setzergab's Full Review: Front Mission 3 for PlayStation 1
This installment of the Front Mission series is the first to actually get a release here in the west. The series is Square's foray into the world of the near future... a world world where military conflict is solved with the aid of Gundam-esque mobile suits (called Wanzers). The story places you in the shoes of Kazuki Takemura, a student of Yokosuka Technical Institute, working for Kirshima Industries as a wanzer test pilot. After an explosion on a military base during a a routine delivery, Kazuki and his best friend Ryogo are catapulted into a world of danger... a world where lies, trickery and deceit are commonplace and where life and death hang in the balance.
I battled through the original Front Mission in it's native Japanese with no idea of the storyline, and yet it was still enjoyable. Good thing is though in this English release of the third episode, the story is not only great, but there are two majorly different storylines. Though the basic events are similar in the two different stories, each one is viewed from opposing sides, so once you've played them both you get a good understanding of what exactly was going on... the whole picture as it were. Not only that but you end up facing off against your previous allies from the other scenario, which makes for interesting fights. Both storylines offer slight changes in them according to your actions within them, meaning that even when you have completed them both, there are still little quirks to keep you interested on second play.
Combat is an isometric turn-based affair (a la Final Fantasy Tactics) for the movement, but when actual clashes occur wanzers and surrounding scenery are rendered quite beautifully in textured polygons. This fighting aspect is very much strategy-based, which might frighten off some gamers, but if they persevere they will soon get the hang of it and will be rewarded.
When it comes to variety of mobile suits, this game is tops. Not only are there many designs of wanzer (each country has their own wanzer designs) but the setup system allows the disassembly of a wanzer into it's component parts (body, legs, right & left arms) and reassembly with any other wanzer components you might have, to built a truly unique machine. Each component teaches different skills, and with a large arsenal at your fingertips, you can quickly build a devastating wanzer to take to the battlefield.
The game also has it's own version of the web, which is useful for gathering information and leads. As the game progresses you get the web addresses for a variety of governments, companies, hackers etc, all of which have some thing to say... and most of which have some thing to hide. The network system is a little awkward to navigate however, and this is something that will put a few people off using it, as it isn't actually necessary for the completion of the game. However if you can get past the difficult interface, there's a lot of interesting info in there, as well as.... no I won't tell you..... You'll have to find that out for yourself.
Graphically the game is good, nothing groundbreaking, but more than adequate. The actual story segments are dealt with mostly by the characters talking over a background representing where they are currently at. However pre and post battle events are handled by the combat engine which allows the wanzers to strut their stuff, and as is common with Square titles, grand dramatic events are displayed in computer generated FMV.
In the sound department, again nothing especially state of the art, but your usual rpg fayre... sad music, happy victorious music, combat music that fits the mood (heh... the comical methane wanzer theme), and a reworking of the main theme for the final confrontation.
Overall this game boasts two gripping storylines, a very well worked out combat engine, and many many many mobile suits. There is quite a lot about this game however that might scare an average gamer off... strategic turn-based battles and the network aspect, but I believe that any strategy/rpg fan will love this game, which takes FF Tactics to the 21st century.
FRONT MISSION 3 PLAYSTATION PS1 GAME BRAND NEW, SEALED! Title: Front Mission 3 Publisher: Squaresoft Genre/Category: Strategy-Other System: PS One Con...More at eBay
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