Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Post by **skyknight** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:18 am

Hi,

New guy here, I'm made my first post on the Sega thread, now I have a second question that I hope some of you can answer.

The Bandai Wonderswan, the last portable gaming system from the great Gunpei Yokoi, it has intrigue me over the last several years. In Gundam SEED, one of the EA Gundam pilots was playing the WS13(?), but we all know that the system met its defeat on the heels of the GBA.

And I wonder if it is an unique gaming system worth collecting? As I see these go on ebay from USD $20 (basic) ~ 99 (limited ed.), and I do know some of the games (particularly Squaresoft's) were later ported to GBA, is this something worth getting?

I wouldn't mind getting one with FF1, 2 & 4, but are there other games (affordable) that are fun for the system? Any user experiences is welcomed!

Post by **Lokkenjawnz** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:53 am

Well I know there's plenty of people who'll be able to chime in with some information, but to get you started check out the Wonderswan 101 Guide, right here on Racketboy!

Post by **skyknight** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:10 pm

Already check that section out, as well as watch several YouTube videos on Wonderswan. But I think first-hand experiences is great, as people may share the rave and rants about the system. Given the short life of Wonderswan, I'm curious to know how many people imported it and played with it.

Post by **pepharytheworm** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:15 pm

Well the best experiences I have on a Wonderswan, are Gunpey (3 versions if I am not mistaken). It does a DS remake but its totally different playing it on a vertical screen. Another game that being vertical is better is Tetris. Basically any puzzle game period has a better feel on the wonderswan then other portables except Puzzle Bubble. Guilty Gear Petit is a good fighter almost as good play wise as the neo geo pocket fighters and its one of the prettiest games. One Piece: Swan Colosseum this game looks more like a latter GBA game. Final Lap Special is in english but its an average racer. SD Gundam Operation U.C. is a sidescroller shumps. Golden Axe is almost arcade perfect. Pocket Fighter another good figther. Dicing Knight is a Zelda clone that language isn't a barrier.

Thera are a lot of RPGs and strategey games on the system but language becomes a big issue with those. I would say its not a handheld you must have but there are games to be found. I am still looking for more, mostly racers and fighters.

Post by **Dakinggamer87** » Fri Oct 23, 2009 5:07 pm

I imported both versions of Wonderswan mainly for collecting and the cool novelty of systems. I played them a few times and they are cool handhelds but not many games due to short lifespan but there are some gems even though most were ports.

Post by **Yukima** » Sun Oct 25, 2009 9:12 pm

I never had a Wonderswan, but I did play some of the games on an emulator as a kid. I personally want one just because of the insane amount of Digimon games available on it that you can't get on any other system

I'm a huge fan of the Digimon anime, and I was mad when only two of the anime-based games were released in the US - the GBA ports of Battle Spirit 1 and 2. There are like 10 or 11 more that are Wonderswan-only, and one of them is a pretty sweet RPG game that spans the first 3 series of the anime!

Post by **samsonlonghair** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:28 pm

Yukima wrote:I never had a Wonderswan, but I did play some of the games on an emulator as a kid. I personally want one just because of the insane amount of Digimon games available on it that you can't get on any other system I'm a huge fan of the Digimon anime, and I was mad when only two of the anime-based games were released in the US - the GBA ports of Battle Spirit 1 and 2. There are like 10 or 11 more that are Wonderswan-only, and one of them is a pretty sweet RPG game that spans the first 3 series of the anime!

I want to play Anode/cathode tamer, tag tamers, D1 Tamers, and brave tamer really badly. I love digimon!

Post by **skyknight** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 2:56 pm

OK, within the last couple of weeks I did obtain FFII edition of WSC that came with FFI and SaGa (FF Lengend on GB in NA), added Gunpey EX, and Tetris; and I was lucky (I think) that I snag a used SwanCrystal with FF:IV for under USD $30 - granted that I had to fix the screen that had shifted, and the game had no box nor instructions.

Back to the console, wow, amazing that this needed only ONE size AA (1.5V) battery to run, think about it how far gaming has come for handhelds - the SEGA Game Gear need SIX AA batteries to run it, and it could only last about an hour. And I have been playing Tetris on the SwanCrystal for several hours on 1 battery!

The screen, to be fair, WSC is quite lackluster, but SwanCrystal is on bar with the original GBA. And, other's input needed, the display looks much better than the Neo Geo Pocket Color (true?).

And I agree with most that you do need to understand Japan (to a certain degree) to play the RPG games; I was very fortunate to live in Taiwan for several years, and I took about 2yrs of JP class in high school - so I could understand parts of the game.

Seeing the price of Judgement Silversword on ebay, is that the most ever lopsided ratio between game and system?

Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

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Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?

Re: Any in-depth look on the Wonderswan?