Thank you to Azdin of Grinning Wolf Games for writing this one. Please check out his channel here: - www.youtube.com/@GrinningWolfGames Will you be picking this one up? Let us know in the comments section! Looking for eshop credit? Get OFFICIAL Nintendo Eshop Cards and other bits and bobs, at our new website and online store here - switchup.gg/ - Save 10% using code 'SWITCHUP' If you are a physical collector you can use code "SwitchQ4" to save 5% at PlayAsia www.play-asia.com Happy gaming! Glen
Hi guys Can’t find any reference to a physical copy on Forever Entertainment, Square Enix or Play-Asia’s websites?? Any ideas - is it one of those six months later physical pops up games? Or do I have to buy it digitally 😭 help me wise ones!
Here is a tip: there are EX missions in both campaigns, 4 of them. Try talking to people multiple times in cities you already visted and return to the military ward after briefings. In these Ex missions you'll get mobile weapons (they are the larger enemies you sometimes face). They are OP in the arena and make earning money and exp a breeze. There are also hidden weapons on random panels in missions.
@@burrito4332 there are new game plus exclusive mobile weapons sold in the shops and exclusive items found on field panels that only appear after a third or fourth replay. You carry everything over in replays.
@@burrito4332 certain ones only appear when the game is cleared. Check the shops in each new town as you progress in new game +. The mobile weapons will be for sale. Not to be mistaken as wanzers. They are equipped via the body part and change your unit to a mobile weapon with one HP bar.
I’ll pick it up at some point, maybe on sale. Middling review scores for the remake aside, I enjoyed playing the original emulated years ago, and I can learn to put up with the dated gameplay again. Shame there wasn’t more QoL updates. Plus I do want to at least financially support additional Front Mission releases, especially with 2 and 3 on the way. (2 especially, since it never saw release in the west)
Not a superior at all, FM3 is the EASIEST of all FM series while 2 and 5 are the hardest game to play because they are far more complex than you think. I already play ALL Front Mission games included spin-off and side games, FM3 is a joke for veterans because they are by far easy to abuse and no innovative at all. Front Mission 1 is Decent but average compared to the others due easy to exploit the enemy weakness with way too much deployment per stages Front Mission 2 is Hard and challenging because they add new systems (Running Cost, limited ammo on Short and Longs, Anti-air weapons, Chip tunings, websites for information and secret parts) and enemies tend to play more aggresively than the 1st one. Strategy and planning is required to beat the missions Front Mission 3 is Very Easy and friendly to newbies because they forget how to make games challenging yet fun to play. You can breeze the missions when you have broken skills and Parts Front Mission 4 is a new sibling from FM 2 but they make too many mistakes in term of Hit and Evasion systems, many things get removed from FM 2 and the play was slightly harder than Front Mission 3 but still easy to play it. Front Mission 5 is by far the HARDEST from all games because Friendly Fire included in this system and you cant just attack enemies as you like, enemies tend to find the gap from your squad and gives you more headache if you dont play carefully. This also introduced recruit system where you can find better pilots with some personality type (Aggressive, Defensive/Cautious and Tactical) and Upgrading your wanzer and weapons with RP (Remodel Points) which gives you lots of experiments to do (Frost can upgraded to Frost C, HW, Blizzaia, Blizzaia Light while others give you different effects and stats). The swansong of FM series before it gone forever. If you play Front Mission 2 or 5 in English version, you will realize that this game is not for everyone, really hard to play if you dont understand tactics and skills (Legaia Rule is the Expert of Front Mission games and he always teach me about these games and how to beat them with your own skills)
I've had my eye on this game for a while.... and have to admit I missed it the first time around. 35$ is a good price for a new game, and being somewhat of a Front Mission veteran I think I can handle the difficulty. Appreciate the review! and I'm eagerly waiting for Front Mission 2 remake next year!
I prefer when Mark & Glen write their own reviews. Those "guests" are often trying to be so edgy with their writing and lower scores on something that otherwise would be in high 70s/low 80s. It was basically a complaint from a player who was disappointed that older game is not as easy as modern ones and that it should be remade, not remastered.
The one thing that threw me off was that this version doesn't tell you what arm is carrying what weapon. You just have to remember that the weapons are listed in order of: Left hand Right hand Left shoulder Right shoulder It was a strange oversight to me considering how important this information was in choosing which arm to use (you don't want to use a badly damaged arm to fight because it could be destroyed before you can even fire). The good thing is they included a map that showed the movement and attack range of every unit, which didn't exist in the original.
I really like that they included classic and remastered modes, but am confused why the classic mode doesn't have the original graphics style. Seemed like an easy idea to include
I was puzzled by two things about this: 1) I feel like they could have just pasted a rom - like version of the original snes with this remarke and it wouldn't have been too difficult and 2) why, if you choose the "Classic" gameplay, you also have to stick with the classic OST, instead of choosing to crossover if you fancy. Sure you can change modes at will in towns and, not that I have anything against the og soundtrack but this could have added to customization and a modern touch to the game.
