Front Mission 3

"Excellent."

Story- the story is what I look for in any game. The game could have horrible graphics, mediocre gameplay and I would still play it as long as it has a great story. That is why I still prefer some PS1 games over PS2 and even PS3 games. Fortunately this game has an excellent story. Unlike most RPGs the game is not fantasy, the characters, locations and everything else is real. You will visit real countries like Japan, America and Philippine. Although you will be using some unrealistic weapons like the Wanzers (mechs). To make things more interesting, the game has two paths depends on which one you take you get a completely different story. The only thing I don't like about the story is the lack of plot twists. Maybe because I have played so many games, but I found the story too predictable.

Graphics- not bad for a playstation game. The battle field where you will be spending most of the time, consists of bunch of 2D mechs and other stuff. The only way to recognize your mech is by its color. Other things like trees and cars look very blocky and lack details. When you enter a battle, the game zooms in and you can see your mech and the enemy's mech exchanging punches and kicks. Some of the special attacks like the missiles and grenades look really good. Also you will be treated with a very nice cut scene every now and then.

Gameplay- This is the game's strongest point. The gameplay is very deep and complex with a lot of things to do. There is a quite high learning curve, however there is a tutorial that explains the basics. The battles are very similar to the ones in Final Fantasy Tactics, but with mechs. The battles are turn based, and played on the usual grid like any SRPG. Your mechs are composed of several "parts", two arms, two legs, and a body. Each part has its own HP gauge, when the gauge is depleted that part becomes unusable. So if you lose your right arm, you will not be able to use the weapon equipped to it. And if you lose your legs, you will be unable to move. However if your body gets destroyed the mech is gone. The thing that I hated about this battle system is the fact that you can't choose which part your mech attacks- its random. However there are weapons that allow you to target multiple parts. Other weapons can target only one part of the mech, but those weapons are usually stronger and do more damage. Each weapon come with its own advantages and disadvantages. You can also use special skills like "Zoom" and "evade" but those are totally random so you can't choose when to active them. You can use items as well, like "Repair". There are other things that can happen to your mech, like "stunned" and "confused", but they are all random. You might also get "ejected" from your mech, when that happens make sure you get back in as quickly as possible because your pilot has very few HP and can not withstand an attacks from another mech.

Your can customize your mechs the way you want. You can upgrade its parts and make it stronger (more HP, faster movements etc) or replace them with a completely new set of parts. You can buy parts, weapons and items from the shop during intermissions. You can even change your mech's name and color. That's not all you can during intermissions. You can access the "Internet" to gather information about other countries and factions. You can even send and receive "email" from other characters. Cool stuff. You can also enter simulator mode, here you can play some random battles to gain experience and money.

Difficulty- the game is not difficult but it does have a very high learning curve. The tutorial is a good start, and you are forced to go through it anyway. Some of the later battles proved to be difficult, mainly because you are always greatly outnumbered. So you must keep your mechs upgraded and stock lots of healing items.

Replay value- This game is huge, almost 60 hours to beat one of the paths. But you will most certainly want to play both paths to fully understand the story. But I don't see anyone going through them a second time..it took me over 150 hours to beat the entire game

Overall- I loved this game, especially the very deep gameplay. The story was good too but it lacked plot twists. If you like strategy RPGs like FFT and have lots of free time then give it a try.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/07