Advance Wars is easily one of the most celebrated tactics games ever made. Featuring a colorful art style, compellingly tactical gameplay, and a plethora of game modes—including making your own maps—it is easy to sink thousands of hours into Advance Wars without it growing stale. However, while Advance Wars is among the best tactics games, there are plenty of other phenomenal tactical experiences out there just waiting to be played.

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While these titles aren't all necessarily able to deliver the wholistic Advance Wars experience, there are enough points of contact with Advance Wars that fans will be able to find some games that scratch that Advance Wars itch. By way of tone, style, mechanics, or simply just the feel, these games offer up enough attributes that resemble Advance Wars to justify giving them a go. Fortunately, there are all kinds of alternatives for you to try; ranging from grand indies to Western gunfights. Suffice to say, these tactics games run the gamut from the traditional to the downright fantastical.

Updated April 9, 2023, by James Kennedy: With the rapidly approaching release of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, fans are champing at the bit to get their hands on that sweet, sweet Advance Wars goodness. So then, why not try out a few games that bare some strong similarities to these tactical masterpieces? We've updated this list with two, somewhat surprising omissions. One title launched alongside the first game in the series, another was made by the same developers, and another that released fairly recently. Needless to say, we've got some great picks to add!

9 Kaiju Wars

Kaiju Wars is a recent release that takes a lot of notes from Into The Breach (spoiler alert, that one makes this list further down the line as well). Similarly, it features combat where you have to manage a whole host of army units to defend against the titular Kaiju. Where Kaiju Wars differentiates itself is in how powerful these Kaiju are. Typically, combat will only be against one of these horrifying monstrosities.

Like Advance Wars, you are able to deploy units mid-battle. And like Advance Wars, your units need to be deployed thoughtfully. Taking advantage of your individual units is paramount to pushing the Kaiju back. A substantial difference here is that you aren't looking to wipe out an opposing army so much as you are looking to discourage your giant opponents. Advance Wars is a thoughtful, puzzle-like strategy game, and Kaiju Wars carries forward a lot of those same ideas but then recontextualizes the primary gameplay loop in a really satisfying way.

8 Fire Emblem Engage

There are obviously a number of differences between the more strategy-focused Advance Wars titles, and the more RPG-centric Fire Emblem games, however, these are still strategy games that were both developed by Intelligent Designs. Outside of sharing the game genre, the most obvious similarity between the two series is how focused on counter-units these titles are. Both series place a heavy emphasis on utilizing team composition to attack opposite unit types. Fire Emblem adds leveling, and the units themselves are the key players, and you aren't taking bases or building units, so there are some pretty notable differences, but that style of counter-heavy gameplay will feel very familiar to Advance Wars fans.

And if you are going to recommend a Fire Emblem game for Advance Wars fans to play, then the combat-focused Engage is the perfect pick. That's right, Fire Emblem Engage very obviously places a much greater emphasis on gameplay. And thankfully, that gameplay is extremely tight. And if you want an even more Advance Wars-esque experience, the Fell Xenologue campaign features set units that have a predetermined class. There is certainly a lot to love here, especially for long-time Advance Wars fans.

7 Military Madness

Military Madness was first released in 1989 on the Turbografx-16 (or PC-Engine, in Japan); notably, this title was a contemporary to Famicom Wars which is the first title the in the Advance Wars series. Unsurprisingly, there are a lot of parallels here. Between unit dynamics, to the base capturing, Military Madness has a lot of that Advance Wars goodness. However, unlike Advance Wars, you can't create new units. However, factories can repair units, and you can take units that are stored in your enemy's factories if you capture them.

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But what really helps Military Madness stand out is the increased emphasis on unit support. Unlike in Advance Wars, your units are given stat boosts when they are supported by nearby troops. Pincer attacks are a core component of combat here. This makes unit coordination more important than ever here. While the original Military Madness is locked to an ancient console, there is a remake that was released for the 360 a decade ago, and it is still playable on modern Xbox consoles. Backwards compatibility wins again!

