Wiki: Front Mission 4 is a tactical role playing 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.Developer - Square Enix
Publisher - Square Enix
Designer - Toshiro Tsuchida
Series - Front Mission series
Platform - PlayStation 2
Release date - JPN December 18, 2003; NA June 15, 2004
Genre - Tactical role-playing game
official site
...................................................................................................................................................................
Played this game about 2 years ago before flying to Aussie, I failed to finish this game (almost reach the final battle though) by the time I need to take my flight. And when I return to M'sia last year and brought my PS2 to Aussie, I brought along the wrong copy of this game (Japanese version), hence I order a new original copy from the local store in order to replay this game (tbh playing Utawarerumono brought my urge to replay this game :P). And about a week ago I was finally able to finish this game after playing for about a week and half.
ok enough ranting. FM4 took place in the world near the future, with two main forces highlighted in the series - the EC (European Commonwealth) and UCS (United Continental States). And hence the story was divided into two section; one on Elisa side (The EC) and another on Darril side (UCS). Each party has their own problem to deal with, which they eventually manage to communicate and helped each other. Too bad both party was never able to meet face to face till the end. Elsa party was mainly deals with the series of terrorism against Gernamy bases, which led them to investigate the culprit which was believed interconnected with the Zaftran nation. While Darril party was more focused on their journey as deserter to escape from Venezuela after finding a crater containing a heap of gold (which belong to the corrupted ruler of Venezuela, Diaz). Along the way, they encountered various problems ,mainly from the Zaftran army. And that's where they play some important role to stop the imminent war between the EC and UCS...
Gameplay:
As the genre implies (tactical role playing games), it mainly revolved around moving the unit (wanzer) around the battlefield, with the action based on any available weapons equipped on the wanzer. Each action (movement, attacking, support etc) cost AP (Action Point), which varied based on the type of weapon. The basic weapons available for wanzers includes Machinegun, Shotgun, Rifle, Bazooka, Grenade, Rocket, Missile, and Melee equipments like Shield or Knuckle. Each weapons has varying AP cost, which can further modified by battle skill.
In a more advanced gameplay, each unit can support each other via "linking". From the offensive to defensive link, players are free to assign any unit capable for supports, which means nearby linked allies can support in attack or when attacked, or by various other support action, like EMP pack which provide anti-missile and Ratio pack with Salvage support which can brings any supported unit back to battle once destroyed. As each action require AP, thisi means units with more AP can support each other more. While most mission do not require much strategic planning to achieve victory, there are some which really require proper preparation, especially missions which served as pre-requisite of some other stages/simulator. And later in the game, there are some very challenging simulator mission which require the units to work in two groups, and hence supporting each other efficiently is terribly essential.
Off battle, player can spend money and EP (Enhancement Point) gained during battle to upgrade the pilot, and buy new gears for wanzer. Wanzer setup consist of players buying wanzer parts (body, arms, legs, weapons, backpacks) suitable with their ability, although sometimes it does not hurt switching roles (near the end of the game, I switch Zead role from heavy missiler into a mix of missile+rifle. So does for Beck) for the sake of splitting the team into two forces that can survive on its own. Of course, more money need to be spent in order to enhance the pilot ability with the new role. While money is spent on purchasing wanzer parts and pilots computer abilities, EP points were spent on unlocking pilot abilities, either after being naturally upgraded or by purchasing additional skill from the Computer Shop.
k enough of useless crap. why I like this game? Well playing Utawarerumono a few months ago really remind me of some other tactical rpg games I've played before, and this game was among the few which popped up in my mind. As mentioned before, I ordered a new fresh original copy of this game and started playing, finishing the game about two weeks later. I enjoy the gameplay pretty much, it is not hard to master the gameplay as the tactical department is not as complex as, say, Disgaea or Samirai Warriors Empire. While there's not that many side quests offered in this game, the unlockables weapons/parts are really worth to get, especially the Minotaur Arm for Darril side, and the Vampire Arm for Elsa side.
ok enough ranting. FM4 took place in the world near the future, with two main forces highlighted in the series - the EC (European Commonwealth) and UCS (United Continental States). And hence the story was divided into two section; one on Elisa side (The EC) and another on Darril side (UCS). Each party has their own problem to deal with, which they eventually manage to communicate and helped each other. Too bad both party was never able to meet face to face till the end. Elsa party was mainly deals with the series of terrorism against Gernamy bases, which led them to investigate the culprit which was believed interconnected with the Zaftran nation. While Darril party was more focused on their journey as deserter to escape from Venezuela after finding a crater containing a heap of gold (which belong to the corrupted ruler of Venezuela, