First Impression: Bandai Wonderswan Color

The WonderSwan Color I own

When I first heard about the Bandai WonderSwan, I thought it was a mediocre hand-held console due to the fact it was only around for four years (1999 - 2003). There weren't any games that were notable to me and no one Stateside seemed to know about it.

As a few more years progressed, I became increasingly more interested in this relatively obscure gaming device. I began to check eBay from time to time to see how much these consoles ran for. I was surprised to see that the WonderSwan regularly ran for $5 to $10 (not including shipping). However, the WonderSwan Color was usually listed for $15 to $25 and could also run upwards to $100 if it was a special edition model or if it came with numerous games.

The games were also affordable with some being priced at 99 cents or even a penny. Some games were also expensive due to rarity, but these were few and far between and most games were priced under $5.

It was because of the affordability of this system and games that I became even more enthralled with the WonderSwan. It was only recently did I decide to purchase one because there was one game in particular that I was interested in owning. The port of the classic horror title Clock Tower.

About 2 weeks ago, a fully boxed copy of the game appeared on eBay and I could not resist. I had to have it. I placed my bid and within 2 days the game was mine for a somewhat high price of $20 and $5 for shipping from Japan. However, I needed a console to play it on. Luckily around the time I made the bid, I had also purchased a WonderSwan Color for $15 with the game Harobots included.

Why a WonderSwan Color?

I purchased the Color model because there were games made specifically for the WonderSwan Color. Some of these games could not be played on the original monochrome WonderSwan. Another reason is that since I have the console, I would like to collect for it in the future and all WonderSwan titles are compatible with the color version.

Then, just two days ago, I got it. The WonderSwan Color.

The console is a lot smaller than I originally believed it to be. This is good because it fits in my pocket very easily and it does not weigh very much, even with a battery. It runs on a single AA battery which has yet to run out of juice. I've read that the average battery life for the Wonderswan is 15 to 20 hours. A major reason for the great battery life is the fact that the console has no screen lighting. While this can make the system hard to see in low lighting, it isn't much of a problem in well-lit environments.

The d-pad on this system is unique as it is comprised of separate buttons as opposed to being a single pad. Another unique feature is that it has two d-pads. The reason is simply that some games were made to be played in portrait mode whereas most games were designed for landscape. The buttons are very responsive and feel nice to play games for lengthy periods of time.

The console does not have a power switch, instead it has a power button which is actually quite nice. The sound is also a single button and only has 4 settings (Off, Low, Medium, Loud) which can make it awkward to adjust the volume. The sound quality is really good for the system and the sound effects are a lot nicer and clearer than some Gameboy games.

Running Harobots

 The graphics are very nice and more detailed than many Gameboy games that I have played. I have read that the visuals are in between Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance, which I can easily say is true. I have yet to play a color game, but from what I have seen online the games are quite nice and detailed.

Although I have yet to receive my copy of Clock Tower, I have been able to test the handheld with the game Harobots. The game is entirely in Japanese (as are all of the titles) and I cannot figure out the plot at all. It's a mech-based RPG that is strikingly similar to the Pokemon games. In my personal experience, RPG's tend to be the most difficult to play when you have no idea of the plot nor can you understand the language it is presented in. I do not believe I will spend much time with this particular game.

There are plenty of other games that are available and most action games are easily playable without knowledge of the Japanese language. There is even a version of Golden Axe that I would like to eventually get. The console also recieved ports of Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 4 with a version of 3 that was in development but later scrapped. This was due to Squaresoft entering an agreement with Bandai since they were angered at Nintendo and the WonderSwan was a direct competitor to the Gameboy Advance.

All in all, the WonderSwan is a nice handheld that is a great addition to my collection. I would recommend this to anyone who is a collector or enjoys playing Japanese titles. I know once I get my copy of Clock Tower, I won't put it down.

-Video Game Dude