There are a few fan-translation to choose from now, some DigiMon RPGs, Chocob's Dungeon etc. Looks like there are more coming, too. I guess most Westerners will just use the emulation for this console, so that's a good way to try out those, too.
Because I am Full Time making a living on YT now, I am travelling again working from a laptop. Filmed for a Month on Romania in November and I am currently in Hungary for a month shooting my next batch!
I always wanted a WonderSwan because I knew Gunpei Yokoi was involved, but it saddens me that out of all Final Fantasy ports, 3 and 5 were left out in the cold.
I love this little device. I have a basic Wonderswan and some random Gundam SD RPG for it. One day I hope they get a flash cart working for it, cause I'd love to play translation hacks on it.
wow, the graphics were really good for the time. I remember seeing these in South Korea in a few department stores back in 2001. The Wanderswan Color specifically. I honestly considered buying one at the time, but decided to just buy the GBA instead.
Another informative video. I really enjoy your output, it will be great to get your more in depth views on individual retro games someway down the line, as you say *doffs hat*
i would love it if you covered the digimon games in a future video (or set of videos more than likely given the length of the series). I own every North American release in my collection save Digimon world dusk, and about half of the japanese/asian exclusive releases. :)
If i recall correctly there is indeed more than 10 digimon games released on the WonderSwan/WonderSwan Color. And yes i would love to see a video on the WS/WSC digimon games :D
;-) as a Digimon Nerd i have the Digimon Game for Wonderswan. It's kinda cool that you have a special adapter to battle a real Digimon V-Pet with your wonderswan
You show these stinking Geese! Was curious if the WS was around the world after watching your wife’s video. Love videos about handhelds that weren’t even released there.
I remember hearing about the wonderswan as a kid and wishing that it would get released in the states. I knew it wasnt going to happen, but hearing how it was technically superior to the GBC always made me disappointed.
Could someone help me identify where the theme playing at 4.24 is from? I'm certain I've played the game, but I just can't recall exactly what it was and it's driving me mad
Why these companies still thought that a Monochrome screen would cut it in the year 1999 is beyond me. Bandai even had the Neo Geo Pocket fail just before that to show them the way, yet they STILL insisted on releasing the Wonderswan with a black and white screen. This was sheer, unadulterated stupidity if you ask me, and a big reason why the console failed. Releasing the color version shortly after was too little too late, same as it was for SNK with their Neo Geo Pocket Color.
I found out about this game system looking for info on Digimon. Apperantley to understand some plotlines from the anime that bridges the gaps between Digimon Adventure Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon tamers you had to play these games. That always pissed me off we couldn't get these games.
Even despite its zero lighting, I really want to get a Wonderswan and all it's Digimon games. I just wish that harsh language barrier didn't plague the rpg style games.
Ahha, you didn't mask or crop out the final fantasy Screen from your Stock Wonderswan graphic you used as a frame. YOu can still make it out during the dissolve at 11:32
Sorry I couldn't make it past :45 because of the god awful audio. Did you record your sound in a bathroom with a speakerphone? That reverb. That clipped high end. I really wanted to like this, the visuals were quite interesting.
Gunpai had NOTHING to do with the "color" gameboy series, he did however create the "pocket" edition that was the slim upate for the DMG gameboy. It's annoying that you say this. Gunpai would have opposed the color screen as it did not fit his ideals of a simple portable gaming machine. Saying this makes me annoyed that you did little to no research in the development of the original gameboy and its amazing creator. Also he did not "compete" with the gameboy. He massively respected nintendo and retired with the company. The wonderswan was just an extension of his creative abilities as a console designer, pushing for longer battery life and a change of scenery.
I would love a Wonderswan, and I hope to get one someday. I also would love to see a video on the Digimon game series since I own all the PAL games and 2 of the NTSC DS games.
not gonna lie, before watching this i assumed the top hat gimmick would resound of fedora-wearing hipster (hate using that word but I'm lazy and it kind of means something?) nonsense, but i clicked for the WonderSwan. after watching i was happy to subscribe, seeing that you are a very solid guy, living with serious gusto, full of good information, taste, and class. i also really like the idea of traveling with handheld games to review them. i wonder if you have some kind of great job or how you can afford both import game collecting and traveling? anyways looking forward to the rest of your channel, God bless!!
