Zero said:
This may be the greatest GIF ever.
Alright, taking the topic seriously now. As noted, Advance Wars has never been about the characters to the same depth that Fire Emblem is,not even close. Even so, nothing should stop them from writing a really cool story around the CO's and letting things flow from there in the background. Just because the battles don't have a huge bearing on your character connections, it doesn't mean you can't create them. The first games did that with things like Olaf's backstory and the rivalry between Max and Grit. Expand on that stuff some more if story is so important.
Actually now I think about it....The problem I have with Fire Emblem games is that by the time I get to a certain point, I begin to feel overwhelmed with choices and the game seems too bloated. What I mean is, I spend ridiculous amounts of time in battle preparation- Choosing which characters to take, managing their inventory, contemplating character relationships and having all of that interact with my deployment choices... and then I burn out. It's telling that the only FE games I've actually played through to completion are the ones we did in weekly chunks through the NW game clubs.
Now some people like that. It's that element of customization that gives FE it's appeal. But there's no way in hell that should be the approach for Advance Wars. Rather like I said, they should focus more on the story surrounding the game to give their characters depth.
What I think they should do, is take more cues from the first game with the multiple paths. But really expand on it. In those games picking certain CO's or achieving secondary goals within a battle would send you down another path, but in practice it just meant you were accessing a different map. Have it affect the story. Have a
huge nuanced branching storyline that's actually influenced by the CO's you pick, and the way you conduct your battles. Everyone still gets a uniquely personal game experience, but rather than having it dictated by spending hours in menus, it's simply how you play the game that defines your path.