Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp?

I’d probably give it an 8 so far. The gameplay is great but I’m really not feeling the voice acting, and the performance in cutscenes is really shaky, along with the camera stuttering very noticeably. Pretty surprised they didn’t fix these issues considering both of the delays it got

This is a great and faithful remake of two awesome games, but I have to take off points for missed opportunities. No new content is tough to see for series veterans and I think not including the 3rd game (Dual Strike) in the Advance/Andy trilogy was a big mistake. Maybe that content would be added in as DLC but it's a small chance. Also the game crashes too often but at least it doesn't ruin progress.

7/10

There are some nice improvements over the original, but online/map sharing with friends only is very disappointing.

I wish they have given us a balance option for the COs.

Considering it's missing a multiplayer and the ability to skip battle animations I'm giving it a 'good'.

The former is really problematic. Playing with verified friends only isn't a real multiplayer.

I'm a little disappointed by the inconsistent frame rate at times given how friggin' simplistic the game's presentation is. It's not a deal-breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but it causes minor annoyance every time a battle cutscene goes from silky smooth to half the frame rate as well as the "Day X" text that appears to chug for no good reason.

I'm also annoyed that saving is limited to suspend saves given how brutally difficult this series can be. I've poured over 7 hours into it so far but I've finally hit a roadblock and I don't want to have to resort to walkthroughs or giving up entirely as I did with Dark Conflict back in the day (which was the first and last Advance Wars game that I had played).

There's so much about the series that I absolutely love, but the difficulty curve might be prohibitive for a n00b like me.

I'm also disappointed that they've removed the ability to have an all-CPU battle like you could with Dark Conflict, as I occasionally enjoyed watching seeing how the CPU would tackle the maps.

On the plus side, I really like that they have included both local couch and wireless multiplayer, and I'll probably have a bit of fun with the map editor too. In spite of my arguably trifling grievances, I've been loving the game so far, and this has been the most excited I've been for a Nintendo-published game in quite some time. It's also Version 1.0 on the cart, which I was happy about. I would have been quite annoyed if there was a day one update for a completed game that had been delayed for so long.

it's clearly a 10. sure the graphics could be more appealing but the core gameplay is almost perfect. also the game is easy to learn but hard to master

I have no dog in the nostalgia fight, but why on earth is a GBA Remaster 60?!

From what I saw on stream, it looks pretty boring and dated, gameplay-wise. VA sounds deadpan, and the graphics look like a generic FTP mobile game.

It's a great as ever, but I wish for 2 things:

1st: let me skip the co power animations. Sonia's takes forever.

2nd: I think I would've preferred one of the original games bundled with the post apocalypse one for a change of pace. That was such a neat transition for the series (before that, it felt like the new selling point of each game was "an even bigger tank!")

@Dazman

There's a way to skip battle animations.

I personally have it skipping the ai animations, but keep mine.

Zero reason for me to play instead of the original if I don't like the visuals.

7/10 cash grab remake

6.5/10. it is graphically horrible in many ways and the voice acting is kinda awful

@Krysus It's quite a facelift with some modern quality improvements (voice acting, flexibility for unlocking/using characters, rewinding turns/mistakes). Plus you can easily spend around 60 hours between both campaigns, not including bonus and replay missions. That's a fair asking price, but tbh I'll probably wait until this game gets discounted to at least $40 before picking it up.

I found it funny that this game didn't get that backlash for $60 like Link's Awakening did. But people were in an uproar over the $60 Skyward Sword port or the $70 TOTK charge. At least Nintendo did right by Metroid Prime 1 remastered and charged $40

@Kiwi_Unlimited What do you have to press?

@Krysus It's two remakes. Not remasters, they're remade from the ground up.

Woo someone is bitter and petty to give it a one. Even if you don’t like it, the game is too well made for a one.

@Dazman : I think you need to go into settings to cancel certain animations in their entirety. You can't skip them on the fly.

My only complaint is the voice acting. It all seems a bit dull that doesn't quite match the overall energy of Advance Wars (that said I haven't started AW2 yet so maybe it improves). I've loved this series since the GBA so I've had the voices in my head for decades now so it's likely just an expectations thing with me. Otherwise I love the care put in to this & I hope this series does make a full comeback with new entries. I love Fire Emblem but I think now that Engage is out, Nintendo & Intelligent Systems need to let that series take the backseat so Advance wars can have a true resurgence!

@Dazman During a battle, press the plus button to go to options in the menu. Visual A is the default with all animations and captures shown. I normally do Visual Off except in fog of war where I use Visual B which shows just animations so I know where enemy units are attacking from. Then I just hold ZR to speed up the animation.

As a remake/collection: 8/10
For the games themselves: 10/10
I voted for 9.

I've been hooked yet again even though I've already played these games to death and then some

@BTB20 : I wish people generally would stop using the term "remaster" in reference to games as it's so frequently misused, and "enhanced port", in most situations, is the gaming equivalent of a "remaster", while this, as rightly pointed out, is a remake.

9/10 Yeah, the graphics aren't as good as they could be but it has grown on me while playing. Fixing how enemies work in fog of war is amazing. I wish I didn't need the friend code of someone to play them online. I also wish they showed the enemy CO's power meter on your turn so I could strategically know when not to attack a unit like in Dual Strike and Days of Ruin. I know it shows a simplified version of it in the CO info area but that's a hassle.

Based purely on gameplay alone (the most fundamental part of a GAME after all) - a solid 9/10.

Only interested in the single player mode so not concerned with lacking features on the multiplayer side.

Plot and graphics not too important to me. Price as well shouldn’t be a factor in score, rather it’s a factor in whether the purchase is worth it you (depending on your own definitions of value and affordability).

The gameplay is really satisfying from a strategy point of view. Early choices and positioning matter further down the line. It’s nice to see plans play out where a slight strategic advantage eventually snowballs into a significant difference in armaments.

I made it even snappier by turning all animations off, would like to be able to do it for the CO powers too!

It had potential for so much more.

The one thing for which I'd dock it a point is the friends-only online multiplayer. If they'd just set up a server to connect you to whoever else fancies a game I'd call it a 10.

6.

Graphics leave much to be desired, voice-acting is notably lacking, and the barebones multiplayer hurts the game's long-term appeal.

This game feels rushed, which is funny because they had an extra year to work on it more but seemingly didn't. You can just tell Nintendo wants this out the door and out of sight - no chance for a sequel.

9 here so far. I'm having so much fun with this game.

4
Graphics look like some F2P mobile game and charging full price for 2 GB upgrades with no QoL improvements, No Online matchmaking and Limited voice acting make this reboot feel like a simple cash grab and missed opportunity.

8/10. Great collection all around, improved AI, gorgeous character animations, love the remixed tracks, and, of course, the game itself is fantastic.

Peeling off two points for the questionable implementation of multiplayer, which was a big selling point for this remake.

I was so excited for this game, but I'd say it's a 7, maybe even 6.5. It's pretty shocking the game isn't more polished, given we're now about a year and a half past its original release date. And, in classic Nintendo fashion, it's missing even rudimentary online and matchmaking capabilities.

And add my +1 to being able to skip CO power animations. Sonja's is practically long enough that I can run to the store and get back before it's over.

I give it a 5 cause it’s alright, the game isn’t giving me any motivation to play past 4 hours of it. It just feels like an average strategy game for $60 and looks pretty. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate tactics games like this, into the breach is one of my favorite indie games of all time. Some old gba games just aren’t doing it for me

It's a great game, 8/10 for me. It could have been better with some modern features.

@Dazman - This is a first to see that people think playing with friends isn't "real multiplayer."

Staying on topic: I would say my view teters between 8 or 9. A true-to-source remaster of the game, with no fluff tacked on unnaturally. An intent to show why the games were originally loved.

I gave it an 8. Great fun all around, good quality of life adjustments, the music is incredible, animations and voices are enjoyable, I just have to dock points for online multiplayer being friends-only and the inconsistency of which lines are and are not voiced.

