Front Mission III Review (PSX)

Front Mission 3 is the first in the series to be released in English, and judging from this installment, it's a shame the others were never translated. While not as deep as Final Fantasy Tactics, the strategy-based battle engine is intuitive, easy to use, and just plain fun. Fans of strategy/rpgs like Vandal Hearts or the Shining Force series, or mech-heads like me, should definitely find a copy of this game, as it combines giant mechs, called wanzers, with turn-based tactical battles.

STORYLINE (7/10):
The story of Front Mission 3 is interesting, though implemented a little poorly. After delivering new wanzers to a military base you become embroiled in international intrigue. A weapon of mass destruction, called Midas, has been stolen from the U.S.N (the name for the U.S.A. in the game) by Japan. But they don't want it back, they want to destroy it. Or so it seems. Midas has all the power of an atomic bomb, but without the environmental risks of radiation. While attempting to destroy Midas, you and your team (though you're not actually the leader of the group, a nice change of pace from most games) discover a plot to genetically engineer a new race of soldiers. While neither of these plots are all that original, and you'll probably see the genetics angle a mile away (i.e. when they first start doling out clues), the way that they're mixed together is new. Unfortunately, the plot is the game's weakest part. The implementation of the plot points is pretty bad. You'll see many of the game's twists long before the characters in the game realize what's going on. And then when the lead character is told some shocking revelation, he has to repeat it again in the form of a question just to make sure he (and you) understand. Gee, thanks. This doesn't happen all the time, but enough for it to be annoying. It seems almost like the characters are playing dumb half the time, while other times they come up with brilliant strategies for confusing the enemy. So smart as tacticians yet so clueless... It just doesn't add up. Finally, while the three or four main characters all have interesting stories and their dialogue contributes to their characterization, some of the supporting characters are just not fully developed. They have stock responses that can be switched amongst themselves and you'd never know. Try to figure out who's speaking just by some of the dialogue of half of your team. You won't be able to do it. So while the story isn't actually bad, the presentation of it is. Still, it doesn't really distract you from enjoying the game.

GAMEPLAY (9/10):
The gameplay itself is where FM3 really shines. While the turn-based tactical battles aren't nearly as deep as those found in, say, FF Tactics, they still present a challenge, and thinking ahead is definitely necessary in order to win. The hardest part is putting together a good wanzer. You have to consider the weight for one thing. If all the parts are too heavy, you won't be able to equip the most powerful weapons. But the light-weight parts have lower hit points, something that must be taken into consideration, because if you lose a part you won't be able to use it in battle (unless you restore it using an item). If the legs are destroyed, walking is restricted to one space at a time. If the arm is destroyed, the weapon that's equipped on that arm won't be able to be used. And if the body is destroyed, the wanzer won't work at all. So you have to find a balance between low weight but high enough hit points so that the part isn't destroyed in one attack. Also, different parts teach the wanzer different combat abilities, such as zoom (which increases your accuracy) or escape (which allows you to escape before a part is destroyed), which are activated randomly in battle. It's generally a good idea, if you have the money, to buy different parts and try them out in the test battles. But bear in mind that you can only equip so many combat abilities, and different abilities take up different amounts of space. Some may only take up one block, while others could take up four! So building and maintaining a wanzer is were the strategy comes in. Of course battles do allow for some strategy. In some battles, you can catch the enemy in a pincer, just as long as your wanzers are strong enough for it. If an enemy wanzer only has a melee weapon equipped, you can stand a block or so away from it and attack without it being able to counterattack. (Melee weapons are fists or spikes. All wanzers have the ability to counterattack so long as the enemy attacking is within range of the weapon.) So there actually is quite a bit of strategy in the game. On a side note, there's a very extensive fake internet in the game that's very engrossing. Mostly, it tells you the story of the other two Front Missions which were never released in English. But there's a lot to do. The game even features it's own email system. It's a nice diversion, but mostly unnecessary. (You can buy parts online, and there's a hidden wanzer with a very powerful weapon to be uncovered.)

GRAPHICS (7/10):
The graphics are nothing too great, but they're not horrible either. They remind me of some of the close-up graphics in Xenogears: blocky textures, clipping, and blurry features (just look at the graphics of the characters when they exit their wanzers). The graphics aren't completely bad, they're just serviceable. For Square, however, one would expect more than this. Of course, this is a single disc game and Square has really packed it full of gameplay (more on this later). The FMV is what you'd expect from Squaresoft: breathtaking. But there isn't really enough of it. Again, it doesn't really detract from the game, but it could have been better.

SOUND (8/10):
The sound effects are one of the best features in the game. The explosions, gun fire, machine guns... they all sound genuinely life-like. The music isn't bad either, but I have yet to play a game where I really liked the music. I'm not the kind of person to buy the soundtrack to a video game. Still, the music was pretty good, and it doesn't really get in the way either. You won't hear songs all the time, which is good. Sometimes, you'll just want to listen to the mayhem of warfare. And this game has plenty of that.

REPLAYABILITY (9/10):
One of the really great things about this game is that once it's over, you're still only half way through. That's because there's two different stories to be played: Emma's and Alisa's. The answer to a simple question in the very beginning of the game determines which storyline you'll follow. Most people will start out on Emma's story and replay the game to experience Alisa's. While the plot itself doesn't change (Midas & genetic research are still the main points of the game), everything that surrounds the plot is different. For one thing, in Emma's scenario you spend most of the game trying to rescue Alisa. In Alisa's, she's one of the main playable characters and you spend most of the game with her. Square really knows how to give you your money's worth!

Overall, Front Mission 3 is an involving strategy/rpg with an ok plot, quite a bit of strategy, and a ton of replayability. It makes you wish Square had translated the other Front Missions.