My WonderSwan Misc. Questions FAQ (your feedback appreciated)
I have mostly finished this and am posting it here for your input:
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Miscellaneous Questions FAQ for Bandai WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color, and SwanCrystal (by M.M.)
Last Updated: 10/07/2010
Q: How do each of the three WS units compare (Mono, Color, Crystal)?
A: From my experience in having owned all three units, the original monochrome WonderSwan is actually the easiest to see under darker lighting conditions, as opposed to the Color and Crystal which seem to require more specific conditions. WonderSwan Color seems to be more dim, and the ghosting is more noticable, but it is the only Color unit that allows for contrast adjustment. The Swan Crystal, besides some slight physical changes, is mostly a screen upgrade, giving the user a much more pristine display including no ghosting, and allows for an extra level of volume, though it seems the option to use it depends on the game (such as Digimon Card Game). Also, some monochrome games look better on the original unit, instead of the later Color and Crystal units. For example, some games appear much darker (ex: Makaimura). The sound quality on all of them varies, and may also depend on the game. For example, the volume in With You ~mitsumeteitai~ sounds much louder on the Color when I compared them. The monochrome unit, despite having fewer volume levels, is actually pretty good audio-wise. But in the end, I (and most WS users included) would reccomend the Crystal for general use.
Q: How does the WonderSwan and the WonderSwan Color/Crystal compare to other handhelds of its time?
A: The WonderSwan was graphically superior to most of the competing handhelds of its time, where even the monochrome games had great detail thanks to its high resolution. However, the WonderSwan's 16-bit CPU, at 3.5mhz, is actually slower than both the Neo Geo Pocket Color (about 6mhz) or Gameboy Color (8mhz), and ironically just one step behind the original monochrome Gameboy (4mhz) despite being released almost a decade later. This may be why the system has fewer action intensive games and more menu-driven fare such as strategy and role-playing games. Aside from the graphics, the Color model is essentially the same CPU but more RAM (64K), and the Crystal is mostly a screen upgrade. None of them had a backlight, though this can actually be achieved through a hardware modification.
Q: Are there color games that are backwards compatible with the monochrome unit, and if so, how can I tell?
A: Yes, there are. The monochrome games are black cartridges. They come in small boxes with the red border at the top bearing the WonderSwan logo. Color games are clear cartridges that come in slightly taller boxes (note that the size of these boxes are comparable to the japanese Gameboy/Gameboy Color ones), and those that are backwards compatible with the monochrome unit will show that in the upper right corner of the front of the box, bearing both the WonderSwan Color logo and the regular WonderSwan logo. Color titles without this compatability will only show the Color logo next to japanese kanji characters. Later titles released during the end of the system's lifespan when the Crystal was released have a different top border which is blue and shows both the Color and Crystal logos. None of these were backwards compatible with the monochrome unit. At the bottom, on the back of the box, you will see a checklist that signifies compatability between all three units marked with either an X for negative, or a O for positive. Tetris was the last monochrome-compatible Color game on the system.
Q: That being said, were there any games that were made exclusively for Crystal?
A: No, actually. There were no games that were exclusively for Crystal because it did not offer any significant technical differences to allow for potential incompatibilities with older units, to my knowledge. Rather, some games were possibly optimized graphically with the Crystal in mind, but none of them are incompatible with the previous system. Thus, all of them work on the Color. As for the checklist on the box, it appears to have been there simply to clear any suspicion to users over whether or not it was compatible with the Color unit and vice versa.
Q: Do Color systems automatically set a color palette to monochrome titles when playing (like the Gameboy Color does, for example)?
A: No, they don't.
Q: What games are playable on this system without japanese knowledge?
