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Famicom Wars |
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LAST UPDATED: 05/26/07 |
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REVIEWED BY:
satoshi matrix |
"Famicom
Wars is a perfect showcase
of where great modern strategy games
have their roots. The title is rewarding,
fun to play and challenging." |
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[No cartridge image available]
THE
DATA
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NAME |
=Famicom
Wars |
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PLATFORM |
Famicom |
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DEVELOPER |
Intelligent Systems |
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PUBLISHER |
Nintendo |
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PLAYERS |
1/2 player |
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RELEASE DATE |
1988 |
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GENRE |
Strategy |
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SAVING OPTION |
Yes |
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NES NTSC |
No |
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NES PAL |
No |
THE RATINGS
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STORYLINE |
 |
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2 /5
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GRAPHICS |
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3.5/5 |
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AUDIO |
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3.5/5 |
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GAMEPLAY |
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4.5/5 |
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CONTROL |
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4.5/5 |
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FUN FACTOR |
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4/5 |
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FRUSTRATION |
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3/5 |
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OVERALL |
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3.5/5 |
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Famicom Wars
is the
first in the long-running Nintendo Wars series,
first seen outside Japan in 2001 with the release of
Advance Wars for Gameboy Advance. Like
Fire Emblem, it's rather strange it wasn't
localized until the days of the GBA, but while that
remains a mystery, this game should not. This
wonderful title is well worth the import efforts.
Anyone who has ever played any game in the Wars
series will likely describe them as chess on a
minefield: every action or inaction you perform can
ultimately determine if the battle outcome will be
glorious victory or crushing defeat.
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You assume the role
of commanding officer of the Red Star army (Orange Star outside Japan)
to defeat the opposing Blue Moon forces. You hate the Blue Moon army.
You wage war. There isn’t really anything more to it than that. Unlike
sequels, the game’s COs lack personality, dialogue, or rhyme or reason
for what they’re doing. All you need to know is that this is war, and
you’re in it to win. Despite the fact that the names of the armies sound
like a certain magically delicious cereal, the game is incredibly deep,
involved and fun to play, so the lack of any real story is forgivable.
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As all games in the Wars series, Famicom Wars takes place on a
grid overworld with each space representing an area of land, such as
cities, roads, plains, mountains, forests or seas. You navigate a
variety of units across the battlefield one by one per turn. Battles are
spiced up a bit by showing animation as each force attacks and
counterattacks. Overall the graphics are rather simple, but the
simplicity effectively helps keep the game from becoming overwhelming,
and thus, enjoyable.
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As with most classic
Nintendo games, half what makes Famicom Wars so great is its
memorable music. Even though the Red Star theme and Blue Moon theme are
basically the only songs in the game, they are pleasant to listen to and
will have you humming their themes long after you stop playing.
Sound effects in the
game are handled well. Bullets sound like bullets, explosions sound
decent enough and the siren that whines when each player’s turn starts
just adds to the feel of war the game presents.
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This is where the
game excels. Famicom Wars is a turn-based strategy game where
you build units in bases, airports and seaports. Each unit in the
game has a particular purpose and weakness, so creating balanced
units is important. For example, ground soldiers can capture neutral
and enemy cities but are vulnerable to tank fire. Tanks can be
easily destroyed by arial bombers, but bombers are no match for
anti-air tanks and missiles. You must also take into consideration
your war funds. It costs significantly more to manufacture large
tanks than it does small tanks, so leaving units alone isn’t a good
idea, as even the more powerful tanks can be taken out by a large
number of weaker enemy forces.
There is also a
two-player option where a second player can assume the role of the
Blue Moon army. Due to the length of time battles take, however, its
unlikely that either player would bother duking it out on any but
Bean Island, the smallest map in the game.
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The controls
function well. The D-pad moves the curser around the map. Pressing B
brings up an options menu, giving you options to build units (only works
at a base), check a list of your existing units, check a list of all
other stats, supply other units (only works for transport units), end
your turn, or choose other options including adjusting settings, saving
and loading, and finally yielding the battle. The A button
performs actions and is used to confirm selections. The Select
button automatically centers on your HQ, which may be helpful for some
larger maps. Start doesn’t do anything.
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This game can
sap away hours for just one map. The CPU is vicious, and you really
do feel like your waging war! It's hard to put into words just how
fun moving little dudes across a map and having them beat up other
little dudes can be. It’s just something you need to experience
yourself. What I can say is that the complexity of the game rewards
well thought out plans of attacks, and seeing the success of your
careful planning is incredibly satisfying.
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The most
frustrating aspect of this game is spending hours on a map, things
suddenly turning sour and you end up losing! This game can be
intense.
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Famicom Wars
is a perfect showcase of where great modern strategy games have their
roots. The title is rewarding, fun to play and challenging. Navigating
the Japanese menus can be a little daunting at first, but with a little
experience with other games in the series such as Advance Wars,
players should have no problem getting right into this.
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