Its been years since there has been a proper Advance Wars game. For those who don’t remember the game, Advance Wars was a series of turn-based tactical game developed for the GameBoy Advance by Intelligent Systems. The games have players control an army and complete various objectives. It’s simplistic looks and gameplay mixed with complex tactics has won it universal acclaim and is considered one of the best games on the handheld. The series went on to have one more entry on the GBA, two games on the Nintendo DS, and a spin-off series, Battalion Wars, on the Gamecube and Wii. Since then there hasn’t been a new entry for the series, which is kind of a bummer since the series, to Nintendo’s surprise, was actually very popular with its Western audience. So much so that other games have picked up the slack. Games like Fire Emblem, WarGroove and the star of today’s review Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble.
Troops, move out
If Advance wars went 3D- As gamer we’re in an era were we would love to see classic games from our childhood make a comeback as either a new entry or a remastered. And while there have been multiple success stories, there are just as many failures, developers who seem to not care, or “not enough interest”. Advance Wars falls into the third category. The series has garnered a cult following over the years that indie developers have started to take the formula that Advance Wars laid out and create their own games. And that’s what AREA 35 has done. In fact Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble feels so much like Advance Wars, just in 3D.
Three different intertwined stories- Tiny Metal Full Metal Rumble has a pretty interesting story. It’s actually three different intertwining stories. These three different stories star Commander Wolfram of the White Fangs mercenary group, Artemisian Captain Nathan Gries, and Zipanese Lord General Tsukumo. Wolfram’s story has her chasing the shadow of her brother, whom she thought perished in the Artemisian/Zipanese War. As she searches for answers in the Land’s End mountain range the group is attacked by remnants of the Dinoldan army, trying to prevent her from moving forward. While this is going on, Captain Nathan Gries is out searching for and destroying Lost Tech artifacts so that they wouldn’t be used by the wrong hands. And then there’s Lord General Tsukumo. He is pursuing the remnants of the Dinoldan army after they had attempted to invade his homeland. As he chasing them down, he feels that there is a greater evil that is pulling the strings. You feel for each of the characters as they go through hardships and difficult battles brought out by the aftermath of war.
Unique over-world travel- With most turn-based tactical games, there isn’t an overworld and if there is, its a really simple map that leads you to the next mission point. Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble has a really cool overworld map. Its fully 3D and the cool part is that traversal is done by land (APC/tank) and air (helicopter/jet). Being able to travel as a jet or a tank is pretty entertaining but doesn’t really add much to the game, though by exploring the overworld, there are chances that players will be able to find hidden money spots, extra music tracks and other little bits of extra stuff. It’s just a really fancy mission select screen.
Multiplayer battles- The best part of these type of turn-based tactical games is battling against a live player. It’s almost like a mix of chess and Risk, but in a video game. Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble has multiplayer, though its only online. Players can pick from several different maps, conditions, commanders and more to set up a battle of wits. I’d just wish there was a LAN mode for on the go battles when playing in portable mode on the Switch.
Testing wits in Skirmish- A must have in all turn-based tactical games is a Skirmish mode. Skirmish mode is just like multiplayer except your just battling the AI. Not only can you set up different scenarios to play against the AI, there are pre-made scenarios that act like puzzles for you to solve. Playing through these skirmishes are pretty fun if you’re just wanting a really quick battle and don’t want to go through story missions.
Retreat
Grinding is a waiting game- Grinding in turn-based tactical games is way different from grinding in say an RPG. In RPGs you mostly run around in a ceartin area, kill all the monsters in that area, gain experience point, leave so that the monsters can respawn and you can kill them again. In Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble in order to do anything you need money from capture buildings. You get a set amount each turn to spend of new units. Say you finally get access to a powerful unit but its expensive, you don’t have enough, and your at a stalemate with the AI/live player. So you wait. And wait. And wait some more, spending money to spam weaker troops to replace the ones you lost and pray that you hold out till you get enough money to get that one strong unit to turn the tide. Grinding for money by waiting is a gamble that could pay off or end up in disaster.
No LAN option- Tactical games like Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble feel like it was made for the Switch. Why? LAN mode. Being able to take the game on the road and battle your friend head on is why people love the Switch. And games like Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble on the Switch made it feel like a combination of Battleship and Risk when playing against someone else over LAN. Sadly this isn’t an option, which is a missed opportunity.
Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble is a solid fun substitute for those wanting a game that’s similar to Advance Wars. It feels so much like Advance Wars that it could be considered a spiritual successor. The story of three different soldiers looking for hope in a war that nearly cost them their homes and families is entertaining and you feel for each character. While just a fancy mission menu, flying around as a jet helicopter or driving as a tank/APC is a unique way to spice up the mission select screen. Skirmishes are a fun diversion that can really test your tactical wit, just in time to take on a friend in multiplayer. However it is a shame that there isn’t a LAN option to multiplayer. And while I don’t mind grinding in most games, in Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble waiting to get enough money is not only a grind but also a gamble. Despite all of that if you are looking for an turn-based tactical game that has the soul of Advance Wars, give Tiny Metal: Full Metal Rumble a shot.