+Ricardo Clemente I am currently working as a trainee school teacher. I qualify in June. I afforded to travel the world, due to the value of English properties going up. I just took some money out and extended my mortgage by five years. I started game collecting in 2002, when it was all pretty worthless. So overall just alot of being in the right places at the right times! Glad you enjoy the content.
u need games at the beach? damn... I dream of the beach cause i’ve never been there in my 30 years and play games just to keep my mind away from the fact that it is like it is
Been watching and loving your videos for a while now, keep up the awesome work! 1 more sub for 6k! Also, I see you were in Philadelphia at one point, how did you like it? I'm from the suburbs of Philly so I go in a lot to skateboard, bike ride, shop, or just walk around and I love my city! I wonder what you did while here!
I went to the United States for 3 months last year, I wanted to see as much of it as possible and ended up visiting 25 states in that time frame. Therefore most places I only got to see for 2 or 3 days. I liked what I saw of Philadelphia. I found a cool game store, bought a Sega Nomad. I also ate my first Philly cheese steak hoagie. I am not going to lie, the Rocky films drew me to the city haha.
@Sheepy007 As someone who grew up and lives in the suburbs of Philly, going into Philly constantly through my life, I can say that Philly cheesesteaks are amazing. Even the ones outside of Philly in the suburbs are made amazingly. Pat's might be the most famous and possibly one of the best, but you can get amazing cheesesteaks almost anywhere around Philly. Definitely worth trying! I wonder which retro game store you went to, it wasn't Video Game Junkie, was it? I need to start going into Philly for retro games more!
Two years late to the party but I must say, gundam is bandais biggest success the gunpla model kits are the most successful model kits in the world, so much so that thry bought sunrise, so bandai own gundam
So Wonderswan was localized in America by Nintendo as the Game Boy Advance. Seeing the Wonderswan rip off the same style as the Game Boy consoles, it's no wonder we never got them. The Wonderswan consoles never reached here because they were obviously a rip off of the Black and White Game Boy for the original Wonderswan and Game Boy Color for the Wonderswan Color.
I don't think Gunpei was involved in Game Boy Color development. Perhaps Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Light, but not Game Boy Color. Think about it: why would he go up against his own color portable with another monochrome unit?
Nintendo had mulled over and experimented with color handhelds for years, though it wasn't until Sharp introduced a screen that managed a sort of holy trifecta-- active matrix LCD, color-displaying, and at low cost-- that they introduced the GBC. This was actually one of the Wonderswan's shortcomings; it used a passive-matrix LCD, meaning games blurred like hell during motion, much like the original Gameboy and Game Gear had. Also keep in mind that years passed between Yokoi's prototype for the Wonderswan and the release of the unit itself in 1999.
Rena Lanford Right, and those "years" means that his departure from Nintendo was even earlier/further away from the GBC. No doubt they were continually experimenting with color (likely even before the original launched in 1989) but if he fully developed and prototyped the B&W Wonderswan after leaving Nintendo, it stands to reason that he did not do this after starting Nintendo's GBC project with Sharp's new screen. He would have known that a B&W Wonderswan could not stand up against the GBC.
6000 subs sure pays for alot of travel, you almost don't need to do the international drug trafficking -- but you do! BTW Gunpei Yokoi shouldn't have been driving while playing virtualboy and gameboy, when will people learn its one system or the other while driving, never both!
Official GaminGuys You do not get paid on subs, you get paid on watch time and the amount of ads Watched. I am up to $200 a month through ad revenue and $100 a month through Patreon. Which goes alot further in this hemisphere than it does at home!
Make no mistake, the Wonderswan was another Game Boy clone and Nintendo was right to reject it in the west. Sorry that Gunpei Yokoi's gaming legacy wasn't as great as it should have been.
There are a few fan-translation to choose from now, some DigiMon RPGs, Chocob's Dungeon etc. Looks like there are more coming, too. I guess most Westerners will just use the emulation for this console, so that's a good way to try out those, too.
I just bought a copy of Lode Runner for my WonderSwan. Pretty excited. Sadly though, all the games I want are PRICEY! Good video!
What interesting is that Wonderswan is a micro x86 system. The CPU NEC V30 is both pin and object-code compatible with the Intel 8088.
A amazing video about a hand-held that taught me so much about the device featured. Please keep up educating the world on gaming history, bro.
thank you sir!
The fact that he filmed these while on an actual world tour vacation is incredible lol
Because I am Full Time making a living on YT now, I am travelling again working from a laptop. Filmed for a Month on Romania in November and I am currently in Hungary for a month shooting my next batch!