I gave it a 9. I am a massive Advance Wars fan (hence my name) and being able to play the campaigns for the first 2 games in one package is amazing. What takes a point away and really disappointed me was the low-effort online multiplayer. Wargroove is an indie Advance Wars-style strategy game, came out a few years ago and is vastly superior as far as online options. They couldn't even implement asynchronous multiplayer matches??

The original core games are both worthy of 9-10 scores but this feels like a somewhat clunky re-skin. For newcomers I'd say it's an 8, but for those who played the originals it's a 7.

I hate the 3-5 second wait after you win a map... it feels like the code is trying to work out if you've won or not. I also want to skip the CO power animations but I can't.

Advance Wars is the single best strategy/tactics game of all time, in my opinion. This doesn't mess any of the gameplay up, the graphics and music are vibrant and charming (though not quite as charming as the original) and it adds some needed QOL features, so it gets a 9/10 for that alone. It could've gotten a 10/10 if it had true online lobby / matchmaking, but this is still a slam dunk of a game. I hope it gets a lot of sales even though it was released at a rough time - right before TOTK comes out.

It’s great! I would’ve loved async multiplayer and rewind undo (instead of only being able to reset the then), but these are small things.

An excellent remake of some true classics. Advance Wars 3+4 next, please.

Can someone tell me if they’ve added different difficulty options? (In other words easier!)

Thank you!

@datamonkey There is a a casual and classic option.

@Krysus I admit I'm waiting for a price drop, but I'd still argue that, had they remade (these are remade, not just remastered) both separately and charged 30 for each, no one would complain. These are both classic examples of excellent game design.

But yeah, 60 feels a lot for "one game". Just like 90 for three Etrian Odyssey remakes feels way overpriced even for a fan of that series as well, while it is essentially 30 per game. I'll be waiting for a huge price drop there as well.

Metroid Prime 1 remastered was 40, but had they done the trilogy all at once for 120, everyone would have lost their minds over how Nintendo lost their minds. Me included. Yet most people argue that 40 for one remaster is fine, and I remember getting the trilogy on Wii for that price (standard price was 50 I think, still insane value).

Well, game prices are all over the shop. I got many great games for less than 5, free to play games that never cost me anything but entertained me for a hundred hours or so, and some true disappointments over the years, some of which had the "decency" of only lasting a few hours of utter blandness or boredom or frustration, for 60 back when I bought games at full price. It's an asking price, if I don't agree I move on or put it on a wishlist waiting for them to lower it until I do agree, as is the case here. I know the content is great, both BUT and BECAUSE I've played it all before. For newcomers who think 60 is a fair price for a single new game with decent content, 60 is a fair price here as well.

10/10! Tears Of The Kingdom has a tough act to follow!

I love AW but it had been several years since I'd played one of its installments. While this compilation should definitely suffice as an introduction to the military turn-based tactics genre for new players, it still leaves some things to be desired when comparing to deeper, more real word-reflecting franchises like SystemSoft Beta's Daisenryaku (Grand Strategy). Here are some issues with AW that I hope Nintendo may address in potential future installments:

https://www.ss-beta.co.jp/products/dsexceed2/image/gallery/ss/gallery_20.jpg

1) AW's grid-based mechanics are outdated. There's a certain aesthetic appeal to a map being divided into little squares, but it absolutely kills AW's movement options for units. Hexes are by far superior in terms of tactical utility. Also, AW restricts each square to containing only a single unit, so aircraft can easily be contained or blocked simply by placing several land units in a line. In contrast, Daisenryaku allows six altitude "levels" (High Air, Mid Air, Low Air, Ground/Bridge, Sea Surface, and Undersea), so multiple units actually can occupy a single hex and aircraft aren't blocked by ground units.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/screen/full/4/4/1/251441.jpg

2) Rock/Paper/Scissors. In AW, Tank = Tank, and basically who wins a fight between the same type of unit depends on who the attacker is. Also, certain units are effective against other types just because they belong to a certain group (example: Anti-Air versus all aircraft). But Daisenryaku includes over 400-1400 real word unit types, each with algorithms that accurately reflect their actual abilities and vulnerabilities. A squadron of M1 Abrams is going to wipe the floor against older T-72s but be more evenly matched against German Leopards or Israeli Merkavas, and while AA units like Russia's 2K22 Tunguska might be effective against helicopters, they can't reach targets and High Air (that requires missile systems like the Patriot or S-300) and can easily receive serious damage from return fire themselves.

