Very faithful remake of the two GBA Advance Wars titles, with everything feeling mechanically similar with an updated graphical style.
I can understand the decision to go with a toybox visual style for the battles, it's very reminiscent of the Japanese artwork but personally it didn't quite vibe with me. The character artwork and the handful of cutscenes are genuinely incredible and show the potential of how Advance Wars could look.
There's been a handful additions to this package. We have some voice acting which is nice to have. Andy shares his VA with Ash Ketchum and it's hard to tell them apart at times!
A casual mode for newcomers is included. From what I can tell this doesn't really change much. Depending on the map, casual mode either gives you an additional unit or two at the start, an additional property or two, or downgrades one or two enemy units (like a Medium Tank being a regular Tank instead). It's helpful but I don't think it makes the game that much more accessible. I feel like scaling the damage would be nice as well but it's a difficult balance to find.
They also added a turn rewind. It's nice to have but it literally resets you back to the start of that turn which is pretty limiting and frustrating when you only want to undo one move and not your whole turn. I feel like this is something they should have had right when Fire Emblem has a pretty in depth turn rewind.
There's also online play added but it's limited to 1v1 while local multiplayer allows for 4 player matches.
So the new additions are nice, though I feel they should've went a little bit further, the rest of the package is where it shines though. Advance Wars 1+2 are two fantastic strategy focused games with colourful casts and plenty of content. AW1 spends the bulk of it's time introducing players to its mechanics and various units. AW2 takes everything from AW1, rebalances CO powers and diversifies the map design with new gimmicks and objectives that really gets the brain working. No doubt there are two fantastic strategy titles on offer here and it's nice the series has been given another chance to shine.
While the new additions don't quite hit expectations, there's plenty to love here and a lot of love and charm has been put into remaking these games. Fans of the GBA titles will find a familiar experience with a new coat of paint while newcomers have two top notch strategy games to dive in to
I can understand the decision to go with a toybox visual style for the battles, it's very reminiscent of the Japanese artwork but personally it didn't quite vibe with me. The character artwork and the handful of cutscenes are genuinely incredible and show the potential of how Advance Wars could look.
There's been a handful additions to this package. We have some voice acting which is nice to have. Andy shares his VA with Ash Ketchum and it's hard to tell them apart at times!
A casual mode for newcomers is included. From what I can tell this doesn't really change much. Depending on the map, casual mode either gives you an additional unit or two at the start, an additional property or two, or downgrades one or two enemy units (like a Medium Tank being a regular Tank instead). It's helpful but I don't think it makes the game that much more accessible. I feel like scaling the damage would be nice as well but it's a difficult balance to find.
They also added a turn rewind. It's nice to have but it literally resets you back to the start of that turn which is pretty limiting and frustrating when you only want to undo one move and not your whole turn. I feel like this is something they should have had right when Fire Emblem has a pretty in depth turn rewind.
There's also online play added but it's limited to 1v1 while local multiplayer allows for 4 player matches.
So the new additions are nice, though I feel they should've went a little bit further, the rest of the package is where it shines though. Advance Wars 1+2 are two fantastic strategy focused games with colourful casts and plenty of content. AW1 spends the bulk of it's time introducing players to its mechanics and various units. AW2 takes everything from AW1, rebalances CO powers and diversifies the map design with new gimmicks and objectives that really gets the brain working. No doubt there are two fantastic strategy titles on offer here and it's nice the series has been given another chance to shine.
While the new additions don't quite hit expectations, there's plenty to love here and a lot of love and charm has been put into remaking these games. Fans of the GBA titles will find a familiar experience with a new coat of paint while newcomers have two top notch strategy games to dive in to