Front Mission 3 Remake Review – Plays Great, Looks Flawed

Front Mission 3 Remake Review

Front Mission is a long-running Square-Enix tactical JRPG franchise. Over the past few years, there have been remakes of the first two games in the series, neither of which originally came out in North America. The first game we got was Front Mission 3 for the PS1, released in Japan in 1999 and a year later in North America. It’s a very long, story-rich game, with some ideas that were way ahead of its time. There weren’t many strategy JRPG options in 2000, and for many players, this was their second game in the genre after Final Fantasy Tactics. Front Mission 3 Remake adds some modern quality of life features, while staying very true to the original.

Front Mission 3 Remake’s story is about a fictional world, similar to the modern real world. Southeast Asia is locked in a cold war between The Oceana Cooperative Union, and The People’s Republic of Da Han Zhong. An explosion with an unknown cause at a Japanese base kicks of the events of the game. The protagonist is a Japanese wanzer pilot named Kazuki. Wanzers are giant war mechs, which are the series’ signature visual. I don’t want to go into too much detail about the plot, but the story and worldbuilding are major reasons to play Front Mission 3 Remake. The story has a PS1 era Squaresoft cinematic presentation that remains a real treat to this day.

Two Storylines

Right after the opening tutorial battle, Kazuki is asked if he wants to accompany his friend Ryogo on a Wanzer delivery. When I was a teenager and played this section, I assumed it was an inconsequential question. But each choice results in a very different narrative. If the player chooses to go with Ryogo, they get a story involving Kazuki’s sister Alisa and The People’s Republic of Da Han Zhong. If they player doesn’t go with Ryogo, they meet an operative named Emma, and get involved with the United States of the New Continent. This choice was so ahead of its time in 1999, and adds a ton of replay value to Front Mission 3 Remake.

Combat is turn-based. At the beginning of a wanzer’s turn, the player can move it to a different position on the battlefield. Wanzers have ranged and melee weapons. Equipped weapons can be switched without penalty every turn. Ranged weapons can be used on far enemies, but often result in a counterattack. Melee weapons aren’t countered, but the player’s wanzer but be right beside the enemy to use them. Wanzers take damage to their body, right arm, left arm, and legs. A wanzer is defeated when the body is destroyed, but destroying parts makes wanzers lose functions. For example, if the legs are damaged before the body is destroyed, wanzers can’t move nearly as much.

Modern Quality of Life Features

Combat is filled with well-directed animations. These were novel in 2000, and will be novel early on in a Front Mission 3 Remake playthrough. But players will tire from how much they slow down combat. Thankfully Front Mission 3 Remake has lots of options to speed up combat that can be changed easily during a playthrough.

Before combat sections, the player has the option to customize their wanzers. There are cosmetic options, as well as different weapons suited to different play styles. Weapons can be equipped to the body, arms, legs, back, and shoulders. It’s a fairly simple system, so I never felt overwhelmed by the options. But some players could get lost in this. Fans of Gundam and Armored Core will love the number of options available, as well as how great the wanzer designs are.

Visual Novel Story Presentation

The story sections between missions are very menu driven. There are lots of gorgeously directed cutscenes, but most of the dialogue is text over mildly animated backgrounds. Players can choose who to talk to, and can move between locations. Front Mission 3 Remake has a much more visual novel-style presentation than I realized, especially when I had no concept of what a visual novel was in the early 2000s. My only problem with the gameplay loop is that it’s very linear, constantly going from cutscene, to mech customization, to combat, with no deviation. It’s a good gameplay loop, but there are no surprises in the format after the beginning story choice.

Front Mission 3 Remake’s visuals have caused some uproar leading up to the game’s release. There are reports that AI was used to clean up the pixelated visuals, and because of that, some mistakes were made. When comparing Front Mission 3 Remake to the original, I prefer the original’s heavily pixelated visuals. It was a gorgeous game in 2000, and I still appreciate those aesthetics. Although you can find side by side image comparisons online of visual changes, 99% of the art and graphics in Front Mission 3 Remake are fine. Someone with extensive play of the original might not find the remake visually preferable, but most players won’t notice any issues.

Framerate Issues

There is quite a bit of framerate stutter in cutscenes, and some framerate drops throughout the game. These aren’t deal breaking, because of the combat’s turn-based nature. Hopefully Front Mission 3 Remake will play smoother on Switch 2, and on its eventual ports to other consoles.

Thankfully Front Mission 3 Remake’s score is fantastic! The music has a mix of Hollywood military epic, and jazzy prog rock. There are so many excellent tracks, and it’s an album I’ll be listening to beyond my time with the game. Again, this is peak Squaresoft, and even the most anti-JRPG grump would be hard pressed to deny the quality of the music. There’s a modernized version of the score, but players can also choose the original. I’m always thankful for this option.

A Must-Play Strategy JRPG

Front Mission 3 Remake is a fantastic strategy JRPG. It has excellent combat, and deep mech customization, led by an engrossing story. It’s easy to get sucked into the conflict of the Front Mission world. And that early choice leading to different narratives truly shocked me. I had no idea! The game does have some visual oddities and too much framerate stutter in its cutscenes, but I would still say Front Mission 3 Remake is a must-play for fans of strategy JRPGs.

***Switch code provided by the publisher***