"With two stories going on, they could've called this one Front/Back Missions"

Front Mission. While an obscure series in the USA, in Japan this is... still probably an obscure series, I don't know. The Front Mission series takes a spin on the futuristic war-torn world of mech combat, where gigantic robots are outfitted with a plethora of weapons and accessories, all of which you choose yourself. Much like Final Fantasy, several Front Mission games originally missed out on an English release, yet unlike Square Enix's trademark series, the chances of us getting these in an anthology or collection game appear slim.

Anyway, we got a great game back on the Playstation called Front Mission 3, and perhaps due to its success, or because of Square Enix's continually deeper realizations that we will buy anything they make, we also received Front Mission 4 for the PS2. Unfortunately, while certainly a step up from the original Super Famicom Front Mission, the fourth title in the series just lacks something the third captured, but is still by all means an enjoyable experience, provided the genre itself appeals to you.

And so, to the point: if you don't like turn-based strategy role-playing games, spending half your time in the menu, and taking over an hour on a single battle, I advise you to run now and don't look back. If you're saying "been there, done that" and thinking back fondly on the last grindfest you plunked 70+ hours into, this review is definitely for you.

-Graphics: 8/10

Front Mission 4, visually speaking, is a mixed bag. The game starts you off with a gripping cinema scene, where a high-impact battle tears through a military base in the dead of night. The bad news is, this is no longer 1997, and a game with an amazing intro movie followed by so-so graphics is no longer totally awesome. To be fair, the graphics are still pretty good, but with their share of flaws as well.

In battle, your characters pilot robots the size of small buildings, called Wanzers. The mechanical designs are diverse and appealing, and I have to give praise to the art team of this series. They dance between realistic robotics and geeky sci-fi bliss skillfully, appealing to your imagination without losing a touch of reality. Some of the designs are reused (in one part of the game you'll have access to a Wanzer model called Reckson III, and later on you can buy Reckson V, both appearing the same but with upgraded performance,) but I have no issue with this, since in real life, telling the difference between a 2006 and 2007 model car may be nigh-impossible to the uninitiated, and Wanzer models are a similar concept. Fans of the series will recognize a few returning designs as well, such as the aforementioned Reckson itself.

While impressive in design, the Wanzers do not consistently impress in motion. The walking animations are alright, capturing a sense of weight to the movement, but alright is not the word I would hope for in this game. In battle, they move with the sort of clumsiness one might expect from a metal goliath, which is a nice touch, but there are inconsistencies that drag down the experience. Sometimes during battle, especially involving multiple opponents at once, the aimless pivoting around of the Wanzer to face every foe even if it is going neither to dodge, block nor counterattack, makes them appear downright stupid. The game looks nice in general, but certain moments cause it to lose the sense of realism, and the special effects are inconsistent (the gunfire looks way better than the smoke.)

The highlight of the graphics is the sense of immersion in battle. There used to be two kinds of tactical RPGs, the type where cartoonish little characters attack right there on the battlefield, and those where you cut to a battle screen and larger, richer models go into a brief skirmish. Front Mission 4 may be the first title I'm aware of that breaks this convention. The battlefields, all built in elaborate 3D, don't depict a squashed little mock-up of your robots and then cut to the full package for a fight. No, your mechs are always the real deal, and when a skirmish occurs, you simply zoom in on the battlefield to see them.

While some of the battlefields are huge, the big cities are devoid of moving cars, pedestrians, and other life, and lack a certain amount of detail when up-close. Capturing huge battlefields was an ambitious undertaking, but when one compares it to another large-scale game such as, say, GTA: San Andreas, or to the high graphical standards of SE's other games, Front Mission's efforts are pleasant but shallow.

-Sound: 9/10

The sound score for this game is a highly disputable one. I had to go with my heart on it. The game features lots of voice-over dialogue, and in my opinion, this is some of the better voice acting I've heard in a game. Frankly, if Front Mission 4 were an anime, I would consider this an above-average dub. The characters are easy to distinguish and deliver dynamic performances that help give them personality. Take some notes, Capcom!

