Standard Edition
StandardIn the box
- Game Boy Advance cartridge
- Box with cover art
- Instruction booklet
Game Boy Advance
Advance Wars
Advance Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh title in the Wars series of video games, and the first in the Advance Wars sub-series.
SimulatorStrategyTurn-based strategy (TBS)Tactical
- Update patch
- No patch
- Time to beat
- about 15.6 hours
- Plays offline
- Yes
Overview
Advance Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is the seventh title in the Wars series of video games, and the first in the Advance Wars sub-series. The game takes place on a fictional continent, where two nations, Orange Star and Blue Moon, have been fighting each other for years. The conflict enters a new stage when an Orange Star commanding officer named Andy is accused of attacking the armies of two other nations, Yellow Comet and Green Earth, without reason, resulting in a worldwide war.
As with previous Wars titles, Advance Wars was not originally intended for release outside Japan, due to Nintendo feeling that Western consumers would not be interested in turn-based games because of their complex mechanics. In order to alleviate this, the developers made the mechanics easy to understand, adding in an in-depth tutorial that did not require players to read the manual. Designer Kentaro Nishimura commented that the game's success shifted Nintendo's attitude over Western tastes , and that same success is frequently credited as a driving force for Nintendo bringing another Intelligent Systems franchise, Fire Emblem, outside of Japan beginning with the seventh installment.
Advance Wars was released in North America on September 10, 2001. Its release in Japan and Europe was delayed due to the release date in connections with the September 11 attacks in the United States. Although eventually released in Europe in January 2002, it would not be released in Japan until the Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 compilation in 2004 alongside its sequel Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, whose original Japanese release was cancelled. The game received critical acclaim from critics and has been declared as one of the greatest video games ever made. Advance Wars has been re-released for the Wii U Virtual Console simultaneously in Europe and North America on April 3, 2014. On April 21, 2023, the title was remade for the Nintendo Switch alongside its sequel Black Hole Rising in a compilation developed by WayForward titled Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, which was announced by Nintendo at E3 2021. It was released in America and Europe, but not Japan.
Official trailer
Trailer. Watch on YouTube
Gameplay
Game Boy Advance - Advance Wars © 2001 Nintendo - Gameplay, The Video Game Museum. Watch on YouTube
Screenshots
Game details
- Genres
- Simulator, Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Tactical
- Developer
- Intelligent Systems
- Publisher
- Nintendo, iQue
- Series
- Advance Wars
- Platforms
- Wii U, Game Boy Advance
- Age rating
- ESRB E
- Modes
- Single player
- Yes
- Local multiplayer
- Yes
- Online multiplayer
- Yes
- Co op
- No
- Age ratings
- ESRB
- E
- PEGI
- 7
Release dates
| Platform | Region | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Game Boy Advance | North America | 2001-09-10 |
| Game Boy Advance | Europe / PAL | 2002-01-11 |
| Game Boy Advance | Japan | 2004-11-25 |
Editions
Space and patches
Update patchNo patch
DLC
No DLC. Game Boy Advance games had no downloadable content.
Playable today
Playable offline todayYes
No online features; every mode works today on any Game Boy Advance. Link play needs a link cable.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Ever released on disc | Yes, on Game Boy Advance cartridge |
| Ever released in the store | Yes, 3 April 2014 On the Wii U Virtual Console. |
| In the store to buy today | No The Wii U shop has closed. |
| Can be downloaded again if you already bought it | Yes Wii U Virtual Console purchases can still be downloaded again. |
| Disc runs with no patch | Yes |
| Disc runs with the final patch | Does not exist No patch was ever released. |
| Has online features | No |
| Online servers running today | Does not exist |
| Playable offline today: campaign | Yes |
| Playable offline today: local multiplayer | Yes Up to four players: pass one Game Boy Advance around in Versus mode, or link a console each. |
| Playable offline today: online multiplayer | Does not exist No online play. |
| Playable offline today: DLC | Does not exist No DLC. |
Online
Plays offlineYes
Reception
- Aggregates
Outlet Platform Score Scale Metacritic Game Boy Advance 92 100 - Critics
Outlet Score Scale GameSpot 9.1 10 IGN 9.9 10 Game Informer 9.25 10 Eurogamer 10 10 Nintendo Power 5 5
Staff and cast
- Staff
Role Name Developer Intelligent Systems Publisher Nintendo Director Toru Narihiro Producer Takehiro Izushi Programmer Takanori Hino Artist Ryo Hirata Writer Masayuki Horikawa Composer Taishi Senda
Notes for collectors
- North America got it first, on 10 September 2001.
- Its release in Japan and Europe was delayed after the 11 September attacks; Japan only got it in 2004, in Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2.
- Two to four armies, each led by a commanding officer, take turns building and moving units on grid maps.
- Multiplayer works on one console passed between players, or by link cable.
- Remade with its sequel for Switch as Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp in 2023.
Credits
- Publisher
- Nintendo, iQue
- Developer
- Intelligent Systems
- Director
- Toru Narihiro
- Released
- 2001-09-10
- Age rating
- ESRB E
- Region
- US
- Time to beat
- about 15.6 hours
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