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Max. Good ole Maxie. His specialty is all-out offense with melee vehicles. It's not just tanks and recons that get the boosts: Even cruisers, subs, fighters and bombers gain a nice bonus whenever he fights, and even more so when he uses his power. His only major weakness is that his long-range kinda sucks. He basically loses an entire point in range, so he can't snipe quite as well as the other characters. Nobody (well, except for maybe one other character under certain conditions) can match Max in raw physical power.

I find Max, if used correctly (offence all day everyday, and no breaks or rest) is the most broken CO in the game, if you don't count efficiency, then Sami's your gal'. So, just remember in the next mission to just smash everything and use forest tiles. Unlike FE F.o.W, the enemy AI can't see you either until you're in range of them. I think Sonja is the only CO who can haxx F.o.W, which is why she is downright frightening to be up against. gonk

Although I definitely say that Andy is a great person to use for first plays, as he's balanced, good at defence, if using Max and assaulting everything is scary and has a nice CO Power that can be used to turn tables.

Overall, in VS. mode, I really like using Sonja for trolly reasons ( emotion_awesome ), but if I'm serious, I always use Sami.

Chapter VI: More Fog, More War

Welcome back to another update of my first run (and LP) of Advance Wars for the GBA!

In this chapter, we face off against Grit once more. First though, a little friendly dialogue between our C.O.s, Andy and Max!


Our sniper here sure is persistent, isn't he? Sheesh.


Yep, the very same guy.

Andy asks if Max knows him personally, and this is his answer.

If you guys are friends then can't you convince the sniper to join our army using the "talk" command? Wait, this isn't FE.



I'd really like to know why he's so determined to fight against us too!


And then Max basically says "leave this to me!" How Shounen Hero of him.


And so, he's the only C.O. available for this map. It's gonna be tough without Andy's healing, but I'll manage.


Mission 7: A more entertaining history lesson than any class you've ever attended in school!


No kidding, Max. There's a lot of reefs and forests around. I guess I'll just have to use the recon unit that I have to make sure no snipers are hiding in the woods.


And I have a feeling that seize is gonna be my victory, so when I clear the sea route, I'll unload this little guy on the base to capture!


You mean Grit was just toying with me when he unleashed his deadly rockets on me?! You're joking...!


He uses this early on in the map too. I expect a shower of rockets, but he actually only has one artillery and one battleship left. It's not so bad!


I didn't know you can load Mid-tanks on the cruiser ship! I'll be shipping both of these over to that enemy H.Q. now! heart


I capture cities along the way, should my ground units need healing.


Grit sniped my APC which was clear over on the beach! Thankfully my supplier lives.


He damaged my mid-tank pretty bad, so I bring it back to shore for some healing. My other one is still in tact and ready to destroy things though. 8D


Time to drop that unit I've been shuttling around for the whole time. He's gonna capture an H.Q.! ~


Holy- Where did that tank come from?


A little dose of Max's offensive power and...


This guy doesn't stand a chance! heart


Capturing the H.Q. round 1!


Capturing the H.Q. round 2! And that's another win for me!


Max starts the post-map dialogue with the million dollar question.

Nell comes out of nowhere and starts talking to him as well.


Alone, you say? Whatever for? ;D


In the end, Grit just says that he's doing this because he feels like it. What a cop-out excuse, man.


And that's it! Wow, another A rank! Awesome!

Next chapter, I get in another fog-of-war, meet another new C.O., and face off against Green Earth's Eagle!

It's because I chose Max instead of Andy. I'd already decided to play Max before I saw you guys' comments.

The fog-of-war was troublesome, but I beat it none the less.

The next map has one too! I think I can expect one every map from now on. Oh boy.

Chapter VII: Eagle's Second Raid

Hello, my wonderful guildies! Since the start of my wonderful senior year of college, I have had little time to play, but now I have an update for you all! Isn't that awesome? I hadn't been in the mindset to play Advance Wars until recently! Enjoy the show!


Eagle, you are in for a surprise. Although he is my favorite, I didn't choose Andy for this mission!

I picked Sami, whose specialty lies in laying siege to everybody's fortresses. 8D


Well, let's get to work, shall we? Time to sweep up some of the dangerous bombers that we can see on this map.


Well, everything looks safe, right?


... Wrong. I should have known that with a fog-of-war, this guy would have a few ambushes like these units. :/


But Eagle, I don't like your air units. So they can taste my rocket fire. heart


Sami's CO power! It gives all infantry/mech units increased movement, power, and capture utility if I'm not mistaken!


