When it comes to variety in videogame IPs, Nintendo is king. They have so many different genres among the different IP’s they own that they can take the luxury to have them dormant for a while. Nintendo just needs to release a game during the target console’s boom and presto you have a beloved IP on the cards. Several one-off titles come to mind, but in this particular case, I am referring to Advance Wars. For those wondering Advance Wars is part of the Nintendo Wars series (as seen on Wikipedia) Just FYI: If you look at the release order the name of the game changes based on the console it was released for all the way to Advance Wars on GBA, DS games kept the Advance Wars motif. This is one of the most requested series to return but the petitions have fallen into deaf ears. Area 35 has raised to right this wrong, and we have with us Tiny Metal Full Metal Rumble, the sequel for last year’s Tiny Metal. Now, let me tell you they went above and beyond to improve the experience compared to last year’s installment.
Before I begin, if you haven’t played or purchased the first game Tiny Metal…DO IT!!!! If you haven’t you are doing yourself a disservice because a lot of polish and charm was put to the first game, but since this new game is a direct sequel from it, you will miss some tidbits of information and wonder who are the characters talking about during the campaign mode. Gameplay-wise the game retains its core elements: using your units in a wise way to take over buildings, factories and enemy Head Quarters (if you capture it you win but is easier said than done). You have different units to do it like the standard Riflemen, basic units that can capture enemy and neutral buildings but whose attack power is not that much. Lancers are units that carry a rocket launcher. They move slowly and like riflemen the can capture bases and enemy strongholds but with the added firepower to be effective against Metals (tanks for the uninitiated). Scouters that have a good range of motion but that use fuel every turn, and once the fuel is gone, you lost the unit.
Luckily, there is a new unit introduced in this installment and is the Archelon. The Archelon is a supply unit, but it can’t attack since it carries a machine gun. The Archelon can resupply units with fuel and ammo and carry units like Riflemen and Lancers and drop them anywhere within the unit’s movement range, making this a really useful unit. You also have Vipers a mobile anti-artillery that can move and attack in the same turn. There are even Mech class units, so you can see the developer included a variety of units to use from to improve the experience seen in the last installment.
The game includes some quality of life changes like the option to see a visual chart of the effectiveness of each unit you choose or Deploy from a factory. This is useful since you won’t waste precious resources deploying a unit that won’t cause any damage to enemy units. Also, the AI is better compared to the previous game, where the AI will give you a run for your money if you don’t think each movement carefully. Some enemy units can ambush you if you move within their range while they are hiding in unseen areas, or they can use Tiny Metal’s signature mechanic the Focus Fire often (this is a mechanic introduced in the first game basically at the cost of a turn you can gang up on an enemy unit with several of yours dealing massive damage with this mechanic), so you need to be careful, especially in maps with the Fog of War is dense.
In the graphics department, the game retains its 3D style and each character model, and the environments you play through are well detailed. Each unit animations when attacking are fun to look at, and for me, they never get old. I also like the Metalpedia in which you can see each unit’s background information. This is a nice addition since instead of being nameless units that you just replace, they have their bios and characteristics (even if they all look the same).
The music is good and goes well with the game.
Bottom Line: Tiny Metal Full Metal Rumble has set the bar high as a spiritual successor for Advance Wars. Area 35 has polished this game more by adding interesting units like the Archelon and Viper. The difficulty is balanced, and I cannot recommend it enough for fans of turn-based strategy games. If you are a fan of Advance Wars and are longing for a game like it, Tiny Metal is what you were waiting for. If you aren’t but enjoy the genre, you cannot go wrong here.
A Review code was provided for this review.