Bandai Wonderswan

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Bandai's Wonderswan

The Wonderswan exemplifies 'underappreciated in its own time'.  I think it would have found an audience in the US had we been fortunate enough for a stateside release.  Competing with the Gameboy Advance would have been an uphill battle, but given some of the niche games and really nice ports it received, it very well could have stolen some marketshare as it did in Japan.  Allegedly, there was a planned North American release but clearly something made Bandai change its mind.  The Wonderswan has a legitimately great pedigree with Gunpei Yokoi having a hand in the design.  It feels solid and has the unique option of playing it vertically or horizontally.  The games themselves have their pins exposed but do have slip cases that protect them.  A single AA will run a Wonderswan Color for ~20 hours (I don't have an original Wonderswan or Wonderswan Crystal to test how they fare.)

Even though it was only officially released in Japan, there exist a number of games in English or at least with an English language option - the caveat being these usually go for a premium on eBay.  If you look around on Amazon.jp or some of the import game sites, they can be had for more reasonable prices.  Tetris, Golden Axe, Wizardry, Crazy Climber, Ghosts 'n Goblins and Lode Runner are a few of the standards that received Wonderswan releases.  Ghosts 'n Goblins (Makaimura) and Golden Axe seem to command insanely expensive prices, regardless.  Playing Wizardry on the go is a novelty that's more fun that it really has any business being.  Tetris and Crazy Climber both utilize the vertical option and it works pretty well. Gunpey & Gunpey EX for the original Wonderswan and Wonderswan Color, respectively, are a fun puzzler that pays homage to Gunpei Yokoi.  Puzzle Bobble also runs vertically and would have been a great offering to attract casual gamers.  I could honestly see me carrying this around with a gam
e or two for standing in line or killing time waiting in a restaurant.  If you're able to read Japanese, there's a pretty awesome library that opens up, including Final Fantasy I, II and IV.

Having sung the praises of games that non-Japanese players can enjoy as well as the solid hardware, the unlit screen is far and away the biggest miss of the Wonderswan.  GBA also had an non-backlit screen and people hated that as well so it wasn't like the folks at Bandai were bucking a trend or cutting corners.  It's hard to see the screen in anything but very direct light and that would limit it's usefulness in those previously mentioned scenarios. If you're serious about playing Wonderswan, apparently the Wonderswan Crystal is better or there are a number of modding services that will add a backlight.

The handheld itself comes in a surprisingly large array of colors and most have a translucent quality to them and a clear back.  It's a good looking device.  The screen doesn't seem to scratch too easilyand would be safe to have in your pants or jacket pocket as long as it wasn't sharing a space with your keys - again, indicating how it would have made a great device to carry around throughout the day.
Since we're now living in an era where anything 'Retro' or 'rare' is usually subject to price gouging, the humble Wonderswan or Wonderswan Color can be had for $100 USD or less, if you're willing to wait and watch.  The Wonderswan Crystal is generally more expensive since it's more in demand and most likely wasn't produced in the same quantities as the older 2 models.  Even without speaking Japanese, it's still very worth picking one of these up with a copy of Gunpey.  It's a fun piece of history and defintely won't encroach too much on the battery budget.

Links for those curious:

English Friendly games list - http://videogamekraken.com/list-of-english-friendly-wonderswan-games
Atari Age Forum Post on English Language Games - https://atariage.com/forums/topic/192439-my-list-of-playablefor-non-japanese-speakerswonderswan-games/
YouTube - MetalJesusRocks Wonderswan Buying Guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbReNENRMA8

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