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Advance Wars Cheats & Secrets for Game Boy Advance

Advance Wars key art

Advance Wars Cheats & Secrets for Game Boy Advance

The seventh game in Nintendo’s long-running Wars franchise but the first to receive a localization to North America, Advance Wars is a beloved strategy and tactics title on the Game Boy Advance. Originally releasing in September 2001 as a semi-launch title for the Game Boy Advance, Advance Wars would see the series reaching the height of its popularity despite the game not releasing in its native Japan until many years later. The success and crossover appeal of Advance Wars would help Nintendo make the decision to begin bringing the Fire Emblem games to the West, making it a hugely influential game in bringing lesser-known Nintendo franchises into the mainstream.

Advance Wars would begin development in late 1999 under the working title Game Boy Advance Wars. The title is actually one of two games in the Wars series to be released in 2001, with the other being the third Game Boy Color-era entry in the franchise, Game Boy Wars 3. Due to the widespread adoption of the Game Boy Color in Japan and the relative newness of the Game Boy Advance, the release of Advance Wars in Japan would receive a delay to not cannibalize sales of Game Boy Wars 3. The game would also have the unfortunate timing of releasing in North America on September 10, 2001, with the September 11th terrorist attacks affecting the game’s post-release promotion.

In addition to considerable commercial success, Advance Wars is also one of the highest-reviewed GBA games of all time. The title currently holds an impressive 92% positive review aggregate score and is considered one of the best handheld turn-based tactics games of all time. Advance Wars would receive a full-blown remake in 2021, with its actual release delayed until 2023 due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Advance Wars Premise

Advance Wars gameplay

The gameplay in Advance Wars will be familiar to anyone who is a fan of turn-based tactics games. Players control a commanding officer (CO) who issues orders over a battlefield consisting of both units and properties. Properties help to generate war funds for players, which players can then spend on units and defenses. Each mission has different victory conditions, with some requiring players to wipe out all enemies or specific targets and others requiring players to capture a strategic location or the enemy’s headquarters. Each CO that players can control has specific abilities that impact gameplay, such as more rounds per unit, greater firing range, or more incoming funds from bases.

There are 18 different unit types for players to choose from in Advance Wars‘ battles, each of which has specific abilities that have strengths and weaknesses against other units. Similar to both Fire Emblem and Pokemon, players must strategize and use the right units for the right situation, countering the enemy’s defenses with a viable offense that exploits enemy weaknesses like a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Each unit type has different amounts of available hit points, ammunition, and mobility, making routinely switching up tactics to fit the situation a wise move.

The game’s battles play out from an overhead, zoomed-out perspective to grant visibility of the entire field. When two opposing units encounter one another, the action zooms in up close and players get to watch the action unfold using more detailed 2D sprites and fluid animations. Players must consider variables such as terrain and weather, with all units receiving various buffs or debuffs depending on the battlefield conditions and topography. In addition to a compelling single-player Campaign mode with a storyline and characters, players can also engage in multiplayer battles using the GBA Link Cable.

Advance Wars Main Characters

Advance Wars character artwork

The story of Advance Wars introduces players to two opposing forces — the Orange Star and Blue Moon armies. When the CO of the Blue Moon army, Olaf, commands an invasion of Orange Star territory, Orange Star is forced to mobilize and repel the invasion. This is just the first step in Orange Star’s story of repelling enemy threats and conquering neighboring enemy forces, with players meeting several other armies and their enigmatic commanding officers along the way. At the front of it all is the player’s starting CO, Andy, a young and inexperienced commander who earns his stripes through trial by fire. The main characters in Advanced Wars include:

  • Andy: A new CO within the Orange Star army and the player’s starting character. What Andy lacks in experience he makes up for in ingenuity and tactical ability.
  • Max: Another Orange Star CO that players get to control, Max is one of the strongest commanders in the game. His direct attack units deal more damage than any other CO.
  • Sami: The third Orange Star army CO that players control, Sami is a confident commander who players first meet in Mission 8 of the Campaign.
  • Nell: Nell is the leader of the Orange Star army and routinely gives the player strategic and tactical advice regarding Advanced Wars‘ battle systems and mechanics.
  • Eagle: Eagle is the CO of the Green Earth army and Andy’s rival. He is the game’s recurring antagonist until the reveal of Sturm as Advanced Wars‘ true villain.
  • Sturm: The commander of the Black Hole Army and the primary antagonist of Advanced Wars. He is the main enemy players will face off against in the game’s final missions.

