Land Units in Nintendo Wars
Nintendo Wars (Japanese: ファミコンウォーズ Famicom Wars) is a series of military turn-based strategy video games (See wargame), developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo.
Land units are built at factories, and can be repaired at factories, cities, or a player's HQ. They have fuel that is expended by travelling: when it is depleted, the unit can no longer move.
Infantry
Ground-based units will have one of three different transport methods: treads for tanks, tires for jeeps (and some long-range units as well in Super Famicom Wars and Advance Wars), and feet for infantry; that is, they walk on foot. Each of these transport methods have advantages over one another; for example, infantry units can traverse mountainous regions, while tanks and other vehicles can not; also, treads are better at traversing plains and woods than tires. Infantry and Mechanized Infantry (or Mechs) are the two types of infantry, which have been in every Nintendo Wars and Advance Wars game to date. They are the most inexpensive units, and while not especially powerful in contrast to other land units, they are essential in most battle situations. Infantry can take control of enemy cities, forts, as well as enemy headquarters; capturing an enemy HQ will achieve victory. Also, infantry are the only land units in most of the Nintendo Wars series installments with the capability to cross over mountains, which acts as sort of a handicap to tanks. The primary Infantry unit costs less than any other unit, and uses a machine gun (which could also be a submachine gun) with infinite ammo; this weapon is mostly only useful against other Infantry, but can also be fired at enemy vehicles, and even helicopters. The Mech Infantry wields a bazooka, which equals the power of the primary cannon on a small tank (seen later on in this article). The bazooka has limited ammo, and is only used against vehicles; a secondary machine gun a little more powerful than the standard infantry weapon is used against other infantry and helicopters.
The basic Infantry is practically unchanged in all NW installments.
Pre-Game Boy Wars 3
Mechs in Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo cost less, but were incapable of capturing the enemy HQ, and did not have machine guns, though they could use their Bazookas against foot soldiers. In Famicom Wars, no units had multiple weapons, so the Mechs suffered more from the low ammo amounts. In GBW1/2/Turbo, Mechs used an AA secondary weapon that could be used only on air units, and dealing fairly light damage to them at that. Mechs have low ammo amounts for both weapons they have in GBW1/2/Turbo.
Super Famicom Wars Mechs are basically the same as their Advance Wars counterparts, except that they didn't have their own Movement Type.
Game Boy Wars 3
Mechs in Game Boy Wars 3 are capable of range-fire, but only with their Anti-Tank weapon, which punishes their usefulness when they have to contend with enemy cars. Otherwise, they're little different from the Super Famicom Wars Mechs.
In Game Boy Wars 3, there is also a Mercenary Infantry unit with the name "tokushu hohei", meaning "special infantry." This infantry behaves like a commando (hence the name "Commando" for translation), as the Commando has the best Movement Type out of any land unit in GBW3, even having the ability to cross Sea terrain (though slowly). The Commando's primary weapon, however, is grenades, which may be effective against its own unit type, but will scratch little if any more than the paint on armoured vehicles, and certainly won't be denting any vessels most of the time.
Tanks
As the mainstays of any army, tanks are powerful all-around units. However, they don't have too much firepower except in any of the larger tanks' cases, which make them vulnerable against Anti-Tank weaponry.
Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo
Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo had Tanks in only 3 types, counting the last map enemy-only mercenary tank in GBW1/2/Turbo: Tank A (stronger and faster but more expensive), Tank B, and Tank Z.
Super Famicom Wars
In Super Famicom Wars, there were four types of Tanks, but they were slightly different; the main difference is the size of the medium-sized and large-sized Tanks, though the New Model Tanks could only be obtained from capturing neutral Laboratories. The Large Tank in Super Famicom Wars has the same size as the Medium Tank in Advance Wars, while the Medium Tank in Super Famicom Wars was in between the Small Tank and the Large Tank.
Game Boy Wars 3
Game Boy Wars 3 does not have its Main Battle Tanks come in multiple sizes (not counting the Mercenary Tank), but it has a Tank Destroyer ("kuchiku sensha", which can be taken as "Destroyer Tank"), with the ability to promote with enough EXP during the course of Campaign no less. The Tank Destroyer at first glance behaves like a small version of the MBT, but due to its high base Initiative rating (for a land unit), the Tank Destroyer can be used for a defense against a threatening force that relies on high levels of firepower. The Tank Destroyer's Initiative, however, drops more quickly than any other unit's except Mechs', though the promoted Tank Destroyer, due to its Anti-Tank Missile A for range-fire on armored land vehicles, wouldn't need to worry about this as long as there are no AT-equipped cars or foot soldiers to capitalize on this.
Advance wars
There are four types of tanks in the three Advance Wars games: (Light) Tanks , Medium Tanks (Md. Tank), Neotanks, and Megatanks. In order of firepower, the Tank is the weakest, and the Megatank is the strongest. The Neotank was introduced in Advance Wars 2 (no longer just like the New Model Tank taken from Super Famicom Wars, since it can be built from Factories), and the Megatank was introduced in Advance Wars DS. Larger tanks have a smaller movement range which balances out their higher firepower. Each of these four tanks have cannons as their primary weapon, and secondary mounted machine guns; the cannon is used against any ground vehicle and ships, and the machine gun against infantry and helicopters. The smaller tanks are common battle-starters, along with infantry. Tanks move on treads, which gives other tire-bound vehicles more of an edge in terms of speed.
