GBAtemp game of the week #52

[FAST6191]

GBAtemp's book game club has a new edition.
Despite this being our 52nd edition we still like to start with a quick series overview. The GBA, DS and Wii (and some of the systems they can emulate although that is not such a great focus of this series) feature a large amount of great games and games worth playing among their collections of ROM hacks, commercial releases, homebrew and leaked code for them.
Top ? games for the given console is not our intention here as things get missed out doing that but other than the occasions we pose a challenge/run (what people used to do before achievements became a thing) or select a criteria and state it (games released in Europe but not North America for example) our selection process is not really going to be covered.

#52- Advance Wars (GBA and DS)

Although we have mentioned the games several times and even pointed you are hacks for it (the series is runner up only to Pokemon and Mario platformers in the most commonly hacked stakes) we had never actually simply made the Advance Wars series itself a selection.
There are some versions on earlier consoles which did well and much the like term advance wars stuck when it appeared in English Japan often still knows the series as Famicom wars but they are in some ways quite different. There are also some spinoffs (Battalion Wars) on home consoles but it was the GBA that saw the main series become a classic in the eyes of most.
Gameplay varies a bit between entries in the franchise and even maps within those entries with more on that in a moment but in general you are put in command of an army made up of different types of units and get to win a battle in a similar manner to a tactics or strategy game. Where those are usually games you start a battle with a set of units and finish with the same here units get repaired and sometimes created in battle as a core mechanic far more extensive than the potions and healer class or the aforementioned tactics and strategy titles. Other options like fog of war exists but we will leave you to discover the nuances and simply say above all that or maybe because of the series is often regarded as one of the finest multiplayer games (assuming you have someone else that can play) you will find on the GBA and DS.
The developer go by Intelligent Systems and they are also being the developers of Paper Mario and Fire Emblem but here the gameplay style makes it quite unique on the GBA and DS with the closest rival being the as yet untranslated Daisenryaku series which many see the last game released on the DS (Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict) as moving towards as it was a fair departure in tone from the earlier games in the series.

Trailer for the first DS game, countless gameplay videos are available
[/p]

GBAtemp release thread (Advance Wars Dual Strike)[/p]

Who needs this when there is Fire Emblem or does Will Wright counting the series among his favourites pretty much say it all?[/p]

gbagotw should get you other links in this series

 

[Hadrian]

One of my favourite Nintendo series, there isn't a bad game in the series from Famicom Wars up to Dark Conflict.. It would be nice if Nintendo bought the series back to the 3DS or even Wii U as a downloadable title...obviously stick with Advance Wars title (Wii Wars...kinda sounds golden shower-y).

The GBA ones are so much better than the DS games, I just preferred the tone to the DS games especially Dark Conflict which went too a bit too emo. Also try the Gameboy Wars & Famicom Wars games, most have been translated into English and I highly recommend them.

I thought the Battallion Wars spin offs were pretty decent too.

EDIT: Also check out Military Madness on TurboGrx-16, pretty much the same kind of game and very enjoyable. There was a WiiWare/XBLA/PSN game as well that was pretty good.

 

[Satangel]

Advance Wars, fuck yeah. Completed the 2nd GBA title only a month ago, on my PSP. Amazing stuff, really, just about the only GBA titles I've played extensively on the emulator.
Glad you mentioned Fire Emblem too, great series, maybe even better than AW, but also a lot harder. Very very fun games.
I'll replay Fire Emblem or one of the many hacks soon enough, I'm sure of it.

 

[p1ngpong]

The Advance Wars games are pretty much my all time favorite portable game series. The amount of hours I have lost on them is incalculable.

I want Advance Wars 3D Nintendo. I want it so bad.

And don't you dare screw it up with pointless gimmicks and junk, or I will make it my mission to destroy you.

 

[B-Blue]

I thought the Battallion Wars spin offs were pretty decent too.

I didn't like Battalion Wars. I don't know for me it didn't have that Advance Wars feel to it.

My fav AW is Dual Strike. New units and modes, the ability to use 2 CO powers. It was like [censored]. I loved it

 

[Daemauroa]

my favorite game from the series was Advance wars 2 : Black hole rising.
I remember beating the last level of the yellow island on hard mode.
anyway , glad to see this series again in a post

 

[FAST6191]

I am in two minds about comparing the GBA and DS versions- I kind of agree the GBA ones were nice but I did like the DS ones as well (probably as the first DS one was one of the only games I had for a long time).
I guess I will say the DS ones in the way they added units and rejigged the CO stuff (not to mention "experience") changed the game from an almost elaborate version of rock paper scissors to something resembling a more traditional RTS as it were which was not a bad thing per se but it did change the feel and that was magnified by the change of tone. I guess the same could be said of the famicom/gameboy wars series vs advance wars as well (I agree they are also pretty good but they were even simpler in terms of basic mechanics).

Battalion Wars.... I was pumped when they released the trailer at an E3 but the eventual result was OK but not a patch on the series although admittedly my friends had not long gone through a Hogs of War phase and I despise that game so I probably should go back and have another look. It is actually one of the few halfway worthwhile gamecube games I lack as well.

 

[B-Blue]

... I kind of agree the GBA ones were nice but I did like the DS ones as well ...

I, too, prefer the DS AW over the GBA ones. Dark Conflict was kinda emo-ish though, and it was much easier than Dual Strike.

 

[h8uthemost]

Lotta good info here. Didn't know there were hacks for the games or even earlier versions(Famicon Wars).

