Tobias Hayes rates this game: 4/5Front mission is just one of those franchises that just did better In Japan compared to the USA. Front Mission 3 is the first title to be released outside of Japan.
One thing you should know about this game, is that its battle system resembles that of Final Fantasy Tactics, with a few distinct differences. If you are not a fan of that genre. I suggest you stay away from this one.
The visuals are really decent but some claim that the second installment had better graphics. Since I can't really play japanese games(for obvious reasons :P), I cannot confirm or deny this.
But if you enjoyed the style of tactics, you'll probably like this. One of the biggest differences is instead of playing people, you have mechs... (but you already knew that didn't you :D) Well then this is thegame for you!
But really not for everybody, well except if youre Japanese. But you are reading this and by that logic... well I made my point I guess.
3/5 to the newby
4/5 to the Veteran
DelishStuff rates this game: 5/5I played this game A LOT while I was growing up (started a campaign at least 10 times and completed the campaigns at least 3 times each, equaling at least 1000 hours into this game), so I have a lot of experience with it. First of all, in case you couldn't tell, I REALLY love this game and I was going to put a really, REALLY long description of it but I'll keep it manageable.
Things I Liked:
Front Mission 3 is a Tactical RPG that has giant Mechs called Wanzers. Its combat system revolves around the four main parts of the Wanzer (legs, R arm, L arm, and body) and the use of Action Points, Battle Skills, and a wide selection of weapons to plan your strategy. Its story is pretty good with two possible endings, interesting main characters, and big plot twists. The game also features a fun soundtrack that really adds to the atmosphere and immersion of the game.
Things I Didn't Like:
My few complaints lie within a few, very minor things within the game that really are just things that I am nitpicking at after playing the game so many times. The first thing I didn't like was that the characters all have a natural type of weapon that they are good with. The problem is that the game doesn't tell you this at any time anywhere. You can still give your characters other weapons, they just won't do as much damage (by a little bit) than the characters who are proficient in that weapon. Second I did not like the grading system at the end of every mission because you do not get the best grade unless you play the game a very specific way that isn't as fun. Last, some of the battle skills in the game are just completely useless or too situational to have any good use. Additionally these same battle skills are the hardest and most obscure to get IN THE ENTIRE GAME. That's really all of the complaints I had.
Tpikol rates this game: 5/5If you like game like Tactics Ogre or Final Fantasy Tactics, you will love this game.
Not only is it a great tactics game with mechas,it also includes an optional "hacking"/password guessing game on the fictional computer network in the game, which you can skip if you are not into that but will get you some rewards if you bother with it.
The game has two campaigns based that start based on a choice you make at the beginning of the game so pay attention!