RevivalGate
Play online today
On a computer, with an emulator: MesenCE with the WonderGate adapter built in, or Mednafen with Swan Revival Link. Post scores, see the national rankings, and unlock the extras. On a real WonderSwan: connect a console from Chrome or Edge with an ExtFriend-compatible cable (untested so far), or use my USB-C module once it’s out.
In 2001 Bandai sold the MobileWonderGate: an adapter that connected a WonderSwan to a DoCoMo phone, so games could post scores, fetch rankings, and unlock extras. Game services ended on 31 March 2003. RevivalGate is my replacement: new servers and new hardware so those features work again on an unmodified console and cartridge (coming soon), and emulators.
Then and now
2001
- WonderSwan
- WonderGate adapter
- DoCoMo phone
- Bandai servers
A 9600 bps phone call per session.
Now
- WonderSwan
- My module
- Your phone
- My servers
Until the module is out, a computer stands in for it: MesenCE, or a real console through Connect a console.
Games
27 working of the 30 WonderGate games I've dumpedTo my knowledge, no one recorded the original network traffic for these games, so each game’s server is worked out from the game’s own code. These are tested in an emulator running the real game against my server. None of the games have been online on a real console yet; that will require either my USB-C RevivalGate module or the EXT dongle.
How to play online · See the leaderboards, or find your current ranking.
| Game | System | What works | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raku Jongg | WSC | Rankings, tables, names, and stages | Leaderboard |
| GunPey EX | WSC | 4 of 5 modes | Leaderboard |
| Tare Panda no GunPey | WS | All 4 modes | Leaderboard |
| Another Heaven | WSC | Quick-solve ranking | Leaderboard |
| D's Garage 21: Tane o Maku Tori | WS | National best, all 4 boards | Leaderboard |
| Sennou Millennium | WS | Net ranking | Leaderboard |
| Final Lap 2000 | WS | Total and lap times on all 16 courses | Leaderboard |
| Pocket Fighter | WS | Score upload, rankings, paid extras, and cards | Leaderboard |
| Uchuu Senkan Yamato | WS | National top 50 and all 30 crew logs | Leaderboard |
| Digimon Adventure 02: D1 Tamers | WSC | The net D-1 Grand Prix: ranking battles, ID battles, and the ladder | Ladder |
| Digimon Tamers: Brave Tamer | WSC | Ranking battles, the ladder, and the hall of fame | Ladder |
| MobileWonderGate cart | WS | Web pages and mail between players; a homebrew game stands in for Bandai’s lost downloads | |
| Dark Eyes: Battle Gate | WSC | Online battles, mercenaries, and world info | |
| Wonder Classic | WSC | Member cards, rankings, monthly items, and a test Net Tour round | |
| Buffers Evolution | WS | National rank and world record on all 36 courses | |
| Tonpuusou | WSC | Rating download and upload | |
| Wizardry Scenario 1 | WSC | Additional maps, net shopping, and ranking registration | |
| Star Hearts | WSC | Gate Bazaar membership and visitor counters | |
| SD Gundam G Generation: Gather Beat | WS | Shop with Bandai’s final list, at my estimated prices | |
| SD Gundam G Generation: Gather Beat 2 | WSC | Shop with the list and prices players recorded in 2002 | |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Vol. 1: Side 7 | WSC | Hammer and Javelin unlock | |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Vol. 2: Jaburo | WSC | Side stories unlock | |
| Mobile Suit Gundam Vol. 3: A Baoa Qu | WSC | Sub-scenario unlock | |
| Rainbow Islands: Putty’s Party | WS | Item GET and Illust GET | |
| Pocket no Naka no Doraemon | WSC | Seasonal DORA MAIL | |
| Ring Infinity | WS | Hint mails | |
| Terrors 2 | WSC | Real-time campaign clock |
How it works
Based on my research, the Wonderswan console never actually spoke to the modem. It would send the official adapter short commands over the EXT port’s serial line: open a socket, connect, send, receive, look up a hostname. The adapter itself did all of the networking. So anything that answers those commands can replace the adapter and the phone.
Games ask the adapter to look up their server’s hostname, so my adapter points every dead Bandai address at my server. No cartridge needs patching and all physical cartridges should work without modification.
Content that only ever lived on Bandai’s servers, such as downloadable maps and items, is unfortunately gone unless it turns up somewhere. Rankings, uploads, and unlocks that were built into the game already can be unlocked though.
Thanks
This builds on trap15’s wonderfence adapter emulator (MIT), Keitai Archive’s work on WonderGateway, and the WSdev wiki’s protocol notes.