So what did other media outlets have to say? To get things started, The Verge Entertainment editor Andrew Webster said the first few hours of the remakes were a welcome return and the games were just as good as they’ve ever been:
“I’m jealous of anyone who gets to experience these games for the first time, but for me, booting the original Advanced Wars it was like slipping into a cozy old sweater again. Even if it looks different now — the games have been tweaked, and the more detailed battlefields now actually look like they’re taking place on the table — it’s wonderful. I especially like more expressive characters that make reading the story much more enjoyable.”
WccftechNews editor and feature writer Nathan Birch enjoyed it, even if it’s not “reinventing the wheel”:
“Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp doesn’t mess with the classics, bringing a pair of such solid old-school tactical strategy games into the new era with just a few tweaks to make the experience more accessible. While they have more to play, part of me wonders what is the audience for this pack, as hardcores have already played these games to death, and newbies may not be drawn in by their retro features and WayForward’s inconsistent visual makeover, I have no doubt that some new recruits will be convinced to join the fray, but I’m not sure how many that new army will be great.”
God is a nerd he summed it up as a “faithful remake” in his own review, but noted the jumps in difficulty. Here’s what Editor-in-Chief Adam Cook had to say:
“Advance Wars 1+2: Re-boot Camp, so far, seems to have scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. Failure isn’t met with frustration, instead it’s greeted with a smile and a hasty restart of the battle with the desire to be better. I may still be relatively early in the campaign, but despite playing these games over twenty years ago, they feel fresh again. The cartoon aesthetic is good for the characters (mostly) and some of the music absolutely kicks… I can’t wait to dig deeper to see more of what it has to offer.”
Player also reminded how challenging this classic series can be – features editor-in-chief Jade King mentioned it’s “a bit interested in holding your hand”:
“Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a fun but familiar delight so far, faithful to the original games while enhancing its visuals to not only feel current, but imbued with an extra dose of personality that softens the otherwise bleak subject matter. It’s fun and challenging while you understand the appeal of strategic mechanics with little interest in holding your hand.”
AND VGCEditor-in-Chief Andy Robinson also enjoyed revisiting these classics, noting that he kept much of the original design with “a lot of shine” in his presentation:
“In its opening missions, the Switch’s 2023 remake – helmed by California-based WayForward – seems to do a great job of maintaining what made the original Advance Wars great. At least during runtime, its design remains incredibly faithful to the original, while its presentation has achieved a pleasing sheen , with the kind of beautifully animated characters, bursting with personality, that gamers have come to expect from the studio behind Shantae.”
Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on April 21, 2023.