A practically perfect revision of AW1's campaign and a new personal favorite tactics experience.

One of my biggest grievances in 1 was both the difficulty and oddly gimmicky nature of map design. Battles feel like an uncomfortable half-step between a fundamentals free-for-all while still applying curveball variables that expect unconventional counters. This leads to the game parsing its rules very weirdly, where a solution from one mission should appear to work elsewhere, but doesn't. The lengthy, hand-holdy tutorial doesn't help either.

(also, 1 has too many fucking Fog of War missions)

2 actually solves this by digging FURTHER into niche-application scenarios. Additionally, each of the continents ends with a big 'boss' mission of sorts. As a result, each map tests mission fundamentals and extreme use-cases, which are then summarized in these giant, bombastic, 20+ turn wars of attrition. Each battle is incredibly addicting, and even the most frustrating skirmishes (anything with cannons lmao) felt very empowering to learn. With exception to two missions, I never had to check a guide during my run, and even those missions were learnable with just a glance at the optimal opening move.

(also, 2 has barely any Fog of War maps, and the few here are Fun)

Some of my favorite maps included:
-Using Grit's Rockets to zone out a giant swarm of Md Tanks
-Pecking off a strain of enemies traveling through a mountainous ravine with Sonja
-Decimating a helpless fleet of ammoless Battleships
-Taking on an island of cannons and Missiles using only air units
-Any time I got to use [THE POWER OF MONEY]
-Sniping a mission objective pipeguard with indirect damage while my teammates distract the frontline elsewhere
-Murdering Sturm in the final mission by sending a single Bomber up his ass while the rest of my fleet shits their pants

I think the only thing that stings about AW2 is that it plays the 'war' aspect of storytelling straight - and by consequence, loses the satirical edge of the first game. There's a real, physical conflict with a much more serious tone. The only benefit this really brings on non-mechanical terms is that some characters get to shine brighter as their convictions and ideals are tested. But it's otherwise an ameteurish 'army vs army' flick that treats war as the ultimate solution to conflict, only implying otherwise in a few fleeting textlines.

Either way, this has been an absolute blast and the highlight of my 2023 trek so far. I'm just as hyped to play Dual Strike and Days of Ruin, but I think I'm gonna hold off for a little while longer. Need a breather and some time to find a comfortable DS solution (my 2DS died :C)

Allow me to start off this glowingly positive review with a lament for the unhinged energy provided by the first Advance Wars title. No longer are we tasked with expending lives and resources over inane misunderstandings, but rather mobilizing against a serious threat. Visually coded as Nazis but written more non-specifically as vague authoritarians, the Black Hole faction brings a tonal dynamic closer to media such as classic Star Wars than the idiosyncratic, lethal Saturday morning cartoon warfare of its predecessor. While it's less unique, Advance Wars 2 does pull it off well by dramatically increasing the scale, with four nations liberated across 30+ missions and the amount of playable COs in the campaign increased from 3 (outside of the final mission) to 12. It is an enjoyable feeling to have the tactical antics contextualized as being part of a massive, and vital operation, even if that is an overall reduction in flavor.

The tactical side is where the sequel unequivocally improves. While the increased roster of playable COs brings a reduction in the number of enemy COs, it's more than made up for by the sheer number of scenarios that the game employs. New mechanics such as pipes, cannons, and lasers create obstacles and hazards that need to be managed. Fog of war maps are actually deploying sparingly and strategically. Air, land, and sea battles are applied in different combinations to provide varying utilities for the game's large selection of units. These elements work to enhance aspects of the first title, such as the dramatic difference between a map with unit production versus one without, to create a title that always has fun new problems to overcome, without feeling unfair. On some of the final few maps I would spend up to a few hours before conceding defeat and then jumping back in shortly after because I was so excited to try a new idea I had to turn the tide of battle. I'm just delighted that all of the cool systems of the first game got their time to shine in a much more fleshed out campaign.

Played on Steam Deck via mGBA.

Advance Wars 2 builds itself as a sequel so much from the original that I heavily prefer playing this game over the first one anytime! The CO balancing is worse in this game than compared to Advance Wars 1 with obvious low tiers and top tiers but the addition to super powers is so much fun that I honestly don't mind it much. The single player campaign is a huge upgrade from the first game with crazy mission objectives and lots of experimentation. The map editor is back, war room maps are still a blast, the addition of the new Black Hole army is amazing! I just can't get enough of this game and I've played with friends on car rides or group meet ups so much I love it.

Advance Wars 2 improves upon the original by adding new COs, maps and a lengthy campaign against the forces of Black Hole. At first, you could think it gets repetitive always fighting the same enemy, but now every other faction is playable during the story mode at some point which more than makes up for it.
Unlocking a CO for battle maps and versus mode is easier than ever too and it's no longer required to replay the main campaign over and over again. That's neat.
Mission design has largely improved as well. The first game's campaign felt almost like a tutorial for battle maps most of the time, but now only the first few missions are really like that. The downside is that some battles can get a little tedious near the end, often stretching past the 20 turn mark for the par time. The AI is also generally better and actually spends its funds.
On the topic of presentation, the game is pretty much identical to its predecessor. I'm almost certain that the sprites for units are the same, although the new COs have their own unique themes and the story is much better. It still has a lighthearted tone, but most of the main characters actually comment on the tragedy of war, except for Andy who's still a sociopath.
Overall, Advance Wars 2 seems like a standalone expansion for the original, but on closer inspection it's clear that the game represents an improvement on pretty much every single aspect that made the original great.