@Burrito Lol. You can't just slap a rom that old together and throw it onto the eShop. You basically rebuild it from the ground up when its that old. Study some game dev topics on ROMs; you'll get more insight into what's involved. Can't just hack it and insert into new platforms.
@@traversal6881 I'm not at all implying that it would not be a lot of work, and am quite aware that you couldn't just import in the old version of the game. But if your making the decision to have a classic mode, then your signing up to put in the work to have a classic mode
Just got my Limited Edition copy about 2 weeks ago and I finished the OCU campaign last night. As a longtime FRONT MISSION fan, I was pleasantly surprised and I am thouroughly enjoying this remake. Imo, Forever Entertainment did a great job in remaking this classic. The QOL "updates" weren't much of a bother to me. I do wish the arena made it possible to pit at least 4 player wanzers against enemy AI wanzers but, having only 1 on 1 battles is not that big a deal either. The great thing about this game (which you mentioned but, didn't really focus on) is the fact that you have 2 full games in one. These games are not short and having 2 full separate campaigns that differ greatly from each other is a real "bang for the buck" feature for the gamer who buys this game. I hope the delayed _'FRONT MISSION 2'_ gets a release date soon and I also hope that in addition to the announced remake of _'FRONT MISSION 3'_ (my personal favorite SRPG of all time), FE also remakes FM4, FM5 and FM: Gun Hazard... *_FRONT MISSION SAGA RULES..._*
My biggest gripe is the menu UI. The original green created a military look and feel but the new UI looks futuristic and trendy and feels like a different game... Its like when Kfc made the huge mistake to remove colonel sanders.
What we need is a sexy really done up remake of Front Mission Gunhazard. Now that was a sexy game, it played like Cybernator aka Assault Suit Valken and Assult Suit Leynos.
Forever Entertainment seem to be getting a lot of classic remakes and are seemingly missing the mark in some key areas. I was brought into the series with Front Mission 3 on PS1, which I love. Was excited to hear these remakes coming. They look pretty decent, but with so much to play at the moment, I can wait on these to drop in price before I jump in. Cheers for the review fellas.
I think the reality is is that Square is on a remake/remaster kick, and theyre putting more effort in some more than others, so while its a shame, it kind of comes down to either appreciate what you get it, or vote with your dollars. I ended up getting it cause it was fairly cheap and I've never played one of these, and Im enjoying it so far, but I'm super early in the campaign.
@@ataridc it's unfortunate that given Squares disinterest in localizing the original releases still seems apparent here in the quality of the remaster. Nonetheless also a day one buy for me and still love it very much.
For some reason when I began the playthrough, I remembered that the game suffers a little from uneven training (ie, there is no scenario of party xp) and that enemy damage is quite risky. So what I actually did was to duel the living hell out of the arena with each character so that everyone reached at least LV11...I kid you not, I must have cleared over a hundred battles total, made more money than I'll ever need for the rest of the campaign, and it took me a good few hours of repetitive (albeit seconds long) gameplay to do so. I love this game and the remake, but I can easily see how it under delivers. So much left to be desired.
I've been waiting for the Front Mission titles to come to Switch, I loved Front Mission 3 on PSOne, still break it out now and then, so was really excited when I heard that the franchise was coming to Switch. I'm disappointed that they're charging £35 for digital download though, I'm not paying that. I found a physical release on Forever Limited but that's €45 with a delivery of 2 - 6 months!?! After seeing some of the reviews, I think I'll wait, or just fire up the old PSOne and play FM3 again?! Disappointing...
The two 80hour campaigns were surprisingly different i thought..... but i still haven't played in 60HZ, that's all i really wanted, Front Mission 2 and 4 finally released in the UK and at 60HZ. When i found out Front Mission 4 wasn't coming out in the UK i was traumatized.
Hi . For you , 45 US dollars or euros IS expensive ??? With a booklet , a reversible cover and art card...??? Not for me , sorry . 35 dollars or euros for a digital version , yes . For a physical version at 45 dollars with a booklet , a reversible cover etc etc , no , this is not expensive for me...
@@onimenokyochristy4925 Not Dollars or Euros, I use Pounds, so 45 dollars or Euros works out more due to the exchange rate, plus here in the UK, we're going through a Cost of Living Crisis where everything is getting more expensive, where a lot of people are having to choose paying for energy bills over increasing food prices, so buying things like video games is a luxury that many can't afford? If you find it a reasonable cost, then good for you! You go and enjoy the remake, I'll stick with my old games for now 👍
@@onimenokyochristy4925 I second that; the price of digital games has become something of a joke. "Plus" the subscription services are designed for ultimate extraction and entrapment. I've got £7.99 for a digital copy of Front mission 4 on PS3 or PS4/5 (but that's without a hatchet job remaster..... just give me the original version please).
