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Fire Emblem or Advance Wars? Intelligent Systems TBS throwdown

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
TBS = turn based strategy.

Intelligent Systems has two series to its name that fall under this umbrella: Advance/Famicom Wars, and Fire Emblem. Advance Wars is a cartoony take on the concept of war, with a focus on mass producing faceless units and using Commanding Officers, or COs, to command an army, and the story is goofy and lighthearted. Fire Emblem, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: a huge focus of the gameplay is giving each character a name and a face, and the story is often firmly rooted in the realm of fantasy. The only real exception to this is Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, which took a darker, more serious tone, but still focused on faceless units, vehicles, and COs.

Obviously we now know that Fire Emblem is receiving another entry with Fire Emblem: if, and that Awakening reinvigorated that series and made it lucrative again. So this is less about what's realistically viable or likely to happen and more what you would rather see happen in your dream world.

-Would you rather IS make a new Fire Emblem game, or a new Advance Wars game?

-Which series do you prefer, and why?

-What series did you play first?
 

Dimmle

Member
I love me some Fire Emblem but at this point, given the vital signs of each franchise, give me Advance Wars all day any day.

I just want to know you're okay.

I played Fire Emblem first, to entertain the OP.
 

Panda Rin

Member
Advance Wars definitely, but I still love Fire Emblem.

I think the setting in AW is more interesting. FE's setting seems so generic in comparison.
 

Erheller

Member
A new Advance Wars game. I like the Fire Emblem series more, but we haven't gotten an AW game this gen, and I'm not a huge fan of FE's new direction.

I played Advance Wars first.
 
After spending 40 hours with awakening, which I thought was a fine game with a few faults, I realized I don't care about FE as most people do. FE to me is in this strange middle ground. When I can play AW or just play a NIS SRPG if I want tons of depth.

I just want my Advance Wars back. Codename STEAM why.
Why did you of all things was made instead of a new AW. I also want the game to take place before the apocalypse that happened in Days of Ruin.
 

Rodin

Member
After FE If, i believe it's time for a new AW. I prefer Fire Emblem, but i really love both. I played AW first.
 

Porcile

Member
Advance Wars is a simple concept with perfect gameplay. I find Fire Emblem too complicated for my personal liking and generally prefer other SRPG's.
 
Advance Wars. I've put over 200 hours into Dark Conflict, making it one of my all-time most played games. The mechanics are much more satisfying than Fire Emblem indeed, and there's no bullshit. It just feels great.
 
Fire Emblem is vastly better, due to the complexity of the system, choosing different party members to take along, being able to level up and use different weapons, change class, abilities etc.

I became really disappointed/disillusioned with Advance Wars when I realized that every map of every game essentially came down to being a simple puzzle - make the same moves every time and generally the AI will as well, and you win. It's a trial and error game of exploit-the-AI due to a lack of good unit customization.

Plus Fire Emblem actually has good stories and not just "yee ha, we're having a jolly war!" or "oh no, we live in an apocalyptic wasteland."
 

Emarv

Member
Advance Wars all the way. I could live with Tactics Ogre and FFT replacing whatever SRPG itch I get from Fire Emblem.

Nothing else on the market replaces Advance Wars.
 
Plus Fire Emblem actually has good stories and not just "yee ha, we're having a jolly war!" or "oh no, we live in an apocalyptic wasteland."
Not speaking for all the games but I found Awakening's plot a 5/10 Summer slotted anime.

Also the map actually matters in Advance Wars and especially with the fog of war. AW from a combat perspective is a deeper game.
 
I've always loved Advance Wars (spent years on an AW forum) despite never being too great at the game but I've never been able to get into Fire Emblem. Played the two GBA ones, never got very far, played the demo for Awakening, never been hooked. It's just not for me.
 

Lunar15

Member
Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn > Advance Wars > The Rest of FE

I long preferred Advance Wars to Fire Emblem, but PoR and RD were mindblowing for me.

Overall though, they're really different games. AW is macro strategy while FE is micro strategy. FE, before awakening, was really about divvying up a limited EXP pool between units across levels and ensuring that few units died. In AW, units don't matter, it's about overall resources. Both tactics games, yes, but I find them vastly different to the point that it's hard to make a comparison.
 

Danj

Member
There's not been an Advance Wars game in ages, so they really need to make another one of those. There's already like 2 more Fire Emblem games in the works right? So we're all good on that side.
 

Nyoro SF

Member
Oh I would much prefer a new Advance Wars game than a new Fire Emblem one. Awakening didn't really grab me.

I'm pretty sure I played Advance Wars on the GBA before I played a Fire Emblem game. I strongly prefer Advance Wars though, and I know I'm in the minority judging by the sales. :p

Like other users have said, the combat feels more satisfying, the fog of war matters, and there's deeper gameplay without having to rely on stat crunching.
 

Jamix012

Member
I'm mixed. basically

AW 1-3 >= GBA and PoR/RD FEs > Awakening > The second AW we got on DS, whatever its called.

Basically I'd like a new AW more than FE but only if it went back to the old style, otherwise FE.
 

Emarv

Member
Advance Wars, but the CO powers can get pretty whack. No leveling up or equipment is a huge plus imo.