War is hell. That's what I'm told anyways, though Advance Wars 2 often sends a different message. The appeal of the entire series has interested me for years, in how this image of an almost idyllic warring landscape conveyed through catchy and upbeat GBA music chip tunes, upbeat commanding officers with tons of personality, vibrant colorful pixelated visuals, and cartoon explosions and exaggerated animations is meshed with tight and demanding tactical turn based grid combat, seemingly going against everything that war represents to us via the arts and history. Advance Wars 2 seems to walk this tightrope between its generally non-serious tone versus the broader and more harrowing topic of war threatening imminent destruction upon Macro Land, and yet, manages to thread the line just fine, resulting in these brighter moments of cooperation between the four nations to vanquish this looming evil while never going as far as to advocate for and glorify the act of warfare itself. In a way, it's a great example that video games can appeal to us by serving as an alternative and a disconnect from the real world; it represents this idea of a completely different reality, an escape from the horrors and tragedies of something universally condemned such as war, and instead utilizes it as a landscape to execute its enthralling and thoughtful gameplay.

Quick disclaimer; I've played a bit of the original Advance Wars, but have never actually completed any games in the series, so my experience with tactical games was doing two different runs of Fire Emblem: Three Houses and a couple of campaigns of Divinity: Original Sin 2. I actually tried to run through Advance Wars 2 as part of a server gaming event for some last minute points as a game I could play on the side... how foolish I was. I very quickly learned that this was no walk in the park, not just another "turn your brain off" turn based RPG you could play while listening to a podcast or watching Netflix on the side; Advance Wars 2 demands your full and focused attention and is definitely the toughest tactics game I've played to date. It's uncompromising in how it's both a test of knowledge and a test of decisiveness; understanding the landscape, all the functions of the units, and your enemies' powers and positions is key to victory. But you can't just breeze by through rushing your opponents with units willy nilly or turtling with medium tanks and battleships; every advantage has to be utilized because your opponents are relentless. Stalling and attempting the old "let's stay out of their range until they approach" tactic wastes valuable time and will ultimately result in your opponents getting the draw, because attacking and defending are not equal; the early bird catches the worm after all. No unit is without value; infantry are the only units capable of capturing cities and bases for money, specialized indirect fire units such as artillery and rockets are usually your best bet at taking down tanks, and even units with little health can be used to barricade opposing units and waste their time capturing command points. So, don't even think about trying to cruise by through stockpiling the most powerful units and hoping that's enough; your opponent is more than smart enough to figure out how to stonewall you and eventually whittle you down, and you have to remain on top of your strategy at all costs. And it's a very punishing game too; minor mistakes like failing to capture cities early to gain more funds or taking too much chip damage on heavy attackers could result in the tide of battle drastically turning against your favor, and end up significantly lengthening engagements or even making victory unachievable for that run; I can't tell you how many times I had to restart due to making errors from a lack of situational awareness or careful planning. And even when you think you're close to victory, the enemy team never truly gives in; they'll fight until the bitter end, and this in itself was a challenge, trying to hunt down the remaining troops engaging in guerilla warfare in the fog of war while praying they didn't pick off too many of my remaining forces and throwing away my hard earned result. The enemy remains fickle and unpredictable at times, and is more than happy to capitalize upon indecision and carelessness, and as a result, you'll need every advantage (and perhaps a bit of luck) to pull away with the W in this grueling exercise... but man does it feel satisfying to finally succeed.

Now while Advance Wars 2 does a magnificent job at presenting tight and calculated tactical combat, there are some moments that left me wanting a bit more. One example is due to the AI being prone to moments of obvious, glaring mistakes, just like you; as a result you can "cheese" the opponent by rushing to fulfill the objective with a few carefully placed units instead of attempting a total, tactical victory and destroying all enemy units + capturing all enemy bases. A pretty good example of this is the last stage of the game; if you use Colin and rush for a bomber, then there's a very good chance that the enemy fails to build up enough forces to take down your bomber coming down the middle. It's possible to distract the Black Cannons by sending in a "more valuable" bomber from a friend or baiting an opponent's forces with other units, and as a result, rushing this bomber past the cannon will result in a quick victory if the opponent fails to construct any anti-air forces in the center (as was the case for me on my last run). I'm also not the biggest fan of locking the most powerful unit in the game for the four campaigns behind special missions that can only be unlocked if you find a map in an unmarked, deserted building in a specific mission for each campaign. I had to look up the exact locations of the maps for all the instances because clearing the mission without gathering the map leaves you unable to grab the map and therefore the special unit type (since there is no redoing missions in a saved campaign), and specifically marking the necessary mission (you don't have to clear every mission to clear a campaign) and the building with the map (since it's often not optimal to capture every single building to clear the objective) would have helped immensely. And finally, I do feel like the pace of the game could have been balanced a little bit more; by the end of the game, almost all of the missions were taking upwards of 20 turns or more, and adding some missions where victory was either certain or doomed within a shorter timespan due to stricter requirements combined with a more condensed map would have greatly alleviated this.

Regardless, it's interesting to me how I was actively dreading playing some of the end game during my last few hours spent, and yet, I can't help but hold this game in admiration for how it's more than happy to challenge you in every aspect of tactical warfare without budging an inch to provide leniency. It's classic, distilled turn based tactics that constantly kept me engaged with a seemingly low-stakes narrative and tone, and while I've had gripes here and there, I can't really think of any games that handle the recipe better than Advance Wars 2. It's a worthy challenge for sure, and a challenge that I was more than happy to rise up to while giving me my dosage of dopamine for besting the odds time after time.