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Post by Discoalucard on Sept 3, 2006 22:07:49 GMT -5
I've been under the impression that Gun Hazard isn't part of the official storyline.
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Post by Isao Kronos (BANNED) on Sept 3, 2006 22:19:40 GMT -5
Well, that sucks because Albert is pretty awesome.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2006 7:34:12 GMT -5
Welp, I played a bit of the first game yesterday, and it seems awesome enough! But then, I only got as far as the first save opportunity after the coliseum... when I get to a real battle, I'm sure I'll be wasted.
... and whaddya know, I didn't get wasted my first real battle. Things looked a bit grim for Sakata and Keith at points, but a Repair item for both of them helped to sustain, and I blew the enemy to shreds. Whoot! I should play more strategy games... FM is quite fun!
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Post by Scylla on Sept 9, 2006 21:18:14 GMT -5
I've always believed that Gun Hazard has sluggish controls because it's supposed to, going along with the whole "realistic" nature of mech control. They're hulking metal beasts, so if they were all light and springy like Mario, it would feel totally off.
Not that I necessarily enjoy the controls. Mecha in general don't appeal to me (although I do have a fondness for Custom Robo), but I know well enough that hardcore mecha fans take their interest seriously and expect video games with mecha to FEEL like they're controlling mecha, or, at least, as realistic as something nonexistent can get. I personally can't get into Gun Hazard much either, but I've actually seen more praise for that game than any other Front Mission game.
As for the main series, I've yet to really touch it at all. I think strategy RPGs are one of the purest forms of gaming and I worship them endlessly, but I gotta admit that I'm a sucker for the fantasy settings. Mecha turn me off, and the gritty dark look just makes it worse for me. But when I finally give it a serious chance, I'm sure the gameplay will win me over. :) However, I already have such a massive strategy RPG backlog that I have no clue when I'll have the time for that. o_O
All in all, though, it was a very interesting read. I knew that Koji Hayama was one of the composers of FM3, which is definitely one aspect urging me to track down the game; however, I had no clue that the character designer is the same person who did Dracula XX and Mystic Ark. I love the art for both of those games, but I never actually put 2 and 2 together and realized they were both done by the same artist. Now I have another artist's work to hunt down. :P
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Post by skycroc on Sept 20, 2006 19:50:06 GMT -5
- Square Enix announced Front Mission: The First for Nintendo DS, a remake of the first Front Mission game for Super Famicom from 1995. The NDS version will have new mechs and the Front Mission 5 protagonist Glen Duval will appear in the game.
Yay.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2006 6:09:30 GMT -5
- Square Enix announced Front Mission: The First for Nintendo DS, a remake of the first Front Mission game for Super Famicom from 1995. The NDS version will have new mechs and the Front Mission 5 protagonist Glen Duval will appear in the game. Yay. *SPIT TAKE* Now that sounds like a good plan... but I hope it also has the option for the USN side like the PS1 version did. And... hell, I hope it even comes over to the U.S.! |
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Post by Isao Kronos (BANNED) on Sept 21, 2006 13:30:35 GMT -5
Oh god, if that came stateside I would have a massive nerdgasm.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2006 17:03:34 GMT -5
Now this is pure conjecture, but I'll cross my fingers... perhaps the reason that S-E has yet to announce FM5 for the stateside is because they're trying to catch us up on FM1 and FM2, neither of which have yet to be exposed to the American masses? And once they have been, then FM5 is good to go?! ;D I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but I can speculate, dammit! In the meanwhilst, I have beaten FM1 on ZSNES, and it was quite awesome. The last few battles were a bit too easy, though, as the power of my seven-mech force was crazy powerful. I read this one strategy that a smaller unit gains more experience for each unit and makes them stronger, and by garsh, it worked... a little too well. Next time around, I'll give attention to more units and divide power amongst them. Man, I didn't think too much of strategy RPGs, but FM is just all kinds of cool. Dammit, Kurt, you hooked me on a combination of two genres that I'm not normally fond of!  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2007 11:45:45 GMT -5
And now and now and now and now for the big big big big big big B!
What's that now? All together, gang!
BUMP!!!
D'ya think this should be updated with a paragraph mentioning Front Mission 1st for the DS? Apparently, it's even BETTER than the PS1 version, now factoring in some ties with Front Mission 5! Perhaps this implies that FM5 will make it out to America somehow? ;D
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Post by Discoalucard on Nov 5, 2007 13:46:29 GMT -5
Yeah I gotta update this, along with Virtual On/Sega Ages for that. I bought it, but only played a few missions, favoring Dracula X for obvious reasons.
FM5 was meant to tie the whole of the series together, and FM1 DS retroactively added some of the FM5 characters to tie them in closer. It was a selling point in Japan (the DS FM1 came out a nearly a year after FM5) but I doubt it'll mean much for FM5's fate in America, sadly. It always seemed weird to me, considering how artistically disparate the two games are.
I don't like the way they implemented the DS menus - the text and such is the exact same size, which is too small to use with a stylus, so they put a large "select" button next to the highlighted option. They should've just redone the interface. That, and the music still sounds a little off to me. It's not awful, though it's like the SNES version but a bit degraded.
Still, it'll be nice to actually understand the other scenario this time around.
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Post by Neo Rasa on Nov 5, 2007 21:21:19 GMT -5
The musical composition is exact, but the bass is way lower than what the SNES puts out. It makes the songs sound weaker than they are.
I actually don't even use the touch screen at all. The top screen providing constant stats for everything makes this worth owning for me despite having the original.
The menus have a certain charater to them somehow, I can sort of understand why they wouldn't redo it all from scratch, but I definitely would have spaced out the town and weapon select main menus.