6 Grand Guilds

Grand Guilds isn’t quite the same as Advance Wars, but it does feature a lot of what made those games great. It follows the adventures of a band of heroes across distinct and unique locations throughout an original and compelling narrative. The primary hook here is that it blends tactical turn-based gameplay with deck-building mechanics to offer a fresh take on the genre.

While Grand Guilds is a little unpolished, it offers such a unique experience that fans of the Advance Wars series will almost certainly find something of value.

5 Lost Frontier

Lost Frontier combines the Advance Wars formula, classic Western movies, and a sprinkling of steampunk to create a compelling—and challenging—tactical experience. While originally a mobile exclusive, Lost Frontier has since made its way to Steam where it, unfortunately, remains a somewhat hidden gem.

Lost Frontier's colorful art style, mixed with its intricate gameplay, make for a genuinely engrossing experience. It also helps that its setting—filled with cowboys, helicopters, and blimps—is not only rather original, but also delightful. While it doesn’t feature all the mechanics traditionally present in an Advance Wars title, the similarities are strong enough that longtime fans should give it a gander.

4 Tiny Metal

Tiny Metal is about as Advance Wars as you can get without infringing on copyright, and frankly, that’s a wonderful thing. Considering how few clones there are of Advance Wars on consoles, Tiny Metal effectively fills a void. The main difference between Tiny Metal and Advance Wars is their visual style, with the former sporting a 3D aesthetic.

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However, while the Tiny Metal games clearly wear their inspirations on their sleeves, there are some important differences. Most notably, the game’s narrative is complete distinct, as it centers around a cast of colorful characters. There are also some key gameplay differences. This includes the ability to push other units, which allows for some fascinating ways to coordinate attacks. If you’re looking for something that follows the Advance Wars formula closesly, but does its own thing with it, then you’ll definitely want to play Tiny Metal.

3 The Banner Saga

If you enjoyed the tactical gameplay of Advance Wars but wanted something with more of a narrative focus, then you need to check out The Banner Saga Trilogy. Featuring some of the best artwork in a video game, The Banner Saga sees its cast of nuanced characters embark on a perilous journey full of difficult decisions, challenging combat, laughs, tears, and plenty of death.

Its fantasy world is so brilliantly realized that you’ll likely find yourself immersed from the outset. It easily has a great soundtrack which perfectly complement its stunning world, well-written dialogue, and fulfilling combat. While not exactly like Advance Wars, The Banner Saga offers up similarly engaging tactical gameplay, and tops it off with an enthralling narrative.

2 Into The Breach

From the creators of the beloved FTL comes Into the Breach. Featuring a wealth of creative mechanics that incorporate both the units you control, and the perilous environment you battle in,Into the Breach offers up a battle engine that feels Advance Wars-esque while providing its own unique flavor.

Throughout its relatively lengthy campaign, Into the Breach serves up a series of beautifully designed locations and a horde of challenging Kaiju for you to beat. Each level feels like its own puzzle, requiring a forward-thinking approach, very similar to the one required for effect Advance War play. You can push enemies into rivers, lure them into traps, or utilize environmental hazards to defeat them all at once. There is a lot on offer here in terms of tactical gameplay, and it makes for a worthy alternative to the Advance Wars games.

1 Wargroove

Not unlike Tiny Metal, Wargroove takes a lot of what makes Advance Wars games so great and adds its own twists in the process. What makes Wargroove so special is that its tweaks and changes go above and beyond, creating a title that feels both extremely familair to Advance Wars fans, while simultaniously containing a number of innovations.

There are so many great changes featured in Wargroove, including the addition of commanders fighting on the field, unique unit types, and heavy emphasis on unit-type interplay. Additionally, shifting the setting to a fantasy world allows special abilities to be contextualized and offers a fresh and unique spin on the traditional narrative told in the Advance Wars games.

The story in Wargroove is far more personal, following the adventures of a specific character and her band of followers, which allows for a deeper connection to irs cast of characters. However, regardless of whether you appreciate the changes made, Wargroove still sticks close enough to the Advance Wars formula that fans will almost certainly find something to love here.

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