This is like watching Wish you was here with video games with a hint of British colonialism. Worth every minute of my time :D
I always wanted a WonderSwan because I knew Gunpei Yokoi was involved, but it saddens me that out of all Final Fantasy ports, 3 and 5 were left out in the cold.
I love Digimon. I wish the WonderSwan would have come out in the USA so I could have played those WonderSwan exclusive Digimon games.
I actually learned about the Wonderswan through Kamen Rider Ex-Aid
I can't wait to buy one of these someday. I found out about it through Evangelion, and I've been wanting one ever since.
I love this little device. I have a basic Wonderswan and some random Gundam SD RPG for it. One day I hope they get a flash cart working for it, cause I'd love to play translation hacks on it.
wow, the graphics were really good for the time. I remember seeing these in South Korea in a few department stores back in 2001. The Wanderswan Color specifically. I honestly considered buying one at the time, but decided to just buy the GBA instead.
Wow the Vib Ribbon game looks awesome! They lined the game up with the buttons on the system! Very nice. Thanks for the video mate.
Another informative video. I really enjoy your output, it will be great to get your more in depth views on individual retro games someway down the line, as you say *doffs hat*
i would love it if you covered the digimon games in a future video (or set of videos more than likely given the length of the series). I own every North American release in my collection save Digimon world dusk, and about half of the japanese/asian exclusive releases. :)
Thank you for uploading this today. Made my terrible day a worthwhile one! Hope you're having a great holiday too.
retro Brit here. your videos are the best! never give up and don't lose that hat!
'Yeahhhhhhh' hahaha. I love when TGM does this.
If i recall correctly there is indeed more than 10 digimon games released on the WonderSwan/WonderSwan Color.
And yes i would love to see a video on the WS/WSC digimon games :D
Hey hat....3:10 where'd u get the photo if the stand up virtual boy kiosk ?
Wonderswan plays really well on the RS97, check it out if you want to save money and get a nicer screen.
I can't believe he didn't mention Final Fantasy was on the console....
Crackin Video fella.
I have to say the wonder swan is a Handheld that I know very little about I don't even think i've even seen on IRL :-O
Great Video! Love the history!
Another handheld superior to the GameBoy that failed. A shame.
It also has a pretty decent Fire Pro, although it's in B&W which can make some guys look too similar.
Just found your channel today and I love the concept of it. Good stuff!
;-) as a Digimon Nerd i have the Digimon Game for Wonderswan. It's kinda cool that you have a special adapter to battle a real Digimon V-Pet with your wonderswan
You show these stinking Geese!
Was curious if the WS was around the world after watching your wife’s video.
Love videos about handhelds that weren’t even released there.
Yes it has indeed been around the world! Yeaaaaahhhh
Your channel is very strange. I love it man. Keep bashing rocks and sticks. Keep traveling. Keep talking the good game talk.
I remember hearing about the wonderswan as a kid and wishing that it would get released in the states. I knew it wasnt going to happen, but hearing how it was technically superior to the GBC always made me disappointed.
Could someone help me identify where the theme playing at 4.24 is from? I'm certain I've played the game, but I just can't recall exactly what it was and it's driving me mad
Why these companies still thought that a Monochrome screen would cut it in the year 1999 is beyond me. Bandai even had the Neo Geo Pocket fail just before that to show them the way, yet they STILL insisted on releasing the Wonderswan with a black and white screen. This was sheer, unadulterated stupidity if you ask me, and a big reason why the console failed. Releasing the color version shortly after was too little too late, same as it was for SNK with their Neo Geo Pocket Color.
Pre li-on batteries and cheap blue LEDs, innit.
As usual , excellent review.
Good another video top work skipper
What's the background music?
What is the music that starts about 3:40?
Bandai also puts out the Kamen Rider and Super Sentai, as well as pretty much every other Tokusatsu series, figures in Japan.
Yep, and they should stick with making videogames and toys ...not consoles.
I think my favourite cameo of the Wonderswan in media is from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, a superhero show which is sponsored by (guess who?) Bandai!
I found out about this game system looking for info on Digimon. Apperantley to understand some plotlines from the anime that bridges the gaps between Digimon Adventure Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon tamers you had to play these games. That always pissed me off we couldn't get these games.
Whats the music at 4min?
I wonder if his passing was really an 'accident'...
6k subs, congrats.
damn good video as always Top Hat Gaming Man!
10:25
What is this song?
An 8 bit version of EVO, it's Digimon Tamers evolution music.
