Front Mission (フロントミッション, Furonto Misshon) is a group of video games and other media created by Square, now known as Square Enix. The series was started by Toshiro Tsuchida and made by G-Craft, a studio that later became part of Square Enix as Product Development Division-6. Since the first Front Mission game was released in 1995, the series has expanded into many forms of media, including movies, comics, books, radio plays, mobile phone apps, and toys. While most Front Mission games are turn-based tactical role-playing games, some spin-offs have explored other types, such as side-scrolling shooters, real-time strategy games, massive multiplayer online games, and third-person shooters. The Front Mission video games sold over 3 million copies worldwide by January 2006.

A key feature of Front Mission is its storytelling. Set in the 21st and 22nd centuries, the series focuses on wars and political conflicts between powerful groups of countries and their member states. Each game has its own story, but these stories are connected to a larger, ongoing storyline that includes all parts of the series. When combined with stories from other media, the series has a depth and continuity similar to a long-running TV show. Another popular aspect of Front Mission is its use of giant robots called "wanzers," named after the fictional German word "Wanderpanzer," which means "walking tanks."

Development

The creation of the first Front Mission game began with talks between Square and G-Craft, a software development company. Square had never worked with another developer before, and planning took a long time. However, an agreement between the two companies was completed in the Fall of 1993. Toshiro Tsuchida, a game producer and writer, shared a proposal for a game called “100 Mission” with Square through his own company, Solid, on G-Craft’s behalf. When Square’s producer, Shinji Hashimoto, first saw the proposal, he thought it was “too radical,” and such ideas were usually not approved. Square was not excited about the proposal and repeatedly told Tsuchida, “no robots.” They also explained that game development could not depend only on a creator’s passion. Tsuchida struggled to explain how robots would play a role in the game, so he used development tools to create a prototype. At the time, Square was the only publisher willing to consider Tsuchida’s idea. They finally agreed to make the game because they believed working in a new genre would be interesting and something they could not do themselves, as Square had mostly made fantasy games up to that point.

There are two types of Front Mission games: numbered entries and non-numbered entries. The numbered Front Mission titles are all tactical role-playing games. Other Front Mission titles without numbers are genre spin-offs. Each of the five spin-off games belongs to a different genre. Front Mission: Gun Hazard is a side-scrolling shooter video game. Front Mission Alternative is a real-time strategy video game. Front Mission: Online is a massively multiplayer online third-person shooter video game. Front Mission Evolved is a third-person shooter video game that includes rail shooter segments. In an interview with RPGamer in 2007, Front Mission developer Koichi Sakamoto mentioned that the development team is interested in combining real-time and turn-based gameplay for future games.

Games

Since 1995, the Front Mission series has released 15 video games. Seven of these are main (numbered) entries, and five are spin-off entries. The series has also had many ports, remakes, and compilations over 15 years. On July 12, 2002, a version of Front Mission was released for the Bandai WonderSwan Color. A year later, a remake of the game called Front Mission First was released for the Sony PlayStation on October 23, 2003. Soon after, a compilation titled Front Mission History was released in Japan on December 11, 2003. This compilation included the Front Mission First remake, a modified version of Front Mission 2, and Front Mission 3. An improved version of Front Mission First was released for the Nintendo DS on March 22, 2007. A remake of Front Mission 2089 called Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on May 29, 2008. A third remake of Front Mission, called Front Mission 1st, was released on November 30, 2022, for the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PS4, and PS5.

All Front Mission games have been released in Japan, but only a few have been translated for other countries. Front Mission 3 was the first game to be released in North America and Europe on March 22, 2000, and August 11, 2000, respectively. Front Mission 4 was the second game to be translated into English and was released in North America on June 15, 2004. Three years later, the Nintendo DS version of Front Mission First was released in North America on October 23, 2007. This was the third Front Mission title translated for North America. Front Mission Evolved became the first spin-off game to be released in North America and Europe. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2010, in North America on September 28, 2010, and in Europe on October 8, 2010.

So far, only seven Front Mission games have been officially translated and released outside Japan.

Common elements

The Front Mission video games include different types of gameplay, but all share common elements. In these games, players control units called wanzers, a type of robot named after the German phrase "Wanderpanzer," meaning "walking tank." Wanzers have four separate parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Each part has its own role and health. The legs help move and avoid attacks, the arms are needed to use weapons on the hands and shoulders, and the body keeps the wanzer working. If the body is destroyed, the wanzer is no longer used. If the arms or legs are destroyed, the wanzer can still be used but performs much worse. Other enemies, like vehicles and planes, usually have only one part (the body) and are stronger than wanzers.

Wanzers can be changed by adding different parts, computers, backpacks, and weapons. Players can choose how to build their wanzers as long as the total weight does not exceed the wanzer's power. To use a wanzer in battle, it must have all four parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Parts with built-in weapons can also be added. In most games, computers are needed to improve weapon accuracy and allow special attacks. Backpacks and weapons are not required but are important for progressing in the game. Backpacks give wanzers special abilities, such as carrying extra supplies.

Weapons are divided into four types: melee, short-range, long-range, and support fire. Melee weapons, like fists and rods, hit the body of enemies. Short-range weapons, such as machine guns and flamethrowers, attack enemies up close. Long-range weapons, like sniper rifles and bazookas, attack from far away. Support fire weapons, like missiles and grenades, hit targets indirectly and are hard to avoid but have limited ammo. Shields can be added to wanzers to block some damage.

