Retro Review: Advance Wars: Dual Strike

©Nintendo Co., Ltd. ©Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

Platform(s): Nintendo DS
Player(s): 1-8

Having heard some exciting things about the Advance Wars franchise, I decided to pick up this game on a whim. I wasn’t even slightly disappointed!

​The game starts off with a few nice little tutorial missions that do a fairly good job of getting you used to the game. The premise is basically you have a bunch of buildings on a given map, and you get money depending on how many cities you have under your control. You have to create units and take turns moving toward the enemy and destroying their units along with capturing their buildings. It seems like a simple concept but it can get strategically complex very fast. When broken down to its core it is like a very advanced game of chess. The thing that makes this game really fun is that you really have to think your way through each move, thus giving a great sense of accomplishment when you win. When you lose you usually understand why and can learn from your mistakes. 

©Nintendo Co., Ltd. ©Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

The main thing that can draw from the fun is the very mediocre story. It’s extremely forgettable and over-the-top. On the other hand, the silliness of the game actually helps to give it this really exciting contrast between war and cartoon. The silly story plays off of this contrast, but there is nothing really grabbing you in. Still, they needed something to drive the missions forward, and it gets the job done, at least.

​Dual Strike also makes very good use of the touch screen, making the game very simple to play without having to learn button actions. It is basically a point-and-click type of deal. Even better is that it still allows you to play with the buttons, for those of you that have played the previous two games on the GBA and don't really want to adapt to a new play style (my friend who introduced me to this game is like that). In a day when so many games tend to force you into a specific control style (especially on the unique Nintendo systems), I found it very endearing that this game assured that everyone could enjoy the game how they like. 

©Nintendo Co., Ltd. ©Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

Considering the power the DS has over the GBA, I was actually a bit disappointed in the aesthetics of this game. Don’t get me wrong, the art style is very bright and fun. Everything is distinguishable and the animations are decent. But let’s be honest, the game looks like a very slight upgrade over its GBA predecessors. This may not even be a bad thing to some, since the simple visuals get the job done, and it isn't like the game is hard to look at because the graphics are horrible. The colorful animations and sprites are simple to the point that you can't help but like them, and it really fits the mood. I wish they had tried a bit harder. Maybe add in pre-rendered animated scenes for story-telling? Among a number of other ways they could have made better use of the hardware.

​The sound in the game is thankfully noticeably better in quality than the GBA games, due to the stereo speakers and better hardware. The effects are simple but effective and each Commanding Officer has his or her own theme song, which is quite nice. Personally, I found some of the themes to be a little grating, but not everyone will feel that way. Nonetheless, the music is actually catchy and well-done.

©Nintendo Co., Ltd. ©Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

​This game will likely last you a very long time. There is a lot to do after you beat the Campaign (which has a really well-done progressive difficulty). As you win missions you get Experience Points for your used CO (Commanding Officer) that levels you up and allows you to use various power-up abilities in battle. There are many CO's to choose from too so there is a lot of levelling to do if you want to max out everybody’s level. Since each mission is ranked, coming back to get S-ranks in all missions is very fun. There’s also two new modes exclusive to this game called Combat and Survival. Survival is exactly what it sounds like, a war of attrition based on varying conditions. Combat is a real-time mode where there are no turns. The game still plays the same functionally, but with the added twist of not having turns to think out your strategy. Plus there are various maps to unlock to play in a skirmish type of scenario. That’s not even everything! You can also create your own maps to enjoy. This game is almost endless in its fun.

​There is one main point I left out though: Multiplayer. This game is great because you can play with one game pack on one DS (by taking turns, essentially hot seat) or with multiple DS's and game packs. The multiplayer is just as fun as most of the best RTS games I have played and never gets old. I’d actually be quite embarrassed to admit to the amount of time I’ve spent in the multiplayer alone.

©Nintendo Co., Ltd. ©Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.

Overall this game is exceptional and if you own a DS and you enjoy strategy, this should be in your collection no matter what. I never left home without this game for years, and the fact that it allows you to save mid-battle is a very mobile-friendly touch.
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- Teepu

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​Graphics: GOOD
Sound: GREAT
Gameplay: PERFECT
Value: PERFECT
 
OVERALL: GREAT