Episode 109: Advance Wars

In the 90’s turn based strategy and tactics games were everywhere, but by the turn of the millennium the RTS genre was stealing its thunder. So it was a surprise to most when in 2001 Advance Wars seemingly came out of nowhere and presented a tight and refined dose of tactics to the Western world. Its jovial and enthusiastic tone won over a lot of people, but what really stood out was just how robust its systems seemed to be, promising deep tactical options far beyond what first met the eye.

Advance Wars seemingly ticked all the right boxes. It appealed to newcomers and veterans alike, it had a charming presentation, and it seemed balanced enough to make its multiplayer battles something worth pursuing. Why is it then, that we’ve seen no more Advance Wars games in over a decade? Why did games of its ilk seemingly die out in the mainstream, relegated to indie spin offs like War Groove? Does Advance Wars have something special about it worth playing all these years later, or does its stripped back design make it an ultimately boring and lackluster experience?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics and Presentation

• Advance Wars shies away from the horrors of war with its story and aesthetic, with beautifully drawn sprites and a narrative that is more about squabbling friends than armies clashing to the death. Does this work in the game’s favour, or is it impossible to tell a war story without getting into the awful realities of violence?

UI and Learning Curve

• Advance Wars has a very clean UI, and gives the player a lot of information at their fingertips to make the best decisions. Does this make the game too easy to the point where it plays itself, or does this clarity of information let the player learn the relative strengths of units at a rapid pace?

Strategy and Balance

• Just how well balanced is Advanced Wars, and does it really matter? To what degree to you get to delve into the full strategic possibilities on show here within the playtime of Advance War’s campaign?

We answer these questions and many more on the 109th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Advance Wars OST: Taishi Senda

You can check out the competitive online Advance Wars community (AWBW) here!

Is the new game+ of Advance Wars really as brutally difficult as its reputation suggests? In what way do the sequels change the core gameplay (if they change it at all?) Which faction leader is the best? Come let us know what you think, or recommend us a game to play on our community discord server!

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