Other features in Front Mission games include:

• Arena: A special fighting mode where players earn money or new parts. It appears in Front Mission, Front Mission 2, Front Mission 5, Front Mission 2089, and Front Mission: Online.
• Action Points (AP): A system that limits how many actions a player can take during battles. AP is used in Front Mission 2, 3, 4, and 5.
• Links: A feature that lets units help each other in battles. It is found in Front Mission 2, 4, 5, and 2089.
• Network: A game menu that provides information about the story, characters, and equipment. It is used in Front Mission 2 and 3.
• Battle Simulator: A training mode where players improve their skills. It is in Front Mission 3, 4, and 5.
• Survival Simulator: A challenge where players collect items while navigating floors. It is in Front Mission 5 and 2089-II.

Important fictional countries in the Front Mission series include:

Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU): A group of countries in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Its capital is Canberra, Australia. The OCU was formed in 2019 after joining countries from Southeast Asia and Oceania.

United States of the New Continent (USN): A group of North and South American countries. Its capital is Washington, D.C. The USN was created in 2016 after the United States and Canada merged with South American nations.

European Community (EC): A group of European countries. Its capital is Paris, France. The EC was formed in 2005 after the European Union expanded.

Organization of African Consolidation (OAC): A group of African countries. It is divided into five regions: South African United States, Union of North African States, West African States Community Union, Community of Central African States, and East African Community.

Republic of Zaftra: A group of countries including Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Its capital is not mentioned in the text.

Music

The music from the series includes soundtracks for the main games, such as Front Mission through Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, and for spin-off games like 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. Most of the soundtracks have been released as albums in Japan, except for 2089, 2089-II, Border of Madness (which uses music from other games), and Evolved, which was published in 2010. The soundtrack for Front Mission was released in 1995 by NTT Publishing, which also released the soundtrack for Front Mission: Gun Hazard in 1996. DigiCube published soundtracks for Front Mission 2 and Alternative in 1997 and 1999, respectively. Square Enix published soundtracks for Front Mission 4 in 2004 and for Front Mission 5 and Online in 2006.

Critics have praised the soundtracks of the main series and Gun Hazard. The music for Alternative and Online received less favorable reviews. The music in the series often combines electronic and orchestral styles, though each game and composer has created unique variations. Composers for the series include Yoko Shimomura, Noriko Matsueda, Koji Hayama, Hayato Matsuo, Hidenori Iwasaki, and Garry Schyman. A box set containing music from the series is being planned, but no official announcement or release date has been made yet.

Reception

In April 1995, the original release of Front Mission on the Super Famicom was well received. Famitsu magazine gave the Super Famicom version of the game a score of 9 out of 10 and later a score of 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review. Mega Fun awarded the game a Gold rating for an import title. Front Mission: Gun Hazard received a 7 out of 10 from Fun Generation and a 4.2 out of 5 from Super GamePower. Famitsu magazine gave Front Mission 2 a score of 32 out of 40 upon its release. The magazine listed the game as the 63rd best game on the original PlayStation. Greg Kasavin of GameSpot praised the graphics and audio of Front Mission Alternative but criticized the game for being too short. He also noted that the game rewarded players with more detailed story sections if they failed missions, which he considered a negative. He described the soundtrack as "a bunch of dizzying techno that doesn't suit the onscreen grandeur." Hardcore Gaming 101 said Front Mission Alternative was not a deep real-time strategy game but praised its branching stories and variety of endings. GameSpot noted that Front Mission 3 could be a good introduction to the franchise for American audiences but criticized its graphics as slightly worse than Front Mission 2. IGN praised the game's battle mechanics, which were rare in other Square games since Final Fantasy Tactics, but pointed out that the graphics transitions between overhead views and individual battles were inconsistent.

Front Mission 4 has a 75% score on both GameRankings and Metacritic. North American reviews of the game were mixed to generally positive, with praise for its deep gameplay, customizable wanzers, and high production quality. Some critics felt the plot moved slowly, the AI was weak, and the menu system was difficult to use. GameSpot gave Front Mission Online mostly positive feedback, noting that the game successfully changed the strategy series into an action and combat experience. In RPG Fan's "Games of 2006" feature, they listed Front Mission 5: Scars of the War as the Import RPG of the Year, highlighting its improvements and strong design. The game was also named runner-up for Strategy RPG of the Year by RPG Fan. Developers acknowledged the positive reception of the game's cinematic style but said later entries in the series might not follow the same direction.

Greg Miller of IGN gave Front Mission Evolved a score of 6.0 out of 10, calling it "uninspired" and saying it would only appeal to "hardcore mech-heads." He criticized the missions as "frustrating filler" and noted that while wanzer customization was enjoyable, missions often forced players into inconvenient setups. He called the story "less than stellar" and said the game "doesn't feel like a full-fledged game." IGN described Left Alive as a "failure on every level," citing poor controls, game balance issues, and technical problems. Destructoid praised the game's soundtrack and art style but pointed out that the low-resolution graphics made the game look "drab." They also noted "laughable" enemy physics, where dead enemies would jump in the air depending on how they died, and described the voice acting as "varied," ranging from decent to poor. Kotaku liked the idea of urban warfare, such as finding improvised weapons to fight war mechs, but said the game's "stiff" and "sluggish" controls made it very hard to play.

Since 1994, the Front Mission series has inspired many products in different media outside of video games. The series includes a long-running line of manga and novels that expand the stories of the video games. It has also produced two live-action films directed by Yoshihiko Dai and a ten-episode radio drama directed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi, both of which expand the Front Mission universe. Some actors and actresses involved in these projects include Banjō Ginga, Hiromi Tsuru, Dax Griffin, Danielle Keaton, and Tina Coté. In addition to these media, the series has released many books, toys, and soundtracks under the Front Mission brand name.