Want to stick out like a sore thumb? Here’s a tip for you: if your friends are going on about how much they’ve enjoyed the recent slate of Fire Emblem games, tell them that you think Advance Wars is better.
If you, like me, are one of a few dozen who prefer Intelligent Systems’ military-themed turn-based strategy series over their more popular fantasy games, then you were probably just as surprised when Nintendo announced a remake of not one, but two Advance Wars games. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but seeing as how it’s been over 15 years since we’ve gotten a new game, Nintendo could have called it Military Simulator For Idiots Who Don’t Adore Fire Emblem and I’d still play the heck out of it.
For those who need a refresher, Advance Wars is, to be honest, quite similar to its older sibling. Both are turn-based tactics series that revolve around different factions waging battle against one another. Players control their armies by moving them around a grid, attacking other enemy units, and trying their best to outthink and outmaneuver their opponent.
Where these two franchises differ is in what they prioritize. Fire Emblem tends to be story-heavy, with an emphasis on relationships and a unique cast of characters that fight alongside one another on the battlefield, while Advance Wars is incredibly light on the storytelling, opting to focus on more complex battle systems that arguably put Fire Emblem‘s axe-sword-lance triangle weapon to shame. Advance Wars‘ roster of commanding officers (COs) don’t actually fight with their troops, though each comes with their own strengths and weaknesses which affect how their units move, fight, and survive on the battlefield. As a longtime chess player, I’ve personally gravitated toward Advance Wars and its unique brand of turn-based tactics, made even more complex by the ability to accrue funds and purchase more units in the middle of battle.
So, what exactly does 1+2: Re-Boot Camp bring to the table? Well, for starters, it bundles the franchise’s two Game Boy Advance games, with each featuring its own single-player campaign. There’s also a handful of other modes: War Room lets you face off against one or more AI opponents, with battles typically taking place on more open-ended maps that often put you at a disadvantage. Versus mode plays similarly, with an option to throw other human players into the mix, and Design Room lets you design and share your own custom maps.
For Re-Boot Camp‘s preview period, we spent most of our time with the campaign from the first Advance Wars, which sees commanding officers Andy, Sami, Max, and Nell — of the Orange Star Army — going up against the neighboring nations of Blue Moon, Green Earth, and Yellow Comet. The story is paper thin, and that’s the way longtime fans (myself included) prefer it. Of course, the entire package has been given a much-needed facelift. While I’ll always have a soft spot for the original GBA sprites, the new art style marks a welcome change, and it does an admirable job of channeling Saturday morning cartoon vibes. The music has also been re-recorded, and while it’s not fully voice-acted, the VO work certainly does a good job of breaking up the monotony of the game’s never-ending text boxes.
As for the core gameplay? It’s all there. In fact, if it wasn’t for the complete visual overhaul, I’d have a tough time distinguishing Re-Boot Camp from the original GBA games. The moment-to-moment gameplay — building units, moving them around the field, attacking unsuspecting troops — is virtually identical. The campaign also does a good job of introducing the player to new concepts (like the much dreaded Fog of War), and unlike other tactics games, Advance Wars slowly doles out new units for you to command, ensuring you won’t feel overwhelmed early on.
What has changed is all the quality of life features, the most notable being the ability to fast-forward through firefights, as well as the AI’s turn. While you always have the option of turning off battle animations, fast-forwarding serves as a nice middle ground between completely disabling them or having to watch each one play out. A new quick-fire option lets you target specific enemies and immediately attack them (which cuts down on a couple of button presses), and there are a few other shortcuts that let you jump around the battlefield instead of manually moving the cursor.
Both Advance Wars, and its sequel, Black Hole Rising, have received their fair share of criticism when it comes to overall difficulty, which can feel rather uneven, with sharp spikes during the later missions. Re-Boot Camp attempts to solve this issue by letting players toggle between an easier casual mode, and (what we presume is an untouched) classic mode. That being said, it’s not entirely clear whether any of the individual COs have been rebalanced for either the campaigns or versus mode. Just in case they haven’t been, keep your guard up against any players that choose Kanbei or Hachi.
If there’s one area that gives us cause for concern, it’s the online multiplayer. While we haven’t gone hands-on with it just yet, Nintendo’s own website only makes mention of 1v1 battles against friends. Not only does that suggest that 3 or 4-player skirmishes are not on the table, but it doesn’t bode well for other requested features such as player rankings, matchmaking, tournaments, or asynchronous multiplayer. Those who fondly remember Link Play from the Game Boy Advance versions are in for a shock. While Re-Boot Camp does allow for pass-and-play or local, wireless multiplayer, every player will need their own Switch and copy of the game — a far cry from the good old days where four friends could play against each other using Link Cables and a single game cartridge.
Of course, we’ve only scratched the surface of what Nintendo and developer WayForward have to offer, and we wouldn’t be surprised if there are secrets and additional modes that need to be unlocked. We’re a little worried that the online multiplayer will be rather anemic, but the rest of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is shaping up to be a hit with fans and newcomers alike. Thankfully, you’ll be able to give it a go yourself when the full game launches on April 21, and we’ll have a full review up on the site later this month.
