History VideoGame / NintendoWars

** Hard Campaign missions in the second game are worth double points, making it the way to go if you want to buy everything from Battle Maps.

** Downplayed in ''Re-Boot Camp'', with Classic difficulty having a small multiplier for its coin rewards that Casual difficulty lacks.

** The factory missions that punctuate each country's liberation in ''Black Hole Rising'' explicitly cheat normal resource rules by producing up to 3 any unit regardless of the enemy's funds. To prevent the player from fighting their way to the factory gates and just blocking all 3 deployment spots with their own units, Black Hole also starts with several bases and properties that do obey the normal resource rules.

* NotHisSled: While most maps were kept faithful in ''Re-Boot Camp'', "Boarder Skirmish" in the second game is the one exception: it now has FogOfWar on all difficulties instead of just the hardest, and they added an extra enemy on your side of the river to act as a tutorial. Players familiar with the original who skip the tutorial may be in for a nasty surprise...
* NotPlayingFairWithResources: The gimmick of Billy Gates in Super Famicom Wars, he gets 10000 extra money each turn..

** Sturm, who levels forests instead of walking through them.

* MemeAcknowledgement: The Advance Wars Reboot Camp trailer for the February 2022 Direct shows us a shot of Andy's (in)famous "What's an airport, again?" quote.

* AIBreaker: An exploit was discovered during ''Two Week Test'' from the second Advance Wars game. You're Colin (who has weaker units at a cheaper price), who has to deal with Lash's overwhelming forces. In all missions, you lose if your HQ is captured or you lose all your units. In this mission, you start with none (just like most Versus games). The exploit comes in ''not'' deploying anything for the whole mission, and letting Lash move in a non-infantry unit onto the HQ, thus blockading it from her footsoldiers. As a result, she'll leave you with a free win. This has been rectified in ''Re-Boot Camp'' in that Colin starts off with two Artillery units, enabling a loss via routing.

* LightningBruiser: Sturm, who levels forests instead of walking through them. For units, there are Neotanks and Bombers.

* MutualInvulnerability: Units such as Cruisers and Bombers, unit types that cannot attack units of their own general class, suffer from this trope. It's especially notable with Cruisers, as there's no real direct-attack counter against them; Battleships are indirect attackers, Cruisers are made to have an advantage against Submarines and aircraft, and if Cruisers seldom get close enough to a shoreline for ground units to attack them. Starting with ''Dual Strike'' Cruisers are able to attack other vessels including other Cruisers...albeit poorly.

* NotPlayingFairWithResources: The gimmick of Billy Gates in Super Famicom Wars, he gets 10000 extra money each turn.
* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: ''Days of Ruin'' ''starts'' with raiders deliberately attacking unarmed civilians and later includes executing surrendered enemies by antagonists [[spoiler: and even one protagonist]]. The very idea of war crimes is discussed at several points, with evil characters claiming that there are no laws in the post-apocalyptic world, and other characters [[ShutUpHannibal refuting them]].

** Of particular note is the Missile unit from the Nintendo/Advance series, which is not only ludicrously specialized but also ''almost completely useless'' at what it does. [[note]]Missiles are an anti-air indirect unit whose range is shorter than the movement of every air unit save the T Copter, which can still dodge in under their ArbitraryWeaponRange. B Copters can swoop in and nail them with no trouble, while Bombers and Fighters can practically dance around them. To serve their intended role, they require bait and usually must work in pairs, while an equivalent cost of Anti-Airs would be vastly more useful. Blockading airports is another viable option, as a full health Missile can take out any air units thart gets deployed. Their range boost in ''Days of Ruin'' served to take them from "worthless" to "ludicrously situational".[[/note]]

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: InUniverse, the ''Advance Wars 1'' story mentions that Orange Star has no choice but to tresspass on Yellow Comet territory on their way to get answers from Green Earth. [[https://i.redd.it/fv0v3s0sevva1.jpg A quick look at the map]] reveals that, no, they very much do not need to.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: InUniverse, the ''Advance Wars 1'' story mentions that Orange Star has no choice but to tresspass on Yellow Comet territory on their way to get answers from Green Earth. [[https://i.redd.it/fv0v3s0sevva1.jpg A quick look at the map]] reveals that, no, they very much do not need to.]]

* JustifiedTutorial: ''Game Boy Wars 3'' to an extent.

* AchillesHeel: Oozium was designed to resist heavy-impact shock from tank and artillery shells but is very susceptible to small-caliber weapons like those used by Infantry and Mechs, as well as Anti-Air vulcans

** Among the [=COs=], there's Sturm in the first Advance Wars' campaign, and Grimm in Duel Strike, who each have all their units with 130% offensive power, but only 80% of the usual defense. Interestingly Sturm inverrts this in the first Advance Wars when played in Vs. Mode, where he becomes a StoneWall instead.

