I Don’t Think We’re Ever Getting A New Entry In This 25-Year-Old Game Boy Advance Series, And That Really Bums Me Out

Nintendo has always been one of the most prominent game publishers, with some of the biggest franchises in the industry falling under their umbrella. From the iconic likes of Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda to the more obscure cult classics in its library, Nintendo has always benefited from a litany of great titles. As a result, though, some of their best end up being left behind.

Take Advance Wars, for example. Debuting 25 years ago, Advance Wars was a crucial step in bringing turn-based strategy games to casual gamers through a critically acclaimed Game Boy Advance launch. Despite having four well-received games across seven years, the series has been in a lull since then. Unfortunately, because of the reasons given in the past for delaying the series’ return, I don’t think Nintendo really has a vested interest in reviving the franchise anytime soon.

Advance Wars Is One Of Nintendo’s Most Underrated Success Stories

Debuting in North America on September 10, 2001, Advance Wars was one of the best examples of what strategy gaming from Nintendo can be. A modern continuation of the Japanese-exclusive Famicom Wars series, the series was originally kept away from Western markets out of concern that players wouldn’t be interested in slower-moving strategy games compared to Nintendo’s faster-paced platformers and action games. Despite those concerns, the game generated plenty of excitement from critics and players alike, earning rave reviews. This quickly led to a number of sequels, including 2004’s Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, 2005’s Advance Wars: Dual Strike, and 2008’s Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.

The first three games told an overarching story of nations at war but coming together against a shared enemy, with a dizzying depth that made it an ideal introduction for younger players to turn-based strategy games, with an overarching narrative for the first three games and a bleaker post-apocalyptic shift for the fourth game. The games always sold moderately well, albeit never as well as its sister strategy series on Nintendo handhelds, Fire Emblem. However, the game generated a loyal fanbase that spent years eager for more entries, which could have resulted in some consistent success if the series had continued to thrive. Instead, the series wound up languishing in development purgatory until 2023’s remaster of the first two games, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. That game also suffered a 16-month delay due to unforeseen complications in world politics, which might be the very reason we likely will never see another new game in the series.

Real World Conflicts Are Keeping Us From Getting More Advance Wars Games

Originally set for a December 2021 release, Re-Boot Camp was pushed to April of 2022, only for the Russian Invasion of Ukraine to occur. As reported at the time, the remaster was initially delayed indefinitely due to “real-world events,” with the publisher likely not wanting to be seen trivializing war at a time when global politics had become so volatile. The game did eventually come out in 2023, but even then it felt like a muted release for a potentially big game. Advance Wars, by its very nature, is always going to be drawing upon the kind of imagery and action that reflects real-world circumstances. The ubiquity of warfare around the world means that on some level, games like Advance Wars are always going to be a touchy subject. Especially from a family-friendly publisher like Nintendo, moving away from a potentially controversial franchise like Advance Wars.

While other companies have weighed that reality and decided to continue making military-themed games anyway, like Call of Duty or Battlefield, the other reason Nintendo seems unlikely to ever make another Advance Wars is that the property has simply never been a best-seller. Even at its peak, it couldn’t compete with Nintendo’s other biggest franchises, even within the strategy genre. Simply as an investment, Nintendo may not see Advance Wars’ most success as worth the risk. It’s a shame, though. The character, world, and gameplay of Advance Wars have always been effective, with surprisingly human plotlines and strong turn-based depth.

The characters were all wonderfully designed in terms of personality and power, giving players plenty of maneuverability and agency in how they wanted to approach the turn-based combat. It was the ideal introduction to strategy gaming for a generation of players, the sort of title that could lay the foundation for new fans with every release while impressing critics with refined gameplay that remained accessible even while containing real depth. I love Advance Wars personally. It was my first game for the GBA and was an ideal way for my military veteran father and me to first really bond over strategy games. We still both play the game on the Switch, a throwback that felt updated in the best ways. However, I don’t think we’ll ever get another entry in the series anytime soon — and while I understand why, it still makes me sad.