Front Mission 5 was the last of the Front Mission series (to date) that sums up all of the Front Mission games. It was never released outside of Japan to my knowledge but there is an English translation patch for the game that is nearly complete. There is a Front Mission shooter coming out for the 360 soon but I don't consider it to be part of the main series like Gunhazard. Front Mission 5 is one of the best turn based RPGs that I have ever played. As for MMOs, I'm still waiting for Nexon to get on with Dungeon Fighter Online.

Story:

The story follows the life of Walter who experienced nearly the entire Front Mission history from the first major conflict in the first Front Mission game to the outbreak of the final conflict at the start of Front Mission 3 when MIDAS is stolen. Near the end of the 1st war, Waltar and his friend Randy become pilots for Wanzers (giant robots). Unfortunately an insane Glenn rips out Randy's cockpit and kills him which in turn sets the tone for the rest of the game. The Scars of War refers to the scars Walter and Glenn receive at the beginning of the game.

Graphics:

For the most part, I would say it is above that of Valkyrie Profile 2 and Final Fantasy XII. They took those elements, improved it, and placed it inside the Front Mission universe. Characters are also able to express emotions fairly well up to a certain level which helps a lot in its presentation. There are also some very nice effects and designs for the bosses and having lots of diversity for the player helps as well. The worst part in my opinion are the explosions. They just look ridiculous sometimes. That is unless its in a cutscene. Those are all done very nicely. The Wanzers that actually slide around in the combat sequences are also a nice touch.

Gameplay:

The game is like any other turn based RPG. The difference here is that everyone uses giant robots. Each stage begins with a debriefing that shows the general setup of the players and the enemies with the goal stated. There are some odd twists and turns sometimes including surprise 2nd form bosses and the such. Usually its straight foward and there's no need to save at the end of every turn and reload the game unlike Valkyria Chronicles.

Every turn pilots normally gain 12 AP which they can use to move and attack. This can change with skills that increase AP gains per turn which is necessary later in the game. Depending on the terrain, the feet of the Wanzer, and the type of weapon being used, the AP cost can change. It always costs more to move over say water than it does to walk over concrete. Special aiming skills also require you to use more AP in order to attack but gives you the benefit of being more likely to hit a certain part of your enemy's body. When attacks are made, the game switches to a mini cutscene mode where all the action takes place. Its nice to watch but after a while you just feel like skipping it. The boss battles are the most interesting fights in the game. Unfortunately they tend to appear in the middle of battles.

There are 2 types of levels. The first is character level which determines how many skills they can learn. The second is skill level which determines what special skills can be learned. As the character gains levels, they can learn more skills. There are also a few specially marked skills in red text. You can only have 1 of these equipped at any time and tend to be some of the most powerful skills for that class. The most important skills however are the assist skills which lets your team mates back each other up. Unfortunately, this can backfire as well since it is possible to shoot your own allies. After a few starter missions, it is possible to place your characters inside simulators to earn more EXP if you get stuck on a map.

At first, options are very limited. Character recruitment is limited to unskilled pilots and generic characters. Pilots also have different specialties and their specialty is the ONLY skill they can reach the maximum level in. As the game goes on, Walter gets promoted and you gain access to more skilled and better pilots. Unfortunately, this goes to waste since the best soldiers are the ones that have been artificially enhanced. All of these are marked with an S in their portrait that gives an extra and usually very powerful skill that makes other pilots of the same type seem useless. There is also the special pilot Darril from Front Mission 4 which you can recruit if you meet some special requirements. The rest of the Front Mission cast from previous games only appear as enemies in the Arena.

For me the most enjoyable part of the game was Wanzer customization. It is limited at first but as you progress in the game, more and more items are unlcoked. There are a large number of parts available with all sorts of different looks and abilities. My favorite is the Zenith type with the glowing red eye but there are a few hilarious ones that look like washing machines on legs. There are a large number of different items available and different paint jobs you can apply to the Wanzer. I prefer bright colors because it makes them easier to spot on the map. When you complete battles you get GP (money) and RP (remodeling points). RP allows you to upgrade existing parts to add bonuses such as increased accuracy, resistance to flame based weapons or to give weapons armor piercing attributes. Some of the best weapons in the game can only be made through remodeling items given to you by the NPCs. Normally you can only remodel items up to 1 level higher than what you can buy from the NPCs.

Compared to the previous Front Mission games, many things have changed. It is possible to hit already destroyed parts of an enemy Wanzer so a shotgun doesn't completely obliterate the body piece if its the only piece left. It is still possible to hit the arm even if its already destroyed. Melee weapons will almost always hit the body and deal more damage if there is more free weight available. Unforunately for these changes, machine guns are now the dominant weapon in the game. They also have the most subcategories including the insanely broken gatling guns. It is also possible to shoot your own allies during an assist and the enemy AI will take advantage of this so surrounding a bad guy isn't always a good idea.

The most powerful items in the game are obtained 2 different ways. The first is to talk to NPCs at set intervals in the game. As you progress, they will reward you and eventually give you special weapons and Wanzer parts. These parts look weak at first but can be remodeled into the most powerful items in the game such as a missile launcher that fires 8 weaker missiles. Remodeling points are rare but are very useful. The second method is to play survival mode. It appears late in the game but its very difficult. You basically go through a series of stages with a predesigned Wanzer where items are positioned randomly and your goal is to get to the next floor. On normal mode there are 50 floors. On hard mode there are 100 floors and much more powerful items available. The only way to leave survival mode is to either find a special weapon or to go through the whole thing which is very difficult since there are bosses on the 50th and 100th floor which requires a lot of preparation to defeat. Depending on how many RP you got in survival mode, you can take out different items up to the value of the total RP accumulated. The rest of the items are converted to RP that you can use in the main game.

Upon completion of the game, New Game+ and Hard Mode is unlocked. New Game+ allows you to take everything from your previous game and replay it. Hard Mode allows you to restart the game and fight tougher enemies in addition to extended survival mode and battles. However, you can the ability to remodel Wanzer parts without limit. The enemies make up for this by using combat links earlier and having more powerful items and parts at their disposle making themselves on par with your own Wanzers.

Sound:

I really liked the voice acting in Front Mission 5. Some of the music could've been better and if the battle drags out too long it can be annoying for some people. Overall I like the sound effects. There's a nice touch to them and weapons that fire differently sound differently as well. The sound really helps in emulating the effects of what war could actually be like in the future assuming we started using giant robots to help fight our wars. Other than the repetitive music, I would say it was good.

Overall:

I would have to consider Front Mission 5 one of the best turn based RPGs ever made. It symbolizes many of the problems in war and the esclation of it including research and development of advanced soldiers which is possible in our lifetimes. Unfortunately I disliked Final Fantasy Tactics and the original Tactics Ogre and Ogre Battle games. There are some tiny flaws in the game but if it was released on the current generation such as on the 360 or PS3, I feel that these problems could have been avoided. For a game that came out in 2005, I would consider it to be very good. Only the repetitive music can be annoying at times.

Final Score:

9/10 - If you can get your hands on a copy, you should try to play it.