I'm still struggling against a tank that came out of nowhere. I don't have that many options to go against it, but I'll do my best.


Oh noooo! Maybe "doing my best" just ain't enough when he activates that!


Eeeeee, a fighter jet right in the middle of my units. That's not what I like to see at all.


My fighter jet is coming to the rescue though! =D


More forest-hopping ensues. It's way better to be safe than sorry when dealing with an air-ace in the middle of a fog-of-war.


That HQ seems very far away, even with my T-Copters. I might just go for the "defeat all enemies" this time and hope for the best!


Scouting without recon units is hard, but it can be done. Just move your ground units to forests like this.


Hee, I love the capture boost. It still takes 2 turns though.


Well, there are a couple of enemy cities here, so I can assume there are more units nearby?


None? Okay, something is totally off here.



Why did I have to be right about the enemies attacking? gonk


My counterattack is lovely as usual, of course. ;D


Oh no, my mid tank unit is running low on supplies! Quick, APC, bring them all their liquor, smokes, and high speed internetz food, fuel, and ammo!


It's about time you were useful after not being in range almost 90 percent of the time, Artillery unit! D<


W...What is this? More ambushes? I thought they were totally done! Dx


Destroy them now, my anti-air! That will teach them to surprise attack me.


My fighter jet delivers the finishing blow to the bomber. This little guy has saved me countless times.


We're a little closer to HQ. I wonder how many more units Eagle could have after this onslaught though.


I'm on a mountain, your tanks cannot kill me! :3


Time to sink one more tank, and then I'll storm-


Wait, I won? That was Eagle's last unit! And nope, it wasn't Andy that trounced you this time, man. cool


Sami takes offense to your assumptions.


Yeah, and I'm a girl too. Eagle just got beat by two girls. heart


Well, I don't know about that, Sami. We might have won, but he had me on my toes.


Um, if he wasn't ready for war, what the heck is he doing on the battlefield? Causing me trouble, no less!


But what if you lose your lucky goggles in a fancy flight? What then?


I guess he's fine, but I still don't like fighting him. Or his air units.


And yet another B rank for me! Woo hoo! Fantastic debut, Sami!

And as you guessed from Sami's dialogue...
In the next update we head into Yellow Comet, and take on the tank-heavy C.O. See ya then!

Chapter VIII: Kanbei's Imperial Onslaught

Well, readers, it's my birthday today! What better what to celebrate than to update my LP of Advance Wars? I've had the cake, and now it's time for some good old fashioned GBA warfare.


Mission 9: The battle between us and the Imperial Forces of Kanbei.

When I started this mission, I thought it would be a breather compared to the fogs of war I faced in the past few updates. That was not the case.


Things start off well enough. I know the key to winning is to get rid of those snipers.


For some reason, I thought that making a wall with my forces was a good idea...


But then I forgot how big Kanbei's regiment of tanks was! gonk


To make things 10x worse, guess what he does?


He activates his C.O. power, which makes his already dangerous units even more deadly! He completely destroys my forces, and humiliates me. Bah.


Fine, Kanbei. You win this time, but be prepared for defeat next time.



Maybe changing C.O.s will make a difference? Max's specialties are with vehicle units, so it seems like the choice I should have made all along.


Trust me, I believe you now. D:


Hahaha! Max's offensive power does make a difference! My mid-tanks crush the rockets on Kanbei's side in one blow!


Here comes the tank regiment again, but I'm not scared. They were foolish enough to leave my mid-tanks in tact. ;D


Sniping them works wonders too. heart


Hahaha! taste my rockets, Kanbei! >8D


Why not charge the front lines while we're at it too?


Oh crap, he's activating his C.O. power again! D:

My units survive.


And it's time for Max's! Let's get 'em!


Mechs taking on tanks. This would be a heck of an action movie.


Although I haven't destroyed them completely, Kanbei's units are too damaged to do any real harm to mine.


With his Mid-tank down to that much hp, I've eliminated most of the threatening units on his side.


Things are looking a lot like victory for me. ~ <3


That one little artillery unit managed to escape! But not for long.


This is for two game overs in a row (and only one that I showed in the LP), you jerk. D<


Good night, sweet prince.


None of the C.O.'s can ever believe they were defeated.

Kanbei retreats right after.


