| Advance Wars | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Information | |
Type(s) |
Series |
| Turn-based Strategy | |
| Nintendo DS | |
The Nintendo Wars series (also known as the Wars series, Advance Wars series or Famicom Wars series) was created by Intelligent Systems, the minds behind the Fire Emblem series. It is also a turn-based strategy game, focusing on building your military and going to war. Unlike Fire Emblem, your units are all faceless soldiers, who are easily replaced if you have enough money to build new units at a factory.
The characters are your Commanding Officers, or COs. They act as your avatar as they give orders to troops as tacticians, even though they carry a gun or a bazooka around as if they're about to go into the fight themselves. COs have several special "CO Powers" that will let them gain a specific bonus for one turn. This bonus is different for each character, and you can only use the power if you get hit enough/destroy enough enemies to fill up your CO Power bar.
Gameplay[ | ]
The typical gameplay in the Wars series features your HQ and your soldiers on a grid map. Your units can vary from Infantry to more powerful armoured vehicles, though the better units will cost more to build at your factories. Your infantry & mechanized troops can capture cities, factories, airports and seaports. The more you have, the more funds will be sent to you each turn. Terrain will affect your units heavily. Tanks can't drive over mountains, and Infantry will have their movement cut by them, though they are well protected in them. Aircraft aren't affected by terrain but can't hide in forests & reefs during Fog of War. The first person to capture the enemy HQ (or accomplish some other objective if it's in the campaign mode) wins.
Games[ | ]
The games originally began with Famicom Wars, but since the first game to come outside of Japan was Advance Wars for the Game Boy Advance. Its name would remain for most of the series. Originally, the games would be named after the system they were on (hence Advance Wars being on the Game Boy Advance). This tradition was broken with the naming of the Nintendo GameCube title Battalion Wars and the Nintendo DS game Advance Wars: Dual Strike, instead of "GameCube Wars" and "DS Wars" respectively.