Reviews | Game Boy Advance

Advance Wars

By Alex Kierkegaard / November 25, 2005

Advance Wars is a tiny little strategy game that came out in September 2001, surprising everyone with its brand of modest but brilliant gameplay. Everyone except the Japanese that is -- this is actually the latest installment in a Japan-only franchise that started in 1988 on the Famicom and continued on the Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Super Famicom consoles (at one point there was even a Nintendo 64 version under development, though it was never released). The series was virtually unknown in the West before Advance Wars came along, and unfortunately I haven't had the chance to play any of the previous games yet, though I certainly plan to at some point. It would be interesting to see how these games have evolved over the years, but I'll have to leave that for another day.

As a turn-based strategy game, Advance Wars shares a genre with Civilization, Master of Orion and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, among others. This might seem strange at first because Advance Wars is a simple game by comparison -- it certainly doesn't feel like it should be in the same category with these strategy heavyweights. After all, it's a handheld game meant to be played with a D-pad and two buttons on a 3.2-inch screen -- how complex can such a game possibly get? But even though it belongs to a genre that favors complexity, Advance Wars manages to step across genre boundaries and deliver a new and unique experience. Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small.

The problem is that turn-based games take effort to learn and effort to play. Results aren't instant. The games aren't flashy, there are no immediate and satisfying actions. Troops don't pummel each other, and you can't pause in the middle of combat to change orders.

--Jakub Wojnarowicz, FiringSquad

The above quote is from an article I came across on FiringSquad, a mainly PC-centric site, lamenting the recent dearth of turn-based strategy games. It is apparent, however, that Mr. Wojnarowicz didn't have a chance to play Advance Wars before writing it. Advance Wars is easy to learn and easy to play, results are instant, the presentation is flashy and you even get to watch troops pummel each other. In short, Advance Wars is a game that blends the mechanics of turn-based strategy games with the presentation and instant gratification of their real-time counterparts. And it does this brilliantly.

In Advance Wars, the player assumes the role of a military advisor in the Orange Star army, one of four factions vying for control of the war-torn continent of Alara. The factions are headed by a number of anime-styled Commanding Officers (COs). The various COs have specific strengths and weaknesses, as well as a special power which they can use to turn the tide of battle to their favor.

The single player Campaign consists of a series of (mostly) linearly progressing missions. The goal of each mission is to beat the enemy CO, either by wiping out every enemy unit on the map or by capturing their headquarters (a couple of missions simply require that you survive for a certain number of days). Depending on the mission, sometimes you are given control of a specific CO and sometimes you have to make a choice between two or three available COs. After completing each mission you are awarded a grade based on your performance, and a number of coins depending on your grade. These coins (not to be confused with in-game war funds) can buy you additional maps or COs for use in some of the game's other, primarily multiplayer, modes, more on which shortly.

During the course of the Campaign, brief dialogue scenes deliver the plot, as well as important details about upcoming missions. Even though Advance Wars is a pure strategy game, the story is still important because it ties everything together and makes the game feel more like a complete experience rather than a collection of stand-alone missions. It is unfortunate therefore that it never manages to rise above its throwaway-anime roots. The lack of a better-developed plot is one of the game's few faults. Still, the focus of Advance Wars is the battle system, and it is this which makes the game stand out.

The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board. As you progress through the Campaign, you gain command of a large variety of land, sea and air units such as tanks, helicopters and battleships. Each kind of unit has a set of attributes (movement, attack range, sight) and its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, helicopters are effective against infantry and tanks but vulnerable to anti-air guns and missiles, submarines are good against all kinds of naval vessels but weak against cruisers, etc.

At the start of every mission you are given control of a set number of units, although in most missions you can manufacture additional units by using factories, airports and naval yards. To manufacture units you need to spend cash, which you earn by occupying empty buildings scattered throughout the map. The maps themselves are usually pretty small but contain a variety of terrain types (plains, mountains, rivers and forests, among others). Naturally, some terrain types are easier to cross than others, and all affect the outcome of battles that take place in them. Weather effects (rain and snow) also come into play at certain points in the game, but their influence is limited. Finally, 'fog of war' adds another layer of strategy to the battles -- unfortunately, it's also the only element of the battle system that doesn't quite work right. Advance Wars relies on speedy gameplay to deliver its thrills and fog of war slows the game down too much. You are now forced to move more slowly across the map and have to worry about enemy units sniping you from forests and reefs. Thankfully, fog of war is only present in a few of the missions so it doesn't get in the way too much.

All of this might sound quite complex, but the game actually teaches you everything you need to know during a series of 14 tutorial missions which you have to complete before you are allowed to start the Campaign. Don't let the term 'tutorial' scare you away, however -- these missions are just as fun as the later ones. The upshot is that anyone can play this game, even those who've never touched a strategy game before.

The art is excellent throughout. Characters, units and menus are all drawn in a bright manga style that gives the game a unique and very energetic look. Animation is sparse, like in all turn-based strategy games, but what's there is tastefully done. The battle map is a thing of beauty, bristling with tanks, planes and battleships and little toy soldiers in a background of green fields and azure seas. Little extra touches, such as crashing waves on shorelines, complete the picture. When units clash in battle, or when rival COs unleash their special powers, we are treated to anime-style cutscenes showing a close up of the action. These sequences are fun to watch and only last a few seconds, so they don't slow the game down perceptibly except, maybe, during some of the later, larger-scale battles.

The music complements the action very well, with a variety of pleasant, upbeat tunes, some of which are quite memorable. Sound effects are used sparingly but effectively. Overall, the audio is of very good quality, surprising considering the modest sound capabilities of the GBA.

The interface is ingenious. It only takes a couple of missions to get accustomed to the controls and then they become second nature -- quite an accomplishment if you consider that the game uses only two buttons. There is perfect fusion of control and presentation in Advance Wars; indeed, the game manages to transcend its genre because of this. At times you get the impression of playing an RTS, but without the pressure and anxiety those games engender. Apart from that unfortunate 'fog of war' business, the battle system is tuned to perfection and an absolute blast to experience.

I do have a couple of minor complaints, however. In the game, it is possible for tanks to shoot down helicopters, and helicopters to intercept high-altitude bombers. Now, I realize that the game is not trying to accurately depict modern warfare, but since this is a military-themed game (as opposed to a fantasy-themed one), I would expect the developers to balance the units a bit better so that such ridiculous situations would not arise. My other complaint would be a bit more difficult to fix. It is possible to surround an air unit, say a helicopter, with ground units, effectively protecting that air unit from enemy fighters. This is possible because the battle map consists of only one layer; a square can be occupied by only one unit at a time. So it is impossible for air units to fly over ground or sea units. Nevertheless, these are minor issues that do not really detract from the fun of the battles.

So far I've only discussed the single player Campaign, which forms the main part of the game, but there is also a great selection of multiplayer modes. The Versus mode allows up to four players to square off against each other with a single cartridge on the same system, while the Link mode enables both single-cartridge and multi-cartridge multiplayer options. Unfortunately, the single-cartridge link-cable option is a watered-down version of the overall game, with a randomly generated map and each player possessing only seven units. To experience a fully-featured multiplayer game, all players must have a copy of the game, or they must all play on a single system using the Versus mode. You can also create your own maps with the map editor and then use them in multiplayer battles.

The multiplayer options have been very well realized, and are definitely a welcome addition, but I find that playing with one or two friends has very limited appeal. This is the kind of game that demands online play with matchmaking, scoreboards and even a few co-op Campaigns. Hopefully, all these things will happen in a home console sequel, sooner rather than later.