According to RockmanCosmo, who was the first to break the news over on social media, the game was preserved by a user named LNRC and appears to be loosely based on the Japan-exclusive 2002 WonderSwan remake of the original Game Boy title (that was launched back in 1989).
This was a version of the game that switched out the original's monochrome visuals for colour, and also featured redrawn characters, monsters, and background designs, as well as other quality-of-life improvements.
The i-Mode version of the game was released in the Summer of 2007, and was later followed by similar versions for EZWeb and Softbank-compatible phones. These ports benefitted from the various visual improvements introduced with the WonderSwan version and even added in a bunch of extra shops and Kanji support, but noticeably stripped out the remake's bestiary mode and the ability to play the original Game Boy title.
As is the case with many of these lost i-Mode titles, it was presumed for the longest time that these titles were simply lost to time due to several logistical and technical challenges. This includes the fact that the games only ever being downloadable through long-defunct developer portals and are locked to aging hardware that most people have since junked in favour of newer devices.
However, as we've reported in the past, the feature phone preservation community has made several breakthroughs over the years, which has resulted in more and more of these titles being preserved for future generations.
If you want to find out more about the game and how you can play it, you can discover more information over on the Keitai Wiki Discord.
