Front Mission

is a collection of video games and related media produced by Square, now Square Enix. The series was created by Toshiro Tsuchida and developed by G-Craft, a studio that was later absorbed by Square and existed within Square Enix as Product Development Division-6. Since the release of the original Front Mission in 1995, the series has gone on to encompass several media, including film, manga, novels, radio dramas, mobile phone applications, and toys. While the series is primarily rooted in the turn-based tactical role-playing genre, it has also ventured into other genres such as side-scrolling shooter, real-time strategy (RTS), massive multiplayer online (MMO), and third-person shooter through its spin-offs. The Front Mission video games achieved moderate success, selling over 3 million units worldwide up until January 2006.

The main selling point of Front Mission is its storytelling approach. Taking place during the 21st and 22nd centuries, the series revolves around military conflicts and political tension between powerful supranational unions and their member states. Although the Front Mission video games use self-contained, standalone stories, these tie into a greater overarching storyline that encompasses the entire series. In combination with the stories from its other media, the series possesses a level of storytelling depth and continuity comparable to a serial drama. Another major draw of Front Mission is its use of giant mecha called "wanzers" (from the fictional German word Wanderpanzer, or walking tanks) in battle.

Development

Development of the first Front Mission started with discussions between software developers Square and G-Craft. Square had never had another developer make a game for them and planning proceeded slowly, but an agreement between the two was finished in the Fall of 1993.

Games

Since 1995, the Front Mission series has released 15 video games, seven of which are main (numbered) entries and the other five are spin-off entries. Shortly after its release, a compilation titled Front Mission History was released in Japan on December 11, 2003. The compilation contained the Front Mission 1st remake, a modified Front Mission 2, and Front Mission 3. Front Mission 1st also spawned an enhanced port of the game on March 22, 2007 for the Nintendo DS. A second remake for Front Mission 2089 was developed and titled as Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. This remake was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on May 29, 2008. A third remake for Front Mission (called Front Mission 1st: Remake) was released on November 30, 2022 for the Nintendo Switch.

While all Front Mission video games have seen releases in Japan, only a few been localized overseas. Front Mission 3 was the first entry to receive both a North American and European localization on March 22, 2000 and August 11, 2000 respectively. Front Mission 4 became the second entry to undergo an English localization and was released in North America on June 15, 2004. A three-year gap followed before the localization of the Nintendo DS port of Front Mission 1st, which saw a release in North America on October 23, 2007. This marked the third time that a Front Mission title was localized for the North American region. Front Mission Evolved became the first spin-off entry to be localized in North America and Europe, making it the fourth and second titles respectively to reach those regions. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2010, in North America on September 28, 2010, and in Europe on October 8, 2010.

To date, only seven Front Mission entries (six games and a manga) have ever been officially localized and released outside Japan.

Common elements

Gameplay

Although Front Mission video games venture into multiple genres, each of them contain core elements that are universal to the entire series. In the Front Mission series, players use playable units called wanzers, a term for mecha derived from the German word "Wanderpanzer", or "walking tank". Wanzers differ from the typical combat unit in that it has four modular parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Each part has a specific function and its own health bar. The union's roots date back to 2006, when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reorganized itself into the Bangkok Economic Alliance. The alliance is later renamed into the Oceania Cooperative Union in 2019 after Australia and Oceania decided to join the bloc. It is finally consolidated as a political union in 2026.

In the localized version of Front Mission 3, the OCU's full name is presented as "Oceana Community Union". The localized versions of subsequent games use the current naming convention instead.

United States of the New Continent

The United States of the New Continent (USN) is a supranational union of the North and South American countries. The USN capital, where the USN Central Government operates, is Washington DC. The union's roots date back to 2011, when its relations with Australia began to sour following a diplomatic incident over the detention of an Australian ship named The Trinidad.

Organization of African Consolidation

The Organization of African Consolidation (OAC) is an alliance of African countries. The union's roots date back to 2026, when the EC and the OCU assisted the African nations to merge as a super-state. Unlike the other unions, the OAC is divided into five semi-autonomous regional blocs: the South African United States (SAUS), Union of North African States (UNAS), West African States Community Union (WA), the Community of Central African States (CA), and the East African Community (EA).

Republic of Zaftra

The Republic of Zaftra is a supranational union consisting of Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Zaftran capital, where the Zaftra Central Administration operates, is Moscow, Russia. The union's roots date back to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The former Soviet republics struggled to survive on their own after it collapsed, facing economic hardships and civil conflicts. In an attempt to remedy their issues and make capitalism work, the post-Soviet nations reformed as the Republic of Zaftra in 2015.