You actually did awesome out there, Max! =D And another A rank to boot.

On the next update...

We take on Kanbei once again, and try and make up for our lack of numbers!

Chapter IX: Shield and Snipe!

Welcome back, my readers. I hope that after such a long hiatus, no one forgot that I was doing this Let's Play of my first Advance Wars run! I have had a lot of issues in the past few days. Lost USB drives, finals at school, job searching and a few minor health issues.

But I am back. Now, let's take on Kanbei again in Advance Wars!



The opening scenes show Kanbei and his daughter, Sonja, who is another CO of the Kanbei forces. She calls him out on not knowing intel in the beginning before taking on Orange Star.


So Sonja offers her own advice! I wonder if that will make Kanbei an even more fearsome foe than he was in the last chapter?


Well, first she states the obvious. Okay, maybe this isn't gonna be a nightmare and a half of a chapter.


Then again, maybe this is gonna lead to something...


Sweet mother of all that is holy! gonk I can't imagine Kanbei applying his power to a large number of units! I might very well be doomed!


Sonja gives him one more tip, but he's already gone. Does that mean that Kanbei has no bases? Maybe I'll have an advantage after all.

I choose Andy as my CO, because he is the best at defense, while Max specializes in offense and Sami in seizing things. Time to start!


Mission 10: A defensive battle where you have to stay sane. I used a guide to get through this one because long story short, I lost my flash drive that had this chapter beat on it (and the screen caps), and I don't remember my moves, so I will show AW players a pretty good strategy I learned from a LPer on Youtube!



Start by moving these units here, so that you can build a defensive wall for your rocket. The number one thing to remember on this map is to never let Kanbei's mighty morphin' power tanks get past the bridges. They do, and they'll destroy you.


Open fire on his units to the left to weaken them. Usually I like to just smash them if I can, but that kind of tactic will lead to you getting rushed by his mid-tanks. Trust me, I know from experience. D:


I snipe his rocket for good measure too. Even though it's still in working condition, at least it can't hit as hard. heart


And this little infantry man just wants those cities to capture. And praise his name as a famous liberator or something.


Now that's how you use rocket fire, baby. ;D


Time to deploy another sniper too. Ya know, for kicks.


Kanbei's AI is programmed to move his little tanks first, so use that to your advantage. His units will pile up like this, making them all basically immobile and easy to snipe. Neat trick, eh?


On the southern end, it's time to blast some artillery.


Eat my fire, Kanbei! mad This is for all those game overs I endured because of you!


I snipe his mid-tank because I want to, and it will be troublesome if it lives.


I take a step back on this one to further the unit-stalling on Kanbei's end. That and I can get them in range of my Artillery that I just spawned earlier. :3


City capture, turn one! Go, my little soldier, make those funds ours! >8D


Man, Sonja wasn't kidding. Kanbei really doesn't have any bases! If I just hold out long enough, I'll be able to beat him!


I fire more rockets, slowly but easily weakening Kanbei's tanks as they try and take on my big boy holding the bridge. <3 My artillery has been damaged, but he can handle it.


Chew on this, Kanbei!


I deploy another of these babies for good measure. Just in case...


Kanbei does that!


Fine, man, ya wanna play hardball? Two can go at that game. Activating Andy's CO power, I heal all my units and then launch an all-out offensive!


I spawn another Rocket because... yay, rockets! Range is where it's at on this map.


A turn after Kanbei's rush, and my units took a beating. Time to retreat with the artillery for now!


I clear out the southern front, except for the one mid-tank that managed to escape.


I've just out-sniped you, man.


Round 2 of city capturing (and I totally spaced it off). Without much effort, my infantry man is a hero for giving me more funds!


My mid-tank continues the stand-off. There's only room in the west for one of us, Kanbei.


Remember that mid-tank I spawned earlier? Time to make him chase the straggler that got away.


As the artillery recovers, the rockets just keep firing away.


And another one bites the dust! Woo. I think that I'm on my way to clearing this mission in less than 10 days!


No one gets away from me, sir.

Kanbei does his CO power again and rushes my Mid tank to death, but his numbers have dwindled to the point where I survive.


With another activation of Andy's Hyper Repair, I storm the remainder of Kanbei's forces.


Back in the fray, my artillery shoots once more! Nice firing. :3



And with the destruction of Kanbei's two infantry units, this is check mate!

