3DSen VR (formerly known as 3DNesVR) is an emulator tool that runs Nintendo Entertainment System games in VR, letting you play the ’80s and ’90s classic titles that made the console a world-wide phenomenon.
Update (April 22nd, 2019): 3DNesVR, in its original form, was removed from Steam some time ago. However the new rebranded emulator, named 3DSenVR, has been reapproved for use on the platform. The free demo is back, along with an appended ‘Mid 2019’ launch date for the full product. The free demo is said to include support for
more than 4010 classic games, however you’ll need the applicable ROMs to make use of it; 3DSen VR is only an emulator!
Original Article (October 23, 2018): Created by Geod Studios and first launched on itch.io in May 2017, 3DNesVR is finally heading to Steam, with support for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets.
3DNesVR automatically turns NES games into a sort of ‘pop-out’ 3D version of the 2D game (not included), and lets you play it natively via SteamVR and Oculus runtime. While there are controls that let you adjust how the 3D effect renders, Geod Studios has created a few presets and tips in its 3DN Repository.
You can try it our for free now, as the demo on Steam supports a limited number of titles including (see update):
- Super Mario Bros
- Circus Charlie
- Elevator Action
- Battle City 1990
- Donkey Kong
- Dr. Mario
- Kungfu
- Legend Of Kage
- Tetris
The full release, slated to launch on January 21st, will support what Geod calls “massive games” including both classic and modern homebrew NES ROMS.
Supported controllers include gamepad, Steam controller, and system-specific VR motion controllers.
For obvious legal reasons, 3DNesVR doesn’t provide ROMS, so you’ll have to obtain them yourself and plug them in like any other standard emulator.
If you’re looking for a decidedly more modern emulating experience, Dolphin VR does a surprisingly good job with Nintendo Wii and GameCube games, although the project seems to have been put on hold since mid-2016.