Republic of Ravnui

The Republic of Ravnui is Belarus renamed after it seceded from the Commonwealth of Independent States rather than join the Republic of Zaftra in 2015. The nation's capital is Minsk.

People's Republic of Da Han Zhong

The People's Republic of Da Han Zhong (DHZ) is formed from the presumably peaceful reunification of China and Taiwan. The nation's capital is Beijing.

Music

The music of the series includes the soundtracks to the main series, composed of Front Mission through Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, as well as the spin-off games, which include Front Mission: Gun Hazard, Front Mission Alternative, Front Mission: Online, Front Mission 2089 and its remake Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, Front Mission 2089-II, and Front Mission Evolved. The soundtracks of the series' installments have been released in album form in Japan, with the exceptions of 2089, 2089-II, Border of Madness (which reuse music from the other installments) and Evolved, which was published in 2010. The soundtrack to Front Mission was released in 1995 by NTT Publishing, which also published the soundtrack to Front Mission: Gun Hazard in 1996. DigiCube published soundtrack albums for Front Mission 2 and Alternative in 1997 and 3 in 1999. Square Enix published the albums for Front Mission 4 in 2004, and 5 and Online in 2006.

The soundtracks of the series have been warmly reviewed by critics, especially those of the main series and Gun Hazard. The music of Alternative and Online was less well-received. The music of the series typically includes a fusion of electronic and orchestral music, though each game and composer in the series has taken the music in different directions. The composers for the series have included Yoko Shimomura, Noriko Matsueda, Koji Hayama, Hayato Matsuo, Hidenori Iwasaki, and Garry Schyman. A box set of music from across the series is currently planned, but has not yet been formally announced or given a release date.

Reception

In April 1995, Front Mission's original release on the Super Famicom was well received. Famitsu magazine gave the Super Famicom version of the game first a 9 out of 10 and later an 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review. Mega Fun gave the game a Gold for an import game. Front Mission: Gun Hazard was rated by Fun Generation a 7 out of 10, while Super GamePower gave it a 4.2 out of 5. Famitsu magazine awarded Front Mission 2 the game 32 out of 40 upon its release. The magazine chose the game as the number 63rd best game on the original PlayStation. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot praised the graphics of Front Mission Alternative and audio experience, but criticized the game for being too short and rewarding players with more elaborate story sections if they failed to achieve game missions, indirectly rewarding failure. He also called the soundtrack "a bunch of dizzying techno that doesn't suit the onscreen grandeur". GameSpot noted that Front Mission 3 may be a title worth introducing the franchise to American audiences, but criticized its graphics for being a notch lower than Front Mission 2. IGN lauded the game's battle mechanics as rare in other Square installments since Final Fantasy Tactics, but cited the graphics transitions between overhead play and individual battles as spotty.

Front Mission 4 holds a 75% on both GameRankings and Metacritic. In RPG Fan's Games of 2006 feature, they enumerated the reasons that Front Mission 5: Scars of the War was the Import RPG of the Year make note of the game's improvements and excellent execution in design and functionality. The game was also voted the runner-up Strategy RPG of the Year by RPG Fan in their "Games of 2006" awards. While the developers acknowledge the good reception of the cinematic focus of the game, they noted that later entries in the series would not necessarily follow the same direction.

Greg Miller of IGN scored Front Mission Evolved a 6.0/10, calling it "uninspired" and that it would only appeal to "hardcore mech-heads". He commented that the missions were mainly "frustrating filler", and while the customization of the wanzer was enjoyable, it was often negated by missions "shoehorning you into annoying loadouts". Calling its story "less than stellar", he stated that "it doesn't feel like a full fledged game". IGN called Left Alive a “failure on every level”, with poor controls and game balances issues cited along with technical glitches. Destructoid praises the game's soundtrack and art direction, but highlighted the low resolution graphical textures that gave the game a “drab” look. They further describes voice acting as “varied”, from decent, to sounding like the actors “gave up” after one take.

Legacy

Since 1994, the Front Mission series has spawned numerous products in various media outside of video games. The series has a long-running line of manga and novels that are expanded universe supplements to the stories of the Front Mission video games. Likewise, the series has produced two live-action films directed by Yoshihiko Dai and a ten-episode radio drama directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, both of which further expand the Front Mission universe. Some of the actors and actresses that have been involved in these productions include Banjō Ginga, Hiromi Tsuru, Dax Griffin, Danielle Keaton, and Tina Coté. Apart from these media, there have been numerous books, toys, and soundtracks that have been published under the Front Mission brand name.

References

External links

Front Mission official website at Square-Enix.com
Ten-Mou / Worldwide Network System