Games in the Advance Wars Series

The Wars series dates back to 1988, making its debut on the Famicom with the aptly named Famicom Wars. Though the series has always been a bit of a hit in its native Japan, the franchise wouldn’t crossover to the West until 2001 with the release of Advance Wars on the GBA. Since then, the series has carved out a niche with fans of turn-based tactics, differentiating itself from Nintendo’s other strategy and tactics hybrid (Fire Emblem) with its modern, militaristic setting. Games in the Wars series include:

  • Famicom Wars (Famicom, 1988)
  • Game Boy Wars (Game Boy, 1991)
  • Game Boy Wars Turbo (1997)
  • Super Famicom Wars (1998)
  • Game Boy Wars 2 (Game Boy Color, 1998)
  • Game Boy Wars 3 (Game Boy Color, 2001)
  • Advance Wars (Game Boy Advance, 2001)
  • Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (Game Boy Advance, 2003)
  • Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Nintendo DS, 2005)
  • Battalion Wars (GameCube, 2005)
  • Battalion Wars 2 (Wii, 2007)
  • Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS, 2008)
  • Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (Nintendo Switch, 2023)

Advance Wars Cheats & Secrets

Nintendo’s Advance Wars has a plethora of secret unlockables for players to discover as well as several Action Replay or Game Shark cheats. While the game doesn’t support any official cheat codes, per se, there are several hidden bonuses that players can uncover by completing certain objectives during gameplay.

Advance Wars Unlockables

Players can unlock various bonus missions and additional Commanding Officers (COs) by completing any of the following prerequisites:

Unlockable Bonuses/Extra Modes

UnlockableHow to Unlock
Advanced CampaignPlayers will unlock the ability to purchase and play in the Advanced Campaign after beating the standard campaign. To begin missions in Advanced Mode, hold Select while entering the Campaign Mode
Additional ModesComplete the final Field Training mission to unlock War Room, Campaign, Design Map, and Stats modes from the main menu
Special IntelClearing all Field Training missions will unlock a secret final mission, “Special Intel”
Olaf’s Sea Strike MissionUse Andy on Mission 4 and defeat all enemy units in Mission 6
Rivals MissionUse Sami for Captain Drake, Naval Clash, Wings of Victory, and Battle Mystery missions
Sonja’s Secret BattlesClear the “Kanbei Arrives!” mission in 8 turns or less, “Mighty Kanbei” in 10 turns or less, and “Kanbei’s Error?” in 12 turns or less

Unlockable COs

COHow to Unlock
DrakeComplete the following missions as Andy: Captain Drake, Naval Clash, Wings of Victory, Battle Mystery
EagleComplete the following missions as Sami: Captain Drake, Naval Clash, Wings of Victory, Battle Mystery. You will then complete a bonus final mission between Andy and Eagle
GritComplete Mission 4 using Max and then clear the Campaign. Grit will appear in the Battle Maps menu for purchase (50 Coins)
KanbeiClear the Campaign. Kanbei will appear in the Battle Maps menu for purchase (50 Coins)
NellCollect all other COs and clear the Advanced Campaign. Nell will appear in the Battle Maps menu for purchase (80 Coins)
OlafClear the Campaign
SonjaComplete Sonja’s Secret Missions and then clear the Campaign. Sonja will appear in the Battle Maps menu for purchase (60 Coins)
SturmPurchase all other COs except Nell. Sturm will appear in the Battle Maps menu for purchase (100 Coins)
Other COs in MultiplayerPlayers can use any previously unlocked CO in multiplayer after purchasing them from the Battle Maps menu

Advance Wars Secrets

Quick Reset

At any point during gameplay, press Start + Select + B + A to reset the game. This is helpful when a mission isn’t going as planned and you need to restart.

