Front Mission (video game)

Front Mission (フロントミッション, Furonto Misshon) is a tactical role playing game developed by G Craft and published by Square, and was released in Japan on February 24, 1995 for the Super Famicom. Front Mission is the first main entry and the first entry overall in the Front Mission series. Front Mission is part of a serialized storyline that follows the stories of various characters and their struggles involving mecha known as wanzers. A direct port of the game was released for the WonderSwan Color in Japan on July 12, 2002. A remake of the game developed by Square Enix Co., Ltd. was released for the PlayStation in Japan on October 23, 2003, titled Front Mission 1st'''''. (フロントミッション ザ・ファスト, group=lower alpha) It included new content and offered a new USN scenario to play through. Front Mission 1st was then ported to the Nintendo DS with more additional content and was released in Japan on March 22, 2007. Only the Nintendo DS port, renamed as Front Mission, was released in North America on October 23, 2007. A further remake of Front Mission 1st, titled Front Mission 1st: Remake, was developed and published by Forever Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch on November 30, 2022. Ports to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S were released on June 30, 2023.

Game progression in Front Mission proceeds in a linear manner: watch cut scene events, complete missions, set up wanzers during intermissions, and sortie for the next mission. The player travels to locations on a point and click world map. As the player progresses through the plot, new locations are revealed on the world map. Towns and cities act as intermission points where the player can organize and set up their units for the upcoming mission. Battle zones are where the missions take place, though they become inaccessible upon the completion of a mission. In Front Mission, players use playable units called wanzers, a term for mecha derived from the German word Wanderpanzer, or "walking tank". In 2002, the land mass was classified as an island, and was ceded to United Nations control. However, in 2020, the United States of the New Continent (USN), a unification of North American and South American countries, made a bid for control of the island after withdrawing from the United Nations. The Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU), an alliance of the nations of South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia that was created in 2025, dispute this claim when the two superpowers colonized the island in 2065. The tensions heat up and eventually lead to the 1st Huffman Conflict in 2070, with Huffman Island being divided into two halves at the end of the war. An uneasy peace is maintained until the Huffman Crisis in 2086, when a series of skirmishes across the island causes chaos. Tensions flare up and end in war when the OCU is blamed for inciting the Larcus Incident on June 3, 2090.

The plot of Front Mission revolves around OCU captain Lloyd Clive. An OCU reconnaissance platoon led by Lloyd is assigned to investigate a USN munitions plant in the Larcus District, located on eastern Huffman Island. Upon reaching the premises, the platoon is ambushed by USN wanzers led by an officer named Driscoll. He quickly ambushes Karen Meure, Lloyd’s fiancée, and destroys her wanzer. As the two forces engage in battle, Driscoll detonates explosives inside the plant and escapes. The USN accuses the OCU of the attack, later known as the Larcus Incident, but the OCU insists that the incident was a set up. Both sides soon declare war, setting off the 2nd Huffman Conflict. The OCU pins the blame of the incident on Royd's platoon, discharging them from the military indefinitely. One year later, OCU colonel Guri B. Olson seeks him out at a wanzer fighting arena in the town of Barinden. Dangling the prospect of killing the person responsible for Karen's death, he manages to recruit Lloyd to the Canyon Crows mercenary outfit. With the Canyon Crows, Lloyd is assigned to help the OCU military reverse its fortunes and win the war. In the PlayStation and Nintendo DS remaster titled Front Mission 1st, the player can also play a second scenario revolving around USN officer Kevin Greenfield. Months before the Larcus Incident, Kevin and his teammates in the Black Hounds special forces unit are participating in an operation against a terrorist organization known as "The Star of Freedom". Upon finding out the location of their headquarters in the Andes Mountains, the Black Hounds execute an operation to eliminate the group. A grave mistake on Kevin's part gets him fired from the unit and arrested by USN MPs. In a last ditch effort to remain in service, Greenfield accepts a post to the USN special weapons research division known as the "Nirvana Institute". He is then deployed to the Nirvana branch on Huffman Island, which is led by Driscoll. After a few operations with the division, the 2nd Huffman Conflict breaks out and Kevin is recalled to active duty. As the new leader of the Silver Lynx strike force, he aids the USN offensive to defeat the OCU and help end the war quickly. Understanding Front Mission in its entirety requires playing through both the OCU and USN campaigns. They each have their own unique events and mysteries, the latter of which is fully explained only by playing the other scenario. The two scenarios also have a plot connection when a link between the Larcus Incident and the Nirvana Institute is established.

Development of the first Front Mission started with discussions between software developers Square and G Craft. Square had never had another developer make a game for them and planning proceeded slowly, but an agreement between the two was finished in the Fall of 1993. The score was arranged by Hidenori Iwasaki for the PlayStation and DS remakes. The promotional album, Front Mission 1st Special BGM Selection, arranged by Isawaki, was released in 2003. Two songs composed by Shimomura from Front Mission, Take the Offensive and Manifold Irons, were orchestrated for the Drammatica album.

Front Mission was remade for the PlayStation on November 23, 2003 with the title Front Mission 1st. This remake included new content and offered a new USN scenario to play through. Front Mission 1st also included new characters that would later be seen in Front Mission 4, namely Darril Traubel and Billy Renges. This remake served as the basis for the Nintendo DS port, which was released in Japan on March 22, 2007, and in North America (as Front Mission) on October 23, 2007. The PlayStation version was re released as a PSOne Classic on the PlayStation Network in Japan on November 12, 2008. The Nintendo DS version features battle sequences that make use of the console's dual screen setup for an easy view of the action. The port also includes a number of new additions. A number of characters from other Front Mission titles were added to the game's storyline, such as Griff Burnam and Glen Duval. New parts and weapons from other Front Mission entries were added. This version also boasted nine secret missions that further expanded the storyline.

A further remake of Front Mission 1st, titled Front Mission 1st: Remake, was developed and published by Forever Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch on November 30, 2022. Ports to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S were released on June 30, 2023.