..
Other than that, it's a great review! Good job! And thank you!
Thanks for the heads up on the focus. I got mine out the other day and the focus was jammed in one spot but it was in focus and I could see it perfect. I guess I shouldn't mess with it if it breaks like you said.
cool review! man, I think an virtual boy everdrive would be cool. I am not sure if there are any homebrews in the works or any unreleased titles?
Have you ever seen the avgn review of the virtual boy? If so what do you think?
Have you ever considered reviewing the rare Evo Smart Console?
It’s crazy to think how far we have come in virtual reality
Am I to high, or is there no audio.... 9:43 - 13:02 ?
I agree with your point, although I don't really think it applies to this particular video. It lasts almost 17 minutes, and I can't really think of what more you would have wanted him to go over. He talked about all the key points and gave an overview of the history. He could have shown longer game play for each game, but it was long enough to give an idea. If you want more game play I'm sure there's plenty of other videos on UA-cam that show extended game play on particular games.
Technical stuff here: Actually there isn't any screen inside the Virtual Boy. Yokoi wanted to use LCD color screen but it was impossibile at the time (and also now) build active matrix LCD screens capable to change state at such high speed to accomodate a proper image for eye. Utilizing 2 screens means other problems: Costs (TFT backlight LCDs was very pricy at time), computational power (nearly double), power consumption (much more) and, again, speed.(do you remember mid '90's laptop screens?)
Are you redoing your reviews because I saw that you already had a review on this. (no offense I love your videos)
Hey John, could you adjust your video's volume? I like your channels. Thak it up!
If there was Goldeneye for the virtual boy that would be amazing and would be nice if they made the link cable.
how many more videos do you have pre recorded?
Never seen one exept on videos...great review John!
I hope you enjoy this awesome system for many years to come!
i'm glad to see me and keith apicary aren't the only two people in the world who like the virtual boy. ;) as much as i love james rolfe, i think whenever he reviews something he instantly changes everyone's opinions on it or totally turns people away from it all together. castlevania 2, the first ninja turtles on nes, silver surfer, virtual boy, landing the plane in top gun, etc...
I've always wanted one. On Sunday I walked into a local game store. They had got in a Virtual Boy! Asked if it was for sale but unfortunately they still needed to test it. Hopefully I can be able to pick it up for a decent price.
Ryan Wequ Did you ever get it?
Snow Owl Decided to pass on it. They wanted just a bit too much money for it unfortunately
Thanks , I never thought about that. I was very disapointed by the emulator I tried on PC as it runs the game in one small window that I cannot make bigger and no 3D options. I was using Red Dragon emulator. I tried another one and it simply kept crashing. I was hoping I would have been able to get a decent emulator for it. Whats the best PC emulator for VB?. The one in this review looks rather good?
If it takes longer to put up a quality video (still, I am thankful for the content), then take the time and it will be appreciated more. I especially think this is the case with videos like this, where they are meant to be informative.
I'd love for Nintendo to re-release these games for 3DS Virtual Console. It could let you select what color you want to view in or maybe different colors for each shade of red like Gameboy Color did with regular Gameboy games.
I played the VB once in a store, got dizzy as fuck.
i played it in a car...... that ended badly......
Great video, get well soon John
hey john, do you have an AGB Capture?
Found one of these in a dumpster with just the headset, foam and the controller. I had it for over a year, just sitting in the closet before I finally got a copy of Mario Tennis. It works perfectly! Didn't even need to do the ribbon reheating thing.
It isn't a great system, but it is definitely fun.
I recently missed out on a virtual boy at local shop. was boxed too
An that Emu in the video looks like Mednafen for the PC but im not sure im just guessing. Wiimednafen is port of the Multi System Emulator Mednafen on PC. An it looks like that or better on Wii.
Question 1: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Question 2: Donkey Kong
Hats off to your channel by the way!
Didn't you already do a Virtual Boy review?
1) Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
2) Donkey Kong :P
wish it was
LOVE YOUR VIDEO'S GAMESTER81 KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK I'M A HUGE FAN.👏👏👍
I really like the Virtual Boy controller. I thought the dual cross pads was a great innovation (and it predated dual analog), it also introduced trigger buttons to controllers. Plus it has the most comfortable grips out of any controller I've ever used.
Thanks for another great review, John.
Is Super Mario Land 3 on the original Gameboy the firt debut of Wario?. Oh and Donkey Kong was jump mans first enemy?.
Can I asked what emulator you use for Virtual Boy?. i wanted one of these so bad as a kid but it didn't launch in UK. I have Red Dragon emulator and it's nowhere near as good as this one you have shown. I can only view in small screen mode and no 3D support. I was hoping with having a 3D TV I could get a decent sense of what it would be like to own one , alas i have no joy.sigh
Where can i get that emulator?
