Black Hole

Lore & Background

Black Hole rose again shortly after its defeat in Cosmo Land, gathering forces to invade Macro Land. Under the leadership of Sturm, who had previously led the invasion of Cosmo Land, the organization expanded its ranks by recruiting three new commanding officers—Flak, Lash, and Adder—alongside Hawke, who would serve as Sturm's second-in-command during the Black Hole Rising campaign. Flak, a strongman, was tasked with invading Orange Star; Lash, a genius inventor, was assigned to Blue Moon; Adder, a narcissistic commander, led the assault on Yellow Comet; and Hawke, Sturm's trusted second, was charged with taking Green Earth. These leaders brought specialized technologies and tactics to the battlefield. The organization's presence was marked by unique terrain features like the Missile Silo and Pipeline, as well as destructive properties such as the Black Cannon and Mini Cannons—Black Hole technology created under Sturm's authority—that fired at non-Black Hole units each turn. Their goal was absolute dominance over Macro Land's five continents. The final confrontation occurred at the Death Ray, a weapon capable of destroying half of Macro Land, which was destroyed by the Allied Nations, resulting in Sturm's death.

In Their Own Story

The Allied Nations were forced to defend their respective territories against a coordinated Black Hole invasion. Flak attacked Orange Star, Lash targeted Blue Moon, Adder assaulted Yellow Comet, and Hawke moved against Green Earth. As the Allied forces pushed back, they eventually cornered the Black Hole commanders near Sturm's base of operations. The final battle took place in front of the Death Ray, a weapon guarding a missile that threatened to destroy half of Wars World if not subdued. The Allied COs destroyed the Death Ray and disarmed the missile, trapping Sturm. In a desperate act, Sturm attempted to self-destruct the missile to inflict damage on Wars World. However, Hawke betrayed his leader, killing Sturm with Black Storm before the self-destruct could trigger. Hawke then assumed leadership of Black Hole, retreating from Macro Land with Flak, Lash, and Adder along with their remaining troops.

Reader's Guide

Players navigate a non-linear campaign across five continents, each representing one of the Allied nations under attack. The goal is to defeat all enemies or capture enemy headquarters, though special objectives often require destroying or capturing key buildings like the Black Cannon. These properties have health represented by heart icons and can be destroyed by attacking units. New features include the Neotank unit, Missile Silos for area damage, and Pipelines that act as impassable walls to create smaller maps in the editor. Commanding Officers utilize a modified CO Meter with small stars for regular CO Powers and large stars for more powerful Super CO Powers. While using a Super CO Power drains the meter completely, normal powers leave residual charge, adding strategic depth to ability usage. Completing missions earns ranks that unlock content in the Battle Maps shop.

Did You Know?

• The Japanese release, Game Boy Wars Advance 2, was released in Japan without cancellation, and later included in a compilation cartridge called Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 in 2004.
• Black Hole Rising introduced two new units to the series: the Neotank and the Black Boat.
• The Death Ray itself was the weapon capable of destroying half of Macro Land; there was no separate missile guarded by it.
• Sturm died when his Death Ray was destroyed by the Allied Nations, not killed by Hawke using Black Storm.
• The game won the European Computer Trade Show's Best Handheld Game of the Year award in 2003.