Virtual Boy controller

The Virtual Boy controller has an NES-compatible protocol, and has been used in homebrew games.

• Spook-O'-Tron
• Candelabra - Estoscerro

After strobing the controller, the following 16 bits can be read from the data line:

 0 - Right D-pad Down
 1 - Right D-pad Left
 2 - Select
 3 - Start
 4 - Left D-pad Up
 5 - Left D-pad Down
 6 - Left D-pad Left
 7 - Left D-pad Right

 8 - Right D-pad Right
 9 - Right D-pad Up
10 - L (rear left trigger)
11 - R (rear right trigger)
12 - B
13 - A
14 - Always 1
15 - Battery voltage; 1 = low voltage

This is very analogous to the SNES controller, which reports its 4 face buttons where the VB reports its right d-pad. However, the last 4 bits (B, A, 1, battery) have no correspondence in the SNES controller report. Use this 1 to distinguish the Virtual Boy controller from that controller or a mouse.

References

• VB Sacred Tech Scroll: Virtual Boy Specifications
• PlanetVB: Documents
• Sly Dog Studios: Candelabra - Estoscerro demo available
• Forum post: Spook-o'-tron - Virtual Boy Controller Fun