3) Yes, it's a videogame, but CO Powers are absurd. Seriously, why ever use Max? Sure he may have some extra punch in melee combat, but his Artillery and Rockets are effectively neutered by taking a -1 hit to their respective ranges. Even in the context of a videogame, that makes zero sense for individual unit types to be penalized below their baseline capabilities.

https://www.ss-beta.co.jp/products/dsexceed2/image/gallery/ss/gallery_08.jpg

A far better option is Daisenryaku's RPG-like leveling system where each individual unit gains experience from battles, starting at Level E and, if it survives (which requires careful maintenance and pulling it off the front lines for repairs), progresses through D, C, B. A, and finally S. At higher levels some units can completely wipe out full compliments of enemy units in a single volley, and it greatly raises the stakes in multiplayer as human opponents will try their best to take out your leveled-up units before they can do too much damage.

https://www.ss-beta.co.jp/products/dsexceed2/image/gallery/ss/gallery_02.jpg

Overall AW is a great series and well worth the investment, but as I said, it's just a toe-dip in a potential ocean of depth when it comes to this genre. Here's hoping Nintendo (or some third-party localization companies) will see sales success for AW: Reboot Camp and bring us more of this genre to enjoy, especially with multiplayer features. Overall I gave AW: Reboot Camp a 7 here; it's a fine game, but there's room for improvement. Nintendo, I hope you're listening.

DISCLAIMER: Images taken from Daisenryaku VII: Modern Military Tactics Exceed for PS2/XBox and Daiseryaku Exceed 2 for PS3

I would love to see this someday:
https://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/64-wars-advanced-wars-unreleased/

Not perfect, but I'm enjoying it still, if I could change a few things, it would be some of the SFX (a unit being destroyed sounds underwhelming compared to the original games) and bring CO Power themes back, kinda sucks they removed them. Hopefully they'll bring them back...remixed CO themes when powers happen just feel...less epic.

I only got to put roughly 4 hours into the weekend (most of that being spent playing around with the map creator...) so it's hard to nail down an exact number, but I'm gonna go with 7. From what I have played has been pretty solid! I never really had the chance to play through the originals, so its nice to be able to finally dive into them

@Dazman

I can't look it up, currently, but it's in options.

Whatever the option is, it's labeled with letters, like "option a, or version c," or something.

It still doesn't deactivate the co power animation, but it does make the rest easier to deal with.

For me it‘s a 9/10. I loved the originals on the GBA and the new version should be seen as a standard when we speak about ports to a new hardware generation. Yes, the voice acting is sometimes subpar but I play it on mute the most of the time so it doesn‘t bother me. The technical state is perfect too (never had any of the mentioned problems; solo or with 2 other players). It‘s just a great game for the Switch.

8/10. Advance Wars itself is a near-perfect game (its only real blemish is Fog of War), and this is a decent version of a fantastic game.

I really like the character models, the fact that it's AW1 and 2 together, and the fact that the AI no longer cheats in Fog of War. But the field visuals are a little dull, the game can get weirdly choppy, some of the voices are really questionable, and you can't save and quit in local multiplayer matches (I had to abandon a great skirmish yesterday because we ran out of time). Also, online seems to be the bare minimum, when I would've at least loved to have seen level-sharing with randoms a la Mario Maker.

Still, it's Advance Wars. It's a wonderfully-designed series that I'm thrilled to have back, and I'm excited to play more.

