During the September 2025 Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo revealed they were bringing the full library of Virtual Boy games to Switch Online classics. But they weren’t just putting the games onto the service for Nintendo Switch 2 owners, but also bringing a Virtual Boy accessory to stores for everyone to buy and use with the Switch 2. This was a big shock to everyone, as it was completely unexpected. To many Nintendo fans, the Virtua Boy was a console that was a failure in the company’s legacy, but was ambitious enough to try something very different at the time. And while it’s not the best piece of hardware that Nintendo has released, it makes many gamers feel nostalgic.
This continues a trend of Nintendo going back to its history of classic releases and bringing them into the current day through the use of Switch Online. Having the Virtual Boy accessory to play the games offers a way for players to have a more authentic experience with them, just like it was like playing a Virtual Boy in the 90s. But if Nintendo is willing to bring back something as obscure as the Virtual Boy in a big way, then there is a variety of other Nintendo hardware they could decide to revisit as well. Here are three other legacy accessories that Nintendo can bring back in a big way, just like the Virtual Boy for Nintendo Switch 2.
NES Zapper
The best light gun we remember
Anyone who was a kid in the 80s most likely had a Nintendo Entertainment System in their household. One of the major accessories for the console was the NES Zapper, a light gun accessory that was compaitble with games like Dunk Hunt. It’s arguably one of the most iconic Nintendo accessories ever released for one of their systems. There were multiple versions of the Zapper that were released over the lifetime of the NES, including the iconic gray Zapper and an orange-colored variant in 1988. The change was made to adhere to the Federal Toy Gun Law, which mandated that toy guns be completely distinct from a real weapon.
Regardless, the Zapper was a very popular accessory among NES owners, despite not many games within the console’s library taking advantage of the accessory. There’s a total of 16 licensed games that are compatible with the NES Zapper. Having a version of the Zapper made for the Switch 2 would be a great offering for those who have fond memories of playing games with it back in the day. There are some titles already on the NES classics that were compatible with the Zapper back then, but having a new version of it now could be a good excuse to add more games to the service to work with it. Nintendo could have an attachment for the Joy-Cons, or a version of the Zapper that was made like a Joy-Con, to pair up with games like Duck Hunt and introduce other titles alongside it.
Game Boy Camera
We love taking pictures
A very fun accessory that was released for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color was a camera attachment. Originally released in 1998, and known in Japan as the Pocket Camera, the Game Boy Camera was used to snap photos of players and manipulate them on the handheld. The unit itself was a swivel camera that could turn around to face a user or what was in front of them to snap pictures. The camera also came with a few mini-games that could be played using some of the pictures taken with it. The games themselves aren’t complicated, and were fun ways to see selfie pictures taken during the gameplay. The Japanese version also had compatibility with the Nintendo 64DD app Mario Artist, which allowed players to manipulate photos.
There was a planned successor to the Game Boy Camera that was going to be for the Game Boy Advance. It was going to have similar functionality to the original Game Boy Camera, and have some connectivity to the Nintendo GameCube as well, with a title called Stage Debut. However, neither this successor nor Stage Debut were ever released to the public, and the Game Boy Camera was never followed-up. The Game Boy Advance went on to instead have other accessories that were very different in its connectivity to the GameCube.
A newer version of the Game Boy Camera could be something that could take advantage of the Switch 2’s Game Chat feature, while also doing similar things to the original title. Nintendo already has an official camera attachment for the Nintendo Switch 2, which could be a good place to start by reintroducing the Game Boy Camera with the Switch Online classics. Even a variant of the Switch 2 camera made to look like the Game Boy Camera would be a clever release to appeal to the retro gaming crowd who remember using the Game Boy Camera back in the day, especially if the same application can be easily accessed through Switch Online classics.
Super Scope
Playing with super power
Another light gun attachment that people fondly remember from the Super Nintendo is the Super Scope. Some would view it as a beefed-up version of the NES Zapper for Nintendo’s next console, but the Super Cope had its own collection of games that took advantage of its design. It is shaped like a bazooka, instead of the traditional pistol design that most light guns were made to be like at the time. There are twelve official games that are compatible with the Super Scope, including the pack-in title Super Scope 6, which contains six mini-games to play. Besides its size, one major thing that differentiated the Super Scope from the Zapper was that it used batteries. The Zapper was always connected to the NES system to be powered, but there was more freedom with the Super Scope for players to move around by not being connected to the Super Nintendo via a cable.
Like the NES Zapper, having a new version of the Super Scope released today for the Switch 2 could be a fun addition to the collection of retro accessories offered on the system. The SNES games that are compatible with the light gun could further boost the lineup of titles on the Super Nintendo classics section of Switch Online. Games like Yoshi’s Safari and Terminator 2: The Arcade Game as the first additions could be great titles to attract people to it. While the Joy-Con controllers could be used to play such games, having the Super Scope itself available in stores would offer the authenticity to the experience from back in the day. There are plenty of people today that would love to hold the giant blaster once again to shoot targets like they did back in 1992.
Flashing back from the past