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Front Mission DS is here!
Varega
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
(OP Shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia, also note: First OP, hope I did this right.)
Front Mission is a strategy video game developed and published by Square in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom in Japan). Front Mission is an ongoing saga intertwining the storylines of various heroes and their epic 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.
Front Mission 1st for the DS includes several characters from Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. Battle sequences are being 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.
Some Gameplay notes:
The gameplay of Front Mission is similar to strategy RPG games such as Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. Although it has similarities to the aforementioned games, Front Mission is often classified more of a strategy game rather than strategy RPG due to its game mechanics. In terms of progression, 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
In terms of the gameplay mechanics, Front Mission units use wanzers, which is Front Mission-speak for mecha. Wanzers differ from the typical combat unit in that it has 4 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 equip and use hand and shoulder weapons, and the Body maintains the wanzer's operability. Should the Body be destroyed, the wanzer is destroyed completely. There are a lot of benefits to disabling a wanzer's Arms or Legs beforehand, as it will prevent a wanzer from using weapons or evading attacks respectively. The only forms of damage reduction are a wanzer's Defense stat and Shields, which boosts the overall defense of the wanzer. While the player fights mostly wanzers in the entire game, the player also fights vehicles and mobile weapon platforms. These enemy units only have one part, the Body, but they have greater Defense and HP values to compensate for having just one part.
Weapons in Front Mission are classified under three categories: Melee(Fight in the Japanese version), 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 of a wanzer. Short weapons are used in close-range and consist of Machine Guns, Shotguns, Flamethrowers, and Rifles. Machine Guns are multi-fire weapons and its rounds target a wanzer's parts at random. Shotguns, Flamethrowers, and Rifles are single-fire weapons similar to Melee weapons but they 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 round connects.
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. The advantage with a Long weapon is simple: the attacked unit cannot counter-attack the attacker. Long weapons have ammunition limits, however, and must be reloaded when a weapon has used up all of its ammo. Hybrid weapons that specialize in both Short and Long are present in the form of Bazookas and Grenade Launchers. These weapons have a noticeable drawback in that they have low accuracy and thus, rounds are likely to miss instead of hit the target.
Wanzer customization
The main draw of any Front Mission is the massive amounts of customization involved in creating wanzers. 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 4 weapons (right/left hand, right/left shoulder) for offensive purposes, though it is very hard to outfit a wanzer with 4 weapons without exceeding its Power Output. 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 such as acid bombs and flash grenades. In regards to movement, the player can equip a wanzer with a variety of leg types (tread, hover, etc.) that has specific uses in terms of moving through various terrain. Therefore, players ultimately decide the effectiveness and strength of their squads based on wanzer setup alone. One of the most well known wanzer models is the Zenith, which has become an iconic figure for Front Mission for its appearance in every game.
SCREENS!:
Anyone have it yet? Is it awesome as it should be? Details people!
Front Mission is a strategy video game developed and published by Square in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super Famicom in Japan). Front Mission is an ongoing saga intertwining the storylines of various heroes and their epic 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.
Front Mission 1st for the DS includes several characters from Front Mission 5: Scars of the War. Battle sequences are being 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.
Some Gameplay notes:
The gameplay of Front Mission is similar to strategy RPG games such as Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. Although it has similarities to the aforementioned games, Front Mission is often classified more of a strategy game rather than strategy RPG due to its game mechanics. In terms of progression, 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
In terms of the gameplay mechanics, Front Mission units use wanzers, which is Front Mission-speak for mecha. Wanzers differ from the typical combat unit in that it has 4 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 equip and use hand and shoulder weapons, and the Body maintains the wanzer's operability. Should the Body be destroyed, the wanzer is destroyed completely. There are a lot of benefits to disabling a wanzer's Arms or Legs beforehand, as it will prevent a wanzer from using weapons or evading attacks respectively. The only forms of damage reduction are a wanzer's Defense stat and Shields, which boosts the overall defense of the wanzer. While the player fights mostly wanzers in the entire game, the player also fights vehicles and mobile weapon platforms. These enemy units only have one part, the Body, but they have greater Defense and HP values to compensate for having just one part.
Weapons in Front Mission are classified under three categories: Melee(Fight in the Japanese version), 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 of a wanzer. Short weapons are used in close-range and consist of Machine Guns, Shotguns, Flamethrowers, and Rifles. Machine Guns are multi-fire weapons and its rounds target a wanzer's parts at random. Shotguns, Flamethrowers, and Rifles are single-fire weapons similar to Melee weapons but they 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 round connects.
