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I've been waiting for years for Nintendo to bring back Advance Wars. They finally have and its great!
Wargroove (Chucklefish's homage to Adv. Wars) was really good too a few years ago. But there's nothing quite like playing the original. Cartoon-war with cartoon graphics means that kids can watch and you don't really have to feel too bad. Its about tactical play of these units: bazookas vs tanks, tanks vs artillery, missiles vs battleships, fighters vs bombers, helicopters vs landers, submarines and cruisers.
Adv. Wars always was one of Nintendo's deepest strategy games. Albeit with the classic "Nintendo Bullshit" you get (See Mario Kart's "Blue Shell"), Adv. Wars also has the Commander Powers which are completely bonkers and overpowered. Still, its nice to have a "super-move" to do every now and then and push the tactical line as a stalemate condition comes up. It helps make sure the game moves forward, either for you... or for the opponent. Planning around your own (and the opponents) CO abilities is a major part of the tactics and strategy. (Without commander abilities, I bet that these games would become trench-warfare / defensive no-mans lands. So its a necessary evil)
The AI doesn't feel quite as strong as it used to, but maybe as an adult I'm just better at playing this game. Still, the AI takes advantage of its Commander Powers, and the maps are well designed to force the player to learn how to use all the units (and how to take advantage of your own commander's unique powers to turn the tide of battle). IMO, this is one of those "hidden gems", and I highly recommend people play it.
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Shoutouts to Chucklefish's "Wargroove" for satisfying my Adv. Wars itch until now. I'll probably get a few more rounds of Wargroove in. Competition in this highly tactical style of turn-based strategy is ... a good thing. Wargroove commanders are no where near the "overpowered" feel that Adv. Wars commanders were, so there's a feeling of more PvP balance in Wargroove. I dunno, I'll have to play both and think about the differences again. But both games are great.
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Above: Wargroove, an obvious homage to Adv. Wars. Though there are differences in how various details have been implemented, both games are excellent.
Ex: one of the strongest Wargroove commander abilities is: "Buy a unit at 2x the price right now", which is... really good mind you. So if a unit normally is 500, you can buy it immediately for 1000, and it can move on the same turn. (Since it teleports to the front line, its hard for opponents to plan around and well worth the double-gold cost).
Meanwhile, Eagle in Adv. Wars is sitting there with "All my units can take a 2nd turn, during my turn", with a commander ability far more powerful than anything in Wargroove. And the Adv. Wars community is all "Ehhh... kind of mid tier actually".