Front Mission 4

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Front Mission 4

Developer(s)	Square Enix Product Development Division 6
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Designer(s)	Toshiro Tsuchida
Series	Front Mission series
Release date(s)	^JPN December 18, 2003 ^NA June 15, 2004
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing
Mode(s)	Single Player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD

Front Mission 4 is a video game developed and published by Square Enix that was released in Japan on December 18, 2003 and in the US on June 15, 2004. It is a tactical role-playing game in which the player assumes the role of two characters, both of whom pilot large mecha known as Wanzers.

This is the fourth installment in the Front Mission series, the first to be released on the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console, and the second to be released in North America, the first being Front Mission 3.

1 Story
2 Player characters
- 2.1 Elsa scenario
- 2.2 Darril scenario
3 Gameplay
4 Critical Reaction
5 External links

[edit] Story

The game has two major plot lines that run parallel to each other.

At the beginning of the game, the player assumes the role of Elsa, a new recruit for the EC's Armored Tactics Research Corps, "Durandal". The Durandal's initial assignment is to investigate a wave of recent attacks on German military bases by unknown elite Wanzer forces. After doing a few introductory missions with Elsa, Zead, and Hermes, the game shifts focus to the other plotline.

The second scenario starts off in Venezuela (which has attempted to secede from the UCS) and centers around a UCS Wanzer pilot named Darril and his squadmates Renges and Chaeffer. They witness the crash of a Venezuelan State Army transport plane that turns out to be carrying $25 million in gold belonging to Venezuela's Governor Diaz. They decide to steal it and go AWOL - but it is not long before they are found out by the Venezuelans and the chase is on.

Again, after a few missions the story returns to Elsa and the Durandal. For the rest of the game, the story continues to shift back and forth between the two scenarios every few missions. Ultimately a storyline link is established between the two scenarios, though they remain independent of one other for the entire game.

A lot of the between-mission dialogue is delivered through voiceovers (in English for all regional versions of the game), a first for the series.

[edit] Player characters

These are the principal characters that the player controls.

[edit] Elsa scenario

Elsa : Age: 22 A new recruit into Durandal from the French Army. Though she had no actual combat experience prior to joining the Durandal, she is a very capable Wanzer combatant. She specializes in using machineguns and shotguns. Formerly a wanzer pilot for the French Army, Elsa was recently transferred to the E.C.'s Armored Tactics Research Corps, also known as the Durandal. Honest and upbeat, Elsa has an admirable grasp of wanzer combat theory, but she understands little of the mechanical engineering behind the giant fighting machines. Still young, she has a strong sense of justice - and is stickler when it comes to principles.

Zead : Age: 45 A veteran British pilot and commander of Durandal. He is a missile specialist in combat. A former British officer, Zead is the Durandal's de facto commander. With a strong military background, Zead is eternally courteous to others and hard on himself. He does not, however, demand the same rigid discipline from his colleagues; he is patient enough to accept their individuality. Zead's subordinates regard him as both a dependable leader and a kind father figure.

Hermes : Age: 20 A young engineer from the UCS who is an expert in Wanzer technology, communication systems, and computer security. In combat he specializes in the use of repair packs. Though Hermes has no military experience, his elite computer hacking skills make him a natural as the Durandal's systems engineer. Hermes is always positive and jovial, but he can be childish when arguing with those of different opinions.

Latona : Age: 28 Durandal member hailing from Zaftra. Specializes in melee combat and EMP pack usage. Latona is a skilled wanzer pilot and a former member of the Zaftran military. She cannot stand being looked down upon. Due to her extensive military background, she talks and behaves in a masculine way; coaxing a smile out of her is a herculean task. She is strict towards both herself and others.

Bosch : Came to Durandal from the German Army. Specializes in machinegun and sensor pack usage. Old friend of Wagner from the Blauer Nebel wanzer unit.

Beck : Age: 30 Italian Durandal member. Specializes in using radio packs and missiles. Beck's radio backpack is a powerful addition to the Durandal when he finally joins the team. He brings a missile launcher to his first mission, and he's clearly destined to remain a missileer.

