Advance Wars is a turn-based strategy video game created by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh game in the Wars series and the first in the Advance Wars sub-series. The story takes place on a fictional continent where two countries, Orange Star and Blue Moon, have been fighting for many years. The conflict grows when an Orange Star officer named Andy is accused of attacking two other nations, Yellow Comet and Green Earth, without cause, leading to a global war.
Like earlier Wars games, Advance Wars was initially not planned for release outside Japan because Nintendo believed Western players might not enjoy turn-based games due to their complex rules. To help with this, the developers simplified the gameplay and included a detailed tutorial that did not require players to read the manual. Designer Kentaro Nishimura noted that the game’s success changed Nintendo’s view of Western preferences and is often credited with helping Nintendo bring another Intelligent Systems game, Fire Emblem, to international markets starting with its seventh version.
Advance Wars was released in North America on September 10, 2001. Its release in Japan and Europe was delayed because of the September 11 attacks in the United States. It was finally released in Europe in January 2002 but did not reach Japan until 2004 as part of the Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 compilation, which also included its sequel, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising. The original Japanese release of the sequel was canceled. The game received high praise from critics and is often listed among the greatest video games ever made.
Advance Wars was re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console in Europe and North America on April 3, 2014. On April 21, 2023, the game was remade for the Nintendo Switch alongside its sequel, Black Hole Rising, in a compilation called Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, developed by WayForward. This remake was announced by Nintendo at E3 2021 and released in America and Europe, but not in Japan.
Gameplay
The goal of each mission is to defeat the enemy army. There are two ways to win: destroy all enemy units on the map (called routing the enemy) or capture the enemy's headquarters. Some maps have special rules, like capturing a certain number of cities or surviving for a set number of days. The game includes several modes: "Field Training" for tutorials, a "Campaign" that follows the game's story, "War Room" for high-score challenges, multiplayer matches, and a map design mode. Both "Campaign" and "War Room" modes allow players to earn ranks (from Rank #100 to Rank #1) and coins to unlock new units and maps. After winning a battle, players also earn an additional rank based on their performance, measured by speed (how many days it took to win), power (how many enemy units were defeated), and technique (the percentage of the player's units that survived).
Battles in Advance Wars are turn-based. Two to four armies, each led by a CO (commanding officer), take turns building and controlling units on grid-based maps. Players attack enemy units, move positions, hold ground, or capture enemy or neutral areas like cities, ports, airports, bases, or headquarters.
Each unit can only attack certain types of enemies. This is determined by their primary and secondary weapons. For example, the Mech unit has a bazooka that only works against land vehicles, but its secondary weapon, machine guns, can attack other Mechs, infantry, and helicopters.
Units attack either directly (by moving next to an enemy unit, but risking a counterattack) or indirectly (by staying still and attacking from a distance). The damage a unit deals depends on factors like its hit points, whether it can use its main weapon, the type of unit it and the enemy are, and the terrain the enemy is on. If the enemy unit attacks back, the same factors determine the damage. Most units have limited ammunition for their main weapons, with the amount depending on the unit type. When main weapon ammo runs out, units use their secondary weapons until resupplied.
Terrain on a map affects movement, vision, and defense. Terrain types include roads, plains, woods, bases, HQs, ports, cities, airports, sea, reefs, shoals, rivers, and mountains. Air units are not affected by terrain. Weather can limit ground unit movement and vision, while "fog of war" reduces visibility, forcing players to rely on individual units' sight ranges. Infantry can see farther in mountains, but woods and reefs can only be seen if a unit is next to them.
There are 18 different military units in Advance Wars. Each has attack power, vision range in fog of war, movement range and type, and fuel supply. Some units have two weapons for attacking different enemy types. Units can attack directly or indirectly, or be unarmed transports. All units are infantry, vehicles, ships, or air units. Units have specific strengths and weaknesses. Ground units that run out of fuel cannot move, while air and naval units that run out are destroyed. Submarines use more fuel when submerged.
In Multiplayer mode, players can compete against the AI or other human players. Matches can be customized before starting. Multiplayer has two forms: "Versus" mode, where one Game Boy Advance system is shared among players, and "Link" mode, where each player uses their own system. Both modes use the same gameplay rules.
Armies are led by COs, who control units. Most COs give units special advantages or disadvantages, like extra firepower or shorter firing range. Some COs work better with specific units, such as air units. COs have a Power Meter that fills by defeating enemies or enduring strong attacks. When full, a CO can use their "CO Power," which temporarily helps friendly units or harms enemies. For example, Nell boosts her units' critical strike chance, and Olaf causes snowfall, reducing opponents' movement range.
Plot
The story of Advance Wars begins in the "Field Training" tutorial, where the nation of Orange Star is at war with its neighbor, Blue Moon. Olaf, the Blue Moon Army commander, suddenly launches an invasion of Orange Star, starting a battle with the Orange Star Army. The main campaign continues the events introduced in the tutorial. Nell, the main leader of the Orange Star commanders, assigns the player the role of a tactical advisor for the Orange Star Army.
Throughout the game, the player follows the war across four countries, each with its own commanders. At first, the player can only advise one commander, Andy. As the story progresses, the player gains the option to advise two additional Orange Star commanders, Max and Sami, each with unique strengths and weaknesses. Depending on which commander the player chooses, some missions may split into two or three different paths, with varying maps and dialogue. After completing a mission, the story may branch further based on earlier choices, eventually returning to a shared main path.
