My love of strategy gaming can be traced back to three specific series: Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and Advance Wars. While Fire Emblem is now bigger (and, I’d add, better) than ever, Final Fantasy‘s tactical Nintendo titles have seemingly been abandoned, with the latest iteration released over a decade and a half ago. Honestly, I’d long feared the same for my beloved Advance Wars, as we hadn’t heard a peep from the franchise since 2008’s Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.
That was until the 2021 reveal of Advance Wars 1+2: ReBoot Camp. During that year’s E3 Nintendo Direct, NOA showed us gloriously updated versions of 2001’s Advance Wars and 2003’s Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising coming soon to the Nintendo Switch. Then, of course, there were the requisite delays.
Still, I held out hope that I’d be able to rejoin my comrades in the Orange Star Army, and at last, my patience paid off. I’ve just spent the past weekend rediscovering the joys of Advance Wars‘ chibified battlefield.
My fellow fans of the Game Boy Advance originals will find that the bones of the series remain wonderfully unchanged, and CO Nell will even give us old hands the opportunity to skip the title’s various tutorials. Although, since I hadn’t played the original in decades, I chose to let her refresh my memory, and it was good that I did. Since they are all very brief and incorporated right into the campaign mode’s early chapters, I had nothing to lose and much knowledge to gain.
ReBoot Camp does a phenomenal job of introducing its myriad of gameplay elements one or two at a time so as not to overwhelm newbies. This includes not only its gridded movement, tactical combat, and terrain effects but unit type/deployment, property capturing, and the dastardly Fog of War (that literally makes it more difficult to scout enemy locations).
Folding its tutorials into the campaign mode helps the game to move at a proper clip right out of the gate, and in no time players will grasp (or, in my case, remember) the series’ unique take on direct vs. indirect combat ground before moving onto more nuanced battles including air and sea units. Further tactical depth is added by the introduction of CO Powers.
Each commanding officer—Nell is joined by her Orange Star compatriots Andy, Max, and Sami—has a special ability that can be used to turn the tide of battle. A CO gauge fills up during combat, and once activated, it can give your troops just the boost they need to succeed.
Andy, for example, can bulk repair damaged units, while Max’s already formidable direct attacks become even more punishing. Sami, a personal favorite, has a CO ability that increases the speed at which cities and bases are seized, which comes in handy in several early scenarios where time is of the essence.
Of course, the COs of the rival Blue Moon, Green Earth, and Yellow Comet forces also have special abilities of their own, but as the game progresses and you become more familiar with the enemy, you learn which of your own commanders is best suited to face each of them.
While ReBoot Camp seems largely unchanged under the hood, the sound and visuals have received extensive overhauls. While I would’ve happily settled for straight-up GBA ports, developer WayForward has instead given the series a full-on anime makeover.
This offers an impressive level of visual style to basic campaign battle maps (and the various troops and vehicles encountered therein) and flashy CO Power cinematics that look like they came right out of Lupin the Third! The game’s soundtrack has also been afforded a wonderfully modern polish, with individual tracks available for you to purchase and enjoy at your leisure alongside CO artwork at Hachi’s Shop, a dedicated hub for acquiring collectibles.
Hachi also offers Battle Maps and unlockable COs for use in the game’s multiplayer modes, which, like the songs and artwork, can be purchased using the points accrued from the completion of campaign missions. Musical tracks and artwork can be viewed along with any unlocked CO cinematics in the game’s Gallery.
While I haven’t made my way to Advance Wars 2 yet—it is locked until you finish the first game for… narrative reasons—I have no doubt it will boast the same level of refinement as its ReBoot Camp cohort. Obviously, fans shouldn’t go into this collection expecting a Fire Emblem: Three Houses–style experience complete with RPG customization and nuanced interpersonal drama, but if you’re looking for classic turn-based strategy gameplay reinvented for modern hardware, Advance Wars 1+2: ReBoot Camp is sure to please.
Review materials provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. You can tell these games are originally from the early aughts because of everybody’s big ol’ pants!