Maybe this is like what Nintendo did with Metroid 2 and Dread, e.g., hand over a classic franchise to an okay developer as chance to get accustomed first before they then go ahead and produce a new entry? I hope so, but I won’t be getting this as it’s too expensive for little to no improvement over the fantastic GBA/DS games.

9/10 from me. Absolutely fantastic.

@AtlanteanMan
It might not have as much depth as you've outlined, but check out the recently funded Kickstarter for "Warside." It looks like development is off to a great start. I only wish they would add on a highly replayable mode similar to Into the Breach. I bet you could give the developers some other really great ideas!

I was aiming to give it a 9, but lowered to an 8 for a few reasons. First as i'm someone who has very much loved this series and solved both 1&2 on the GBA i'm a bit biased i'm sure. But anyway,
1. $60 for basically a simple reskin of two GBA games is a bit much. Should have been $40.00
2. Simple game like this should be locked at 60 FPS. Also considering they have had forever to do this due to it being delayed for so long
3. Missed opportunity to give us a few extras to reviatlize our interest in what could be coming down the pipe at a later date. Just doing to straight port with some graphics updates isn't much
4. while i'm not sure it "bothers" me, the gameboard table design isn't a plus in any way. Maybe a small negative as it's just weird.

With all that said, I love Advance Wars so i'm sure it's going to get plenty of play from me.

9/10. I bought this to support future of Advance Wars games. I hope the release Dual Strike and Days of Ruins next. Better yet, make a new entry that modernizes the game a bit and shake things up. Hopefully they are taking notes from that AW inspired game called Warside that just recently ended their Kickstarted campaign. They are including a laundry list of features that AW players have long wished for.

I'd give it a solid 7 as a big fan of the GBA originals.

While it's fun to play and nails the Advance Wars gameplay, the lack of online matchmaking is a huge blow to this games longevity. I mean they had it delayed for an entire year, seems like they could have easily added some online matchmaking.

9/10 Excellent. The 1 off is for the flawed online implementation which I don't really care about tbf. I may be biased as I look the GBA/DS games.

Enjoying it so far, but not as blown away like I was by the originals: solid 8/10. Would've been more impressed if they stuck closer to the original style. First chance I got I turned off these 3D animations.

Love the series though, good to see it gets so much exposure here. Didn't know there were so many fellow fans of AW. I salute you!

@Krysus 2 games

6/10. Wayforward Art vomit style is a turn off and gameplay didn’t age well. Definitely not worth the one year+ delayed wait lol.

Get it on sale is my advice especially when Switch has plenty of way better strategy games already to keep you busy.

@Giggsy - Days of Ruin is such a different beast, it'd probably stand alone on its own. Regardless how much I agree with this statement.

Probably 7 or 8 now. I was having so much fun with the campaign until I got stuck and finally checked on other stuff. The biggest sin for me is the online mode which is limited to friends only.. I dont get that at all and it really annoys me its still a thing in 2023. Another thing that bugs me is implementation of the fog. Im stuck on one campaign map where I tried to build my strategy around positioning my air units in a way that enemy should not be able to see them, but somehow the enemys field of vision is bigger than mine, because they can see me while I cant see them. I dont like to lose to confirm the enemys unit positions first for next time I play. This has happened only once though and its thanks the other CO having many more units. Having unfair fog mechanics and leading your small army into an unknown territory to set you up for next time, since the margin for error is really small, did not feel good to me.

@Krysus the argument I’d make is that you’re getting 2 games in 1 and they include improvements like voice acting and whatever else. If I remember correctly, gameboy (advance) games cost 30 or 40 back in that time so really, it’s not a terrible price.

Gave it a 9 as I love advance wars and it's a real joy to play them again.
Only problem I have is muliplayer is too limited and that's the one area they dropped the ball.
Art style was bit odd at first but few missions in it clicks.
Not sure why people are complaining about VA as it's about standard usage for these games ie characters outside cutscenes say things like look, hey or commander followed by walls of text.
Most dialogue I'm skipping over any way as it's alot of what's an airport, and x is doing y let's stop them.