Even despite its zero lighting, I really want to get a Wonderswan and all it's Digimon games.
I just wish that harsh language barrier didn't plague the rpg style games.
Ahha, you didn't mask or crop out the final fantasy Screen from your Stock Wonderswan graphic you used as a frame. YOu can still make it out during the dissolve at 11:32
Cultured and enlightened indeed. Cheerio!
Sorry I couldn't make it past :45 because of the god awful audio. Did you record your sound in a bathroom with a speakerphone? That reverb. That clipped high end. I really wanted to like this, the visuals were quite interesting.
Subscribed!
My favorite Bandai offerings were probably the SNES Power Rangers games, save for the shitty racing one. But the rest were great!
the wonderswan looks alot like the first GBA you can tell gunpei's handywork
Tom Williams Productions The first GBA was not designed by Gunpei. He was long-gone by that point.
Gunpai had NOTHING to do with the "color" gameboy series, he did however create the "pocket" edition that was the slim upate for the DMG gameboy. It's annoying that you say this. Gunpai would have opposed the color screen as it did not fit his ideals of a simple portable gaming machine. Saying this makes me annoyed that you did little to no research in the development of the original gameboy and its amazing creator. Also he did not "compete" with the gameboy. He massively respected nintendo and retired with the company. The wonderswan was just an extension of his creative abilities as a console designer, pushing for longer battery life and a change of scenery.
Great vid, man! Thanks for all the info and for introducing me to this handheld.
You should come to Brazil to talk about one of those!
golden axe looks great on that thing
Starting at 1:30, -8 ways to get psychologically conditioned.
I would love a Wonderswan, and I hope to get one someday. I also would love to see a video on the Digimon game series since I own all the PAL games and 2 of the NTSC DS games.
Did you end up getting 1?
4:50 song name?
Uriel Bravo Undertale OST, can’t remember which one
not gonna lie, before watching this i assumed the top hat gimmick would resound of fedora-wearing hipster (hate using that word but I'm lazy and it kind of means something?) nonsense, but i clicked for the WonderSwan. after watching i was happy to subscribe, seeing that you are a very solid guy, living with serious gusto, full of good information, taste, and class. i also really like the idea of traveling with handheld games to review them. i wonder if you have some kind of great job or how you can afford both import game collecting and traveling? anyways looking forward to the rest of your channel, God bless!!
+Ricardo Clemente I am currently working as a trainee school teacher. I qualify in June. I afforded to travel the world, due to the value of English properties going up. I just took some money out and extended my mortgage by five years. I started game collecting in 2002, when it was all pretty worthless. So overall just alot of being in the right places at the right times! Glad you enjoy the content.
A game that that allowed to play diagonally? I always had a thought about having split-screen multiplayer where two screens are split diagonally.
The Omnilution 2.0 the sims busting out did it on ps2 haha
nice video!
been having bandai software, the wonderswan able to connect the pocket station and ps1 in the multiplatformed DIGIMON POCKET.
You know what, you might actually have more subscribers if you didn't have so many friggin' ads in a 10 minute video.
I had the OG black and white WonderSwan, 1 AA battery can last up to 30+ hours. The system and the games were pretty cheap too!
Undertale music! 😍 I'm guessing you've played it now
Oh Why I found This That great!
I know the wonderswan had Final fantasy on board.
I understand poor Gunpei was treated rather shabbily by Nintendo after the failure of the Virtual boy, which is why he left and went to Ban Dai.
Well actually he created a company called Koto Laboratory, and they collaborated with Bandai.
New Japan Pro Wrestling was released on this
Great content but the "background" music is not intended to be a primary focus of potential listeners.
Actually the correct pronunciation for Gunpei is Goon Pay
There were way more than 4 Digimon games released on the wonderswan
3:38 Gunpei Yokoi getting revered next to Tupac, as it should be....
u need games at the beach? damn... I dream of the beach cause i’ve never been there in my 30 years and play games just to keep my mind away from the fact that it is like it is
Been watching and loving your videos for a while now, keep up the awesome work!
1 more sub for 6k!
Also, I see you were in Philadelphia at one point, how did you like it? I'm from the suburbs of Philly so I go in a lot to skateboard, bike ride, shop, or just walk around and I love my city! I wonder what you did while here!
I went to the United States for 3 months last year, I wanted to see as much of it as possible and ended up visiting 25 states in that time frame. Therefore most places I only got to see for 2 or 3 days. I liked what I saw of Philadelphia. I found a cool game store, bought a Sega Nomad. I also ate my first Philly cheese steak hoagie. I am not going to lie, the Rocky films drew me to the city haha.
