Front Mission (video game)

Infobox VG
title = Front Mission


developer = Square, G-Craft
publisher = Square, Square Enix
designer =
composer = Yoko Shimomura
Noriko Matsueda
engine =
released = vgrelease|Japan|JP|February 24, 1995 (SNES)
vgrelease|Japan|JP|July 12, 2002 (WSC)
vgrelease|Japan|JP|October 23 2003 (PS1)
vgrelease|Japan|JP|March 22 2007 (DS)
vgrelease|North America|NA|October 23, 2007 (DS)
genre = Tactical role-playing
modes = Single player, Multiplayer (DS)
ratings =
platforms = Super NES, PlayStation, WonderSwan Color, Nintendo DS
media = Cartridge (SNES) (WSC)
CD-ROM (PS1)
512-Megabit flash card (DS)
requirements =
input =
series = "Front Mission" seriesnihongo|"Front Mission"|フロントミッション|Furonto Misshon is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. "Front Mission" is an ongoing saga intertwining the storylines of various heroes and their battles involving mechs. The games feature a very broad range of mech customization, where each individual part of the mech can be tweaked for the greatest possible performance.
An enhanced remake of the game was released for the Wonderswan Color in 2002, PlayStation in 2003, and Nintendo DS in 2007. Of all the game's releases, only the DS version was released outside Japan, though an emulated English-language translation of the original Super Famicom version is available.

tory

Set in 2090, the story of "Front Mission" revolves an Oceania Community Union (OCU) officer by the name of Royd Clive. An OCU squadron lead by Lloyd and Ryuji Sakata entered a special United States of the New Continent (USN) ammunition dump (revealed to be a "B-device" manufacturing facility) in the Larcus District on Huffman Island (a fictional Pacific island roughly the size of Oahu, "formed in 1995 from volcanic activity, east of the Pacific Ocean, south of Mexico's west coast. [http://www.frontmission.org/fmworld.htm] The landmass was large enough to classify as an island in 2002 and all authority and proprietary rights was granted to the United Nations." [http://cooked-sashimi.livejournal.com/2007/05/21/] ). Royd's fiancee, Karen Meure, is already inside. However, the uneasy quiet is broken when a USN Wanzer squad led by one Captain Driscoll (head of the Nirvana institute and has the authority of a major) ambushes Meure on the premises. This set the stage for the game's first mission, called "The Larcus Incident."

After the player defeats the rest of the USN force, Driscoll escapes, but not before he detonates bombs inside the complex.

The entire incident is pinned on Royd and Sakata, who are summarily dismissed from the OCU Ground Defense Force. The fiasco also broke a peace treaty between the OCU and USN, setting off the Second Huffman War. One year later, OCU Colonel Guri Olson seeks out Royd (who is a Wanzer fighter in the western town of Barinden) to work with the Canyon Crows mercenary unit. Royd joins after Olson dangles the prospect of killing the USN officer responsible for Karen's capture.

In the PS1 remake, the game has a second scenario, with the player assuming the role of USN Black Hounds officer Kevin Greenfield. A number of mysteries and plot elements shown in the OCU side story are examined further from the USN's perspective, as well as featuring tie-ins from "Front Mission 4". However, numerous plot elements remain unresolved despite the additional gameplay. These elements are looked at in-depth and play a significant role in "Front Mission 5", more so than any other backstory elements from other installments of the series found in that game.

In the DS remake, the connections with "Front Mission 5" are fleshed out further through expanded and new scenes and the inclusion of characters. These include Glen Duval, Walter Feng, Randy O'Neill, Hector Reynolds, etc. The tie-ins with "Front Mission 4" are also expanded, with additional material and the inclusion of Darril Traubel and Billy Renges.

Gameplay

Flow

Players can progress through the game in the following manner: watch plot-related scenes, clear missions, upgrade and configure wanzers for the next mission. The player travels to locations on a point-and-click world map. As the player progresses through the plot, new locations are revealed on the world map. Towns and cities act as intermission points where the player can organize and setup their units for the upcoming mission. Battle zones are where the missions take place, though they become inaccessible upon the completion of a mission.

Wanzers and weapons

"Front Mission" units are wanzers, a term for mecha derived from the German "wanderpanzer", or "walking tank". Wanzers differ from the typical combat unit in that it has four separate parts: Body, Right Arm, Left Arm, and Legs. Each part has a specific function and its own Health Points (HP) bar. The Legs enable movement and evasion, the Arms are necessary to use hand and shoulder weapons, and the Body maintains the wanzer's operability. Should the Body be destroyed, the wanzer is destroyed completely. The only forms of damage reduction are a wanzer's Defense stat and Shields, which boost the overall defense of the wanzer. While the player fights mostly wanzers, vehicles and mobile weapon platforms also feature. These enemy units only have one part, the Body, but they have greater Defense and HP values.