[edit] Darril scenario

Darril : A lazy and disenfranchised UCS Wanzer pilot. He decides to steal Diaz's gold so that he can afford to do everything he's always wanted to do. Specializes in melee and shotgun combat.

Renges : A wry fellow who is one of Darril's squadmates. Known to run black market arms deals on the side. Sniper Rifle specialist.

Chaeffer : The other of Darril's squadmates, Chaeffer is a rookie who sometimes lacks good judgement. His battle abilities are like Hermes'; he focuses on Repair Packs and machineguns.

Luis : The idealistic young leader of La Alianza de Libertad Venezolana (Venezuelan Freedom Alliance). He is opposed to Diaz's rule and wants better treatment of his people from the UCS. Specialist with machineguns and shotguns.

Ines : Luis' girlfriend and another high-ranking Alianza member. Specializes in Grenades and Rockets.

Thammond : A retired soldier turned schoolteacher in Luis' village. Though opposed to violence, he finally joins the group in order to ensure the safety of Luis and Ines. Specialist with machineguns.

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay resembles most other turn-based strategy RPG's, but with some key differences :

Combat works by initiating a firefight with a target rather than attacking it directly. Once engaged, each Wanzer will fire its selected weapon until they reach its attack limit (usually 1 or 2 attacks) or run out of AP (action points), whichever comes first. Firefights can involve more than two opponents; with the link system up to 8 wanzers (4 on each side) can be engaged at one time. Furthermore, many skills take the form of random abilities that may or may not trigger when an attack takes place. Random abilities "chain" together to run up a damage multiplier when they occur consecutively.

Link System : characters can be set to assist one another with extra attacks. When a Wanzer with attack and/or defense links gets into a firefight, their linked comrades will also attack the enemy if they are capable of doing so. Linking is the only way for a Wanzer to be in an attacking position more than once per round, and random abilities can chain together between linked allies. There are restrictions however : a maximum of 3 allies can be set to any given character's attack or defense table and a character can only link as many allies as they have Link Points for (1 LP for attacks only, 2 LP for attacks + random abilities). For a Wanzer to support another, they must be within attack range of the target and have enough AP available to fire; missile, grenade, and rocket attacks are not linkable.

Wanzers can be configured in a variety of ways. All weapons and body parts are interchangeable. Torsos determine base power output and evasion. Arms determine accuracy and hold weapons, or can feature integrated weapons themselves. Legs determine movement range and evasion ability and can be two-legged, four-legged, or hovering. Turbo backpacks supplement power output; other types grant various special abilities such as EMP jams an enemies' abilities, and Radio can call in air strikes.

Characters are not locked in to any individual class per se; but their selection of skills that they have access to on their own does suggest a certain role. As the game progresses, the player gains the ability to purchase new skills for their characters that they do not get "naturally". As such, a characters' existing strengths can be augmented or a whole new developmental direction can be taken. The disadvantage to the latter approach is that it takes a lot of time and money to redo a character - computer upgrades are expensive and the best upgrades (like 3rd level weapon proficiencies) do not become available until later on in the game. The advantage to retraining is that redundancy can be eliminated and new tactical possibilities opened up (such as making Bosch a bazooka user).

[edit] Critical Reaction

North American reaction to the game was consistent across the board, the majority of critics giving it an 8 out of 10 or the comparable 4 stars. It was praised for its deep gameplay, customizable wanzers, and high production values. On the disapproving side many felt the plot advanced at a sluggish pace, the AI was subpar, and the menu system was cumbersome at times. At least 4 of the critics below mentioned the high complexity of the game would be a benefit or a fault of the game depending on the player. Official Playstation Magazine summed it up best with “Outside of the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" series, nothing surpasses the complexity of FM4”. The critic consensus seemed to be that fans of mecha or strategy RPG games would be pleased with Front Mission 4 and that the general audience should rent it first. Another complaint heard (particularly with Game Informer) is that the first few battles alternate between tedious and annoying.