Bandai WonderSwanClassic Handheld
Classic HandheldDiscontinued
Bandai WonderSwan
Bandai · Released Mar 1999 · Original (mono)
Bandai's original monochrome handheld, designed by Gunpei Yokoi, ran ~30 hours on one AA and built a loyal Japanese following.
7.6
out of 10
$50
Launch price $50
Pros
- +About 30 hours on a single AA battery
- +Designed by Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi
- +Dual d-pads for vertical and horizontal play
- +Lightweight and cheap
Cons
- −Monochrome screen
- −Japan-only release
- −Mono sound
What can it play?
Emulation performance by platform, based on real-world testing.
Full speedPlayableLimitedNot supported
WonderSwanFull speed
Full specifications
Hardware
- Chipset (SoC)
- NEC V30 MZ
- CPU
- 16-bit NEC V30 MZ @ 3.072 MHz
- GPU
- Integrated 2D
- RAM
- 64 KB
- Storage
- Cartridge WonderSwan ROM cartridge
- Weight
- 93 g
- Dimensions
- 121 x 75 x 24 mm
- Cooling
- Passive
Display
- Size
- 2.49″
- Resolution
- 224x144
- Panel
- Reflective monochrome LCD
- Refresh rate
- 75 Hz
- Touchscreen
- No
Battery & Connectivity
- Battery
- 1000 mAh
- Real-world life
- ~30 hours
- Wi-Fi
- None
- Bluetooth
- None
- Ports
- Link cable, Headphone (adapter)
- Expandable storage
- No
Controls
- Analog sticks
- 0
- D-pad
- Yes
- Face buttons
- Yes
- Analog triggers
- No
- Gyroscope
- No
- Hall effect sticks
- No
Software & custom firmware
Ships with: None (cartridge-booted)
Also plays natively: WonderSwan (mono) cartridges
No third-party custom firmware tracked for this device.
Our verdict
Value8.0
Build8.0
Screen5.5
Performance5.5
The original WonderSwan launched Bandai's handheld line with clever engineering from Game Boy creator Gunpei Yokoi: roughly thirty hours from a single AA cell, dual d-pads for landscape and portrait play, and a low price. Monochrome and Japan-only, it nonetheless built a devoted following and a respectable library, paving the way for the Colour and Crystal models.