Arcade mode has you pick a Commander and then succeed in a series of 5 maps against other Commanders. You can choose from different difficulties, and the harder you pick, the more stars you get. It’s a pretty basic mode, but it’s a fun time waster. To keep things fresh, the maps you play will be randomly shuffled each game, and there’s a pretty good variety. The only downside is some of the maps are more frustrating than others, so don’t feel badly about giving up and trying again, hoping for a better set. Puzzle mode is far simpler, but also more tricky. You’re presented with a map and a single turn to accomplish a set objective. Typically, this is beating the enemy Commander or destroying their Stronghold, but some will also involve tasks like getting a certain unit to safety. I enjoyed the mental exercise here, since Puzzle mode lives up to its moniker and requires some careful thinking to succeed. You won’t be able to overpower your foe, you instead need to carefully use the limited tools at your disposal. The only downside to this mode is that beating any map only rewards you with one star, whereas in both Campaign and Arcade, you’ll get at least a couple stars each time. But there’s one more mode we need to discuss – the Create mode.
I remember loving the user created content in Advance Wars, and not only is that back here, but it’s more involved. You can create and share a variety of maps from scratch, customizing the terrain and setting units and decorations where you please. You can also play with toggles like weather and fog of war. Hell, you can even decide how much money you get from allied buildings, which is typically set to 100 per turn. I enjoyed the wealth of options here, and only really had a couple complaints. One, I wanted an in-game FAQ or tutorial to explain the nuances of this mode. Though making a map was mostly intuitive, setting up things like win conditions was less so. For example, I was unable to set my opponent as an AI, meaning that when I tried to test my stage, I was forced to alternate between playing as both Commanders. I also wish this mode was built with styluses in mind. It’s a bit irritating to have to move the cursor around an entire map to select things. I know the Switch wasn’t made with stylus play in mind, and I know Wargroove isn’t only available on that console, but I fervently wish Chucklefish would bring innovative solutions to issues like this for each version of the game. While it’s not life or death, the whole point of user created content is making it approachable, easy to use and understandable. Hopefully they will fix some of these complaints in a future update. Until they do, I likely won’t be creating many stages, and certainly won’t be monkeying around with the Campaign creator, mostly cause I like fully understanding such things before I get drawn deep into them.
So now that we’ve established the basics, I feel I should spend a little time on the story of the game. The very first mission has you controlling the vampire Sigrid as she murders her way through Cherrystone Castle, ending with the death of the King. This sets the kingdoms of Fellheim and Cherrystone at war, and the young Queen-to-be Mercia is utterly overwhelmed. She is quickly ousted from her own kingdom and sets out to find allies to fight the Fellheim hordes, along with her trusty companions – the wizard Emeric and her armor clad canine, Caesar. Along the way they will meet many colorful people and nations, and will learn the dire truth behind the actions that precipitate the game. Though it’s not all that complex, it was interesting enough to hold my attention. This was because the world of the game is compelling, and especially the Commanders that populate it. My only real complaint is that I wanted to know more, more about the Commanders and their past, more about the kingdoms, and more about the lore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great start, but it also felt a bit underdeveloped at times. But hopefully the success of Wargroove means we’ll get sequels that allow the world to be fleshed out even further.
A mark of success for any tactical game is how intuitive and streamlined it is, and I’m happy to say Wargroove does a pretty good job of it. There are nice touches such as pressing the L trigger to switch between active units or holding B to skip past battle animations and unit movement. It’s relatively effortless to bring up a display of all the units, check their status or just look at the map. However, there are also a couple areas that the game fell short. Namely, a few glitches I encountered in my playthrough, most revolving around the save feature. One time I beat a level, it auto saved, and when I returned to the game I was in the previous level. Another time, in the final stage, I saved at the very start of the battle, exited, and when I came back my units had moved and somehow the boss, who was supposed to be at the opposite side of the map, was right next to me. Lastly, one time, I had a glitch force me back to the home screen. Thankfully, when I went to play the game again, I hadn’t lost any progress. On the irritating side of the spectrum, I wish the game would let you skip the credits that play every time you beat Arcade mode. I also wish the AI was a bit smarter. It’s not idiotic, but it’s pretty easy to fake out. For example, I quickly found that AI units inexplicably fixate on Wagons, even when they’re empty, which I used to my advantage to distract them. The worst example of AI is how the Commander named Greenfinger is completely unable to use his own Groove effectively. But, assuming Chucklefish can resolve those save issues, they can ignore most of my other complaints.
Visually, Wargroove is fantastic. Not only does it ape the style from Advance Wars, it also adds many of its own bells and whistles. The pixelated artwork for each unit and character is fluid and colorful, and that goes double for the Commanders. I especially like the 2D portraits that display their reactions during battle, ranging from gleeful to dismayed. It’s also nice how each faction’s units are totally different looking, and have unique looking animations. The Floran infantry scuttle low to the ground, while the Heavensong charge fearlessly into battle, swords at a jaunty angle. My absolute favorite animation is probably how Greenfinger scatters seeds that quickly grow into his flora steed before he rides it into combat. But the game doesn’t just have great art, it also has catchy music. Each Commander has their own theme, and though I don’t love them all equally, there are several earworms. Having said that, I do feel that the music here is a bit inferior to that in Advance Wars. I can still hear songs from that game when I think about it, and it was just blissful rock and roll. But there is one area the sound design eclipses Advance Wars, and that’s how there’s a small bit of voice acting for the Commanders. It’s just a nice touch that adds even more personality to the eclectic cast of characters.
All in all, I was pretty pleased with Wargroove. Not only did it satisfy my nostalgia for Advance Wars, it expanded my expectations in wonderful ways. Best of all, it’s a super affordable package, only costing $19.99 for at least 20+ hours of content (though far more if you want to see everything). Yes, there are still some important kinks to iron out, but I can’t help but recommend this to fans of Advance Wars and tactical games in general. And if you find it too easy, you can always challenge yourself by trying your luck against other players. If you need a new strategy obsession on every major console, do yourself a favor and pick this up.
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Review Copy Purchased by Author
