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Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, as a title, makes some implications that series fans may have trouble ignoring. After all, a “re-boot” generally isn’t intended as a one-off, instead seeking to revive and jump-start a given franchise. And Advance Wars fans? That’s something we’d love to see. But it’s a lot of pressure for such hopes to rest on one game, and Re-Boot Camp’s multiple delays certainly couldn’t have helped to lessen that pressure. Does it live up to those expectations? Let’s dig in.

While most elements of the game were preserved as much as possible, Re-Boot Camp did clearly get a modern once-over from Nintendo’s localization team. After all, two decades can do a lot to change context and small elements that concern the company. So Yellow Comet is now Gold Comet. Drake’s “Tsunami” power is now “Squall.” They’re small, but if you’ve been around a while, you’ll notice a few things.

Generally, though, WayForward did a good job expanding on what’s there without changing the underlying characterization. Characters talk in less truncated sentences, since they have the screen room. And that “Saturday morning cartoon” feel we discussed in the preview definitely extends to the extended CO lineup. Black Hole Rising’s enemy COs in particular really ham it up.

[caption id="attachment_959673" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

One thing Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is missing that we really thought would be here? Modern quality-of-life features. Like the sort of range visualization we see in modern Fire Emblem games? This would be particularly helpful with the sorts of large-area weapons that extend range beyond what will fit on the screen.

The one thing we did see implemented, though the game’s rather quiet about it, is the “Reset Turn” function. This allows you to reset your moves to the beginning of the day and try again. While helpful for newcomers or the occasional mis-click, it’s also, um, cheating? You can use it on Fog of War maps to basically scout out everything around you and know where the enemies are, then reset with that knowledge. So there’s that.

We talked about the game’s new aesthetic in our preview, and those observations hold through the second campaign and late-game content. We got used to things, mostly! And the look works. There are still definitely some fighters and bombers that look too similar and such, which is annoying. But the extended time with the game also emphasized some areas of polish. For example, entering and exiting a campaign presents you with a slick map transition. There’s clearly a lot of people at WayForward who love the original games, and it shows through in their work.

[caption id="attachment_959674" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

That said, some of the game’s new setup just serves to slow things down. For example, beating a map? It should feel exciting and cool. But Re-Boot Camp pauses for a moment before it notices you’ve won, or before it’s able to load the enemy voice lines or whatever it is. CO power animations are cool the first time you see them! But they’re long, and they’re unskippable, and eventually they become a burden. Also, the little chatter each CO has at the beginning of their phase repeats incredibly quickly and just adds more downtime between turns.

Also the sporadic voice acting is a choice? We’ve seen small clips work well, like in Fire Emblem: Awakening, to provide flavor and save storage space. But Re-Boot Camp voices some partial lines, some grunts and then generic text beeps, and some lines that are beeps only. The inconsistency does it no favors. (And is storage space really an issue? Or was there that much of a concern about studio time costs for what’s ultimately a fairly limited script?)

The strategy gameplay is unchanged, though, and that’s great because the originals were stellar at that. We've seen a lot of efforts to recreate Advance Wars' carefully balanced strategy fun in games like Wargroove and Tiny Metal, but try as they might, no one's gotten it quite right. A limited set of units, and one identical in function between factions, does a lot to make something understandable that could be very complicated.

The whole “unchanged” thing does weigh on one audience in particular, though: grizzled franchise vets. As representatives of that particular demographic ourselves, there was definitely a nagging feeling in the back of our minds as we played. What if Re-Boot Camp had something new? Anything, something small. We kept playing through and unlocking things, hoping for a surprise secret character from Dual Strike or another little bonus to freshen up the experience. But nope!

And a lot of vets were banking on one particular function to excite them.

[caption id="attachment_959672" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

In spite of all the things Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp does right, a few unfortunate choices limit its overall appeal. The most obvious one? Its truly barebones online infrastructure. Franchise fans were understandably excited by the prospect of playing with friends, and there are a lot of ways that could have been done right. Asynchronous play is a great fit for a strategy game like this! And it’s not here, though the interface for sharing custom maps suggests someone along the way might have had that in mind.

Instead, it’s real-time play only. And two-player only with direct friends. There’s no matchmaking of any kind and no public lobbies. You can’t even play maps with a third or fourth faction at all, even if you just want an AI-controlled force for variety or co-op challenge with a friend.

We were limited in our opportunities to test out the online functionality pre-release, but we managed a few matches, and… it works? There’s not a lot to say about it in motion, as it’s an uninspired, barebones approach. Games take a long time, and no ability to look around or plan during your opponent’s turn doesn’t help that. And even once you sit through a map? You may not have the best time, as late-game CO unlocks can be broken, maps can heavily favor certain choices and there appears to be no attempt to mitigate any of this.

[caption id="attachment_959670" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

Sound limiting? Yeah, it should, because it is. And so limiting that it’ll probably keep people from bothering to try what’s there at all. Truly, even with all the effort that’s here, adding Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2 to the Nintendo Switch Online app would have offered a more robust and functional multiplayer experience without compromising any actual gameplay features. (Also, we know some people still prefer the original’s aesthetic and there’s value in its visual clarity.)

Truly, any idea, any angle, any vision for how this would be played would have made Re-Boot Camp better. And it’s bizarre to see such little attention paid to what was clearly the most important mode to get right. So given this minimal functionality, we have to judge Re-Boot Camp as an offline-only offering. Which is a shame, because we know the development time was there for Nintendo to fund further work during the game’s long delay.

[caption id="attachment_959667" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is simultaneously a triumph in preserving the timeless strategy gameplay of the past and a huge missed opportunity to give it a rejuvenated platform that could attract new players. It’s one robust multiplayer patch away from being what it should be, but there’s no track record in Nintendo-bankrolled projects to suggest that will happen. We can only hope, then, that this isn’t the last we see of the Wars franchise.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp launches April 20, 2023 on the Nintendo Switch for $59.99. For more on the game, check out our archive.

The post Review: Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Isn’t Here to Make Friends appeared first on Siliconera.

On September 10, 2001, Advance Wars made its initial launch in North America. Inauspicious timing aside, the game marked both the Wars series’ Western debut and a new era for the franchise’s depth and gameplay. Later this year, we’re getting a reboot from WayForward and Nintendo, but we wanted to take the opportunity on this anniversary to talk about what makes Advance Wars so special!

What I love most about Advance Wars is its characters. Namely, how the COs function. As you'd expect from people in various branches of a military, each person is going to have their own specialty! Advance Wars runs with this idea by offering people different abilities and CO Powers that influence how you approach situations. It especially gets interesting in games like Dual Strike, in which you have two COs working together. You might wonder who will work best together to achieve your goals. — Jenni

What Advance Wars got right that so many games of its time — and since! — haven't? Understanding the medium.

It understands what strategy games need to be on consoles. Too often, "console" tactical games are either too sprawling for their own good or simply not designed for the input and capability of button play. They have you screaming and fleeing toward the PC port for the mouse and keyboard! Or just bouncing off completely! Managing scope is important.

It understands what deep games need to be accessible. The candy-coated aesthetic and personality of Advance Wars, which wasn't really a part of its Japan-only Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars predecessors, makes for a much more approachable experience than other, grittier games. It knows to keep the interface simple and battlefield easy to parse above all else, too, an idea spiritual follow-ups (hi there, Tiny Metal!) tend to forget.

It also understands what portable games need to fit into your life. Advance Wars can fill a ten-minute break or a ten-hour road trip. It shines in -and-play with friends, but you never regret having it in the cartridge slot when you're by yourself either. Few games are this versatile. — Graham

What do you think about the Advance Wars series? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for more thoughts from the Siliconera team.

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This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Game Boy Advance! To celebrate, the Siliconera staff wanted to share which games in the handheld’s library most deserve a play (or replay) in 2021.

It shouldn't be this way, really, but Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising remains the pinnacle of console strategy game design. Not that it doesn't deserve it! It most certainly does. But the long absence of the Advance Wars franchise has meant that, after the fun but weaker Nintendo DS entries, we haven't seen a true successor for the mantle.

Maybe that's okay! Because Advance Wars 2 is everything it should be. A compelling single-player campaign! A balanced batch of multiplayer maps! Topped off with an aesthetic that stands the test of time. It's not just one of the best Game Boy Advance games, or one of the best games for its time. It's one of the best games, period. (And it should be playable on a modern system that isn't the Wii U.) — Graham

One of the best Game Boy Advance titles that springs to mind is Golden Sun. This JRPG has cemented itself as a cult classic hit, with a junctioning system that changes your party's class and skills. This elemental-based magic system makes for some interesting spell combinations that bring a real sense of variety to the combat. Additionally, the score by Motoi Sakuraba still manages to hold up. If anything, revisiting Golden Sun has made me want to see another sequel entry all the more. — Kazuma

Since Graham already wrote about Advance Wars, I'm going to talk about another GBA classic that changed my (gaming) life: Fire Emblem. I knew nothing about the series when I picked up Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

The reason Fire Emblem worked so well then and remains good now is because it doesn't rely on appearances. It is all about approaching every map and its challenges in a way that not only mitigates potential losses, but perhaps involves overcoming incredible odds. There's a reason the core gameplay remains (mostly) unchanged from one installment to another. The mechanics are beyond reproach. Each entry instead becomes about seeing how you learn and grow from every encounter. — Jenni

Metroid: Zero Mission is an excellent remake of Samus Aran's first adventure. It considers nearly 20 years of game design to update this clunky classic. The game holds up perfectly in 2021, and is fantastic for both beginners and veterans.

