Chris Kohler barely needed to ask any questions in this interview with Tim O'Leary, part of Nintendo's Treehouse localization team. It just took the faintest hint of a question about Advance Wars: Days of Ruin to set O'Leary off on a longform discussion of the game's new style and the new gameplay changes (such as new units) that are currently being overshadowed by that style.According to O'Leary, the change in tone (from the bouncier, happier style of the games to a more Linkin Park kind of thing) had less to do with reflecting the harsh reality of war and more to do with players just wanting something different. So, indirectly, you guys sent a meteor to the game's world because you were bored. The change in display, now featuring the map on the bottom screen and info on the top, was a streamlining effort to allow "all of the action (to take) place on a single screen." It's, again, part of refreshing the whole series.
Read the full interview for tons more info gleaned from O'Leary's conversations with the game's Japanese developers. We got the feeling that O'Leary may just like Advance Wars.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-16-2008 @ 8:21PM
hvnlysoldr said...
For a second I thought O'Really?
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1-16-2008 @ 11:45PM
iofthestorm said...
Oh damn, it comes out on Monday? I think I'm going to go out and buy it, since it's MLKJr Day and no school. Of course, finals right afterward but Days of Ruin looks amazing. Completely makes up for brawl delay, IMO. Advance Wars is a series that proves that they still make them like they used to, difficult and long. (I was going to use another word for difficult, but then I noticed the innuendo, and... oh well too late now it's out there).
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1-17-2008 @ 12:05AM
Katotetu said...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Dual Strike also feature the map on the bottom screen and the info on the top?
Nitpicking aside, I'm excited for this new installment in the best handheld series since Fire Emblem. I will, however, miss Dual Strikes. There's few things more electrifying than turning a battle around in a 2-turn combo.
Also, the light-hearted characters were always entertaining.
If Intellegent Systems can replace that with a cohesive story, though, I'm game.
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1-17-2008 @ 12:44AM
chispito said...
If only I didn't suck so bad at Advance Wars. I'm even decent at chess, if you can believe it.
Maybe if I put more into the series, there will be a moment when it all clicks.
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1-17-2008 @ 7:50AM
Saphion said...
I was like that with the first Advance Wars (and I suck at strategy games in general!). When I first played it, I was awful at it. But then I left it for a year, went back to it and for some reason I kicked ass! Dunno what happened there.
1-19-2008 @ 6:00PM
James said...
It's weird, but I was the same way -- played the GBA one, and I got my ass handed to me within ~10 missions. I've been going through Dual Strike, though, and I'm already at 22 with nary a hitch. Except when they have very stringent requirements (don't let the enemy capture even one of these 9 missile bases, etc.), I've never actually lost. Of course, it helps to save often, in different slots, so you don't get stuck going down "the wrong path".
I like the game a lot, but if I had to come up with a complaint, it takes too long -- I've probably spent an average of more than an hour per mission, with no end in sight. I just hope I can finish before the next one comes out...
1-17-2008 @ 11:38PM
Rollin said...
Hey, this has wifi play, right? If so, it eclipses Smash as the top Nintendo game of 2008, ay-sap.
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