Yeah, baby! heart


You just didn't know the odds that a very smart AW player that knows how to Google guides would face you. 8D


And so, I get another A rank! Hooray! I want to say that my erased file had one too, but I don't remember!

So let's just say "yay, A rank!"

It's been a joy writing this again. I can't wait til next time, when I engage in another capture race! It's Sami's time to shine in the next chapter of Let's Play Advance Wars (first run!)

Chapter XI: Capture Race Mach III- 21 Days of Drake

Well, here's the middle of the week again. That means it's time for another update of Let's Play Advance Wars!

Where we last left off, Orange Star was still on hot pursuit of Olaf, charging through others' territory with tanks unannounced. How graceful of them. :3


In this chapter, we face a new Green Earth CO named Drake! You'll learn more about him in the opening dialogue.



In his opening dialogue, Drake appears harmless. You'll learn just how wrong that assumption is though.


And that's the reason why.


The Coral Fortress sounds like some kind of aquarium or something. Oh no, Nell will lose her precious fish! D:


This means that we're in for another capture race. Fun, fun.


Really, Andy? Really? Does your memory suck that bad?


These are the capturing units, sir.


This is my beginning formation. Drake has a few naval units whose days I want to ruin before this map is through. It's also important to defend my snipers, as always.



I unload my soldiers. To win on this map, it's absolutely crucial to seize this island. The one who gains all four of these cities will have the upper hand. Drake only has one infantry here. All I have to do is overwhelm it with numbers, since he can't attack all of my troops with his one.


To stop his reinforcements, I attack one of his landers with a submarine. Surprisingly, he doesn't even move these to get them out of harm's way.


Capturing commences on the middle island. Just as planned. cool


Although Andy's all pumped up and ready to repair some units, I just end the turn. Meanwhile mine and Drake's subs have a fight over who makes a better sandwich.


Time to ruin the other lander too. Because I can.


This is why I was saving Andy's CO power! D: Drake's power wipes 1 hp off all your units and then makes them vulnerable!


But Andy ain't takin' any of that crap. It's time to punch out the dents and tighten the bolts. It's repair time!


The offensive boosts don't hurt things either. I almost feel bad ganging this one enemy infantry with my three.


He makes me pay for it by wrecking me with rockets. mad


And his freakin' battleship. Looks like I missed when I called B 4.


A 5! "You hit my battleship!"


Let's check our status. I've already got an upper hand thanks to getting control of the middle island. I could do better though. Hm, where to seize.


I shouldn't weaken on the defenses either when he's got these heavy-hitters working for him.


Finally, my capture of the middle island is complete! Now these guys can all just hang out or something, since my lander is busy. :3


A 6! "You hit my battleship again!"


My brave artillery will never surrender to you chumps! Have at me!


They're getting some pretty sweet back up anyhow. ;D


On second thought, surrendering was the better option, wasn't it? gonk



I start capturing these northern cities up here. Even though they're quite chilly.


The western front is getting harder and harder by the turn! There has to be a way to turn this around.


Nothing comes to mind except good old fashioned anti-tank attacks.



Drake gets himself in a bottleneck, allowing me to snipe at will! heart Fantastic!


Even better than sniping, of course, is attacking at close range.


Unfortunately, Drake shares the joy of sniping too. D:


What the-?! Snow? Where did this come from?


Just like the last mission, I have to fight tooth and nail to get that last property that I need to seize. If I can just break through, I'd have 12!


Time to take care of some artillery. The heavy-duty way. ;D


Another of these and another infantry later, and I will have victory! I can almost taste it, guys. =D



Now that the western part of the map is secure, my infantry is free to storm the last property I need.


There's trouble in the east! But weakening his seizing unit should buy me enough time.


Aaaand captured! That's all she wrote, guys!


Yep, that's his name, in case you didn't get it at the beginning of the chapter.


Huh? Wait! What kind of questions do you want to ask me? The meaning of life? Why we can't divide by zero? Or why Orange Star is so similar to America in the fact they just march into everybody's business without asking?

Come on, I need to know!


Aw, man. Don't say goodbye. That's no fun.


What was he close to, exactly? Beating me? Ah ha... I'll shamefully admit that's true. sweatdrop


This is golden! He only seized half the property I seized in the end! rofl


For my troubles I only get a B rank. Oh well. I guess it's better than C.

Next time, I face Drake once more! He's not a guy who gives up easily, but I don't give up either!

See how it all plays out on Let's Play Advance Wars!

See ya then.