Left Alive Was Designed to “See Front Mission in a Slightly Different Perspective”
Gematsu translated interviews from Famitsu to shed more light Square Enix’s Left Alive, which was revealed during Sony’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 showcase. The upcoming mech title was confirmed to be set in the Front Mission universe that ditches the SRPG elements in favor of a survival action game with plenty of shootouts and stealth sections too. Chronologically, the title takes place in 2127 which places the title between Front Mission 5 and Front Mission Evolved. The game takes place in Russia where the protagonists are caught in a war that breaks out there.
As for gameplay, Left Alive will let you switch between three protagonists and uses a stage-based structure. While Front Mission’s Wanzers make an appearance here, the interview said that you’ll mostly encounter them as enemies with the option to steal some of them.This time around, Wanzers are not customizable, but there appears to be some sort of crafting system from obtaining weapons and materials. The game will have some replayability despite having one ending as your interactions with NPCs will alter your future conversations with them. The stages have limited space but they’re made so that the destination can be reached in multiple ways from encountering enemies head-on or taking a more stealthy approach.
During the interview, there was also this interesting tidbit about the character designs, “When we initially started the Left Alive project, we consulted with Hideo Kojima, Kenichiro Imaizumi, and Yoji Shinkawa, and got their consent.” The game’s producer, Shinji Hashimoto, noted, “We wanted to make a Front Mission with a new lineup. We started this new title to see Front Mission in a slightly different perspective.” He added that Square Enix wanted to get across that they cherished the Front Mission series with this title. While I’ll miss the SRPG elements, I’m still curious on this new take on the series.
Left Alive is halfway done and will be out in 2018 for PS4 and PC.
Source Gematsu