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Advance Wars Leads the Charge as Game Boy Advance Games come to Wii U

Ron Duwell

Advance Wars

Advance Wars will be the first game to line up on the Wii U Virtual Console in the UK. Nintendo UK confirmed the news on its Twitter page, stating that the game would be available next week on April 3rd.

Nintendo of America followed that Tweet up with a release over email. It included a full rundown of other titles and release dates. These are the specifics.

April 3:

  • Advance Wars (Wii U, $7.99)
  • Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Wii U, $7.99)
  • Metroid Fusion (Wii U, $7.99)

April 10:

  • Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (Wii U, $6.99)
  • WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (Wii U, $6.99)

April 17

  • Super Mario Bros. 3 (Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, $4.99)
  • F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (Wii U, $6.99)
  • Golden Sun (Wii U, $7.99)

April 24

  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (Wii U, $7.99)

Advance Wars is a fine choice to start the show with. It's a perfectly balanced strategy game with enough content to last for some time, and even its numerous sequels somehow managed to feel light by comparison. Other games following with be Metroid Fusion, Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. All fine choices, all heading to the Wii U.

None heading to the Nintendo 3DS. I know Nintendo needs to get Wii U consoles off the shelves any way it can, but the purpose of playing portable games is actually to play them on the move, outside the house, you know, portably. I can't take my Wii U GamePad beyond the range of the console, and why would I ever want to play Advance Wars sitting in front of a TV?

Can't upset those ever-important Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, I suppose. Look at all the good they are doing for the world.

Nintendo, it is time we have a machine that can universally play all your portable games. The Game Boy Advance can't play Nintendo DS and 3DS games. The Nintendo DS can't play my favorite Game Boy and Game Boy Color favorites. The Nintendo 3DS doesn't allow Game Boy Advance games on the Virtual Console. What do we have to do to get everything on a single machine, Nintendo?