Wars (series)


The Wars series, also known as and, is a series of military turn-based tactics video games, usually developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. The series debuted in Japan in August 1988. Like another Intelligent Systems series, Fire Emblem, earlier installments of the series were released only in Japan; Advance Wars was 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. Although released in Europe in January 2002, neither GBA 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 and for the Wii U Virtual Console on April 3, 2014.
In 2005, was released on the Nintendo DS platform, which follows the basic form 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.

Gameplay

The player takes the role of a Commanding Officer in an army, usually of a country called Red Star. In the most recent title,, it is replaced by a nation called Rubinelle. 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, a 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.
The original Famicom Wars game consists of two armies, Red Star 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. 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. 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.
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, and Dual Strike introduced. Conditions such as fog of war, rain, and snow affect the abilities of units to reveal the map and move around. Days of Ruin removed many of the features added to previous Advance Wars games, greatly weakening CO Powers and reintroducing a unit level system.

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. 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.
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.

Games

Game TitleDeveloperPublisherSystemReleaseNotes
Famicom WarsIntelligent Systems, Nintendo R&D1NintendoFamily Computer1988First game in the series.
Only released in Japan.
Game Boy WarsIntelligent Systems, Nintendo R&D1NintendoGame Boy1991Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars TurboHudson SoftHudson SoftGame Boy1997Enhanced version of Game Boy Wars with better AI, more maps, and Super Game Boy support.
Only released in Japan.
Super Famicom WarsIntelligent SystemsNintendoSuper Famicom Satellaview, Nintendo Power1998Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars 2Hudson SoftHudson SoftGame Boy Color1998Playable with Game Boy or Game Boy Color.
Only released in Japan.
Game Boy Wars 3Hudson SoftHudson SoftGame Boy Color2001Exclusively for Game Boy Color.
Only released in Japan.
Advance WarsIntelligent SystemsNintendoGame Boy Advance2001Originally 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.
First game of the series to feature a story mode.
'Intelligent SystemsNintendoGame Boy Advance2003Released individually in North America and PAL region.
Released in Japan only as the compilation Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2, along with Advance Wars.
'Intelligent SystemsNintendoNintendo DS2005
Battalion WarsKuju EntertainmentNintendoNintendo GameCube2005Originally 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 2Kuju EntertainmentNintendoWii2007
Intelligent SystemsNintendoNintendo DS2008Originally 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.