Weapons are classified under three categories: Melee, Short, and Long. Melee weapons consist of Rods and a wanzer's free arm (no weapon equipped) that strike only once but deal high damage. The advantages are that Melee weapons have a tendency to strike a wanzer's Body part and ignore the Defense stat. Short weapons are used at close range and consist of machine guns, shotguns, flamethrowers, and rifles. Machine guns are fully automatic weapons and its rounds target a wanzer's parts at random. Shotguns, flamethrowers, and rifles are semi-automatic weapons that do not focus on a specific part of a wanzer. The advantages with these weapons are their high accuracy, they take priority over melee weapons in battle sequences (Short weapons attack first), and they often destroy wanzer parts if the shot hits.

Long weapons are used from a distance and consist of missile launchers and rocket launchers, which fire either multiple rounds or just a single round. Long weapons have limited ammunition, and must be reloaded when a weapon has used up all of its ammunition. Hybrid weapons that specialize in both Short and Long are present in the form of bazookas and grenade launchers.

Wanzer customization

Provided a wanzer's total weight does not exceed its Power Output limit, a player can configure a wanzer out of almost any combination of parts. A wanzer can be equipped with up to four weapons. Wanzers can also use weapon arms, which are arms with built-in weapons that are considerably lighter than equipping an arm with a weapon. A wanzer can also equip a backpack that grants additional power output, increased item storage capacity, and raises the effective range of support weapons. In regards to movement, the player can equip a wanzer with a variety of leg types such as tread or hover that have specific uses in terms of movement.

Other features

"Front Mission" has a few other features incorporated into the game. Players can purchase or sell wanzer parts and weapons at the Shop, which can be visited at any town. Front Mission also sports a Colosseum, which is a game-play feature where the player chooses one of their pilots to fight Colosseum combatants and win additional money. Furthermore, Front Mission sports a briefing feature that details the basic information about the enemy composition for the next mission. Missions in Front Mission are standard strategy RPG fare, however, since most can be finished by destroying all enemies or protecting a particular unit from the enemy forces.

Characters

Front Mission 1st

In 2003, the game was remade as "Front Mission 1st" for the PlayStation. This remake included new material and the ability to play from the USN's point of view. An additional remake of the PlayStation game was in development for the Nintendo DS and released in Japan on March 22, 2007. The North American version, which is simply titled as "Front Mission", was released on October 23, 2007.

"Front Mission 1st" for the DS includes several characters from "". Battle sequences are tuned to use the DS's dual screen setup for an easy view of the action. The DS version has many more changes and additions that make it the definitive version of "Front Mission". These include:

* The ability to access and utilize large mobile weapons previously seen as boss-type units in the Front Mission SNES and PSOne versions. Upon meeting specific requirements, the player can control mobile weapons such as the Seaking, Clinton Type, or a prototype version of the Bogomol I seen at the end of Front Mission 4.

* The ability to control "Front Mission" characters from other installments such as Darril Traubel and Glen Duval. This feature is only limited to a select number of missions however.

* New additions to parts and weapons, some from other "Front Mission" installments like the Numsekar from "Front Mission 5". The infamous Dragon Hand part, which could only be obtained by cheat devices, can now be obtained normally in the game.

* New secret missions and areas that expand both sides further. Numerous bonuses await upon the completion of these secret missions, such as new mobile weapons or wanzers for usage.

* Additional modes such as a high-speed battle mode where battles are done quickly via skipping and other time-cutting means. Difficulty settings are available upon completion of either side a number of times. Even more secrets and bonuses can be accessed through repeated playthroughs of either side.

External links

* [http://na.square-enix.com/frontmission/ Square Enix's official "Front Mission" website (English)]
* [http://www.square-enix.co.jp/fm/ Square Enix's official "Front Mission" website (Japanese)]
* [http://www.tenmou.net/ Ten-Mou / Worldwide Network System (Japanese)]
* [http://www.frontmission.org/ FrontMission.org]
*moby game|id=-group/front-mission-series|name=The "Front Mission" series
* [http://squarehaven.com/games/series.php?series=Front+Mission The "Front Mission" series index] at Square Haven