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. The advantage with a Long weapon is simple: the attacked unit cannot counter-attack the attacker. Long weapons have ammunition limits, however, and must be reloaded when a weapon has used up all of its ammo. Hybrid weapons that specialize in both Short and Long are present in the form of Bazookas and Grenade Launchers. These weapons have a noticeable drawback in that they have low accuracy and thus, rounds are likely to miss instead of hit the target.
Wanzer customization
The main draw of any Front Mission is the massive amounts of customization involved in creating wanzers. 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 4 weapons (right/left hand, right/left shoulder) for offensive purposes, though it is very hard to outfit a wanzer with 4 weapons without exceeding its Power Output. 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 such as acid bombs and flash grenades. In regards to movement, the player can equip a wanzer with a variety of leg types (tread, hover, etc.) that has specific uses in terms of moving through various terrain. Therefore, players ultimately decide the effectiveness and strength of their squads based on wanzer setup alone. One of the most well known wanzer models is the Zenith, which has become an iconic figure for Front Mission for its appearance in every game.
SCREENS!:
Anyone have it yet? Is it awesome as it should be? Details people!
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Exam week sucks! No time for videogames!
Front Mission 3 is one of my favorite games of all time.
Now I am regretting that decision.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Oh Dear Lord, I'm going to have to buy both of these.
-So sayeth the wise Alaundo
Mario Kart friend code: 227.692.747.075
Tetris friend code: 742.696.731.030
Pokemon code: 2921 5590 8486
Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 0602-5937-3565
And then I blew my game budget this month and can't afford to buy it at release. Well, next month it will be mine!
Podcast 0207: Sinking to new depths
Preview: Is Uncharted: Golden Abyss the Vita’s killer launch title?
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3: Macro-wreckonomics
It's actually the first in the series. Gameplay hasn't really changed all too much, but there are some differences in the way movement works (ie, humanoid legs can go up any amount of incline, others can only go up 1 level at a time).
But yea, gamestop SHOULD have it, I just picked mine up on long island on my way to work. Didn't get to play it, however I get off REALLY early for me, so it should be a fun night.
God knows when the hell I'm going to get around to playing it though.
Hopefully I've forgotten the SNES version. Not so much for the storyline, since I played it in Japanese and didn't know what was going on, but because I got pretty good at tweaking out a character to the point that the main character did all the work - nothing survived long enough for the people trailing one tile behind him to get any action.
Wanzer? Seriously?
Anyway. On a more adult note, more portable tactics games is more good as far as I'm concerned.
In the realm of names for giant robots in video games, that is legitimately top flight. 'Eggs?' Unless there's something I'm seriously missing from a German connotation of the name, or something.
Yet!
...Yeah, likely won't be seeing it any time soon. I think this game would have to do ridiculously well to make that even a possibility.
In regards to the actual game, I hate Yoshitaka Amano. The presence of his art very seriously detracts from my desire to get the game, which is sad, because everything else does look pretty good.
It's an abbreviation of "Wanderung Panzer," or "Walking Armor" in the German tongue according to the fluff. In the Front Mission universe, the Germans were the ones to pioneer and perfect the whole mech thing and so they got dibs on naming.
This was explained, along with a ton of other background fluff and history, in the "internet" feature in the third Front Mission.
It is easilly one of the best looking snes games imo.
Yeah, I know that. I was referencing the bolded part. Either it's about its closeness to wang (only in spelling, not in pronunciation), or there's some other German word or phrase or something that could be humorously linked to it in some way, or I'm just missing something else entirely.
Don't get too excited buddy. It's pronounced Vanzer.
I want my Front Mission 5!!!
Ordered 1st early Tuesday at buy.com yet for some reason it still shows "sent to warehouse" grrr :x
for the tl;dr people, it's awesome, get it. You blow up mechs portably. And there's new game+ features.
Theres about a 2-3 second delay for the starting combat but it honestly hasn't bothered me at all. I think it helps that this happens on the top screen which is normally just showing some random icon. From the SNES game it adds a whole new campaign which was in the old PS1 remake plus I think it was 10 missions completely new to the DS. The DS has a few new characters and minor things plus Local multiplayer.
The touch screen controls seem nice but I've stuck to the D-pad since I've gotten used to it playing FF Tactics on PSP nonstop for weeks.
I would recomend you get it at least to see where the series started. Honestly I never finished 4 and thought it was the weakest of the ones I played. In my opinion you should get this one and seriously try to track down 3 if you enjoyed 4.
Oo\ Ironsizide
This, the new Advance Wars coming out, Disgaea PSP, and Final Fantasy Tactics (both WotL and Advance 2)...
Portable strategy never felt so good.
You and me both brother.