This was a game I was looking forward to for quite a while now, over a year to be exact. Due to the very sad and unfortunate events going on in the Ukraine, Nintendo decided it was inappropriate to release this game and delayed it a full year. For the longest time “Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp” was stuck in this dateless limbo, I was beginning to be concerned if it would be released at all. So, what is Re-Boot Camp exactly? It’s a remastered version of the original two releases of “Advance Wars” on Gameboy Advance, which came out back in 2001 and 2003 respectively. The game is a turn-based strategy game that at first, I was concerned there would be a daunting learning curve, but it does an excellent job of helping players get their footing in its mechanics.
The overall story of the game is not its strongest point, but it doesn’t need to be. It is paper-thin, and the only thing that really matters to know is that there is a war going on, and you are in battles against the enemy. One of my favorite things here are the characters. To my surprise, in both games they are very well-fleshed-out with their own personalities and charm. Listening to all the voice lines and story cutscenes is a pleasure and feels like watching some of your favorite characters in a fun anime series.
There are three main commanding officers to choose from in the campaign of the first Advance Wars game: Andy, Max, and Sam. Each commanding officer has their own specific traits that give them different advantages and disadvantages. The missions are commander-specific, so you will be trying them all out as you play. The levels in “Advance Wars 1+2” take place in a grid-like format where each block can be its own terrain that you can take over and build on to your advantage. Some parts of the grid are over water, which would require boats to use. The sequel game has many subtle improvements that make the experience of playing it feel like a night and day difference compared to the first game.
One of the updated additions in these remastered versions is the ability to play the game in fast forward, which is a great addition for those who find turn-based strategies to be too slow. This feature feels natural and does not hinder the experience while playing the game. Another addition is the ability to rewind back to your previous turn, giving players another chance to rectify their mistakes and just pretend they never happened.
Outside the campaigns, there is also a versus mode that provides even more maps that you can play against friends locally or against a bot. There is also a multiplayer mode so you can battle your friends online. There is a level creator, and you can share your maps with your friends. However, it doesn’t seem that online play allows you to play against other players online, only with your friends, so if none of your friends have any interest in playing this game you’re shit out of luck. Back to something more positive, the music all around is exceptional, which is crucial in keeping players’ interest, especially in turn-based games, many times in this genre if it’s noisy in the wrong ways I tend to just mute the game and play my own music or have something playing on the TV. The voice acting gives the characters a lot of charm, so putting this game on mute would be a huge disservice.
While getting two games for the price of one is a great value, playing both of them back-to-back can be a bit exhausting. All the enhancements in the sequel make the first game seem like it’s not as good, but it is. If you do buy this title, I do suggest you take a good break before jumping into the sequel to avoid getting burnt out. So yeah, “Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp” is everything I was hoping it to be, it indeed is a great game for original fans or just fans of turn-based strategy games. These remastered versions do an excellent job of enhancing upon the original two releases, and as I stated earlier the game’s mechanics are not difficult to learn.
8/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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