After defeating Green Earth’s forces, Andy is accused by Green Earth’s commander, Eagle, of attacking Green Earth unfairly. Following the defeat of Blue Moon’s troops in Orange Star, the Orange Star Army invades Blue Moon and defeats its forces. It is later revealed that Blue Moon’s commanders, Olaf and Grit, were once part of the Orange Star Army but later joined Blue Moon. When the Orange Star Army intended only to pass through Green Earth and Yellow Comet, their leaders, such as Yellow Comet’s Kanbei, believed an invasion was happening and declared war on Orange Star.
Later, Green Earth’s commander, Drake, tells Eagle that Orange Star did not attack Green Earth, explaining, "This entire conflict has been planned from the start." Yellow Comet’s commander, Sonja, and Grit investigate who is truly behind the attacks. When Eagle meets Andy again, Eagle accuses Andy of attacking Green Earth. However, the Orange Star commanders prove that Andy was not responsible. This explains why the three nations believed Orange Star attacked them first.
When Eagle meets Sonja, she confirms that Andy was not involved in the attacks and reveals her findings. It is discovered that the mysterious Black Hole Army, led by Sturm, is the real enemy. Sturm used a copy of Andy to start wars among the four countries, aiming to confuse and weaken them before conquering them. After this revelation, the four nations unite to drive Black Hole out of their land, Cosmo Land. The commanders chosen for the final battle depend on the player’s choices throughout the game.
Development
Advance Wars was first announced at Nintendo Space World 2000 under the name Game Boy Wars Advance. In January 2001, Nintendo France shared new screenshots of this game and other Game Boy Advance games with French gaming websites, but provided little other information. Intelligent Systems developed the game, and Nintendo published it. A four-player mode was confirmed before E3 2001, along with a US release date of September 10. Game Boy Wars Advance was originally planned for release in Japan on October 12, 2001, but the release was canceled to avoid competing with Game Boy Wars 3, which was released for the Game Boy Color that same year. The game was later released in a two-in-one compilation with its sequel, Game Boy Wars Advance 2, in 2004.
Development of Advance Wars began at the same time as other Game Boy Advance launch titles. However, Nintendo was very busy with those projects and asked Intelligent Systems to help with the development. Director Makoto Shimojo explained that during early development, Intelligent Systems often created unique game mechanics, but Nintendo sometimes said these ideas were "too complex" or "not balanced for a general audience." After feedback, the team made adjustments. The game was designed for the Game Boy Advance’s younger audience, using bright colors, rounded characters, and humorous elements. Shimojo noted that despite this, most buyers were teenage boys. To make a strategy game appealing to younger players, Shimojo and his team created "waves of excitement," similar to how movies use calm moments to control pacing.
Shimojo explained that developers added elements from their favorite game genres. For example, one developer who liked shooters created a movement system that allowed precise control of units, while another developer who liked rhythm games added a rhythmic feel to unit movement. Intelligent Systems also focused on making weapons and costume designs realistic but simplified, based on real history. The game’s story and setting were not serious but still had depth.
To ensure balance, designers tested maps multiple times to avoid unfair advantages. Shimojo said that as he became more skilled, it became harder to judge how easy the game was for new players. He shared his thoughts with other staff to confirm accuracy. After that, Nintendo’s debugging team reviewed the game and provided feedback to the development team for adjustments.
Shimojo said the balance testing continued until someone said, "Stop it, we need to launch the game now." He believes this effort is why Advance Wars is so well-regarded. When designing maps, Shimojo noted that it was impossible to satisfy everyone, as some players prefer starting weak and growing stronger, while others prefer starting strong. His goal was to include enough maps so players could find one they enjoyed. The feature of unlocking maps was added to encourage longer play, but it was removed in a later game, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, because it discouraged players who had limited time.
Advance Wars was originally meant to stay in Japan, like earlier games in the series, because Nintendo believed Western audiences would not enjoy turn-based or complex games. To change this, the developers made the game easy to learn, including a detailed tutorial that did not require reading a manual. When Nintendo’s US marketing team played the game, they were impressed and wanted to sell it in the US. Designer Kentaro Nishimura said that Advance Wars’ success changed Nintendo’s view of Western preferences. He added that without Advance Wars, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, a game he also designed, would not have been released outside Japan.
The game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console on April 3, 2014, in North America and Europe. In Japan, the compilation of Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising was also released on the same day.
Reception
After its release, the game received a score of 92 out of 100 from Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, which means it was highly praised by critics. Julian Gollop, the creator of X-COM and Rebelstar: Tactical Command, stated that Advance Wars not only had a big impact on the gaming world but also helped increase interest in similar games on handheld systems. It was ranked as the 26th best game made for a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's Top 200 Games list.
Nintendo Power gave the game a perfect 5-star rating, saying that "Advance Wars explores new ideas in the strategy genre and will appeal to many types of gamers." The Electric Playground described it as "a deep, colorful, and Japanese-style turn-based strategy game with lots of replay value." IGN said the game was "very intense and addictive, especially once players understand its details." Gaming Age noted that the game "combines simple and complex elements in a way that makes it very engaging." GameSpot called it "deep and easy to learn, with a level of replayability rarely seen in handheld games." Total Video Games mentioned that "the artificial intelligence of the computer-controlled opponents is surprisingly varied and complex." AllGame said that "Advance Wars is cleverly designed to be both detailed and easy to pick up, as it breaks the game into manageable parts." GameSpot named Advance Wars the best Game Boy Advance game of 2001. It was nominated for the "Biggest Surprise" award among console games but lost to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. At the 5th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave Advance Wars the "Hand-Held Game of the Year" award.
In 2009, Official Nintendo Magazine called the game "a nearly perfect mix of challenging strategy and Nintendo creativity," placing it 72nd on a list of the greatest Nintendo games. In their October 2013 issue, Edge magazine gave the game a perfect score of 10 out of 10, one of only 23 games to receive that rating in the magazine's 20-year history.