Japanese Video Game Console: Wonderswan Color

The Wonderswan Color was released by Bandai in Japan only at the end of December 2000. Bandai made several consoles that never made it out of Japan, including the predecessor to the Wonderswan Color, simply called the Wonderswan.

The Wonderswan Color was better than the Gameboy Color in many ways, but it was not quite as good as the Gameboy Advance. It did have one edge over the original GBA, though, and that's battery life. The Wonderswan Color could last up to 20 hours on a single AA battery, which is pretty impressive. It also debuted at a particularly low price, around $60 new. Thanks to the low price and it's one year lead on the GBA, it was ALMOST a threat to Nintendo!

But, the Wonderswan Color was somewhat lacking in games when compared to the Nintendo handhelds. It had a few excellent games, especially since Square Enix agreed to remake Final Fantasy I, II, III, and IV for the system. It did manage to exceed a total of 100 games, including, but not limited to, RockMan (MegaMan here in the states), Guilty Gear, Super Robot Wars, and Gundam games. So, in short, it's not the best library, but it certainly isn't bad. And that's before factoring in the backwards compatibility with the original Wonderswan!

Of course, since the console was only released in one region, region protection isn't an issue. Then again, you still have to import everything you play on it since none of it was released here.

Now, the console is more of a collector's item since most of the games were later ported to the GBA or other systems, but just to further entice the collector in you, there were a few limited release Wonderswan Color packages. There was the Final Fantasy I Limited Edition Box Set and the Final Fantasy II Limited Edition Box Set, compliments of Square Enix, provided that you are willing to pay the premium for it. Still, the console by itself is an interesting collector's item that can still be enjoyed for a pretty low price. It may even turn some heads if you play it out in public!

Play-Asia options:
Buy WonderSwan Color Console - Pearl Pink at Play-Asia.com (currently in stock)
Buy Wonderswan Color Console and Games at Play-Asia.com (for the others that might be in stock later)

Amazon options:



Have fun playing!
-Kuro Matsuri

Play Asia Current Deals 10/11/2009

Pretty much the best place to get import games at this point. The second best option is National Console Support, but they honestly tend to be a little more expensive and they very rarely have sales like Play Asia does. So, this particular post is just to highlight a few sales going on at Play Asia right now.


Play Asia has the Soldner X Collector's Edition Box Set for PC for an excellent price. $9.90 plus shipping and handling. That makes it about the same price as downloading the game on your home console, but you get a nice limited edition physical copy instead. Not to mention that the game is honestly a lot of fun, so go buy Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer [Limited Edition] (PC CD-ROM) at Play-Asia.com =P


You'll have to import Final Fantasy XIII if you don't like the English voice acting or if you want Final Fantasy XIII before it comes out Spring of next year, assuming it's on time since GameStop seems to think that it won't be released until late June... not that GameStop is always accurate either... and here's your chance to get it for slightly cheaper than you would have otherwise. The game's price in Japan is over $90, but Play Asia is willing to sell it to those who preorder for $90, which will bump up to $95 right before the game gets released. So, if you were going to get it anyway, go ahead and preorder Final Fantasy XIII so you can save yourself $5.


If you would like to search for a few deals on your own, feel free to head over to Play-Asia.com and see what they have! ^_^

Have fun playing!
-Kuro Matsuri

News: Final Fantasy XIII Japanese Release Date and Price!

Final Fantasy XIII now has a release date and a price!

Well, it does for Japan, at least.

A YouTube Flash-based ad was discovered that showed the release date, and with some careful URL editing, this exact image was discovered:



So, December 17th is the release date, and it has been confirmed by Square Enix already. When they confirmed it, they also announced the price. 8800 Yen, which translates to about $95... ouch. But there is only a general release date for the US (Spring 2010... at least that's what they're "aiming" for), so if you want the game months before your friends, or you just want it as soon as possible, importing it is the only way to do so.

The good news is that you can preorder the game for a little less than the launch price right now through Play-Asia.com. They have it available for $89.90, a price that will be available until Dec. 12, 2009, at which point the price will go back up to $94.90.

To pre-order Final Fantasy XIII, try HERE

Have fun playing!
-Kuro Matsuri

Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy XIII team up!

Sneak a peek at Final Fantasy XIII through Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete!

Guess what is available for pre-order in Japan right now!

Final Fantasy VII on Blu-ray!

And guess what else?

It comes with a playable demo of Final Fantasy XIII for the PS3!


That is epic. Period.

It is very import friendly as well. The movie itself has an English audio option, although the default is Japanese (Hey, it is a Japanese movie!). Furthermore, since Japan and the U.S.A. are in the same "region" as far as Blu-Ray movies are concerned, this will play in any American Blu-ray player. And since PS3 games are region free, the demo will play just fine in an American PS3.

There is a catch or two, though. The demo itself IS in Japanese with no English options. Furthermore, only the FIRST printing of the Blu-Ray will have the demo, so you'll have to pre-order it as soon as possible to get the demo. Also, if you want the movie but don't care about the demo, the movie can be bought without the demo for a little bit cheaper.

Buy the movie with the demo HERE

Buy the movie without the demo HERE

Have fun playing! And watching!
-Kuromatsuri