July 24, 2005

Late to the Party: Advance Wars

So, after my last entry, I had to figure out which game I'd be playing through next. A few of you suggested Ninja Five-O, and I thank you guys for the suggestion, but since I didn't yet have it, and I wanted to get on with something ASAP, I chose another game that's been sitting around half-finished for months (actually, years): Advance Wars.

I got Advance Wars back when it came out on September 11, 2001 (what timing), but I only ever played a few missions in before getting sidetracked by something else. Now, with the DS version due out soon, and both GBA iterations sitting on my shelf waiting to be played, I figured it was a good time to get back to it.

After a couple of weeks of playing for roughly an hour a day, I finally finished the Campaign Mode last night. My overall Campaign rank was "B," but to be honest, I really wasn't playing to get a high grade. As fun and addictive as the game is, I really didn't care for the Campaign Mode all that much. I prefer the War Room maps, which basically start you and your opponent off on equal ground, making for a much more satisfying strategic experience. I'm still playing through the WR maps now, and I'm enjoying them immensely (my GBA SP's low battery light came on for the first time ever earlier today), but I think I may consider moving on to something else soon, since it seems like it'll take forever to finish all of them, and I've got lots of other games sitting here waiting to be played.

AV offered to lend me his Ninja Five-O, so I think I may take him up on that when I get back to Japan (I'm in America right now on vacation), but for the time being, I need to choose my next conquest. The potential candidates include: Final Fantasy II (from Dawn of Souls), Riviera: The Promised Land (just picked this up this morning), Advance Wars 2 (hmm, maybe I'll wait a bit before I take on more AW), Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones, and Castlevania (from the NES Classics series). I think I'll hit up Castlevania first, just for a nice, easy change of pace, but what should I play after that? Help me decide!

Posted by john tv at July 24, 2005 02:39 PM