I'm disappointed they didn't do more in the QoL area or in rebalancing. The price being asked is not in line with the product on offer, IMO. Still, I could see picking this up down the road and during a sale.
Good review, but honestly very hooked on Inscryption at the moment. A fantastic gem hidden right in front of your face. Kinda upset with myself for overlooking it on the PS4 when it first came out...but handheld with headset in bed makes up for it.
One of my complaints is there is no team simulation battle like in front mission 4. There will come a point when i have all the characters and wanzer parts unlocked that i want, and i just want to play some squad missions without beating the game or advancing the story.
Yeah, any self respecting Strategy RPG should have some option for battles that don't advance the story, so you can experiment and enjoy using your team.
@@MountainHomeJerrel 1 at least gives Exp on arena. 2 on the other hand... (for information, 2 doesn't even give you Exp on the secret stages. I feel like the first game becoming too easy with maxed level made them rethink the systems but honestly it just makes it feel unfair)
Great review, i've been waiting over 20 years to play this one...... and now i'll give it a miss. The price is absolutely scary. You can still buy Front mission 3 on the PS3 store for £4.99 though it's probably 50HZ. £31.49, for real ? I expect all of the first 5 Front Mission games at that price. I don't need a bland looking remaster, i just wanted to play the originals at 60HZ. Missed opportunity indeed.
This maybe leap in quality from the OG version but Front Missions 3 exist, they already look better and the battle sequence is more dramatic and exciting.
I'm half way through and agree with this review. Tip for anyone struggling: Use the arena to grind up your characters. Often you can find an easy win opponent with strong payout. They said they were doing remakes of 2 and 3 and I agree they need more effort than this game received. Battletech (the 2018 PC game) is still the reigning king of this genre, by far.
Ah Thanks for this SwitchUp people. I really do love the original Front Mission 1st. My dad, brother and I played it 1st on SNES and I understood the story by playing the US version on the NDS later on. On a visual and artistic viewpoint, the original is really good for its time and I can even say it aged well since pixel art is still prominent today and probably will be in the future. The sprites still holds up today. Its gritty but clean, and it doesn't even try very hard to be realistic but the simplistic sprite movements, theme and color palettes used to set the mood convinces you otherwise. And that is paired with masterfully crafted OSTs that sounds militaristic but classical on a freaking SNES soundchip and it blends damn well with the visuals overall. That's the charm of the original. It's modern classical take blends so damn well that its beautiful. This remake on the other hand falls very short especially in the art direction and it is quite disappointing. One of the main issues on this remake is the wanzer animations. If you've played the later installments of main Front Mission titles (4&5), you'll know the animations on this remake is below decent. They're aiming for a faithful remake but changed it to 3D, meaning, they were aiming for a more realistic approach to the wanzers. The wanzers however are very janky, looks weightless and the idle animation moves like a cranked toy on the brink of exploding, which is very far from realistic. If that was their goal, they could have easily used Front Mission 4&5 as reference for the wanzer behaviors. Another one is how crazy the inconsistencies of the scaling of 3D assets are. its ridiculous, some of the passenger cars are just too big that a wanzer could almost drive that car lmao. The original fared better in that regard. I also agree on the annoying ambient sound effect especially the crow squawking. they thought it would be cool to add this quality of life feature but its just annoying and It's unnecessary. They could've instead made the arm parts get destroyed when the HP reaches 0. There's also a missed opportunity on the navigation on the shop. All of the shoulder buttons are used for scrolling up and down. ZL and ZR could've been used to scroll to the next wanzer instead making the setting up more streamlined. Music, they're okay, but It could've been better if Square Enix made the remake instead , with the Yoko Shimomura involved. I wished the remake was handled by Square Enix themselves... Overall, this looks more of a fan remake. I really wished it was and it would actually be decent fan passion remake project but no... This is official and a lot of things could've been better if Square Enix actually gave it a little chance. If they gave Live A Live a chance and Tactics Ogre a remaster, why Front Mission didn't? I'm just sad at the fact that they seem to disown this IP.
front mission 3 was the first I played in my PS1 and it was amazing, it even has 2 completely different stories you can play. Later I downloaded emulators to play 4 and 5.
A lot of these remasters seemed tailored to me, as I played many of them with translated patches back in high school. A bit bummed with some missed opportunities, particularly having a classic visual option, but this was still a day one purchase for me.
@@DaBears08 hi dude . However , Forever limited sell the game in physical édition on Nintendo Switch...45 US dollars or 45 euros . The Nintendo DS version of front mission first IS more expensive that this New remake...i have the Nintendo DS game and i Can Say you that this is a true gem !!!
