Advance Wars

A turn-based strategy game that grabs you by the collar and won't let go until you finish "just one more map" — and then suddenly it's morning. That's the effect of Advance Wars, a game that proved the depth of wartime tactics could be crammed onto a pocket console without losing an ounce of its punch.

The Wars series had existed in Japan since the days of the NES, but it was Advance Wars that finally brought it to the West in 2001. In an irony of fate, it launched right after the attacks of 9/11, which conversely delayed its home Japanese release — the war theme suddenly felt sensitive, even though the game itself, with its bubbly, almost cartoonish style, is anything but grim.

The core is beautifully clean: on grid maps you command an army of units that interact on a rock-paper-scissors principle. Infantry captures buildings and generates income, tanks crush weaker targets, artillery fires from a distance, planes and ships turn the tide of battles. On top of that come commanders (CO), each with a unique ability and a special "CO Power" that can turn even a lost match around. This layer gives every map its own character and personality.

The genius of Advance Wars lies in the balance between accessibility and depth. You'll grasp the rules within the first missions, but mastery — when to build, when to attack, how to manage your money and when to unleash a CO Power — will keep you busy for dozens of hours. The addictiveness is almost dangerous.

Behind the game stands the studio Intelligent Systems, Nintendo's in-house strategist, and Advance Wars rightly became a pillar of the turn-based tactics genre on handhelds. Its clean, polished design influenced a host of other titles and to this day remains the benchmark for what a pocket strategy game should look like.

Why play it: A perfectly tuned, fiercely addictive turn-based strategy you'll grasp in minutes and refine for hours — the series' gateway to the West.