The key to the title's success is how it teaches the player navigation organically. These are implemented as tools, rather than a means to hold the player's hand. And for someone like me who enjoys their environmental design and storytelling? Metroid: Zero Mission turns this up to 11. There are new cutscenes that flesh out the narrative, environmental details that enhance the mystery, and an oppressive atmosphere. Metroid: Zero Mission is effective because it shows and doesn't tell. — Oni

The Game Boy Advance may well be one of the greatest gaming platforms of all time, but I it best for still being one of the only places you can play Super Robot Taisen OG. Localized by Atlus in 2006, Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation and its sequel were for the longest time the only officially translated Super Robot Wars games. At the time, complex licensing requirements made it too much of a hassle for Japanese companies to localize Super Robot Wars in North America and Europe. OG was different, as it starred only the Banpresto-owned creations, so there was no need to negotiate with whoever held the rights to, say, Evangelion or Macross.

I ended up enjoying this original story so much. Even to this day, I can't really bring myself to play the now-readily-accessible mainline games. (Bandai now localizes them for the Southeast Asian market, allowing other English-speaking fans to import from those stores.) Well, until some brave soul opts to localize Super Robot Wars OGS, an enhanced remake of both games for the PS2. — Josh

What do you think are the best Game Boy Advance games? Let us know in the comments! And read our other handy roundtable features for more cool games to check out.

The post The Best Game Boy Advance Games to Play in 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo will release a number of Game Boy Advance games for the Wii U Virtual Console throughout the month of April in North America, the publisher announced this morning. The list of GBA games for April is as follows:

April 3rd:

Advance Wars - $7.99

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - $7.99

Metroid Fusion - $7.99

April 10th:

Kirby & the Amazing Mirror - $6.99

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! - $6.99

April 17th:

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity - $6.99

Golden Sun - $7.99

April 24th:

Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 - $7.99

In addition to off-TV play, the above games will feature Restore Points that save progress during game play, as well as Miiverse functionality.

Finally, Nintendo have also confirmed that Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) will be available for both Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Virtual Consoles in North America on April 17th for $4.99.

The post Golden Sun, Metroid Fusion, Advance Wars Coming To Wii U Virtual Console In North America appeared first on Siliconera.

If you haven't played any of the dozen remakes, Final Fantasy is coming out on the Virtual Console in Japan next month.

The original version has nuisances like spell counts and heroes that hit the air after an enemy dies which makes it different from the modern counterpart. Final Fantasy will costs 500 Wii Points ($5) just like Famicom Wars, the game that started the now popular Advance Wars series, and a Kunio-kun fighting game set in feudal Japan.

Here are all the Virtual Console games coming to Japan in May 2009.

Famicom (500)
Downtown Special Kunio-kun no Jidageki Dayo Zenin Shugou
Ninja-kun Asura's Chapter
Final Fantasy
Famicom Wars

Master System (500)
R-Type

PC Engine (800)
Sim Earth

The post Final Fantasy And Famicom Wars Ship Out To Virtual Console In May appeared first on Siliconera.

The grittier sequel to Advance Wars: Dual Strike is coming sooner than you think. Nintendo of America has is slated for January 21, 2008. Not bad timing, at all for a game that has been barely touched by the media.

The post Advance Wars: Days of Ruin dated appeared first on Siliconera.

So far the best source of information about Nintendo’s 2007 plans has been the multipage release schedules. The European release schedule mentions that Advance Wars 2 is scheduled to come out sometime in 2007 for Europe along with English Training 2.

Both title names are tentative and I doubt we’re getting English Training 2 this year. Also Nintendo is publishing Naruto: Ninja Council on the DS as a second party game. This is probably Naruto: Ninja Council 3, a multiplayer fighting game, but there is a slim chance this could be a DS-remake of the GBA game.

Absent from Europe’s schedule is Chibi Robo: Park Patrol, Nintendo Magic and Professor Layton. But they get Freshly Picked - Tingle’s Rosy Rupeeland and Advance Wars 2 this year.

Also in case you missed the other post Puzzle Quest is coming to the Wii, O3 Entertainment is working on a port of Crows and XSeed Games picked up Hajime no Ippo Revolution, now renamed Victorious Boxers: The Fighting Revolution for the USA.

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