User Reviews (1 - 11 of 198)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Pure fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Who'd have thought it- a fun, well-designed strategy game... For the GBA! Admittedly, it has a sugar-coating to attract kids and lull parents, but the actual mechanics of this game are very solid and enjoyable. The units (heavy and light infantry, armor, artillery, aircraft, etc) are simple and straightforward, and seem to be effectively identical no matter whose side they're on. The "side" advantages are conferred by the respective commanders, who have slightly cheesy bonuses or "powers" which add a little variety. All of the important basics are handled; supply, terrain, reinforcement, transport... Everything you'd expect from a simple-yet-fun strategy game is here, and it's pocket-sized to boot.

one of if not the greatest handheld games yet

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: March 04, 2007
Author: Amazon User

a true clasic. its one of those games where you have to be good at staregy. its hard enough to scream and cry if you lose and do a dance if you win (even if your in airplane packed with peaple.) its storyline is one of the best ever. good enogh to make a movie about. you can go back and playit for years and when word goes out of a sequel get it reseverd a year before it done.overall it a great game.

The one that started it all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

My first Advance Wars game was the second game (Black Hole Rising). It was my first strategy game. So I got into Fire Emblem and Rebel Star Tactical Command, and the DS Advance Wars: Dual Strike. After playing all of these games, I started looking for the first Advance Wars game. I lucked out one day and found a used copy in a Gamestop store.
I didn't know what was going on at first. I was fighting Olaf and Grit, and other characters that you play and fight with on your team in the other AW instalments. I finished it and found the answer I was looking for.
The replay value is very high. You collect coins at the end of a battle and can use them to buy maps, map cases (don't know what those are for yet), and CO's like grit and Drake once you've cleared the game's campaign mode.
If you want to play a friend you can share the system and pass it when your turn is done. Nice for those who don't have another system, game, and link.
I think this was the easiest out of the three AW games. This isn't a huge problem though. You can always try to get higher rankings on levels in the campaign and war room.
All in all this is a great game that will work your mind and your thumbs for many hours.

A must-have GBA title

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is essential GBA. Some of the character art for Nell and the others is not the same in the sequel versions (AW:2, AW:DS), so be sure to play the first installment.

Best turn-based strategy I've ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: December 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

You take on the role of a Commanding Officer (CO) in a cartoony world at perpetual war with itself. Easy to get into, and deceptively deep. Advance Wars is strategy at its best. What makes it so special? First, the graphics are great. The animations are instant gratification when a well-timed attack turns the tide of battle, help you visualize battle results in several ways so you know exactly how your units are doing. Second, the options for multiplayer are excellent. Because the game is turn based, 4 players can play together even on only one system. Grab a friend, and enjoy the anticipation of having the system handed back to you and seeing your opponent smirk as you stumble into their trap (playing on seperate systems can be done, but isn't nearly as fun).

The most important facet of this game is depth. Fog of War (where parts of the map your units can't see are blacked out) makes for intensity- you're always trying to calculate what forest or hilltop might contain enemy units waiting for you. The basics of troop movements give way to incredible strategy (delay the enemy tank by sacrifing your troops, or retreat and lure the tank into range of your artillery?). Each CO is completely unique (Max has stronger tanks, but weaker artillery. Sami has tougher troops, but weaker vehicles) and thier individual powers add an extra level of depth to the process.

Advance Wars is an amazing game for singleplayer action. Add in a full-featured map creator, a ton of unlockable COs, and the wealth of options, and this is one of the best multiplayer games on the GameBoy. A must-have.

War Chess

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: August 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is basically chess, with more units, you can move all of your units per turn, and you can create units. It is challenging, but it is very fun. Not to mention its a gameboy game, so you can play it anywhere :)

Another Review To The Other 190 Out Of 229!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 8
Date: August 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Like the REAL people out there said: awesome, thrilling, attractive, exiciting, strategic, "A two thumbs up!", "A never put down until your through!!!", "THE BEST!".

Bum, dum, dum, bum (drum beating for background music). "The best high firepower strategy game yet!!". ADVANCE WARS. Now being bought...SO BUY IT!!!!!

PS: And what boy would not think Sami is sexy?!?

A Great Turn Based Strategy Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Advanced Wars is everything you could ask for in a strategy game. If you're like me and you love turn based strategy then look no further, Advance Wars is definately up to par with the host of other tactical RPGs for GBA. While it's not an rpg by any means i can't see anyone who likes Final Fantasy Tactics not falling in love with this game. I love turn based strategy and Advance Wars is definately pretty high up on the list of must owns for the genre.

The lack of an RPG element (which has pretty much taken over turn based strategy games in recent years) is somewhat of a blessing. Don't get me wrong i enjoy building up characters but it's definatly a nice change of pace to be able to just jump in and start playing without worrying about much else.

It's also worth mentioning that Advance Wars is fairly difficult. The extensive tutorial while somewhat annoying in its length is probably necessary for the vast majority of gamers. There are quite a few battles where one mistake will easily put you out of commission.

Advance Wars definely deserves 5 Stars

Frickin' Addicting!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Man ... I just got totally sucked into this game. It's a lot of fun. Not an action game at all ... you have to use your head. I think if you liked Pikmin for the GC, you'll like this game. And, I'll go the other way on this one then too ... if you like this game ... make sure you get Pikmin on the GameCube.

An underrated masterpiece

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of the earliest games Nintendo released for the Game Boy Advance is the often-overlooked Advance Wars. At the dawn of the system, gamers seemed more concerned with the Mario and Castlevania games released at the launch. Is this game an underrated masterpiece, or are gamers right to overlook it? Read on for my review of Advance Wars.

PROS:
-THE GAME IS EXTREMELY UNIQUE. What this game does is takes real-time strategy and fuses it with the battle engine of a strategic-style RPG. The end result is very good - and I don't like either one of those types of games!
-THERE IS TRAINING FOR THOSE NEW TO THE GAME. The learning curve can be a bit steep for a first timer, but the solution to this problem comes in the form of the game's training mode. You'll be walked through each training mission (to a point), which will set you up perfectly.
-YOU CAN LINK UP AND BATTLE A FRIEND! Not only can you and a buddy link up and battle, but you can also do a single-pak link! This means only one person needs to have a copy of the game (of course, the features will be more limited than with a multi-pak link, but this feature is awesome nonetheless.)
-TONS OF REPLAY VALUE. Even once you complete a mission, you can go back and replay it in an attempt to achieve a better rank. Combine that with all the different combat vehicles/characters and the ability to link up, and you've got a ton of replay value at hand!

CONS:
-THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THE GAME IS HORRIBLY IMBALANCED. You'll find yourself at times in extremely easy combat missions, but before you know it you'll be thrown into extremely difficult ones. The varied challenge level may appeal to some gamers, but if you're new to this kind of thing, it may turn you off.
-THE GAME ISN'T FOR EVERYBODY. Let's face the facts, a good majority of gamers want straight-up action games, not these turn-based ones.
-THE GRAPHICS, BOTH IN THE GAME AND ON THE BOX, ARE MISLEADINGLY CUTE! As good as this game may be, the graphics can ultimately end up attracting the game to the wrong crowd, and lead to it being rejected by the gamers who will enjoy it most.

OVERALL:
Advance Wars is an underrated portable gaming masterpiece. This, my friends, is one of those games that you have to play to be able to fully appreciate. Don't overlook it like so many other gamers have - you'll only be hurting yourself!

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions