A fantastic game, which while older now, has a massive cult following and is beloved of critics everywhere.
This was the third game in the series I got, coming back to it to see where it all began having played the two DS titles. While perhaps that meant for me some of the originality which earlier players must have felt was wrong, it also let me appreciate the mistakes the developer has made since.
For example, There were far too many COs in Dual Strike (for those of you who don't know, you play as a 'military adviser' to a commanding officer, or CO). There were about 30 in Dual Strike compared to around 12 here. This helps the game, because as a portable title you should really be able to dip in and out of it, and having fewer COs (they all play slightly differently) will aid you in quickly understanding the basics and getting a reasonable grasp of how your opponent will play, so you can just play for 5 minutes.
Another error which was made with dual strike was the placing of two much emphasis on CO powers. These are special effects which each CO can charge and utilise, and whilst in Dual Strike they were way too powerful and actually detracted from the strategic aspect of the game, here they are pitched just right, strong enough to add another layer without becoming the only layer.
These errors were fixed again in Dark Conflict/Days of Ruin but I personally feel that the cartoony graphics of the first game mean it sits more comfortably within the Advance Wars canon.
The game is not faultless though, and while you do care a little about the characters, none of them stray too far from the standard game character types. In addition, the music is perfectly acceptable, and each CO has a theme tune, but you do not feel that the music is one of the game's main strengths, the way you do with The Elder Scrolls, or even Minecraft.
In conclusion, while the game is not quite perfect, it's having one hell of a good try at getting there. I love it, as do many others, and it deserves a place in every GBA or DS collection.