Summary
- Nintendo approached WayForward to revive Advance Wars for the first time in 15 years.
- Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp includes remakes of the classic GBA games.
- WayForward's collaboration with Nintendo was built over 7-8 years of consistently pitching game ideas.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp director James Montagna spoke about how Nintendo approached WayForward Technologies to revive the classic turn-based strategy RPG series. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp includes remakes of the first two games in the series that were released on the Game Boy Advance. Re-Boot Camp launched exclusively on the Nintendo Switch after a series of delays, and was praised for being a return to the classic series. Re-Boot Camp is also quite a notable entry in the franchise, not only for being the first Advance Wars game in over 15 years, but also for it being developed by WayForward, a well-known and longtime indie developer.
WayForward Technologies was first established in 1990, getting its start working on a variety of licensed titles. While WayForward would become a well-regarded developer for its adaptations of various IPs, the studio's claim to fame would be the Shantae series, starting with the first game in 2002 for the Game Boy Color. WayForward would eventually collaborate with various companies in developing brand-new titles for older series, such as Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS with Konami or with Arc System Works for River City Girls. The director of the Advance Wars revival recently gave some insight into how the indie studio got to work with Nintendo and its IP.
In an episode of the Fragments of Silicon podcast, Montagna spoke about the origins of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. According to Montagna, the relationship between the two companies had been built over the course of 7–8 years, where WayFoward would meet with Nintendo every E3. These meetings usually consisted of the developers chatting with each other, coming up with new proposals and game ideas. Montagna said that Nintendo loved their annual "WayFoward Meeting", due to the companies' shared passion in game creation. Eventually, the opportunity came when Nintendo was shopping around for studios that could bring back Advance Wars, with WayForward being contacted about the project.
WayForward Was Contacted By Nintendo For Advance Wars Revival
Montagna recalled that when Nintendo brought it up, they were extremely surprised. The developers at WayForward were huge fans of the original Advance Wars back on the Game Boy Advance, and were extremely honored to help Nintendo create a re-imagining of the turn-based RPG series. Montagna looks upon the project as an "incredible" experience.
WayForward Technologies' momentum isn't slowing down any time soon. Alongside the revival of the formerly shelved Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, WayForward is working on a new port of Clock Tower, bringing the game to modern consoles for the first time and also serving as the first-ever official English release of the cult classic survival horror title.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 81 /100 Critics Rec: 87%
- Released
- April 21, 2023
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Mild Violence
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo, Wayforward
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
WHERE TO PLAY
Nintendo and Wayforward's Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp contains remakes of the first two Advance Wars titles that were originally released on the Game Boy Advance. The turn-based strategy compilation is a Nintendo Switch exclusive.
- Engine
- Unity
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Advance Wars
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Tactical
