'Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp' Director Talks Details of Classic Series' Revival

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp director James Montagna talked about the details of how the beloved turn-based strategy RPG series was revived. This involves how Nintendo approached the indie studio regarding the project.

The collection features remakes of the first two games in the series. They were initially released on the Game Boy Advance. Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp suffered a series of delays before it launched on the Nintendo Switch last year.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

The collection was then praised for being a return to the classic Advance Wars series. Additionally, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a notable entry in the series for two reasons. The first is that it is the first game in the franchise in more than 15 years and it is developed by WayForward, a longtime indie studio.

The studio was first established in 1990 and got its first work on a variety of licensed titles. While the developer would later become a well-regarded company for its adaptations of various intellectual properties, its major project was the Shantae series, according to GameRant.

The first game was released for the Game Boy Color and the studio later collaborated with many companies. This was to develop brand-new titles for older series, such as Contra 4 for the Nintendo DS with Konami and River City Girls with Arc System Works.

Montagna talked about the origins of the idea for Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp. he said that the relationship between the two companies was built over nearly a decade. During that time, WayForward met with Nintendo at every E3 event.

Reviving the Classic Turn-Based RPG

WayForward reportedly came to these meetings prepared with various different game pitches for Nintendo. But when it came to the Advance Wars series, it was the latter who contacted the developer, said MyNintendoNews.

This was because the Japanese company believed that the indie developer was the most suitable studio for the project. Montagna said that they played a lot of Advance Wars back in the day. This is why Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp became an incredible experience for the team.

Montagna said that they had a lot of fun having the meetings with Nintendo over the years. This was primarily due to the Japanese company loving games just as much as they do. They were able to create a genuine connection between the two companies over their passion, which made them a good match, according to GoNintendo.