As much as people hate on Days of Ruin's tone and design, it balanced so much of the gameplay and units and especially the CO powers.
 
I really like both. I give the edge to FE in stories, but I like the game play of AW a bit better. At this point I say AW just because I want another game in the series (and please not be as hokey at the last one in dialogue) while I just played FE last year.
 
I played AW first, and sunk more hours into Black Hole Rising than I can remember.

I would want another AW just because I fear it's dead. But if I had to choose which I like more I would choose Fire Emblem.

They are pretty different games, despite both being TBS, but I like how attached I get to my units in FE, so that gives it the edge.
 
Since Fire Emblem's getting a new entry already, I think Advance Wars could use some love. Still baffled why there isn't a 3DS entry yet.

Preference-wise, I prefer Fire Emblem because of the RPG elements, deep story (in some games, not really Awakening) and fantasy setting.

I played Advance Wars first and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't really my cup of tea; the multiplayer was really fun though. Soon afterwards, I learned it had a fantasy cousin and I was ecstatic.
 

PAULINK

I microwave steaks.
I'm offended that IS is opting to make another FE game over advance wars, but I guess I can see they are going where the money is. While I do like both series, I prefer AW way over FE because mechanically, it feels like you are open to a lot more options over the rock paper scissors system of FE, and the units being disposable is load off of my mind rather than stressing out that my character will be killed off forever.

The funniest part is I played Fire emblem sacred stones first, hated it, then later on played advance wars days of ruin, loved it, and it retroactively made me enjoy FE as well.
 

Lunar15

Member
As much as people hate on Days of Ruin's tone and design, it balanced so much of the gameplay and units and especially the CO powers.

I'm probably just bad at the series in general, but I found Days of Ruin gameplay to be a little more boring as a result. I kept running into a lot of stalemates. I think if I went back to it now I'd be a little better.
 
Advance Wars, but the CO powers can get pretty whack. No leveling up or equipment is a huge plus imo.
Colin's Power of Money in Dual Strike is some of the funniest shit though. That said Dual Strike was really bad with CO powers. It became a turtling game waiting for CO power meters to fill so you can stomp your opponents.
As much as people hate on Days of Ruin's tone and design, it balanced so much of the gameplay and units and especially the CO powers.
Agreed. As annoyed as I was with the look of the game, the game's gameplay was balanced great. And COs actually having to be in a unit added an extra layer of strategy. Not to mention that campaign. The plot for that game was much better than I thought it would be.
 

Azuran

Banned
Advance Wars to everything.

It's just a more satisfying experience, especially when playing with others. I love FE just as much but there's always a point in the games where strategy completely goes out of the window since you have these OP characters that can easily run through everything without fear of failure.
 
I've played so much Fire Emblem that I can't let units in Advance Wars die. :x

So since that basically means I can't PLAY AW, I'm gonna say FE.
 

Gunstar Ikari

Unconfirmed Member
Fire Emblem is good, don't get me wrong. But are there countless other SRPGs. I can't think of any strategy games that are deep, yet easy to grasp in the way that Advance Wars is.

Advance Wars for me.
 
Fire Emblem: Awakening > Advance Wars > Other Fire Emblems.

I really hope we get another Advance Wars before the 3DS gets put out to pasture. Miss that series so much.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
advance wars in the awesome cartoon wars style of dual strike.

Or never make any of them ever again because the new ones were fun but boring looking compared.

also, why did they kill off the war-room? So many hours sunk into that.
 

Dimmle

Member
I'm probably just bad at the series in general, but I found Days of Ruin gameplay to be a little more boring as a result. I kept running into a lot of stalemates. I think if I went back to it now I'd be a little better.

I had the same problem. So many battles became exhausting wars of attrition, probably because I was terrible.

I prefer Dual Strike's tempo. Nothing gets that dopamine flowing like the Dual Strike theme and a complete tipping of the scales.
 
Advance Wars to everything.

It's just a more satisfying experience, especially when playing with others. I love FE just as much but there's always a point in the games where strategy completely goes out of the window since you have these OP characters that can easily run through everything without fear of failure.
Yup that's my problem with the series in general. Late game FE is having 1 unit solo half the map or kite 90% of the enemies why others complete the objective. FE's complexity, whatever amount it had, just disappears near the end. This varies from game to game though.

Which is the exact reason they need to get off their asses and get to work on mending what they've broke.
The franchise is damaged beyond repair!

Nah ill take a new one but I want AW first.
 

Azuran

Banned
I'm probably just bad at the series in general, but I found Days of Ruin gameplay to be a little more boring as a result. I kept running into a lot of stalemates. I think if I went back to it now I'd be a little better.

That's why I loved DoR so much. Most CO Powers were broken as hell in Dual Strike, so it was good to see IS dialed things back a bit.
 

Lunar15

Member
Days of Ruin has a great soundtrack, though.

That's why I loved DoR so much. Most CO Powers were broken as hell in Dual Strike, so it was good to see IS dialed things back a bit.

Different strokes, I guess. I never aimed to make a really broken setup in Dual Strike, so that's probably why I never noticed it.
 
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