Manual Stimulation: Gunpey (WonderSwan)

Considering how much I usually love portable puzzle games, I am disappointingly inexperienced with and uneducated about Gunpey.

On the one hand, I can understand it. Gunpey isn't the most interesting looking puzzler around--despite being one that's played with the WonderSwan turned sideways, in so-called "portrait mode."

On the other hand, I can't understand it, as the game was made by the esteemed Gunpei Yokoi.





Not that he made it himself, of course. He made it with a number of former Nintendo colleagues who helped him start a company called Koto.

At any rate, their maiden release hit Japanese store shelves alongside the original WonderSwan model on March 4, 1999.





Unfortunately, Gunpey's status as an early WonderSwan release is reflected in its rather ho-hum instruction manual, scans of which can be seen throughout this post.

This manual also reflects what I said earlier about Gunpey being far from an eye-popping puzzle game.

How so? Well, most of the acreage here is covered in text. The rest is covered in black-and-white screenshots. A pop of color can be seen now and then, but that's about it.





Which is strange, as Gunpey stars a small handful of mascot-y characters that could've livened things up a little--or a lot.

Instead, the designers who worked on the Gunpey manual ignored them almost completely.

Oh, well. At least a number of screenshots included here showcase them. (Click on and zoom in on the scans immediately above and below to see what I mean.)





What else is there to say about the Gunpey instruction booklet? Not much, if you ask me.

A bit more can be said about Gunpey the game, though. For example, although it began life on the WonderSwan, it eventually made its way to the WonderSwan Color, the original PlayStation, the PlayStation Portable, and the Nintendo DS as well.

Also, a few months after the original iteration released, a version featuring San-X's Tarepanda character released for the WonderSwan, too.





Finally, some of you might like to hear how Gunpey is played. The gist: you move line fragments vertically along a grid in order to create a single horizontal line that stretches from the left edge of the WonderSwan screen to its right edge.

Like I said earlier, hardly the most thrilling of premises for a puzzle game.

Still, my limited time with it has been enjoyable enough, so if you have a WonderSwan and you're itching to play a puzzler on it, you could do worse than pick up a copy of Gunpey.

See also: 'Manual Stimulation' posts about other WonderSwan games, including Crazy Climber, Lode Runner, and Engacho!

Manual Stimulation: Crazy Climber (WonderSwan)

I've long ignored Crazy Climber for WonderSwan because it looked just a little too antiquated for my liking.

Granted, the original arcade version of the game came out all the way back in 1980, so this portable port from 1999 was bound to have an old-fashioned air to it, too.



If this is your first foray into the world of Crazy Climber, you're probably wondering: wasn't it updated or modernized at all between 1980 and 1999?

You'd think so, but as far as I can tell, the answer to that question amounts to "not really."



Maker and publisher Nichibutsu improved the looks of most of its console ports and sequels, but even Crazy Climber 2000 (from--you guessed it--the year 2000, and released for the original PlayStation) features the same "scale a skyscraper using two joysticks" (or directional pads) gameplay as the quarter-muncher that birthed the series 38 years ago.

So what prompted me to do an about-face and pick up a copy of this nichiest of niche titles? One catalyst was that I found out it's played holding the WonderSwan system vertically. (I've always been a sucker for that.) Another was its cartoonish and colorful box art.



Speaking of Crazy Climber's lovely cover illustration, I've got admit I kind of assumed it meant the game's instruction manual would be stuffed with similarly eye-popping imagery.

Boy, was I wrong. In fact, except for the manual's last spread, it's nearly devoid of art. The only exception is the awkwardly drawn hands found in the lower-left corner of page seven.



Don't take that to mean I'm disappointed with my purchase. I'm still glad I own this version of Crazy Climber. Hell, I'm still glad I own this booklet. Its cover and second-to-last page alone make it worth every penny.

If you're wondering what the illustrations on the second-to-last page are supposed to represent, by the way, that would be the game's "characters." I put it in quotes because some of the depicted objects obviously don't fit the typical definition of the word.



Anyway, you encounter all of these so-called characters as you (attempt to) make your way to the top of each of Crazy Climber's mammoth buildings.