Data Clear

Hold L + Right + Select when turning on the Game Boy Advance with Advance Wars inside to clear all saved data.

Skip Field Training

Players can breeze through the Field Training requirement without needing to complete every mission. Instead, simply complete the last mission to advance into the campaign. Players can always come back to the Field Training later to brush up on skills or complete all the missions.

Nintendo Design Map

If players hold down L + R while opening the Design Map mode, the game will load a special map that spells out “Nintendo” in Japanese using forests and mountains.

Easy Final Battle Against Sturm

During the final mission against Sturm, allow him to capture the Airport north of the Orange Star base. Additionally, make sure you have Missile defenses in range of the Airport. Sturm will spend 22,000 of his war funds each turn to build a bomber, which you can easily destroy while it’s under construction. With all of his funds tied up on making the bomber, the rest of the army will be much weaker, making for an easy win.

Advance Wars Glitches

There is only one known glitch in the Game Boy Advance version of Advance Wars, but utilizing it can give players a distinct advantage.

Field Training/Map Editing Glitch

Using the Field Training glitch, players can edit Campaign and War Room maps to their liking. These changes only apply during the in-game battles and don’t save to the cartridge, meaning players can easily go back to the default campaign maps. To use the Field Training glitch, complete the following steps:

  • Enter the Field Training mode and select the Naval Forces mission
  • Let Olaf destroy the T-Copter or Lander, losing the mission
  • Go to Design Map mode, deploy an Orange Star unit, and destroy it
  • This should cause the screen to glitch, indicating that it worked
  • Go into a saved Campaign or War Room map and edit it. Save the changes using the in-game save function and not the Design Map save
  • You can return to normal maps by turning the GBA off and on again

Advance Wars Action Replay Cheat Codes

Like many other Game Boy Advance games, Advance Wars has several Action Replay and Game Shark cheats players can use as long as they have those devices. Alternatively, players using an emulator can go into the emulator’s “Cheat” menu and enter any of the following codes:

CheatCode
Master Code (Must Be On)0897d144
9c082ac2
4701cddf
7b337b49
All Maps5ff71cdc
20545fe0
1a15ac73
4e35fb5c
All Charactersab4dda76
53c47080
Advanced Campaignbc69e602
e008a1b6
Infinite Coins0999a356
01c7aa99
Infinite Funds0e41c84b
8a4006be
Enemy Has No Funds87c7b55d
a4cc0ac3
Max Incoming Funds1c0a7c46
f7b55df9
Enemy Has No Incoming Fundse174001d
7f06ab3a
Sturm No Funds26b069be
698d3373
Sturm No Incoming Funds84b390e3
a54ff128
Instant Win5aa3cf8b
ea2f80fd
Always S Rankbdbbec98
a51f1d5f

Advance Wars Cheat FAQs

How do you skip Field Training in Advance Wars?
Players can use a simple trick to skip through the Field Training tutorial and get straight to the action. By skipping ahead to the final mission in the Field Training mission list and completing it, players will earn access to the Campaign and other modes. You can always come back and complete the other Field Training missions later.

How to unlock Drake in Advance Wars?
To unlock Drake, players need to complete 4 specific missions as Andy. These missions are Captain Drake, Naval Clash, Wings of Victory, and Battle Mystery.

How to unlock Eagle in Advance Wars?
To unlock Eagle as a playable CO, players will need to complete the same 4 special missions above as Sami. Again, these are the Captain Drake, Naval Clash, Wings of Victory, and Battle Mystery missions. After, players will complete a bonus battle between Andy and Eagle.

How long to beat Advance Wars?
Most playthroughs of Advance Wars take, on average, about 15 hours. However, those hoping to clear both normal and Advanced Campaign modes and collect all extras can expect to spend about 32 hours.

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