If you have a Wii Softmod it. You can run VB games of the wii with wiimednafen in 2d & anaglyph 3d on a HD TV
Great review. The answer to the first trivia question is..
1.) An old famicom disk system game called Mario or Wario Bucket was in fact wario's first apperance. It was a strange famicom game which wario first appearead in. It was a type of maze game.
2.) First rival would be... Donkey Kong!!
THANK YOU FOR HAVING THE STAND ON CORRECTLY
I never liked the Virtual Boy, but another good video Gamester81. I'm into history and stuff lol so I find it interesting to hear opinions on this system today.
Actually I discovered a way to reduce eye strain. By wearing a good pair of Sun Glasses during game play it will defuse the light and reduce eye strain and to play it in a comfortable position, just lay don on your bed and place it on your head. The weight will keep it still. And I brought mine with me to Conbravo where I had a small line of people who wanted to play it and they all said their eyes feel fine.
@ Gamester81 that's not true you can actually play the roms in 3D depending on your setup :)
You actually can get the virtual boy experience thru the Wii VB emulator. It's able to output the 3D effect, you'll just need to have old-school red&blue 3D glasses ready.
I would love to get me a Virtual Boy. I remember that I played it at a KB Store in Puerto Rico and I think it was very unique and amazing of its time. A very N64ish style very playable. I would love to have one!
Wario debuted in super mario land 2 for the original Game Boy, he was the last boss there.
First rival of Mario was Donkey Kong, when Mario's name was jumpman and Peach was Daisy, the very same game pictured on your t-shirt John.
I'll try to answer those questions... I think Wario's first game was Wario's Woods on NES, and Mario's first enemy was Donkey Kong on the arcade before the NES. Awesome video dude! :D
7:03 John shitting on the Waterworld franchise? You have earned my unwavering respect.
and a subscriber
You should try to pick up space invaders for this, it pretty rare and it cost like 400 bucks
I owed one of these back in the day wit my 64 I played hr of Mario tennis..wish I would of never broke it rare now
I enjoyed your perspective on VB! Warioland is definitely a MUST have game for the system but I chucked when you said one of your fave games is Mario's Tennis! I thought the game was damn near impossible to even return the ball once! I was thinking that it may have been me just sucking at it, but then I watched your gameplay of it and you lost too! Haha! Being in the UK it was a shame we never got the VB, but I would recommend it to anyone who is into their Nintendo - a sure fire collectors item!
Also, I often check ebay for games, there seems to be a tonne always based in Mexico. I don't know that much about their game history, was the console more of a success there? Is it a similar case to places like Brazil where the Master System is still going strong!
Wario's first appearance was in super mario land 2: 6 golden coins.. However Mario's first "rival" can be taken one way or the other technically, then the answer can be really interesting depending on how you view it. Technically it's Donkey Kong, since it was his first game, how weever in 1981 he wasn't known as "Mario" he was merely, "Jumpman" it was after the fact that he was recognized as "Mario". So if that's the case then his first game as Mario was back in 1983, in the arcade game...
...and I always though he had initially appeared on 8-bit NES' "Wrecking Crew" as "Spike" that eventually was named Wario in 1992's Mario Land 2 for GameBoy. Donkey Kong definitely was his first rival in 1981.
8:20 What the hell are you talking about? Space Squash was a Space version of volleyball that played NOTHING AT ALL like Tetris. (Otherwise, good review.)
So actualy, gompai yoko dit NOT wanted to release the virtual boy YET , because he wanted to make some final adjustments to it, but nintendo was in hurry to release their system to quickly oppose other systems, and they knew that the console wasn't that save so they had put a warning label about possible eye strain on it, to aware parrents.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for the Gameboy was Wario's debut. Loved that game! I wish Nintendo would bring something like that back.The rabbit ears were always fun. Also as has been mentioned Donkey Kong was Mario's rival.
Playing on your back, the unit is heavy on the face and also that just ruins your eye visor over time. The material starts to rip off around the lining of it. Don’t play it any other way than designed. It’s a table top experience
dogeymon83 I play it on my back quite often. I keep the stand attached and balance that against my chest. I put a piece of felt over the nose hole on the system, so the unit sits comfortably. Easiest and most comfortable way to play this!
great video. i love the VB. red alarm is a legitimately awesome game, regardless of system. being on the vb just makes it even cooler. of course wario land is ace, and bound high is great too.
the awnser to mario's first rival was donkey kong in the arcade machine where you jump / hammer barrles to get to the princess
Why did you review this a second time?
