Wars (series)

Last updated
Wars
Genre(s) Turn-based strategy
Real-time strategy
Developer(s) Intelligent Systems
Hudson Soft
Kuju Entertainment
WayForward Technologies
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Platform(s) Famicom, Virtual Console, Game Boy, Super Famicom, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, Wii, Switch
First release Famicom Wars
August 12, 1988
Latest release Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp
April 21, 2023

The Wars series, also known as Famicom Wars [lower-alpha 1] and Advance Wars, [lower-alpha 2] is a series of military-themed turn-based strategy video games, predominantly developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. The series debuted in Japan in August of 1988 with the original Famicom Wars , followed by sequels on the Super Famicom and Game Boy. These early installments were released in Japan, with Advance Wars (2001) being the first to reach the North American and European markets. Advance Wars was released in the United States on September 10, 2001, but put on hold in Japan and Europe due to the September 11 attacks. [1] Although released in Europe in January 2002, neither Game Boy Advance game was released in Japan until the Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 compilation, which released for the Game Boy Advance on November 25, 2004. The success of Advance Wars in the West is frequently credited as a driving force for Nintendo bringing Intelligent Systems' franchise Fire Emblem outside of Japan, as both series share a similar tactical gameplay style.

Contents

In 2005, Advance Wars: Dual Strike was released on the Nintendo DS family of systems, which followed and expanded on the basic format of its predecessors. That same year Battalion Wars , developed by Kuju Entertainment, was released for the GameCube in Japan under the title Totsugeki!! Famicom Wars, where it is considered a spin-off from the main series. Battalion Wars is a 3D action real-time strategy game, as opposed to the turn-based strategy of the main series. An expanded sequel for the Wii, Battalion Wars 2 was released two years later. The last major title in the franchise, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin , was released internationally for the DS in 2008 and departed from the series' light hearted tone. Like the two Game Boy Advance titles preceding it, the game was canceled in Japan following a series of delays until it finally released as a downloadable game in 2013. At E3 2021, over a decade after the release of Days of Ruin, a collection of remakes of both Advance Wars games, titled Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp , was announced for the Nintendo Switch, with a planned release date of December 2021. A release date of April 8, 2022 was later announced, however on March 9, 2022 it was announced that due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine the game was being delayed until further notice. [2] Another release date of April 21, 2023 would be announced a year later. These remakes were developed in collaboration with WayForward Technologies.

Gameplay

The player takes the role of a Commanding Officer (CO) in an army, usually of a country called Red Star (changed to Orange Star following international releases). In Days of Ruin, it is replaced by a nation called Rubinelle (Laurentia in the European release). In the single-player campaign of the Advance Wars games, each level consists of a new map and opposing CO to defeat. Victory is achieved when all the opponent's units have been destroyed, their HQ is captured, or another victory condition has been met. COs take turns recruiting and commanding units on grid-based maps. Units available include infantry, tanks, artillery, bombers, and many other military units. Each turn, each unit may move around and/or perform an action, such as attacking or capturing a property. Certain actions, such as capturing, diving, or loading may only be performed at certain instances throughout the game. [3]

The original Famicom Wars game consists of two armies, Red Star (which became Orange Star in later international versions, possibly to avoid associations with Communism) and Blue Moon fighting over square grid-based maps. The two armies could either be controlled by human players, or a human player could play against an AI opponent. [4] The original Game Boy Wars games featured a system similar to Famicom Wars, except the grid was changed so that the grid squares acted more like hexagons; each square is adjacent to six other squares, instead of four. Game Boy Wars also features a different opposing army called White Moon. Otherwise, the rules remain identical, and only in Game Boy Wars 3 were unit levels and a new resource introduced. [5] Super Famicom Wars, the sequel to Famicom Wars, introduced Yellow Comet and Green Earth, bringing the number of armies playable at once to four. It returned to the basic square grid-based map style of the original game. [6]

The Advance Wars games introduced several new elements. The most notable is that COs now have special abilities called CO Powers that can affect the battle in different ways, giving the CO a temporary advantage over the other COs, such as providing allied units with increased firepower or causing damage to opposing units. Black Hole Rising introduced Super CO Powers, and Dual Strike introduced Tag CO Powers. [3] [7] Conditions such as fog of war, rain, and snow affect the abilities of units to reveal the map and move around. [8] Days of Ruin removed many of the features added to previous Advance Wars games, greatly weakening CO Powers and reintroducing a unit level system. [9]

Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode is an important part of the Nintendo Wars series. This allows players to compete against friends, each choosing a Commanding Officer to play and country to represent. The Advance Wars series of games, along with the far lesser known Game Boy Wars 3 , include map editors, giving them increased replayability. In the original Famicom Wars, two players were allowed to play; in Game Boy Wars, players could play hotseat multiplayer games. [5] Currently the only release to lack hotseat multiplayer is Game Boy Wars Turbo. The Advance Wars series on the Game Boy Advance allowed link-play using link cables. Online multiplayer was originally planned for Dual Strike, but was only later implemented in Days of Ruin. [10] [11] Battalion Wars 2 introduced online multiplayer over the Wii's Wi-Fi connection. The game had 3 modes and 16 maps to play on. The multiplayer section was well-received but was criticized for not supporting voice chat. [12]