* ScissorsCutsRock: Many [=COs=]' specialities can be used to, if not turn around the RockPaperScissors triangles, then at least even them out (witness Sami and Sensei's mechs against [=AAs=]). Missions like this are also used to challenge the player: most of Max's missions against Grit in ''Advance Wars'' take this form, and from ''Advance Wars 2'' we have Sea Fortress for Eagle (the air specialist fighting through an AA-heavy defense) and Navy Vs. Air for Drake (the naval specialist fighting against a heavy air force, when air tends to beat naval normally).

* ShowsDamage: The battle animations in Super Famicom Wars have units be visually injured, such as having exploded gun turrets on ships.

** In the ''Advance Wars'' tutorial mission "Copter Tactics", you're expected to capture the enemy HQ since their army is vastly superior to your own in terms of raw firepower. However, there's unique victory dialogue if you actually manage to destroy all of the enemy's forces.

* AdaptationNameChange: In ''Re-Boot Camp'', Yellow Star is changed to Gold Star, and Drake's CO Power is changed from Tsunami to Squall.

** ''Black Hole Rising'' takes its global conflict a lot more seriously than the first game, with towns being destroyed, civilians threatened, characters put in actual danger, and villains who are surprisingly dangerous despite being LaughablyEvil. It also features some fairly somber missions like "Toy Box", "Duty and Honor" and "A Mirror Darkly", and the [=COs=] generally get more humanizing moments and have their sillier aspects dialed-back (see DumbassNoMore). Notably, the only character to still act like WarHasNeverBeenSoMuchFun is Lash, an unrepentant CardCarryingVillain. Similarly in ''Dual Strike'', the plot is much darker (although nowhere near ''Days of Ruin'''s), the music is less whimsical (even the pre-existing themes get remastered), and the animations are much more mature than even ''Black Hole Rising''.

*** '''Re-Boot Camp'' takes this to another level, with Nell getting increasingly annoyed and eventually just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere leaving]] the more you do it. Even ''more'' notably, once she peaces out, a generic Orange Star soldier takes her place for any dialogue she'd normally have (such as exiting a map without saving).

** AnIcePerson: Olaf summons a blizzard.
** MakingASplash: Drake's CO power causes a rainstorm.
** PlayingWithFire: Max and Flak's CO powers create fiery explosions.
** ShockAndAwe: Eagle and Jess use electricity to invigorate their units (lightning strikes in Eagle's case).
** BlowYouAway: A strong gust of wind blows over the battlefield as Sensei activates Airborne Assault.
** CastingAShadow: Adder's units are engulfed in a dark mist, while Hawke's Black Storm manifests as a dark energy wave that crackles with electricity as it charges.

** An interesting case, as the pairs also represent opposites. Grit and Adder are both gaunt men who rely on precision, but Grit is nice, laid-back, and he forces anyone playing as him to [[MightyGlacier take things slow]], while Adder is a SmugSnake with a [[FragileSpeedster quickly charging power bar and CO powers that allow his units to sprint across the map]]. Both Sonja and Lash are [[TeenGenius hyper-competent young women]] with terrain-based gameplay, but Sonja is polite, formal, calculating, and does things by the book (unless [[IfMyCalculationsAreCorrect her own research proves to be better]]), while Lash is a childish, selfish, erratic brat who [[SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains dresses much less conservatively than Sonja]] and has [[AnimeHair much wilder hair]]. Hawke and Eagle are both White-Haired [[{{Jerkass}} Jerks]] who [[SeriousBusiness tend to take things seriously]], but Eagle is very HotBlooded and Hawke is TheStoic. Flak and Max are the most similar pair, but Max is mostly just blunt while Flak is an idiot. Basically, Max prefers not to think too deeply, while Flak outright can't.
*** That last bit is called attention to in ''Black Hole Rising''; Flak mentions that Max strongly reminds him of himself, "Except... I'm me." The fact that they're so similar is implied to be the ''cause'' of their mutual hatred, as well.

** Which [=COs=] you control for the final mission in the first game is based on who you picked at certain route splits and whether or not you unlocked Sonja's bonus missions (which are themselves never hinted at). [[labelnote:Full Details]]The left CO will be Grit if you chose Max for "Max Strikes", if you chose Andy it will either be Olaf if you won "Olaf's Navy!" by rout or Max otherwise. The right CO will be Eagle if you used Sami for all the Green Earth missions (barring Air Ace! and Sami's Debut!), Kanbei if you unlocked Sonja's bonus missions and don't meet the criteria for getting Eagle, Drake if you used Andy for the Green Earth missions (again, barring the aforementioned two) and don't unlock the Sonja missions, and Sami if none of the above are unlocked.[[/labelnote]]
*** This was changed in the Re-Boot Camp remake, with the player now being able to choose which CO's support Andy in the final mission, [[spoiler:but on the other hand, Sonja's missions are now mandatory]].