Would be great if Nintendo re-realised all the Virtual Boy games for the 3DS. If that happens they could do them in colour, they would sell well.
The Box uses the most 90s'esque' design themes i can ever imagine.
The mighty Virtual Boy! Played twice (I live in Europe, so here wasn't released and now is ultra rare), got headache twice! But it was a fascinating and unique experience! I particulary liked Vertical Force as a game and Red Alert for its unique graphic style (3D all-red-vectors graphic, fuck yeah!).
Great video!
Oh, the aswers are: Super Mario Land 2 (first Wario apparence) and Donkey Kong (first Mario's rival).
@Perigon You enjoy headaches?
They could realise each VB game on the 3DS including the original red and black version. That would be great and would work due to the 3D effect of the 3DS.
love your videos!
Wario Woods was Wario's first appearance
And Mario is originally a carpenter in Donkey Kong which was his first rival.
I rented it, and loved it when I was a kid. I spent my entire weekend on it, but did have my fill.
I finally had a chance to play the VB and being a bit of a 3D enthusiast I was impressed with the 3D effects. If it was marketed as say 3D Boy maybe people wouldnt be so pissed about no virtual reality. I still believe Virtual Reality is the goal for gaming but before we can tackle that. We have to master 3D technology.
The RealityBoy emulator does support 3D using red/blue glasses. Not bad actually..
I like you're Donkey Kong t-shirt.
I remember playing it on that Donkey kong portable with the two screens.
ahh the good old days.
FPS! I am so surprised that the virtual boy didn't have more fps or first person dungeon crawler type games - given how it is implemented.
Audio goes out at 9:43
Fully agree, the virtual boy was a great system. I own three now. Only complaint is the ribbon cable issue.
I dont know why when I was growing up this system was released and I wanted one but before I got it I played a demo of it at kb toys and man after playing for a 1 hour or so it gave me a headache
Is it sad i have a stack of those 3d glasses in my desk for no reason until now.
I just picked one up in box complete aaaand its brand new !!! ...some guy named baron r.k. von something was having a garage sale and he supposedly worked for Atari and commodore,activision,konami and made games for 3DO he had a bunch of video game systems boxed and games ..score !!!
How could you not like Teleroboxer! That's my favorite game on the system (granted it's one of the few games I own). Sure it's not an easy game, but it has some solid gameplay and animations in my opinion.
Most people have never played the Virtualboy, but to be honest I like the weight the batteries add. I like solid, heavy controllers (which is why not a fan of the Xbox360), and the controller is actually one of the better aspects of the Virtualboy in my opinion. It's probably the best controller Nintendo has made since the SNES.
Sadly the Virtual Boy would be one of Yokoi's last projects with Nintendo, and indeed ended up being one of the last projects of his life as he died a year later in a car crash.
If you have a Pair of Anaglyph Glasses and wanna see the 3D for the Virtual Boy in this Review. Do this
Step 1 = Set this Video into 720p or 1080p
Step 2 = Set this Video to Full Screen Mode
Step 3 = Turn of all the lights in your Room
Step 4 = Go to 13:48
Step 5 = Put on your Anaglyph Glasses on and Enjoy.
I just tried this and it's awesome ewe
Got two Virtual Boys from Blockbuster in the giant plastic cases along with all but 3 games (including Jack Bros.) for like $100 back in the day. Back when they were trying to get rid of them because they weren't able to rent them. Lol.
"The emulator is in 3D so if you have a pair of 3d glasses..." Immediately went OOH, neat! and grabbed my copy of America Again: Re-Becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't.
great review
I remember testing it at blockbuster when I was young. It was Mario Tennis. I was never interested in sports games, so it didn't appeal to me. I might have asked my dad to buy it, if it was a different game.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the first game with Wario and the Original Donkey Kong (as known as Cranky Kong) was Mario's the first main villain.
Donkey Kong was Mario's first rival. Wario first starred in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on Game Boy. I still have it along with my original Game Boy.
i always like this system, was going to buy it with my paper route money, but i got an snes instead. im still looking for one too. everyone already answered, but marios first name was jumpman if i remember right
I could've sworn Gamester did a VB review already.
I worked at Blockbuster when they rented these. I was there when they sold them for $50 with the plastic case. I didn't buy one then. I have one now.
Wasn't Mario's first enemy Donkey Kong? That's the first one I can remember, and I believe Wario's 1st game was Super Mario Land 2 for the original Game Boy.
I remember that deal with blockbuster because I wanted to rent one but my mom didn't have a credit card to put down the 50$ deposit so I wasn't able to : ( . I did play it on the store display(mario tennis) and thought it was awesome.