FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake

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4.1/5

( 20 Reviews )

4.1

20 Reviews

English & 8 more

Overall most helpful review

Posted on: June 30, 2023

von_Hardenberg

Verified owner

Games: 601 Reviews: 17

Clean Remake of an Ancient Classic

For the books, the first Front Mission game dates back to 1995 and was released for the Super Nintendo. What is offered here is a port of the Switch version, finally no longer hampered by the Switches anemic hardware. The port runs flawlessly, supports modern resolutions, has excellent mouse and gamepad support, offers the full range of common PC video options, multiple selectable languages, and has decent camera controls if you select the "modern" display option. The mechs use 3d vector models, as opposed to the pixel graphics of the SNES and PS1 version. Content-wise, you're looking at about 30 hours of content, 2 campaigns, one of which was an addition to the Playstation port of the game (2003), several difficulty levels (which affect enemy HP and Damage only) and some New Game + surprises the the form of unlockable parts, The game is a turn-based strategy game featuring customizable mechs, and while it's not exactly Battletech, there's plenty of options to fiddle around with. The story is a bit basic by today's standards, but serves well enough to tie the combat missions together. And let's be honest, we're not here for the writing, we're here to watch mechs (here: Wanzers) blowing each other up, and blow each other up they will. Does it cure cancer and bring everlasting joy to the world? Doubtful. Does it offer a complete game without MTX, addons, season passes and other modern inconveniences? YEP. Does it entertain? Your mileage may vary, I however am having a blast. But, having tried to play the SNES version back in the olden days, I might be a tad bit biased. Still, I appreciate a getting a second chance to beat it, this time with decent controls and updated visuals. The game also has achievements on Galaxy, if you care for that sort of thing. If the rest of the remakes stays at this quality level, us ancient mecha fans shall be eating well in the near future.

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Posted on: July 3, 2023

OneNamelessGamer

Verified owner

Games: 75 Reviews: 12

A solid game... with a $ caveat.

In a starved genre such as the turn-based mech games, every old or new entry is rather welcome. As this is an acclaimed franchise, I thought to give it a go and enjoyed the demo on Steam. What said demo did not prepare me for was the true hardship of this game and the player's worst enemy... but before we get to the criticism, what's to like about it? If you like to fiddle around with unit customization but find Battletech too complicated, this game has you covered. Plenty of options despite offering "only" 4 modules (body, left and right arm and a pair of legs). There is a multitude of ranged weapons and artillery options. There's no shortage of elements to try out. Gameplay is mostly straightforward and intuitive, although the usage of items like mines and chaff is kind of difficult to figure out. Most weapons can only attack in cardinal directions of the Wanzer, not diagonally. This kind of works in the player's favor, as they are usually less in number than enemies and it's harder for the enemy units to dogpile on yours. Mission objectives seem to offer standard variety: eliminate all enemies, destroy certain object(s), eliminate/assassinate specific unit... But after several mission, your worst enemy appears. No, it's not enemy Wanzers and their numbers, it's not the dreaded RNG... it's the financial aspect of this game. Your Wanzers' raw stats are of crucial importance and you need the best possible parts and items for missions after the first few ones. And your budget is quite tight. Now, if the game was more generous with salvage and/or mission rewards, that wouldn't be a problem, but it's NOT. If you can't field top of the line Wanzers, can the run and start a new one, if you have the patience. And outside the main missions, the meager rewards from arena fights are the only earning option. All in all... I cautiously recommend this title.

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Posted on: July 4, 2023

VictorCZ

Games: 768 Reviews: 5

Best Japan serie forbidden to Europeans

I've been waiting for this remake for years .Watched an amateur translation of the series into English , ordered the fifth episode directly from Japan on PS2 ..... And today, out of the blue, a 3D remake of the SNES classic I used to play in an emulator on PC a decade ago jumps out at me. I'm not going to say this game is a must for me, but I'll have to wait to buy it due to the price tag. Playing games like Final Fantasy Tactics , Fire Emblem , or Advance Wars and my favorites Battle Isle and Panzer General is a challenge that will last for years. And in the case of this remake, I just hope that the complete Front Mission turn-based series will finally make it to Europe (we'd better tactfully forget about the action titles that have already been released on PC, and LeftAlive has remained unrecognized as a Front Mission sequel - but Solid Snake was certainly not in vain). What will the Front Mission 1st remake offer ? A solid serving of tactics on the chessboard , a set story through the eyes of the other side of the first Huffman conflict and now finally a 3D treatment of the first game ( the SNES version was cute but times have moved on ) Chessboard battlefields await you, tactics and dressing up your own Wanzers. There's a story of camaraderie and betrayal and a little bit of that stereotypical arena grind to earn better hardware, weapons and Wanzers. This was only the beginning of the series and I am eagerly awaiting the rest of the series ;)

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Posted on: October 3, 2023

hayenne

Verified owner

Games: 326 Reviews: 15

Solid mech tactics

I did not play the original series. Bought this game as I like the genre (and long lost any hope of MechCommander 3). Short range weapons are king in this game, with melee closely following. Long range are situational and are only good for ganging up on someone. Skills are OP, but it is unclear when they are earned. In general, there is a lot of WHYs in the game: why is it not possible to see which legs are hover (you have to decide based on appearance), if you buy weapons not through shop setup, you will not even see which are ranged or melee, game never explains rules of movement through trees or hard terrain. Other reviewers complained there is lack of $$$, but my experience is opposite: by the midgame, once you get your first OP pilot like Meihua, you can spam arena for significant cash influx all while gaining her skills. I had 300k extra credits (which is enough to completely upgrade your entire roster 4 times). Overall this is a good game, but it must have been better in the 90s. Let's cross fingers and wait for better contenders.

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Posted on: June 30, 2023

Plaid Chainsaw

Games: 186 Reviews: 2

Too Expensive For What it Is

If you like Front Mission or tactical RPGs, you should enjoy this game. If you like what qualifies as a SNES anime style 'Mature Story', you'll enjoy the game. That said, the game play is still very 90s and ymmv with the RNG adding to the difficulty. The graphics are mobile quality. The graphics aren't necessarily bad, they're just boring. I'd prefer the pixel style of the original, which is not present here. There's not really any notable difference or QOL improvement from the original or the DS version. The multiple difficulties are tacked on with little more than damage/HP sliders. The whole thing feels half baked. Charitably, it's worth $15, and at that price it would a star. -I played this on Switch. By all means try a demo on any of the consoles that offer it as itt seems to have been overlooked for the GoG release.

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FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake

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