Advance Wars

Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2Game Boy Advance, Wii U2001

  1. JP2004
  2. NA2001
  3. EU2002
  4. RU—

Advance Wars kept its name in North America and Europe, but Japan only received it in 2004 inside the compilation Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2. The 2023 Switch remake Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a separate release; the original was last reissued on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.

Advance Wars is a turn-based strategy game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in North America on 10 September 2001. It is the seventh game in the Wars series and the first in the Advance Wars sub-series. Toru Narihiro directed it, Takehiro Izushi produced it and Taishi Senda composed the music.

Each army is led by a Commanding Officer with strengths and weaknesses, and Orange Star's war with Blue Moon grows into a worldwide conflict. Up to four players can join in, either passing one Game Boy Advance around or linking several systems.

After the September 11 attacks, the day after the US launch, the Japanese and European releases were put on hold. Europe got the game on 11 January 2002, while Japan received it only on 25 November 2004, in the compilation Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2. A remake, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, was released for Nintendo Switch on 21 April 2023 outside Japan.12

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
NA Advance Wars Game Boy Advance Sep 10, 2001 Nintendo 1
NA Advance WarsVirtual Console; also Europe the same day Wii U Apr 3, 2014 Nintendo 1
AU Advance Wars Game Boy Advance 2001 Nintendo 1
EU Advance WarsDelayed after the September 11 attacks Game Boy Advance Jan 11, 2002 Nintendo 1
JP Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2Compilation with Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising; the planned 12 October 2001 Japanese release was cancelled Game Boy Advance Nov 25, 2004 Nintendo 1
JP Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2Virtual Console Wii U Apr 3, 2014 Nintendo 1

Also known as: Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 JP1Game Boy Wars Advance WW1

Box art by region

  • Advance Wars box art, North America release
    NA Advance Wars
  • Advance Wars box art, Europe release
    EU Advance Wars
  • Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 box art, Japan release
    JP Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Version differences

  • ContentGBA (JP)

    Japan only got the game in 2004 as Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2, which puts Advance Wars and Advance Wars 2 on one cartridge with its own game selection screen.3

  • ContentGBA (JP)GBA (EU)

    The Japanese and European releases were put on hold after the September 11 attacks, which came the day after the US launch. The planned Japanese date of 12 October 2001 had also been cancelled to avoid competing with Game Boy Wars 3 on Game Boy Color.1

Reception

Advance Wars holds a Metacritic score of 92/100; IGN gave it 9.9/10, and Edge scored it 9/10 in 2001 and 10/10 in 2013.1

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2en.wikipedia.org
  3. 3tcrf.net

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

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