About

Advance Wars, also known as the Famicom Wars and the “Wars” Series, is a series of video games made for Nintendo handheld and console systems. It is a series of military-themed turn-based strategy games, usually developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo.^[1] While more prominent in the mid-2000s, the franchise still holds strong through fan projects and the incoming release of a remake being made over 10 years after the last released title.

History

The series debuted in Japan in August 1988 with the original Famicom Wars. A total of six games were released throughout the late ’80s and ’90s under the "Wars" franchise name (early ads for the series seen below).^[2]

The Gameboy Advance Era

The Famicom Wars series would eventually hit North America and PAL regions in late 2001, where it would be branded as Advance Wars. The original Advance Wars received a 5-star review in Nintendo Power’s October 2001 Magazine review, with the reviewers commenting on how it trod new ground for gaming at the time, with intense strategy mechanics that made for a battle of wits and played like an intense board game.^[3]

In June 2003, the sequel, titled Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising was released to American and European Stores. While receiving a lot of positive reviews, it was criticized for feeling like a rehash of its predecessor.^[4] The 1st game sold 700,000 units, while the second game sold 650,000.

The Nintendo DS Era

In June 2005, Advance Wars: Dual Strike was released on the Nintendo DS. It was the last of three games to follow the story campaign of the first Advance Wars on Game Boy Advance.

In January of 2008, the last DS game under the Advance Wars name would release in North American and European audiences. Titled Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (or Advance Wars: Dark Conflict), the story was completely separate from the last three games’ canon; taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. Despite having very high review scores and average sales figures for the franchise’s standards, no other new Advance Wars titles would be released until spring 2022. As a result, Days of Ruin would be considered by many fans to be the unofficial death of the franchise throughout the 2010s.

Reboot Camp

On June 15th, 2021, Nintendo released the first trailer for Advance Wars: Reboot Camp at E3. It is a remaster of the Gameboy Advance titles, complete with significant graphical increases, voice-acting and several quality-of-life updates. The first trailer video and the accompanying Treehouse spotlight received over 350,000 views since its upload.

After an announced delay in October 2021, a second trailer video was revealed in the February 9th, 2022, edition of Nintendo Direct. The second trailer has gained over 70,000 views within one day.

On Mar 9, 2022, Reboot Camp would be delayed a second time by Nintendo via their Twitter account. While the tweet itself was vague as to why, it was heavily implied to be a business move to avoid bad press due to the ongoing Ukrainian War, as speculated by several gaming news sources.^[6][7] This is made especially apparent, as the first antagonist of the first game – the Blue Moon Nation – is heavily based off of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's opponent in the currently ongoing war. This was pointed out by several twitter users, with an example shown below.

After nearly 11 months of silence from Nintendo, The 2/8/23 Nintendo Direct would reveal the next release date of Advance Wars: Reboot Camp, projected at April 21st, 2023.^[8]

(W.I.P. currently updating with new info)

Advance Wars By Web

In August of 2017, a website called Advance Wars by Web was created by fans of the franchise to expand the multiplayer aspect of the game to the modern age. The site is primarily based on Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, but also incorporates additional elements from Advance Wars: Dual Strike. The site received a massive influx of players shortly after Reboot Camp's announcement.

Notable Characters

In Advance Wars, players take the role of one of the many Commanding Officers (abbreviated to C.O.s) to command their armies. Many fan in-jokes have been made for several noteworthy C.O.s.

Andy

Andy is an Orange Star C.O. and is considered to be the poster boy for the franchise. Playable in the first three Advance Wars titles, he is most associated with his portrayal in the first game as a mechanical genius with abysmally lacking tactical knowledge for a commander, especially in his portrayal in the first game. This is most famously made aware of by fans parroting his most laughably inept phrase: “What’s an airport again?”

The joke is so well-known by the Advance Wars community, that a similar joke was added into the remake version, as a subtle nod to the fans. This time, in a much earlier point in the game, Andy will ask the main Commander (Nell) what a "strategy" is.

Colin

Colin is a C.O. of the Blue Moon nation who made his debut in Black Hole Rising. He is considered a top-tier commander due to his lower unit costs and his powerful ability to increase his units’ attack power under his current wealth factor. As a result, Colin and his theme song are often associated with the embodiment of capitalism by fans and non-fans alike.

Flak/Jugger

Flak and Jugger are C.O.s who are a part of the villainous Black Hole nation in Advance Wars 2 and the Bolt Guard in Dual Strike, respectively. They are both incredibly low-tier C.O.s as both their units have chances to do less damage than intended on average compared to others. With this in mind, a similar build to each other, and similar campaign tactics (such as throwing a battleship into a lake) on top of Flak’s absence in the main story, fans have often joked that Jugger is simply Flak manning a robotic suit.

Sturm

Sturm is the highest-ranking commander of the Black Hole Army, and the final opponent in both GBA Advance Wars games. His superior attack power, movement, and super ability can prove so devastating that he often can take on three armies at once. His Super Ability “Meteor Strike” and his mask design are common tropes found in references about him.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References