** Also, Olaf in the field training mode of ''Advance Wars''. He places units in locations making them useless, leaves his HQ totally unprotected, forgets to fuel his air units, and leaves his units hanging out right in the line of fire, among other things.
*** This is especially jarring after Olaf is fleshed out more in "Black Hole Rising", where he is shown as a competent commander who leads his country to oust the Black Hole invaders, and helps save the entire world.

** Similarly, the [[MacGuffin Black Crystals]] and Black Obelisk in ''Dual Strike'' turn all of the land around them into desert.
*** If this goes on too long, you get Wasteland. The water turns green (red on the map), the trees die, the ground is dry and hard, and all the bases look abandoned when we see them in battles. Yes, all this just because [[spoiler:some old guy wants to live forever.]]

* ShipperOnDeck: Grimm, saying Rachel and Jake are lovebirds. This quote exists if you lose on the final mission of Dual Strike. See below.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Most of the factions in the ''Advance Wars'' series have more male [=COs=] than female ones.
** Although this is somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]]; real life armies don't have that many female officers, either. Also averted in ''Days of Ruin'', where exactly half of the [=COs=] are female.
*** The female [=COs=] also tend to be CloserToEarth (with the exception of the female villains). And Orange Star's commander-in-chief (Nell) is female.
** Orange Star mostly averts the trope, though, with [[TwoGirlsToATeam Nell and Sami]] in the first two ''Advance Wars'' games later being joined by Rachel, bringing the total up to three. Black Hole also subverts it, with only Lash at first, but then adding Kindle later.

*** Green Earth is also EXTREMLY German in their dresscode. Long coats, Stahlhelme, and the like. Also, Jess fom Green Earth is especially good with tanks who both shoot harder and go faster, making it very easy to blitz.

*** Although in ''Dual Strike'' the timer is set for such a long time you can basically start the battle, have a shower, walk the dog, go to work, have an extended summer vacation and the timer still won't run out.
*** That's only true of the first timed mission, though. The ''second'' one, Crystal Calamity, is one of the hardest in the game (although admittedly the time limit only plays a small part in that difficulty).

** [[spoiler:And he ''[[LaserGuidedKarma deserved]]'' it.]]

** Due to another {{Woolseyism}} (see below), Jake from ''Dual Strike'' speaks in a somewhat grating '90s slang dialect, using "words" such as "sup?" and "dude" when they're not especially appropriate. His Japanese counterpart, John, is extremely serious and uses his headphones for military communications.

* WeHaveReserves: '''Rachel''': [[http://inyuo.deviantart.com/#/d2va7rm "These troops are on loan from Blue Moon!"]] On loan? Don't they DIE? Although this is pretty much a given, see WarHasNeverBeenSoMuchFun.
** Also, ''Lightning Strikes'' in ''Dual Strike''. Two allied factions are essentially wasting lives and resources by "testing each other."
*** ''Verdant Hills'' operates under a similar premise. Javier and Jess test both the Allied Nations and their new Mega Tank.
** Admittedly, such cases could be them playing "war games" without actual casualties. Then again, the battle animation remains unchanged...

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The ''Advance Wars'' mission titles, with the exception of the Field Training missions, end with an [[ExcitedShowTitle exclamation mark]]. "Kanbei's Error?" is the [[OddNameOut sole exception of the naming theme]].

** In the ''Advance Wars'' series, Fighters also qualify somewhat, since they can only attack air units. In the first three games, they utterly tear apart any air unit except enemy fighters and stealth planes.
* AntiFrustrationFeature:

** ''Re-Boot Camp'' allows the player to use the Reset Turn option to completely rewind a turn to the start of their day during the Campaign or War Room, preventing them from potentially resetting the mission for input errors or simple mistakes. However, it only resets the ''current'' player turn, so if you figure out that you messed up after you hit End Turn (i.e., during the enemy's chance to act), it's either press on or reset. This feature is also disabled in the Challenge Campaigns (Advance Campaign in the original games) so the player cannot use the feature to [[SaveScumming Save Scum their way through the missions.]]

** Grimm. Having a whopping 130 attack is awesome, but you also have a weak 80 defense that can deplete your units quickly. You are forced to play offensively as playing defensively means you will lose in an exchange battle. It additionally makes it a lot harder for Grimm to capture contested properties, with his Infantry being crippled or outright killed so easily, while that lack of defense compared to other [=COs=] becomes even more prominent on high defense terrain like properties.

** The Drake/Olaf tag-team power (affectionately known as "Drolaf") is silly, but devastating and annoying to face, to the point of being a LethalJokeWeapon. The net result is 4HP of global damage just from powers and the enemy having half their existing fuel, with the rest about to deplete very fast (especially bad for planes and ships). Is it efficient or competitive? No. But is it ''fun''? Heck yes.

* CharacterSelectForcing: In the first GBA game, if the player selects Sami or Max and loses on the first battle against Drake, Nell will outright tell the player: "How about using Andy next time?" This makes sense since Drake's power damages units and Andy's power repairs them, but a Bonus Boss can only be unlocked if the player uses only Sami for the next few missions.