How was the cheesesteak? I always imagined those being less exciting than what you actually hoped for
The only thing I remember about it, is the ridiculous price I paid for eating in a cafe near those bloody Steps!
@Sheepy007
As someone who grew up and lives in the suburbs of Philly, going into Philly constantly through my life, I can say that Philly cheesesteaks are amazing. Even the ones outside of Philly in the suburbs are made amazingly. Pat's might be the most famous and possibly one of the best, but you can get amazing cheesesteaks almost anywhere around Philly. Definitely worth trying!
I wonder which retro game store you went to, it wasn't Video Game Junkie, was it? I need to start going into Philly for retro games more!
I think it may have very well been Video Game Junkie.
Where do you get vibe from? It's not in the title and it's not the girl rabbits name... just viB ribbon. No E
Two years late to the party but I must say, gundam is bandais biggest success the gunpla model kits are the most successful model kits in the world, so much so that thry bought sunrise, so bandai own gundam
That music is from Undertale I think.
I saw SRW compact, I came.
So Wonderswan was localized in America by Nintendo as the Game Boy Advance. Seeing the Wonderswan rip off the same style as the Game Boy consoles, it's no wonder we never got them. The Wonderswan consoles never reached here because they were obviously a rip off of the Black and White Game Boy for the original Wonderswan and Game Boy Color for the Wonderswan Color.
0:38 Did he seriously throw a game gear into the water? Why?
🥀R.I.P.🎐Gunpei🕹Yokoi...🙏🏼
Pretty sure gunpei's last Nintendo product was game boy pocket
I dont get the intro, he smashing the stones and the trees, look weird, what is,the point
I was looking for good games for my Wonderswan emulator... I guess i should go with Virtualboy instead. At least the games were fun.
i never a tamagochi when i kid everyone of my frends at school had one
is there a decent emulator
WSCAMP
When people talk bad about the GBA Final Fantasy OSTs I'm like hold my beer.
Ahem. I live in Delaware. You just need to look for things to do there.
I don't think Gunpei was involved in Game Boy Color development. Perhaps Game Boy Pocket and Game Boy Light, but not Game Boy Color. Think about it: why would he go up against his own color portable with another monochrome unit?
Nintendo had mulled over and experimented with color handhelds for years, though it wasn't until Sharp introduced a screen that managed a sort of holy trifecta-- active matrix LCD, color-displaying, and at low cost-- that they introduced the GBC. This was actually one of the Wonderswan's shortcomings; it used a passive-matrix LCD, meaning games blurred like hell during motion, much like the original Gameboy and Game Gear had. Also keep in mind that years passed between Yokoi's prototype for the Wonderswan and the release of the unit itself in 1999.
Rena Lanford Right, and those "years" means that his departure from Nintendo was even earlier/further away from the GBC. No doubt they were continually experimenting with color (likely even before the original launched in 1989) but if he fully developed and prototyped the B&W Wonderswan after leaving Nintendo, it stands to reason that he did not do this after starting Nintendo's GBC project with Sharp's new screen. He would have known that a B&W Wonderswan could not stand up against the GBC.
6000 subs sure pays for alot of travel, you almost don't need to do the international drug trafficking -- but you do!
BTW Gunpei Yokoi shouldn't have been driving while playing virtualboy and gameboy, when will people learn its one system or the other while driving, never both!
I never chose the Despot life, the Despot life chose me.
6000 subs pays about $14 a month lol so maybe a choc-ice here n there
Official GaminGuys You do not get paid on subs, you get paid on watch time and the amount of ads Watched. I am up to $200 a month through ad revenue and $100 a month through Patreon. Which goes alot further in this hemisphere than it does at home!
wow thats impressive think I do $4 lmao and I have over 200k views on one of them
Top Hat Gaming Man you forgot one it's called one piece grand battle swan colussem for the wonder swan
Make no mistake, the Wonderswan was another Game Boy clone and Nintendo was right to reject it in the west. Sorry that Gunpei Yokoi's gaming legacy wasn't as great as it should have been.
Is it just me or he really looks like Wario.
DID HE JUST TREW THAT GAME GEAR AWAY?
Yeahhhhhh!!
Digimon is the king of Wonderswan
Mech warrior pods
Don Turtelli gamer
it was never worth playing unless you can read japanese.