Advance Wars

Advance Wars is a tactical turn-based strategy game that was first released on September 10, 2001, for the Game Boy Advance. Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, the game was designed by Kentaro Nishimura.

It is part of the Famicom Wars series, which started with Famicom Wars for the NES in 1988 and continued with Game Boy Wars in 1991.

In Advance Wars, you take on the role of a commanding officer of a military force, controlling various units on a grid-based map to engage in battles against opposing forces. There are 18 different types of units, such as infantry, tanks, planes, and ships, each with its strengths and weaknesses, and it's up to you to deploy them strategically to achieve victory. By capturing buildings, you can obtain resources and upgrades.

The game features a robust single-player campaign mode with multiple missions, where you are introduced to different mechanics and units gradually. The campaign has a great difficulty curve that ensures you won't feel overwhelmed at any point while also allowing you to hone your strategic skills.

Apart from the campaign mode, Advance Wars had a multiplayer mode, which was one of the game's highlights. GBA owners could either play against a friend on the same device or use the Game Boy Advance's link cable to play against someone on another device. The multiplayer mode is where the game truly shines, but it's not available on the emulated version, unfortunately.

Compared to the other games of the series, Advance Wars features charming graphics and excellent sound design. The game's colorful visuals and vibrant character designs bring the game's world to life and create a sense of immersion that draws you in. The game's soundtrack is equally impressive, with each track enhancing the game's atmosphere.

Advance Wars was well received by critics and players alike, with praise for its engaging gameplay, robust single-player campaign, and excellent multiplayer mode. The game was successful enough to spawn a sequel, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, and several other sequels and spin-offs in the series.

The game won the Award of Handheld Game of the Year in 2001. Julian Gollop, creator of Laser Squad and the X-COM series, recognized that Advance Wars was not only influential for his work but also opened the way for turn-based strategy games on handheld devices.

A remake of the game is now available for the Switch.