Advance Wars is not my favourite IP by Nintendo/Intelligent Systems but this remake is very sleek and polished, I am quite impressed with the game so far. It runs very well and the visuals are crisp. It is easily the best WayForward game I've ever played on a technical basis, and I've played quite a few of them. Especially given the scope, including both AW1+2. I'm thinking Nintendo should try to secure their services for more titles, not necessarily only AW. It's an easy recommendation for anyone who is into strategy/tactical games. For what it is, I'd say it's as good as it can be, I'd give it a 9/10 overall because 10/10 is reserved for Fire Emblem.

I only got the game yesterday so I'm not too far along into it yet, I think I'm at the AW1 main campaign mission 8 at the moment, I loved the original Advance Wars 1 and I think the remaster holds up. I like the artstyle and I personally don't mind the board game look, there's tons of content between all the war room maps and whatnot.

Though at the same time in terms of things added there doesn't seem to be a whole lot, being able to play on the big screen is a boon but other than that I'm not sure if there really is any particular reason to pick this one over the original. I do find the speed-up being mapped to ZR being a bit jank as well.

But it's still good because the original game was good and I've personally never played the AW2 campaign fully so I'm pretty excited for that one.

@JohnnyMind Glad to hear but its not them. I checked on the COs ability already and they have no fog of war perks

@JohnnyMind Actually, despite how it might seem from my description, Daisenryaku isn't just accessible to newcomers, but INSANELY addictive. I had a group of coworkers I introduced the PS2 version of DSVII (shorthand for Daisenryaku VII) to. Over time that group grew to include about 8 people, and by the time each new player had played/watched a round or two, they had the basic mechanics down. Of course the nuances went far deeper, and we were still discovering new stuff more than a year (and thousands of hours, often 10-plus hours at a stretch) later. And every single one of those guys ended up buying their own copy (keep in mind this was a bargain bin title you can still find used under $10, and I had a brand-spanking new Playstation 3 sitting there untouched due to everyone's obsession with this gem).

I'm not saying this or any type of game will be everyone's cup of tea, but the group we had came from a pretty wide range of taste in genres and experience. As you said, it's about giving games and genres like this a fair chance; occasionally you can be very pleasantly surprised.

@JohnnyMind I have no idea. The CO who rhymes with seagull is good with air units, but there is nothing mentioned about their field of vision. Maybe its more complicated than I think. Ill look into it again. It could be their infantry units in mountains being closer to me than mine to them.

@sanderev ah thanks man!

3/10
Having been a fan of all 4 games over the past 20 years I might be a bit biased.

I was really hoping there would be online matchmaking to play against others (they can still add it if they really want to). The addition of character animations and voice acting is a major+
Andy = Ash Ketchum is a win haha. Another cool thing is the attention of detail for the guns of the infantry like the American M14, Russian PPS-43, German MP-40, and Japanese Type 99.

What really sucks is the sfx BIG TIME. The machineguns/cannons/bombers/etc sound awful.

It's almost 100% copy/paste of the original in terms of campaign maps, ai behavior, bugs that were patched in future games. For instance in Advance Wars 1 the ai loves going out of its way to attack APCs, not moving specific unit until in range (just lure with an infantry). No Leapfrogging with transport units once the unit has moved (not giving multiple infantry +1 movement in the same turn). Also Gold Comet, srs?

It's 8 for me. Great games, and an excellent update. My main quibbles are the battle animations should be cartoon characters like the CO. It looks a bit odd. No online battles versus random opponents, only friends. I could not see a way to undo a move. It should be possible if the unit has only been moved. I wouldn't expect it the unit engaged in battle. I guess avoiding this confusion is why it's omitted totally. In a minor gripe that doesn't affect the score, the AI is useless on your custom maps.

The game itself is a sold 10/10, and that twice, but I really hoped since they have the level editor and you can share levels that they would have included a level marketplace to share the best maps... endless advance wars content...so I voted 8