Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising scores 8/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
Advance Wars 2 - Black Hole Rising
by Simon Larocca·February 21, 2025
The challenges between opposing intellectual properties for development and production houses, but similar in terms of content and themes, are now the order of the day: just think of The last of us and the unfortunate (but
quite noteworthy) Days Gone,
or, going a bit further back in time, we cannot forget the epic battle of hypersonic dashes and brick-smashing jumps between Sonic and Mario, aided by his mustached brother Luigi.
And also Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, for example: titles that are similar in
genre and yet present significant differences, just like Fire Emblem and Advance Wars, often grouped together in reviews by industry insiders, and yet they are diametrically opposed worlds: after careful
reflection I believe, from my very personal
point of view, that the purely strategic aspect of Advance Wars stands out a
little more compared to its counterpart, but let’s proceed in order.
La serie Advance Wars dates back to
as far back as 2001, with a first chapter published by Nintendo and
becoming a small great classic for GameBoy
Advance (is that the name of the handheld machine that hosted the origin of the
title? Miyamoto, you’re always such a
wily old fox, aren’t you?). Strictly turn-based, the game involves the advance, deployment, and attack phase by your troops, without skimping
on moments when the horizontal plot will take shape with situational dialogue and
ad hoc scenes.
Con the second chapter, released
in 2003 and developed by the guys at Intelligent Systems, who, as it happens, also
worked on the “rival” Fire Emblem, Nintendo raises the bar and does so with its
usual style: Advance Wars 2 Black
Hole Rising quickly becomes a must for all fans!
To tell the truth, there aren’t any particular changes or additions, either as regards the arsenal and units compendium or the writing style of the plot; let’s say it openly: the graphic style follows an approach that I like to call cartoony, in a sense.
If we trace Nintendo's history back to its very beginnings, one of the founding principles of the Kyoto house of ideas has always been to associate even (and especially) games with a violent subtext or heavy themes, such as a war can effectively be, with light elements, ideal counterweights to the gravity and gloom of a story where, in fact, people die inside tanks or the vehicles we will deploy on the grid-based game maps.
Another distinctive aspect of the series, which we also find in Black Hole Rising, is the ability to choose from a range of Commanders, characterized in different ways both in design and psychology (though don’t expect the depth of Fire Emblem in that regard), decidedly anime-style characters whom we will accompany, as trusted invisible deputies behind the scenes, throughout the entire game Campaign.
Campagna in which we will see the
return of the villain, General Sturm,
more determined than ever to get his revenge and conquer, after a
systematic destruction as in the worst traditions of dictators, the
four nations present, unleashing the fearsome army under his
command, the Black Hole indeed.
Fantastastic is the multiplayer mode, with which we can engage in endless battles against our friends: in an era when
analog reigned supreme, the famous Link
Cable for the Gameboy was a necessary accessory, as essential as the
Zapper gun for the NES if
you wanted to go duck hunting: thanks to the cable, in fact, you can
connect multiple consoles to play games and challenges, and I assure you that experiencing
an experience of this kind, especially nowadays when the cold
law of online at all costs prevails, can only do you good.
In conclusion, Advance Wars 2 is
one of those titles that not having would be a crime, as they say: whether
you are passionate about RTS or not, I’m sure the fun won’t be lacking
when you take the field with your units.
And it’s no big deal if you come
defeated: in video games, there is always a second chance.
8
Pro
While retaining mechanics and elements from the first installment, this sequel stands out for continuing the story line and featuring a couple of highly enticing modes.
Engaging and challenging enough to keep you glued to the (small) screen for hours and hours
Contro
Characterization of the characters in the game is underdeveloped, especially if the point of reference is Fire Emblem, where the storytelling is more fluid and the plot is more “on point”
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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