@@onimenokyochristy4925 thanks for the heads up. Sadly the website that stated they had it (Target) apparently didn’t really have it lol. And I wanted a physical copy sadly shipping bumps the price up to 75. Otherwise I would have bought it. I will simply wait as I am not an original fan just someone who was intrigued. 45 for a digital download of a game that’s 30 years old also to me a bit much even without shipping. I would have gladly paid 70 or less for ds version
As much as I've been looking forward to this and really want to love it, the early visuals made it clear that this would fall short of my hopes and expectations. Adding to my wish list and waiting for the inevitable sale!
Hi dude . I love this game !!! However , this New remake of the game is less difficult in comparison of the ancient version...for me , this remake IS a gem !!! I Hope that the second game come to the west in physical édition for the first time ? Thanks for the review dude . PS : sorry for m'y poor english man . i'm french...
Way to go AZDIN!!! Never heard of the game series before but great job. Mechs were not something that interested me when I was younger so it's a really hard sell for me. I doubt it will be something I try unless it's super cheap and I have nothing else to play.
The RNg is one reaosn why i like Into The Breach, as although it has RNG the enemies moves are telegraphed allowing you to react to them before rather than react after them
Found a lot of bug.. I've played over 48hr playtime Sometimes i got stuck when my melee "first skill" Lv3 or Lv2 Actived, Need to restart/load game. Using "IBIS II with FV-24 gun" When Switch Lv2 Active, it will attack with "IBIS II" 6x Ill upload the video soon *sorry if my english is bad..
Ahh the Alien Colonial Marine of Front mission so to speak...the game we thought we need but actually never needed. I ''ll be waiting for the Dark Descend of front mission, if they choose to accept. Don't wait another 27 years, or it will be another gearbox colonial marine!
It kind of seems like the Super Robot Wars series is the spiritual successor to these games that includes more updated systems and mechanics, so this feels like it might be a bit antiquated without innovation
Wait a minute...when did this release? I preordered it a long time ago for the Switch and I quite literally picked it up today. I got the Front Mission 1st Limited Edition *physical copy that comes with a 1 Lintocular, 2 Lithographs, and an honest to God full color instruction book (like the original game came with when it released in the 1990's for the Super Famicom). The instructions are actually shaped like the kind you would get in a Super Famicom game and that is pretty freaking sweet.
Front Mission 3 is my favorite psone game. Yup' ! Above FF games, Crash, Spyro, and Resident Evil. But no physical release means no buy for me. That's too bad ! I hope they will release trilogy in a physical edition later. I would buy it even if it's a very limited thing.
It would have been better for them to release the actual game, properly translated on their online emulator, IMO. Front Mission III for the PSX would have made a better remaster, hope they get to it.
My first front mission was FM3, never even played FM2 let alone FM1. FM5 has really good gameplay but maybe nostalgia playing tricks on me lol. Will be nice to play this, too bad I don't have and no plan to get switch in any foreseeable future. Probably gonna play on PC using emulator if possible.
It's a little pricey but now a lot of Indy games are. It's a forever entertainment game so we know it will go on sale often and fast. I just hope they learn for the next ones.
Why is Lloyd called Royd in this one? Did they change his default callsign or something? It might be some fan translation i played on emulator back in the day tho
I’m enjoying the hell out of this game right now but damn they could have modernized the menu navigation! Same things that annoyed me about it playing the patched ROM are still annoying me now 😂
I am really disappointed that there is no walking animation when you order the mechs on the field. Really really disappointed they just vanish and reappear. That would have given the game more mecha action atmosphere
The only thing I want to know, having watched the review, is: can you save the game during a battle? I recall with FM3 you have to finish a battle to save, and battles could go on for 30+ minutes. So can you save mid-way through a mission?
I fucking love this :D anyways it's a bummer the more difficult options are locked out. +20% hp will do. And honestly it's not hard again haha just be good.
Forever Entertainment's remakes are more like just a modern coating over the original release which is probably why I'll be skipping FM1st Remake and waiting for the PS1 releases like 2 and 3 and stick with the DS version of FM1st. My problem with 1st Remake is that I've been spoiled with more dynamic battle animations when the series hit the 32 bit era and I've been hoping that after the failed revival of FM Evolution and Left Alive, we'd just get Front Mission remakes in FM5's engine/mechanics.
The review twice states “Yoshitaka Anamo”, but his name is Yoshitaka Amano. That is like calling someone named Chris Johnson “Chris Nohjson”. He’s a legend in the gaming industry and we should at least get his name right. Understandable slip of the tongue if you’re not comfortable with Japanese, so it’s not a huge sin or anything, but still.
I bought the game but man I am like 80 hours into tactics ogre trying to be overpowered in the Palace of the dead before tackling the final boss for 1 path.