The challenge level is nice, I like that unlike most of the Japanese strategy games that come out today this one really rewards those minor bits of information you get from the shops and the dialogue. Mission six is a great example as if you don't take the shop owner's advice on chaff grenades the heavy missilers will tear you apart in three turns flat.
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Post by Haz on Nov 5, 2007 22:37:42 GMT -5
I never played the SNES game, so I don't care about the sound, it sounds excellent to me. And the menus interface bothered me a little bit because it's in all capitals (unlike in the Japanese versions which haf lower and upper case letters.) I also hinted a couple months ago that more Front Mission is coming to the DS. The Front Mission 2089 series of cellphone games is having a spinoff that's coming to the DS. Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. |
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Post by chaoticgood on Nov 9, 2007 17:04:23 GMT -5
The challenge level is nice, I like that unlike most of the Japanese strategy games that come out today this one really rewards those minor bits of information you get from the shops and the dialogue. Mission six is a great example as if you don't take the shop owner's advice on chaff grenades the heavy missilers will tear you apart in three turns flat. Front Mission is strange in the sense that the earlier missions are the hardest in the game... I just got the DS version and the new storyline's intro levels are harder than the ones you get when the actual plot starts. In the original story it's the same, except you get a couple easy ones to start with. Haven't beaten it yet, so I don't know if it gets any harder, but in the original storyline basically after you have 2 guys who have learned Speed and Switch it's all over... I'm still a huge fan of this game, but I was hoping they'd do something to balance it better in the new version... But I guess that would upset people too, since it wouldn't be the same game then. Still, people, buy this now... It rules & the new storyline on the 'enemy' side seems just as good, if not better than the original one. |
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Post by legaiarules on Jan 22, 2008 22:43:46 GMT -5
Greetings! I happened to stumble upon this site while searching for old classics. I took some time to look at a few articles and I definitely like the focus of this site! It's nice to see sites trying to promote lesser-known games and give them some much-needed exposure. I found myself interested in the Front Mission article and thought it was good. Still, I think it needs reworking to better explain the series as a whole. As a long-time fan having playing all but Online and the 2089 spin-off series, I'd like to contribute to a possible re-write of the article.
One way I could see myself improving on the article is a discussion of the series' storylines. Something unique to the series is its usage of two separate storylines. There's the standalone, which covers the events of a core group of individuals. The second one pertains to the world and its current situation, which stays in the background. Whereas the standalone storyline ends once the game ends, the world storyline continues even after the game ends.
The Japanese fans are well aware of this, but I'm certain very few overseas fans know so I'll use some examples(spoilers, though I'll try to keep it to a minimum):
FM 1st
At the end of FM 1st on the O.C.U. and U.S.N. scenarios, certain individuals point to the Republic of Zaftra as the one behind the game's main conflict. This revelation is later seen in an article, which triggers movements to find the truth behind the main conflict. At the end of the O.C.U. scenario, a certain journalist begins working to uncover truths about Zaftra. At the end of the U.S.N. scenario, a certain spy begins working for the U.S.N. Army's Intelligence Bureau and is sent to U.S.N. South America.
FM2
The events from FM 1st results in the birth of independence movements in member states trying to break away from the O.C.U. The O.C.U. Central Assembly outright bans hiring mercenary outfits due to the events from the O.C.U. scenario from FM 1st. At the end of FM2, certain individuals reveal the existence of an outside party as the true instigator of the main conflict. Several mercenaries from FM 1st are revealed to be hiding in Alordesh, helping out pro-independence factions.
FM3
The events from FM2 have dramatically changed the O.C.U. from a powerful supernation to a destabilized one on the verge of breaking apart. Independence movements seen in member states such as O.C.U. Phillippines have become much stronger with Alordesh winning their independence from the O.C.U. A certain individual mentioned in the main news website from FM2 is later revealed to be the instigator behind one of the game's conflicts.
FM4
The events from FM 1st have made the other supernations wary of doing business with the Republic of Zaftra, who was humiliated worldwide from certain truths about that game's main conflict. On the E.C. scenario, a certain journalist from FM 1st asks the Durandal questions in an attempt to identify the perpetrator of the German Base assaults. On the U.S.N. scenario, a certain spy from FM 1st is seen working with the La Alianza de Libertad Venezolana to help them win independence from the U.S.N.
Basically, all of the games maintain a connection to each other through the second storyline. Whether it be through certain characters making cameo appearances or plot material being referenced, it's all tied into the second storyline. While it's not like the .hack series in that it's mandatory to play all of the games, it encourages people to play through the games to see the effects of events from a previous game.
Another thing that the second storyline does is setting up the events for FM5 through the first 4 main games. From the World Historica book and some Japanese interviews, the developers intentionally avoided resolving plot material from each game while placing very subtle hints on what FM5 would be. FM5 plays the role of resolving the said plot material, which is done exceptionally well while offering a decent standalone. This also means that to truly understand the second storyline and FM5, one needs to have played the first 4 main games beforehand.
I apologize if the walls of text are too much, but I tend to expand on things so others can easily understand where I'm going.
EDIT:
The official timeline for FM is as follows:
FM: Alternative - 2034-2035
FM: 2089 - 2089
FM: 2089-II - 2089-2090
FM 1st - 2090-2091
FM4 - 2096
FM2 - 2102
FM3 - 2112
FM5 - 2070-2121
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Post by Discoalucard on Jan 22, 2008 22:46:49 GMT -5
If you have anything to contribute to flesh it out any more, I'll definitely put it up. Heck, I'd even put out up the synopsis you just wrote, if you'd like. I think I've seen your Front Mission videos on Youtube.
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