What is WonderSwan Roms
WonderSwan Roms is a term used for all WonderSwan ROMs, as well as the fan translations of those games not released outside Japan.
WonderSwan Roms are videogames for the WonderSwan, a handheld console created by Bandai Co., Ltd. The WonderSwan was only available in Japan and had games released from 1999 to 2003 until it's successor, the WonderSwan Color, replaced it.
Best WonderSwan Roms Games
Which WonderSwan Roms are the best? There's a lot to choose from. Here you have some of them:
- Ever 17: The Out of Infinity - this is one of the most acclaimed visual novels ever. Ever 17 was originally for PlayStation 2 but it was ported to WonderSwan Color in 2007. It's considered as one of the best visual novels ever made because its story deals with time travel and parallel worlds, two concepts which make it very complex and interesting to play/read. This game might be enjoyed by fans of science fiction and action videogames like Metal Gear Solid, Halo, etc.
- Tower & Shaft - Tower & Shaft is a great action platformer which you could easily compare with Capcom's Megaman series (for NES). As Lan, you have to defeat enemies and avoid traps while getting various power-ups that will help you in your quest.
- Takeshi no Chousenjou (Takechi's Challenge) - this game is considered by many as one of the best WonderSwan games ever created. It's an anime-based RPG where you have to take part in an illegal fighting tournament held once every year. You can use different types of weapons during battles and that brings a lot to the gameplay.
- Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon (WonderDungeon) - this is also another great action role playing game, very similar to Final Fantasy in terms of style and atmosphere. Chocobo no Fushigina Dungeon has been praised for its graphics, characters development, difficulty level, etc.
- Magical Houshin - this game was originally released for Gameboy Advance in Japan. It's an action role playing game but it also has JRPG elements like managing your characters stats, magic spells, etc.
How to use WonderSwan Roms
First of all I should say that there are 2 different ways you can use WonderSwan Roms:
Emulators - once installed on your computer (windows/mac/linux), you'll be able to start the emulator and play any ROMs you download; Flash cards - these are cartridges that can hold up to 32-128 ROMs (depending on their type) which will allow you to enjoy games without using emulators, very similar to how things worked with Nintendo 8-Bits.
WonderSwan emulators
There are many WonderSwan emulators for different platforms but the most famous are Mednafen (which you can download for free here ) or Cygne. I must say that using emulators is more practical than using Flashcards so I recommend starting with those.
- Best WonderSwan emulator for Windows: Mednafen works on all PC systems, including Windows XP/7/8 - you only need to download the game file and then create an ISO image of your ROMs, something that takes just a few minutes. It's one of the most compatible WonderSwan emulators out there, capable of running almost every game ever made for this console.
- Best WonderSwan emulator for Android: My choice would be HandyGamem Emulator , a free app in which you can load ROMs using the rcomage tool. Other good WonderSwan emulators for Android are BioBoy (also based on Mednafen), Drastic DS Emulator (based on DeSmuME) or PopstationDS (based on mGBA).
- Best free WonderSwan emulator for Mac users: I've only tried Cygne on my MacBook and it worked perfectly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, WonderSwan Roms have been around for almost two decades and they're still being played by thousands of people from all over the world. It's a really good system that deserves our support, so go ahead and play your favorite games in HD or even better, create your own WonderSwan game if you're up to it!