Games

Game titleDeveloperPublisherSystemReleaseNotes
Famicom Wars Intelligent Systems, Nintendo R&D1 Nintendo Family Computer 1988First game in the series.
Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars Game Boy 1991Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars Turbo Hudson Soft Hudson Soft 1997Enhanced version of Game Boy Wars with better AI, more maps, and Super Game Boy support.
Only released in Japan.
Super Famicom Wars Intelligent Systems Nintendo Super Famicom Satellaview, Nintendo Power 1998Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars 2 Hudson Soft Hudson Soft Game Boy Color Playable with Game Boy or Game Boy Color.
Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars 3 2001Exclusively for Game Boy Color.
Only released in Japan.
First game of the series to feature a campaign mode.
Advance Wars Intelligent Systems Nintendo Game Boy Advance Originally only released in North American and PAL regions.
In 2004, it was released in Japan as Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2, along with Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising.
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising 2003Released individually in North America and PAL region.
Released in Japan only as the compilation Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2, along with Advance Wars.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike Nintendo DS 2005
Battalion Wars Kuju Entertainment GameCube Originally titled Advance Wars: Under Fire, but the name was changed for Western audiences as the game was considered a spin-off of the Advance Wars series rather than a direct sequel.
Labeled under the Famicom Wars brand in Japan.
Battalion Wars 2 Wii 2007
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (NA) / Dark Conflict (EU) Intelligent Systems Nintendo DS 2008Originally only released in North American and PAL regions. A Japanese release date was planned but later cancelled.
In 2013, it became available in Japan through download on the Nintendo 3DS for any players with a platinum status reward through Club Nintendo.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp WayForward Nintendo Switch 2023Remake of the original Advance Wars and its sequel, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising .

Cancelled

Game TitleDeveloperPublisherSystemReleaseNotes
64 Wars [13] Hudson Soft Hudson Soft Nintendo 64 1999Also known as Advance Wars 64 (64ウォーズ). The release was initially announced for January 29, 1999. The game was showcased at Space World 1999 in August, where it was announced that the release date was changed to November, but it was canceled for unknown reasons.

Notes

  1. Japanese: ファミコンウォーズ, Hepburn: Famikon Wōzu
  2. Japanese: ゲームボーイウォーズ, Hepburn: Gēmu Bōi Wōzu, "Game Boy Wars"

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Boy Advance</span> Handheld game console by Nintendo

The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2001, and in mainland China as iQue Game Boy Advance on June 8, 2004.

<i>Dr. Mario</i> 1990 video game

Dr. Mario is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Game Boy. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and designed by Takahiro Harada. The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu Tanaka.

<i>Mario Bros.</i> 1983 video game

Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as an arcade video game in 1983. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures, like turtles (Koopas) and crabs emerging from the sewers by knocking them upside-down and kicking them away. The Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System version is the first game produced by Intelligent Systems. It is part of the Mario franchise, but originally began as a spin-off from the Donkey Kong series.

<i>Yoshis Cookie</i> 1992 video game

Yoshi's Cookie is a 1992 tile-matching puzzle video game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the NES and Game Boy platforms in 1992. A Super NES version was released the following year, developed and published by Bullet-Proof Software.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo DS</span> Handheld game console

The Nintendo DS is a 32-bit foldable handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tandem, a built-in microphone and support for wireless connectivity. Both screens are encompassed within a clamshell design similar to the Game Boy Advance SP. The Nintendo DS also features the ability for multiple DS consoles to directly interact with each other over Wi-Fi within a short range without the need to connect to an existing wireless network. Alternatively, they could interact online using the now-defunct Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service. Its main competitor was Sony's PlayStation Portable during the seventh generation of video game consoles.

<i>Balloon Fight</i> 1984 video game

Balloon Fight is an action video game developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The original arcade version was released for the Nintendo VS. System internationally as Vs. Balloon Fight, while its Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart was released in Japan in 1985 and internationally in 1986.

<i>Advance Wars</i> 2001 turn-based Nintendo video game

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.

<i>Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising</i> 2003 video game

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was released in North America and PAL regions in 2003. It is the second game in the Advance Wars sub-series of Nintendo Wars. It is preceded by Advance Wars and followed by Advance Wars: Dual Strike. Despite being developed in the region, the original Japanese release was canceled, but the game was later released in the region alongside the original Advance Wars as part of a compilation cartridge called Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 in 2004. The game was released on the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and Europe in 2015. At E3 2021, Nintendo announced that Black Hole Rising, alongside the original Advance Wars, would be remade and released together for the Nintendo Switch by WayForward in another compilation titled Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp.

