Tactical strategy RPGs are in something of a renaissance right now, largely thanks to Square Enix, the publisher behind some of the best games ever in the genre. Games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Divinity: Original Sin make tactical RPGs tightly woven with fantasy in some players’ minds, but the Square-published sci-fi epic Front Mission is also due to return soon. Whatever your feelings about giant war robots, tactics fans will want to keep an eye on Front Mission 1st: Remake as its release date approaches.
When is the Front Mission 1st: Remake release date?
Nintendo’s relentlessly paced September 2022 Direct revealed the Front Mission 1st: Remake release window. Front Mission 1st: Remake makes its way to consoles in November 2022, so while there’s no solid release date yet, we don’t have long to wait.
What are the Front Mission 1st: Remake platforms?
The original Front Mission was released on the Super Famicom in 1995, and its remake is sticking to Nintendo hardware. Front Mission 1st: Remake will launch as a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and there’s been no word of ports to PC or other consoles just yet.
Will there be more Front Mission remakes?
Yes! At least the first three main series Front Mission games are being remade. Nintendo announced a 2023 release window for Front Mission 2: Remake at its September Direct, and also announced a Front Mission 3 remake that isn’t dated yet.
Is there a Front Mission 1st: Remake trailer?
So far, there’s only been one standalone Front Mission 1st: Remake trailer released online, and it’s a cinematic teaser that doesn’t reveal much.
You can check out the Front Mission 2 trailer online for a better idea of how the series actually looks in action.
Nintendo has also included gameplay footage of Front Mission 1st: Remake in Direct presentations. The latest clip appeared in the September 2022 Direct, showing gameplay from the first two Front Mission remakes.
What is Front Mission 1st: Remake gameplay like?
If you’ve played a lot of tactical RPGs, the core Front Mission 1st: Remake gameplay will feel familiar, but with some interesting twists. Combat is turn-based and takes place on large battlefields you’re free to maneuver around to plan your attacks. Since combat in Front Mission 1st: Remake is between giant mechs, you can target attacks to specific body parts and eventually disable them. Taking out a mech’s arms can prevent it from using weapons attached there while destroying the legs will limit its movement.
When you’re not wrecking enemies’ mech parts, you can customize your own. Your mechs (called wanzers, short for the German word Wanderpanzer, meaning “walking tank”) are fully customizable with different body parts and weapons. Customizing your wanzer is a whole gameplay system itself, as you’ll have to balance installing the best equipment you can find with keeping weight and power consumption in check. Wanzers are more Battletech than Gundam, so you can install weapons from flamethrowers to rocket launchers, but you won’t be wielding beam sabers or zipping around the battlefield on jets.
Publisher Forever Entertainment says the remake features “a modern mode with improved controls” so it should be a smoother experience than the Super Famicom original, but it’s not clear exactly what’s changing.
What is the Front Mission 1st: Remake story?
It’s complicated. Front Mission received a lot of praise for its mature story on release, which continued into the rest of the series. Set in the year 2090, Front Mission 1st: Remake is set on a fictional island in the Pacific called Huffman Island.
The story involves political struggle and outright war between factions made up of allied nations. The main players are the United States of the New Continent, made up of North and South American countries, and the Oceania Cooperative Union made up of Asian countries. Front Mission 1st: Remake mostly follows Royd Clive, a captain in the OCU, after he’s ambushed and blamed for an attack.
Later games, including the upcoming Front Mission 2: Remake, tell their own independent stories, but the events of the entire series tell a much grander tale when viewed as one ongoing narrative.
