Game Info

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

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　　Believe it or not, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is actually launching this week. Initially slated for a 2021 release, the game was pushed to 2022 for further polishing, then delayed indefinitely following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Understandably, fans began the speculate Re-Boot Camp had actually been canceled, but thankfully, that’s not the case.

　　There’s certainly hunger for more Advance Wars amongst the hardcore fans following a nearly 15-year hibernation, but does the franchise still have a winning battle plan? Or is this remake a strategic misfire? Time to see if this one is combat-ready.

　　As the title implies, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp offers the classic GBA titles Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, remade in HD for Switch by developer WayForward Technologies (Shantae, River City Girls). Don’t expect particularly gripping narratives from either game, but the various allied and enemy commanding officers are memorable and interact in some fun ways. The world of Advance Wars is basically one big high school lunchroom, with disputes being resolved with adorable tanks, battleships, and bombers rather than catty remarks and wedgies.

　　For those unfamiliar with Advance Wars, they’re a series of turn-based tactical strategy games that somewhat resemble developer Intelligent Systems’ other series, Fire Emblem, albeit without the RPG elements. Advance Wars units are simple faceless grunts, and there’s no real consequence if they die. Players maneuver units around grid-based battlefields with the goal of wiping out the opposing army, claiming their base, or achieving other mission-specific goals. All units, regardless of class, have 10 hits points, which also represent said unit’s power, encouraging commanders to play aggressively in order to hobble their opponents’ offensive capabilities.

　　All units have strengths and weaknesses, with the overall meta being more complex than Fire Emblem’s classic rock-paper-scissors Weapon Triangle. For instance, tanks are powerful front-line damage sponges, but they’re weak to mechanized infantry and can be outmaneuvered by air units. Ranged units like Rockets can rain death from afar, but if you can sneak up close, they’re basically defenseless. The differences between Advance Wars 1 and 2 are very minor – new commanding officers, missions, and a single additional unit for the second game, the Neotank, is the extent of it – so you can switch between the two games freely. Of course, starting with Advance Wars 2 means the first game’s story will be spoiled.

　　Many units also have more unique quirks – Recon units are mobile and cheap to spawn, but they can only move quickly on roads as they run on wheels instead of treads. Submarines can submerge and hide from opponents, but it consumes a lot of fuel, and if they run out, they sink. You also have to take into account terrain modifiers and your commanding officers’ powers, which can be deployed every few turns and have the potential to turn the tide of battle. The mission design is clever without being overwhelming, with maps always remaining a reasonable size. While battles can become somewhat longwinded if you find yourself in a stalemate, most can be won fairly quickly if you know what you’re doing, and often you’ll kick yourself once you finally find the right strategy.

　　If you haven’t picked up on my warning yet, don’t let these games’ simple appearance fool you. Unlike Fire Emblem games, which often take quite a while to ramp up the challenge, Advance Wars will happily kill you right from the first mission if you’re not paying attention. Usually that’s not a bad thing, but the games do still have some issues with balance. Commanding officers’ abilities have been tweaked somewhat, but missions haven’t, and there are some frustrating spikes in difficulty here and there. But with some persistence, no mission’s insurmountable.

　　So yeah, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp doesn’t fix what wasn’t broken, but are there any changes? The answer is “yes,” although don’t expect anything too radical. Some of the early training missions have been integrated into the main campaign, but otherwise, these are the same challenges fans faced on the GBA. Some effort has been made to make the action a bit more approachable for modern audiences as you can now redo your last turn if you happen to make a mistake, which is actually a fairly radical (and welcome) revamp for this series. Personally, I would have liked to see them go even further, giving players the ability to rewind multiple turns like in Fire Emblem, but the hardcores undoubtedly would’ve cried foul over that. In addition to the redo option, there’s also a new Casual difficulty option and the option to fast-forward through repetitive battle animations.

　　Speaking of battle animations, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp’s visual overhaul is a bit of a mixed bag. Commanders have been redesigned in that trademark WayForward style with fluid, dramatic animations, and, in a charming touch, the battlefield now looks like a tabletop board game adorned with little plastic units. Battle animations are less appealing, with gawky soldiers fighting in front of low-detail backgrounds, but honestly, I got over my initial disappointment rather quickly. Everything in Re-Boot Camp is very readable and functional, which is what really matters in this type of game.

　　Audio-wise, WayForward has delivered the goods, with the original games’ memorable tracks receiving both a standard remix and an amped-up version for when a commander deploys their power. “I want this strategy game’s OST” isn’t something I say often, but it’s definitely the case here. Limited voice acting (usually only the first couple words of each line are spoken) also livens things up a bit.

　　Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp’s lineup of modes mostly mirrors the originals, which isn’t a criticism, as they were very full-featured for GBA titles. In addition to the main campaign, you can aim for high scores on individual maps in the War Room, take on friends in Vs. mode, create your own maps, and more. One of the few major additions is online multiplayer, but unfortunately, it’s a rather limited affair, offering only 1v1 battles with no matchmaking. There’s a valid question to be asked about who Re-Boot Camp is even for, as the hardcore fans have played these games to death and features that could have made the package more essential feel half-hearted. That said, there’s no denying this is a hearty meal, with a pair of campaigns that will take newcomers a solid 30 to 40 hours to complete with a ton of extras on the side. This fighting force has no shortage of supplies; it's just the freshness that’s slightly in question.

　　This review was based on a copy of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp from publisher Nintendo.

　　8

　　Wccftech Rating

　　Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

　　Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

　　Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a very respectable retrofit of two of the best old-school tactical strategy games of all time. Some may question who the audience for this package is as it doesn’t offer much new content for experienced commanders, but these are still objectively high-quality games and this remake does little to diminish their charms. If you’re new to the Advance Wars series, or just looking for a more convenient way to play some of its best entries again, this remake is likely to capture your heart (and free time).

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