Cars and trucks
In all installments of the Nintendo Wars series except Game Boy Wars 3, cars and trucks were vulnerable to Anti-Tank weaponry just the same as other land vehicles. In GBW3, however, they shared the same Main Unit Category as foot soldiers, making them invulnerable to AT weaponry and also resistant to explosive weapons (namely Artillery and Tank cannons) but also leaving them (more) vulnerable to gatling guns, grenades, and rockets.
Recons, the only units under this category in Advance Wars, are inexpensive jeeps. As the name of the unit implies, Recons are mostly used for reconnaissance, and in turn have low amounts of firepower. The Recon's main advantage on the field of battle is it's high movement range (speed), and how far it can see in Fog of War. Generally in fog map, one might send out a Recon jeep to scout out enemy units. In turn, the weak Recon generally ends up getting destroyed in battle when going up against other vehicles, but the tactical advantage it gives the player often balances out this weakness. Recons run on tires, and have a top-mounted machine gun with which to fire on any ground vehicle or infantry unit. Recons were originally in Super Famicom Wars, and weren't in Famicom Wars, Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo, or Game Boy Wars 3.
Supply Trucks were in all Nintendo Wars series installments except the Advance Wars ones. They could not resupply most planes or any vessels, but they could resupply land units, as well as any VTOL planes that happened to be around, and helicopters outside of Famicom Wars. They never have weapons of their own, always have low defense, and will take heavy damage from air units attacks. Supply Trucks in Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo, Super Famicom Wars, and Game Boy Wars 3 were capable of resupplying helicopters, but the ones in Famicom Wars weren't. Supply Trucks could be promoted so that they could carry more supplies (the amount of supplies a supplier could hold at a time was limited in GBW3), though they would also lose a little Movement Power in the process. Supply Trucks in Game Boy Wars 3 needed Factories to be deployed, and couldn't use Cities for resupplying.
Game Boy Wars 3
In GBW3, there were 3 more units in this category, 6 if the promoted forms are counted. The Transport Truck ("yusou torakku", "yusou" meaning "transport") could transport Infantry more quickly along a highway than an APC and could move along Mountains (though not very quickly), but prairies and rough terrain could punish its movement ability more easily. The Transport Truck S has a gatling gun for defense. Transport Trucks have minimal defense against air units.
The Combat Buggy ("conbatto bagii", in pure Katakana) has a grenade launcher for wiping out foot soldier or car units, making it effective for wiping out Mechs and Battle Cars, but it lacks a decent weapon for attacking armoured vehicles. The Combat Buggy S loses the grenade launcher, but gains a stronger machine gun, an Anti-Tank weapon that it can use against armoured vehicles, and considerably improved Initiative. The Battle Car ("sentou sharyou" (literally "Combat Vehicle")) is equipped with a Tow missile for the destruction of armoured vehicles, primarily IFVs and Tank Destroyers due to their AT capabilities. The Battle Car S obtains a gatling gun, increasing its potential as it can even damage planes (though not dealing much damage); though it also has less Movement Power, and Initiative isn't improved at all.
GBW3 cars can move through mountains and rivers (though slowly in both cases), but terrain such as Wasteland will slow them down. The cars have high Initiative, making them effective campers, but it drops at a faster rate, hurting their offensive capabilities.
Indirect combat
There are six types of indirect units in Advance Wars - units, that is, that use projectile weapons to attack from a distance - the Artillery cannon (referred to in the game simple as Artillery), a Rocket-mounted truck (Rockets), a Missile-launching truck (Missiles), the Piperunner, an aircraft carrier (Carrier), and a powerful battleship (Battleship). All indirect units won't suffer counterattack when they attack, but they cannot move and fire on the same day (or turn).
The Artillery and Rockets can fire from a distance at enemy ground units. Rockets are more powerful and longer-ranged than Artillery and much more effective against naval units, though they also have a larger minimum range and run on the less versatile tires, rather than treads. Missiles are similar to Rockets except that they can only fire on air units. Piperunners, new to Advance Wars: Dual Strike are special units than can only move along pipelines, though they have powerful weaponry and are effective against all enemy units. The Carrier and Battleship are sea units; see Capital ships under Sea units (since they fall under that category). All ranged-fire units have limited amounts of ammunition, and no secondary weapon for close combat, so generally an indirect unit needs to be guarded by a direct-combat unit such as a tank or a cruiser.
Famicom Wars
Famicom Wars only has the Artillery in two sizes, AA Missiles, and the Battleship. Artillery B (the smaller one) has more movement than the Artillery A, but a smaller range and more supply issues. AA Missiles, given that a Tires Movement Type doesn't exist back in FW, didn't suffer as much from its poor Movement, but it suffers from having low amount of ammo. See Capital ships under Sea units for Battleship.
Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo
Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo had all of Famicom Wars ranged-fire units and also introduced the Rocket Launcher, the Cannon, and the Aircraft Carrier, and the Submarine if that is to be counted. The Rocket Launcher had low range, but it dealt heavy damage to foot soldiers. The Cannon dealt heavy damage to anything it could target, but it could not move more than 1 space without a Supply Truck to keep it resupplied, though the Supply Truck could Load it. The Cannon could not be directly Loaded onto Landers or Radar Transport Planes, but stack-loading via the Supply Truck would allow the Cannons to make use of the Lander and Radar Transport Plane's transport capabilities. See Sea units below for details on the Aircraft Carrier and the Submarine. Game Boy Wars 2's developers removed the Artillery B from gameplay, though it could still be accessed via cheat codes. The Missile Launcher saw improvement in GBW1/2/Turbo, however, having a lower minimum Attack Range.
Super Famicom Wars
Super Famicom Wars used Famicom Wars' ranged-fire units, except the Artillery A became the Rocket Launcher, the AA Missiles and Artillery no longer suffered ammo issues as much, and the Rocket Launcher and AA Missiles used the Tires Movement Type (which now existed). Additions to the ranged-fire capable units were the Train Gun and the AA Artillery. The Train Gun dealt high amounts of damage to any land units and ships unfortunate enough to be caught in its range, and had a fierce firing range. Not only that, but it came with a moderate-power machine gun in addition to the ability to Load any 2 units. However, it could only be built on Train Stations, could only move on them and railroads (which punishes its immense Movement Power), and could Load and Unload only on Train Stations. The AA Artillery had a small firing range and could attack only air units.
Game Boy Wars 3
Game Boy Wars 3 had all of GBW2's ranged-fire units, except for the Cannon and the Battleship. However, GBW3's ranged-fire units could move and attack on the same phase. All of the ranged-fire land units that were in GBW2 could promote in GBW3, and, in the cases of the land units, gain more Attack Range, though lose Movement Power in the process. Additions to the units capable of range-fire are the Mech, Tank Destroyer S, IFV S (all 3 of the above because of the AT Missile A), Fighter S (via the Air-To-Air Missile A), Battle Helicopter S (via the AT Missile A), Aegis Warship (via the Anti-Ship Missile), Mercenary Missile Frigate (via both both weapons it has), and Submarine S (but only via its Anti-Land Bomb).
Other land units
Armoured Personnel Carriers
APCs (armoured personnel carriers) in Advance Wars do not have any weapons with which to attack, but they can transport an infantry unit across the field. In addition to infantry transport, APCs can restock the ammunition and fuel of any nearby friendly units. APCs are vulnerable units, and as such should usually have escorts such as tanks or Mech infantry, like the indirect units.
Advance Wars APCs were more along the lines of Universal Carriers. APCs in previous Nintendo Wars series installments had machine guns (most likely due to the way the rules were set back then), but were unable to resupply units. (The resupplying job was left to the Supply Trucks.) Game Boy Wars 3 also had an APC variant: the Infantry Fighting Vehicle ("hohei sentou sha", literally meaning "Infantry Combat Vehicle"), which was equipped with an Anti-Tank weapon and better armoring. Both the APC and IFV could promote in GBW3, the former gaining an AT weapon of its own and the latter being able to range-fire with its AT weapon. The APC S's purpose outside of Edit maps remains a mystery, as the normal IFV outclass it.
Anti-Air tanks
Anti-air tanks have mounted machine guns (vulcan) which can be used against any ground units, namely Infantry. But as their name implies, AA tanks are at their best when used against air units, although they do not have the firepower equal to that of the Missile launcher.
The AA Tank in Famicom Wars and Game Boy Wars 1/2/Turbo were incapable of attacking anything but air units. The Super Famicom Wars AA Tank did only moderate-at-best damage to anything, including air units. The Game Boy Wars 3 AA Tank was equipped with 2 weapons: a direct-fire Air-To-Air Missile that deals moderately heavy damage to air units, and a gatling gun for tearing up cars and foot soldiers, usually [...] them if the AA Tank is at full HP when it attacks. The AA Tank has the best Defense Power against Air units out of all land units in GBW3 except the Mercenary Tank, much like the one in Advance Wars.
The Mercenary AA Tank in Game Boy Wars 3 has an even stronger gatling gun in addition to more defense against land and sea units. Its defense against air units is not any higher than the normal AA Tank's.
Other
Oozium, introduced in Advance Wars DS, are blob-shaped lifeforms designed by the Black Hole army. They can only move one space per turn, but they can instantly destroy any enemy simply by moving into it. In turn, Oozium can not counter-attack, so the only way to defeat one without losing a unit is to surround it with direct combat units, and take it out in one turn; or with indirect-combat units, though they are very resistant to indirect attacks.
Game Boy Wars 3 has its own special unit: the Constructor. The Constructor is a construction vehicle, and can be used to either turn forests or wastelands into plains, make a Simple Airport (used for checkpoints for air units) on any of those 3 terrain, build a bridge on a river, pave a road, or develop/repair a property. The Constructor's combat abilities are minimal so are helpless without escorts.