Most aim to do you harm. The lone exception: the "lucky balloon." It kindly hauls you up a handful of floors without asking for anything in return.



One last comment before I declare this post complete: click on any of the scans you see here to take a closer look at them.

See also: previous 'Manual Stimulation' posts about Engacho! and Lode Runner for WonderSwan

Manual Stimulation: Lode Runner for WonderSwan

Of course a company made a Lode Runner game for the Bandai WonderSwan.

Why do I say that? Because almost every computer and console under the sun has welcomed some version of this classic puzzler-platformer during its lifetime.



Following the original Lode Runner's 1983 release for the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and a few other machines, it also found its way onto the Famicom, the PC Engine, the Super Famicom, the PlayStation, and even the GameBoy.

Given that, this 2000 offering from Banpresto (though Aisystem Tokyo developed it) isn't too surprising.



But is it any good? And even more importantly, especially given the focus of this post, is its instruction manual any good?

I've barely spent any time with Lode Runner for WonderSwan to date, so I can't say too much about its gameplay other than it's definitely Lode Runner. (This review, from someone who's clearly played a lot more of the game than I have, suggests it offers up at least a few unique components in this area.)



That's a very good thing as far as I'm concerned, by the way. I've had a blast playing different versions of this game ever since I first tackled Battle Lode Runner for the PC Engine way back when, so I'm always up for more.

As for the Lode Runner for WonderSwan manual, it's right in line with the title's gameplay and graphics. Which is to say it gets the job done but isn't exactly spectacular.



Its opening handful of pages probably have you thinking otherwise thanks to the colorful illustrations splashed across them.



The Lode Runner for WonderSwan manual is decidedly less vibrant after that, unfortunately. Its remaining pages sport some nice borders, headers, and screenshots, but no more drawings.



At least they provide some helpful information--assuming you know Japanese, of course. The spread above explains Lode Runner for WonderSwan's trio of gameplay modes (story, select, and edit, basically).



The next couple of pages explain how you can upload your level creations and download those made by others, I believe--but don't quote me on that. (If any of you have a better understanding of this text, please let me know in the comments section below.)



Lode Runner for WonderSwan's instruction booklet wraps up with a page full of tips for in-need players. Once again, though, I can't share the details. Sorry about that.

At any rate, what do you think of this particular manual? Is it a new favorite, or is it so boring you've already forgotten you ever laid eyes on it?

See also: previous posts about WonderSwan game manuals

Manual Stimulation: Engacho! (WonderSwan)

Can you believe it's been nearly a year since I bought a copy of Engacho!, NAC Geographic Products' amusingly gross WonderSwan puzzler? (A few photos of the game's packaging can be seen here.)

I can, but then again I've bought a lot of games in the last year (he says as his husband groans in the background).

More unbelievable, in my opinion, is that I've yet to play the damn thing. Of course, that would require me to buy a WonderSwan system of some sort, and for whatever reason I haven't been able to make myself do that yet.

While I ponder why that is, why don't all of you do something a bit more enjoyable--like take in the beauty that is this game's instruction manual.



OK, so it's clear from the cover of the Engacho! manual that "beauty" may not be the best word to use here. You have to admit, though, that it's pretty darn colorful--and the illustrations are quite amusing (if not exactly attractive).



Moving along to the interior of this title's surprisingly lengthy manual, right off the bat we get a glimpse of its nose-less protagonist. Sadly, I can't tell you his name--or the names of any of the characters highlighted on the next few pages--as I still don't know a lick of Japanese. (Don't worry, I'm working on it.)



Should any of you who understand Japanese be able and willing to lend a helping hand with this information, by the way, I'd greatly appreciate it.



Next up in the Engacho! manual: the ever-thrilling explanation of controls. It's a fairly necessary section in such booklets, of course, so I won't complain too much that it's lacking in excitement.



Here we get a look at the game's intro screens--which, sadly, are in black and white. Couldn't the folks at NAC Geographic Products have re-released this one after the WonderSwan Color hit the streets? I guess not. Oh, well, at least the sprites are worthy representations of the hand-drawn originals.