The game features characters from all over the world and the multitude of depicted accents sound genuine without being corny or obnoxious. This is a huge deal, because even if you look at movies, major stars often fail to perform convincing accents (or, alternatively, are unable to drop their existing accents.) It gives the game an international feel which drastically improves its storytelling.

Music in Front Mission 4 is exciting and well-composed, but the number of tracks isn't quite high enough. I've always been of the opinion that in a strategy game where most of your time is spent in battles, you need a lot of battle tunes. Front Mission 4 delivers a handful of strong pieces that capture the feel of an epic battle, but some players will get very tired of certain songs repeating over multiple stages, considering how long those stages are. A few of the tracks are still in my head, as are the feelings the game left me with, which is enough for a decent score in my book.

It's definitely nice to play an RPG without the handful of stock slashing, lightning, healing sounds. Instead, in Front Mission 4, you get ringing machine gun fire, various explosions, and deep sounds of impact from melee attacks. These sounds were well above-average, and when combined with the other audial aspects of the game, they create a memorable and engrossing experience.

-Story: 7/10

Front Mission 4 follows the uncommon path of a split-route game. You play as two separate teams of heroes whose tales will converge for a few fleeting moments. Your first team consists of a British Wanzer research group filled with the best and brightest pilots from various European nations. The star of the show is Elsa, an earnest young French woman who is the team's newest member. Trying to solve the mystery of the phantom attackers seen in the opening cinema, they uncover a secret plot and must go against the flow to expose the truth. It's an interesting tale of espionage, coverup, military secrets, broken conventions, and national pride.

Your other plot follows a few American Wanzer troopers as they get caught up in an independence war in Venezuela. A smooth-talking guy named Darril is down on his luck until he stumbles across... well, I won't tell you what, but he and his buddies are in for a wild ride as they're branded deserters, hounded by the Venezuelans, and have a brush-in with some guerillas who are fighting for the people. The political intrigue in Elsa's story won't be found here, but I felt the characters were more developed and interesting.

The two tales are both entertaining, but in my opinion, the story suffers from the split. Darril's story is simply too self-contained and only has small relations to Elsa's, and while Elsa's story has the meat of the game's full plot, it's a bit of a shame to see it told through the eyes of characters who simply see less overall development. A few of them get a bit of fleshing out, but some of them are completely flat. This inconsistency makes the game a choppy storytelling experience.

Beyond that, the ending provides closure but doesn't feel particularly rich in substance. It was about what I expected, which wasn't really good or bad I suppose. By all means, don't expect Metal Gear Solid's story in this game, but I still walked away content, and that's enough for a 7.

-Gameplay: 8/10

For those unfamiliar with Front Mission's gameplay, it goes something like this. Characters pilot mecha called Wanzer into battle. Wanzer are made up of four parts, a left arm, right arm, body, and legs. You select each part individually based on their stats, such as how much health they have, how accurate an arm is with guns, or how far legs can walk. You then load them up with guns, shoulder-mounted missiles, shields, melee weapons, or various backpacks that do anything from holding items to making radio calls to a plane to call in a bombing run.

The catch is, each Wanzer can only hold so much weight before it's overburdened and cannot be deployed. Because of this, you have to choose weapons carefully, and make sacrifices here and there to find a balanced mech. This hunt for balance can take forever and is not for the faint of heart, as you'll spend hours in the shop or the Wanzer garage tinkering your mechs into perfection. This is where the true beauty of Front Mission shines, though, as once you get those robots onto the battlefield, their performance is based on what you gave them, so the game really is your own experience.

Wanzers receive damage to any or all parts when attacked, depending on the weapon. Machine guns will randomly hit arms, legs, and body, while shotguns hit each part equally, and rifle shots do one powerful blow to a single area. Making smart use of the right weapon at the right time will allow you to destroy, for example, the enemy's legs, thus making them unable to dodge and rendering them all but immobile. Loss of an arm leaves that arm's weapon or shield unusable, and the destruction of the body means the complete defeat of that Wanzer. This multiple target damage system is a great gameplay element that I sorely wish could be seen in more games, and yet it has hardly changed since the original Front Mission. Why fix what isn't broken, I suppose.

Beyond that, the game features pilot skills and attributes that affect how they perform in their Wanzer. You'll earn points in battle to spend on skills like improved weapon masteries, better dodge rates, faster reaction times, or new skills. Give Elsa two machine guns and the Double Shot skill, and if the skill goes off (there is a chance it will or won't each time you attack,) she will open fire with both guns instead of one. These skills give you a wealth of options in combat and allow you to build a character to your tastes. Unfortunately, some of the skills don't seem anywhere near as useful as others, and each pilot will be forced to the skills they're capable of learning, that is until you spend some money to buy them new ones.

The game also features a Link system, which allows multiple characters to strike in unison, possibly even with combined special moves. If moves go off in succession, damage modifiers will pop up and multiply how powerful your attacks are, giving you some major destructive potential. Defensive Links exist that can give your characters cover fire or even allow you to use your allies as shields. This system is by far the best new feature to Front Mission, as it redefines how your team works together and allows you vast customization.

Massive battlefields allow battles that take great amounts of time to complete. Fortunately, there is a save feature that can be used to hold your progress until next time. Battles also prevent varied conditions for victory, such as protecting computer-controlled allies (who actually have decent AI,) or preventing the enemy from destroying an immobile target such as a plane or building. Foes from Wanzers to tanks, helicopters to mounted turrets will stand in your way, keeping battles fresh. Some gigantic bosses will challenge you, but many of them are surprisingly, if not disappointingly easy.

Simulator battles can be played, which place different enemies onto battlefields you've already seen. These are for racking up some extra experience and money, and try as I could, I ended up having to play a few when a severe cash crunch closed in on me. For how little the profits can be, the battles still take a bit of time to complete, and remind you how tedious large-plane warfare can get. Yet completing these battles will also yield the occasional secret in the form of new shop items, which chances are you won't need to complete the final battles.

Though at times slow and easy, Front Mission 4 can also be intense and bring you close to defeat in the blink of an eye when you underestimate a well-organized team of enemies. The game requires patience but it rewards it as well. It offers extensive tutorials, making its expansive set of options easy to understand. Aside from a few personal gripes, the often slow gameplay, and a menu system that's more cumbersome than it should be, I can't find a lot of flaws in Front Mission 4 that would stop it from entertaining the average RPG fan, but certainly those traits alone are worth considering.

-Playtime/Replayability: 8/10

Most of the enjoyment here is in the playtime, as I must have clocked over 60 hours on this game before beating it. The game can be replayed, keeping money and skills intact, but there isn't much left other than simply obliterating it a second time through. Still, the option to do so is better than nothing, and the plot is long and deep enough that after staying away for awhile, the game may manage to lure you back. I know one guy who's beat it several times over and is working on it again now that I returned it to him. He's also one of those guys who beat Final Fantasy VII numerous times, getting to level 99 each time, so take that as you will.

Final Recommendation:

Front Mission 4: a great game with a few flaws? A mediocre effort from Square Enix, dwarfed by its bigger titles? If I had to sum it up, I'd call it a respectable, against-the-norm and open-ended strategy RPG that's overall very solid, yet, unlike my beloved La Alianza Wanzer pilot Ines with her grenade launcher and bazooka combo, fails to blow anyone away. Give it a whirl if you're a mech-head or you're sick of all these dime-a-dozen anime-looking games; I guarantee you'll find it in a bargain bin or used game shelf somewhere, and it's a pretty sweet deal.

SCORE: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/09/07