Advance Wars
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.
Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.
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- Released
- 2001
- Developer
- Intelligent Systems
- Platforms
- 1 systems
- Critics
- Not scored
- Steam Deck
- Unknown
- Download
- Not stated
The record
| First released | 1 January 2001 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Platforms | Nintendo Wii U |
| Genres | turn-based tactics |
Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q953229, seeded 30 August 2026.
How long is Advance Wars? How long to beat it
Total play time for Advance Wars is about 33.8 hours to do everything, and around 15.7 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.
| How you play | Hours | Players logged |
|---|---|---|
| Just the main story: straight through the critical path | 15.7h | 168 |
| Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do | 21.2h | 55 |
| Completionist: everything: 100% the game | 33.8h | 9 |
Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.
Where Advance Wars sits on the grid
The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Advance Wars lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.
- Year
- 61ahead of 15% of the catalogue
- Reach
- 34ahead of 75% of the catalogue
Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.
What readers say about Advance Wars
Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.
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Common questions about Advance Wars
What platforms is Advance Wars on?
Advance Wars is available on Nintendo Wii U. It first released in 2001.
Who made Advance Wars?
Advance Wars was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo.
How long does it take to beat Advance Wars?
about 15.7 hours for the main story, 21.2 hours with the main extras, 33.8 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.