"Ze vanzers, ze do nothing!"

Throw in some cheap accents, some mechs (called "Wanzers"), some high-quality Square Enix graphics, and a little bit of humor and you got Front Mission 4. Is it better than FM3? Is it worth 50 bucks? Is this review the best? Yes. Yes. Heck Yeah.

Story - 10/10
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First lets talk about what I thought was the best aspect of this game, the story. Front Mission 4 lets you command two groups, Darril's team and Elsa's team. Both groups have lots of lovable characters, even voices to go along with them. The dialogue between Darril, Renges, and Chaeffer always give you a smile, and the many enemy characters are actually pretty cool. As the game nears its end, both Elsa's and Darril's fates intertwine, and the game ends with lots of tension, suspense, and uncertainty. Certainly a story worthy of the company who made it, Square Enix.

Music/Sound - 9/10
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With a great story you need great music and sound effects,right? Yes, and thankfully Square Enix delivers. There are lots of different kinds of sounds that accompany the many cut-scenes in the game, and it really adds another dimension to them. Never in the game will the voices sound awkward to the situation the characters are in. Even the many guns, rifles and missile launchers you can equip your wanzers with all have unique sound effects. Also, the music that plays during the battles are actually pretty good, and each pre-battle location has it's own music also.

Why a 9? Well, the sound isn't always perfect. Some gunfire sounds a little too annoying, and even though I said the voice acting is always perfect, there are a few scenes where the voices are laughable.

Graphics - 9/10
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Graphics don't make a game, but it can help. In Front Mission 4, the graphics are stunning for a strategy game. The battle sequences (when the camera zooms in on the action after you select to fight an enemy) are very fun to watch, especially when it includes boss enemies and there incredibly huge machines. Also, the cut-scenes are beautiful, and there are a few scenes that make you go "Sweeeeeet". Although the graphics are great, there are a few jaggies, especially when your wanzers are fighting on hills.

Gameplay - 8/10
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The gameplay is where the game falters a bit. Firstly, the battles can last a very long time, lasting more than an hour in some cases. Thankfully, Square Enix put in a feature that lets you speed up combat and skip the battle sequences, and these features can cut down on the battles time quite a bit. But the battles are full of different enemy wanzers with a full array of arsenal, and the battles keep you on your toes.

Secondly, the enemy wanzers you combat are very tough and have deadly weapons that can wipe out your team in minutes, but sadly they aren't the smartest of enemies. The A.I. in Front Mission 4 isn't too good, and in some cases terrible. I'll use one situation that happened to me in this game as an example. I had one "healing" wanzer and one "assault" wanzer left fighting about 3 enemy wanzers. The enemy wanzers would attack the "assault" wanzer and would miss every time. You'd think after a while, the enemies would stop attacking the wanzer they've missed for a good 10 turns and take out the "healing" wanzer, who has poor defense and evasion skills, but no they continue attacking the "assault" wanzer as I slowly whittle away at there life and win. After that battle, I felt like I didn't deserve the win.

Enough with the bad and on to the good stuff. The wanzers come jam-packed with customization. You can give your wanzer different legs, bodies, and arms, and equip them with shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and missile launchers. You can even change the wanzer's colors, and there are a lot to choose from. Also, the wanzer's pilots have there own E.P. points, which can be used to buy skills that will activate while fighting in battles. Some skills are really helpful, and add extra flare to the battle sequences. Also, there are Link Points that are given to each pilot, and you can have Attack Links and Defense Links. The Link system is a lot like a soldier "backing up" another soldier in real life. So if you select to fight an enemy, and have two wanzers to back you up (linked to you), all of your friends will attack if they are within range and have enough A.P. What is A.P. you say? Action points, and it determines how many times you can act and defend yourself. The A.C. points reset every turn, not completely though (depends on a certain stat). Linking up different wanzers and having enough A.P. is key to winning tough battles.

Overall - 9/10
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Front Mission 4 is a great game, and if you like strategy games, then you should own it. Some strategy experts will find it a little easy, but a few battles are tough. With lovable characters, a very intriguing story, and wanzers blowing up each other, you'll find lots to love about FM4.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/27/04