Yes. YES. YEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!
Nintendo played it safe this week with its E3-adjacent livestream, but for me the biggest news was the reveal of Advance Wars finally being willed into re-existence. The upcoming remake will bundle the first game and the Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising into one meaty product of mobile strategy. What’s different this time?
The overworld view still has delightful sprite aesthetics, but the characters have received new art and the actual battles are waged between more modern groups of 3D-rendered cannon fodder. I mean brave Orange Star troops, who I’m definitely not haphazardly throwing into battle so that I can move my drinks cabinet a few meters closer to the front.
This remake is being handled by developer WayForward, the studio that co-developed River City Girls with Arc System Works and a whole lot of Shantae games. “Command an army in strategic, turn-based combat as a tactical advisor for the Orange Star Army,” Nintendo’s description reads.
Your expertise is needed as you move land, air and naval units across the battlefield and unleash powerful CO abilities to turn the tide of battle. Take down enemy squads and capture towns and bases to secure victory and keep the peace. Keep an eye on the game-changing terrain and weather as you lead units across two campaigns.
Fans have been begging for a new Advance Wars for years now, and while there have been a few spiritual successors in the years since then, nothing compares to the original. Would an entirely new Advance Wars have been an even better announcement? Maybe! But having some love and care put into an upcoming remake that will introduce scores of new faces to a Nintendo GOAT should also pave the way forward (heh) for Nintendo to put some resources into properly reviving the series.
Last Updated: June 17, 2021