 

[shakirmoledina]

an excellent game tht made wars more intelligent and well thought and yet dynamic.

it did get hard later on but tht did not make it frustrating bcz the concept was explained very well.

 

[Nah3DS]

everytime I play Advance Wars I remember how much I like Fire Emblem and end up playing that instead

 

[Frederica Bernkastel]

Funnily enough, I actually started replaying these on a whim yesterday.

I'm nostalgiaing like there's no tomorrow. This shit feels so good, you have no idea.

 

[Aeter]

My brother really loved the series, but I liked Fire Emblem better, because of dragons and magic.

 

[EyeZ]

Definately my fave game series, i completed the games on the DS, got so hooked on em that i downloaded Visual Boy so i could play the GBA versions too.

 

[Sora de Eclaune]

Is it just me, or did a lot of earlier DS titles have subtitles attached to the main title of the game that shortened the game's name to something like Advance Wars DS?

 

[Todderbert]

I love the GBA titles, still need to play the DS ones. Also for those late to the party and looking for more GBA action, GBAtemp referred a really cool mod.
War Room Challenge 2012 - Advance Wars 2 (U)

 

[zachtheninja]

No offence Guy, but your grammar is horrid.

Although we have mentioned it several times and even pointed you are hacks for it (there are several great ones by the way as this series is runner up only to Pokemon and Mario platformers in the most commonly hacked stakes) we had never actually simply made Advance Wars itself a selection. There are some versions on earlier consoles (Japan knows the series as Famicom wars for instance) although they are in some ways quite different and some spinoffs but it was the GBA that saw the main series become a classic. Gameplay varies a bit between versions and even maps within them but in general you are put in command of an army made up of different units and get to win a battle similar to a tactics or strategy game but on top of that units can be repaired in battle, some maps you can build new units, sometimes there is fog of war and above all that it is often regarded as one of the finest multiplayer games (assuming you have someone else that can play) you will find on the GBA and DS. Although there strategy games and tactics games the mechanics (developers Intelligent Systems being the developers of Paper Mario and Fire Emblem) and gameplay style make it quite unique on the GBA and DS with the closest rival being the as yet untranslated Daisenryaku series which many see the last game released on the DS (Days of Ruin/Dark Conflict) as moving towards (it was a fair departure in tone from the earlier games in the series).

I understand that you probably only had a few minutes to write your summary,
So I corrected and edited most of your mistakes:

Although I have mentioned it several times before, and even pointed you toward hacks for it, I have never actually selected Advance Wars as game of the week. There are some versions on earlier consoles, and some spinoffs; but it was the GBA that made Advance Wars a classic. Gameplay and Maps vary a bit between versions, but the overall concept is the same. Generally, Advance Wars puts the player in command of an army made up of different units on a grid based map; and allows you to use any tactics you want to win. During battle, units can be repaired, new units can be built, and sometimes fog of war adds an element of risk to the game. Advance Wars is often regarded as one of the finest multiplayer games in history. (Assuming you know someone else who can play.) Although there are other good strategy games in the world, the mechanics and gameplay style of Advance Wars sets it apart from the competition, and makes it a worthwhile addition to any gamer’s library.

Again, I apologize if this is offensive.
Edit:
I love advance wars. It was my first ds game.

 

[ZAFDeltaForce]

Hell yeah, Advance Wars is one of my favorite series of all time.

I always regard the first Advance Wars on the GBA as the most balanced and the best in the series. The newer titles like DoR and AWDS are more fun though, but no where near as balanced

 

[dgwillia]

The first 2 and Dual Strike were my favorites. I LOVED the story from Days of Ruin, but i just couldnt get into the gameplay for some reason (It felt...different, like damn near every battle just turned into a battle of attrition)

Now i think im gonna have to replay them all

 

[FAST6191]

No offence Guy, but your grammar is horrid.
Again, I apologize if this is offensive.
Edit:
I love advance wars. It was my first ds game.

I admit I have a bit of a tendency to put stuff in parentheses as opposed to constructing things with semicolons or commas, push my sentences towards the lengthier side of things, could have probably broken that down into more paragraphs, the section on the developers is of suspect placement and I did miss out an "are" in the final sentence (a straight up grammatical error) but I do not see it in this case.

Still if you felt the need to mention it I guess something warrants being done so I tweaked a few things to help readability, I usually try to avoid the more complex construction of sentences and phrases (my language style seems to go between diplomat/politician and technical writer it seems) to be kinder to our members that do not have English as a first language but for some reason did not here. I probably should have also mentioned/made more apparent tactics is an actual gameplay genre (Final Fantasy tactics, onimusha tactics, Hoshigami, Tactics Ogre....) and somewhat distinct from from more traditional strategy (Fire Emblem, Shining Force, Langrisser) depending upon the person you are speaking to* and that Advance Wars draws from both but is neither or at best a hybrid.

*if someone asked for a tactics game and I sent them to Shining Force I would not be surprised in the slightest to be called on my suggestion.

Also read we as "we at the GBAtemp retro reviews/game of the week desk". Furthermore unless I am actually quoting someone that used it, addressing GBAtemp personally (something I have yet to do as far as I can recall), recounting a series of events that happened to me (my life is far too boring/off topic to make a portal post out of so that has never happened either and even then I would opt for the passive voice) or putting my own thoughts on the matter in there (something I try to save for the topic itself and especially in this series where I actively avoid reviewing a title in the opening post) I avoid all uses of I when writing portal posts and even feel bad if I sneak one in when writing the main body of a FAQ, review, guide or something similar.