Asking me which Advance Wars CO is my favorite is like asking a parent (with a couple dozen kids) which child they favor. There are some I never use, but many I like. Still, while some maps favor certain COs over others, everyone has that one CO they keep coming back to, the one they use when a map doesn't seem to call for anyone else specifically. For me, at this stage in my AW evolution, that CO is Hachi.

(CO means Commanding Officer, BTW.)

When I first started playing AW1, my favorite CO was Max. I was willing to accept losing indirect units in exchange for his strength boost, which allowed me to strike with overwhelming force (my initial strategy) more effectively. If I thought I'd have enough funds coming in, I'd sometimes use Kanbei, since he's even stronger than Max, has no indirect limitation, and has amazing defense.

When AW2 came out, I stuck with Max and Kanbei until I got to know the new COs. After unlocking Hawke, I thought he'd become my new standby. While I did use him a lot, and liked the fact that he was stronger (without Kanbei's extra cost penalty or Max's indirect limitations), I hated how long his CO power took to charge. Plus, as one of the "bosses" in the campaign, it seemed like he was designed to be stronger than everyone else - making me feel guilty when using him, like I should be using a "normal" CO instead.

It was around this time I really started to get into Advance Wars. And by "get into", I mean, realize that the game was about finesse and tactics, not simply "surround the enemy and crush them as fast as possible". This led me to start using Colin. At first I thought Colin was useless - his units are so weak! But I soon realized that his diminshed unit cost would allow me to almost always have the production edge on my opponent, and with a little smart planning and unit combining, I was usually able to overcome his weakness while taking advantage of his strength (a weak Neotank vs. a normal Medium Tank is still a favorable matchup). Plus, his CO power stores quickly, and his Super CO power is killer.

So then AW:DS came out, with its 25+ COs. I started with the old standbys (Max, Kanbei, Colin) but quickly became a Grimm fan. His massive strength boost is awesome - though his weak defense can make it easy to lose units (and miss out on that S-rank). Plus, his CO power is uninteresting - he's already strong, and it just makes him stronger. COs with truly "disruptive" powers seem more versatile.

As I was playing through the AW:DS War Room maps, I ran into Banker Hills. In this one, your opponent is Hachi, and there are rows of missiles to lob at each other. I tried all my usual COs, but I couldn't beat him - you're on an almost equal footing, resource-wise, but his cheaper unit cost, combined with his CO power (see below), would always give him the leg up on me. I grew increasingly disillusioned with my AW abilities... until I decided to fight fire with fire and play using Hachi.

Suddenly, I realized how mighty Hachi is. Almost every AW battle I'm in comes down to a war of attrition - whoever can produce stronger units faster usually wins. As I discovered, Hachi's CO power is unparalleled in this regard. Every time you use it, you can build units at half price for one turn! This is an amazing benefit - instead of struggling to keep pace with an opponent, you just have to store up your CO power, use it, and then build a Neotank (for $11,000!!) while your opponent can only afford to build much weaker units. This gives you a huge edge and because his CO power charges up so quickly, you can do this often throughout the battle.

Now I use Hachi pretty much all the time, except for certain situations (like if there are 3+ Comm Towers, you'd be crazy not to use Javier). Hachi's been around since AW2 - I can't believe it took me so long to realize what a beast he is. So, for all you AW junkies out there who've never given Hachi a fair shake - check him out.

(UPDATE: As if I didn't have enough reasons to be a Hachi fan... I just used him to get an S-rank on Ridge Island! Giving me an S-rank on all 44 War Room maps.)