A: Here are most of the titles that I believe are the most accessible to non-japanese speakers:
-Battle Spirit: Digimon Frontier
-Beatmania
-Buffers Evolution
-Crazy Climber
-Dicing Knight
-Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit
-Digimon Tamers: Battle Spirit Ver. 1.5
-DJ Battle -Turntablist-
-D's Garage 21: Tane wo Maku Tori
-Final Lap 2000
-Final Lap Special
-Ganso Jajamaru Kun
-Glocal Hexcite
-Golden Axe
-Guilty Gear Petit
-Guilty Gear Petit 2
-Gunpey
-Gunpey EX
-Judgement Silversword
-Kaze no Klonoa: Moonlight Museum
-Kurupara
-Lode Runner
-Magical Drop
-Makaimura
-Mister Driller
-One Piece: Grand Battle Swan Colloseum
-Pocket Fighter
-Puzzle Bobble
-Puyo Puyo Tsuu
-Rainbow Islands ~Putty's Party~
-Rhyme Rider Kerorican
-Rockman EXE WS
-Rockman & Forte ~Mirai kara no Chousensha~
-RUN=DIM -Return of Earth-
-SD Gundam Operation U.C.
-Space Invaders
-Tarepanda no Gunpei
-Tetris
-Xi [sai] Little
Please see my WonderSwan masterlist for more information on these titles. Some games that were initially exclusive to the WS did see a release stateside on other consoles (like the GBA), such as Riviera and Digimon Battle Spirit, among others.
Also, this is strange but true: some wonderswan games were officially released in english outside of Japan by Bandai Asia, to english speaking asian countries like Hong Kong, for example. There is a version of Robot Works (the software cartridge that comes with the WonderBorg) that is bilingual. The other two are Digital Monster Ver. Wonderswan, and Digimon Anode/Cathode Tamers: Veedramon Version, which is the english version of Digimon Tamers: Medley. In addition, because of its western origin, Wizardry is another game which can be played bilingually by changing the language settings in the options menu.
Q: What is/are the best WonderSwan emulator(s)?
A: Among the ones that are currently available (Cygne, WScamp, and Oswan) my personal favorite is Oswan, since it is the most compatible and up to date.
Q: Are there any flashcarts for the WonderSwan?
A: Yes, there is the WonderMagic Color which is 32M, but it is very scarce. It might be more convenient to make your own, for which I can't provide any instructions at this time. There is also the WonderWitch development kit, though to my knowledge it cannot write commercial ROMs as they are usually in a different format, but it might be possible through hacking the provided software and/or converting the ROM. However, the rewritable cartridges provided with it are limited to 512KB storage.
Q: How do you compare the Gameboy, Wonderswan and Neo Geo Pocket (both monochrome and color) in terms of library?
A: Well, everyone has a different taste in games obviously, but the Gameboy line has most of what people want and more, including many of the games that these systems have (although I might point out that Wonderswan's versions of games like Medabots, Harobots, Elie & Marie, etc. have some slightly enhanced graphics). Since WonderSwan was japan only and most of the games on it are heavily text driven, it is not very import-friendly by any means. That, and most of the english-friendly games are simple, generally underwhelming ports of pre-existing titles that have already been on dozens of consoles. The fact that it sold 3-4 million units vs. SNK's 2 million means nothing, because Bandai is a much larger company with more promotion, control, and influence that they've garnered mostly through licensed media and merchandises, and were largely responsible for keeping the system afloat by publishing games developed by third parties. Of course, the same thing could be said about SNK's Neo Geo Pocket Color, but SNK's games are generally more highly regarded than most games that Bandai has released, which is often exemplified by their dedicated fanbase. Thus, I think the NGPC is much more accessible and enjoyable with its small but sweet library. Of course, for a general audience, the Gameboy will have the most appeal. Actually, WonderSwan is my least favorite of the three handhelds. While having the capability to display in either vertical or horizontal modes was interesting, I found the design to generally be awkward along with the library. I write about it not because it is my favorite handheld but because I've had a period of interest in it and had knowledge worth sharing about a console that is generally obscure to western audiences.
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Any comments, questions, suggestions, are welcomed.
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