<i>Mario Kart DS</i> 2005 video game

Mario Kart DS is a 2005 kart racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on December 8, 2005, in Japan. The game was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and PAL regions in April 2015 and in Japan in May 2016. The game is the fifth main entry in the Mario Kart series, and the first to be playable via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection online service. Like other games in the series, Mario Kart DS features characters from the Mario series and pits them against each other as they race in karts on tracks based on locations in the Mario series.

<i>Pokémon Diamond</i> and <i>Pearl</i> 2006 video games

Pokémon Diamond Version and Pokémon Pearl Version are role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2006. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series. They were first released in Japan on September 28, 2006, and released in North America, Australia, and Europe in 2007. Pokémon Platinum, a third version, was released two years later in each region. Remakes titled Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were released for the Nintendo Switch worldwide on November 19, 2021. A prequel, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was released for the Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2022.

<i>Advance Wars: Dual Strike</i> 2005 video game

Advance Wars: Dual Strike, known as Famicom Wars DS in Japan, is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the third installment in the Advance Wars series and was released in 2005 for Japan on June 23, in North America on August 22, in Europe on September 30 and in Australia on March 22, 2006. The game is preceded by Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising and Advance Wars and succeeded by Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Advance Wars is the international title of the Wars video game series, which dates back to the Family Computer game Famicom Wars in 1988.

<i>Famicom Wars</i> 1988 video game

Famicom Wars is a wargame developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It was released on August 12, 1988, in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game in the Wars series.

The Virtual Console is a defunct line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

<i>Tetris</i> (Game Boy video game) 1989 video game

Tetris is a puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy in 1989. It is a portable version of Alexey Pajitnov's original Tetris and it was bundled with the North American and European releases of the Game Boy itself. It is the first game to have been compatible with the Game Link Cable, a pack-in accessory that allows two Game Boy consoles to link for multiplayer purposes. A remaster, Tetris DX, was released on the Game Boy Color in 1998. A Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console version of Tetris was released in December 2011, lacking multiplayer functionality. The game was released on the Nintendo Switch Online service in February 2023.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past</i> and <i>Four Swords</i> 2002 video game

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords is a compilation of two action-adventure games co-developed by Nintendo R&D2 and Capcom and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. The game was released in December 2002 in North America and in March 2003 in Japan and Europe. The cartridge contains a modified port of A Link to the Past, originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991, and an original multiplayer-only game titled Four Swords, which serves as the 9th installment in The Legend of Zelda series.

This is a list of video game accessories that have been released for the Game Boy handheld console and its successors. Accessories add functionality that the console would otherwise not have.

<i>Advance Wars: Days of Ruin</i> 2008 video game

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, released as Advance Wars: Dark Conflict in Europe and Australia, is a turn-based strategy video game for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the fourth installment in the Advance Wars series after Advance Wars: Dual Strike and was released in 2008 for North America on January 21; in Europe on January 25; and in Australia on February 21. A Japanese release was planned under the title of Famicom Wars DS: Lost Light, but was canceled after a series of delays. It finally became available in Japan through Club Nintendo in October 2013 as a downloadable platinum status reward for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

<i>Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon</i> 2008 tactical role-playing game published by Nintendo

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the eleventh installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the Famicom title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first entry in the series. It released in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and 2009 in North America and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo video game consoles</span>

The Japanese multinational consumer electronics company Nintendo has developed seven home video game consoles and multiple portable consoles for use with external media, as well as dedicated consoles and other hardware for their consoles. As of September 30, 2021, in addition to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo has sold over 863.07 million hardware units.

References

  1. Bramwell, Tom (20 January 2002). "Advance Wars Review - Page 1 // GBA /// Eurogamer - Games Reviews, News and More". www.eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on June 14, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2008.
  2. Gach, Ethan (March 9, 2023). "Nintendo Indefinitely Delays War Game Over Invasion Of Ukraine [Update: And Stops Shipments To Russia]". Kotaku . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising Review for Game Boy Advance". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  4. "Famicom Wars". NinDB. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  5. 1 2 "Game Boy Wars". NinDB. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  6. "Super Famicom Wars". NinDB. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  7. "Gamespot — Advance Wars: Dual Strike Review Page 2". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 22, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  8. "IGN: Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising Review". IGN. 20 June 2003. Archived from the original on 22 March 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
  9. "Advance Wars: Days of Ruin First Look - DS News at GameSpot". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 21, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  10. "GameSpot — Advance Wars DS First Look". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  11. "Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Preview Feature #3: Battling Around the World". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2009.
  12. "Battalion Wars 2 Review - IGN". IGN. October 31, 2007. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  13. "Nintendo Space World 99 Official Guide Book". Internet Archive. Retrieved 3 August 2023.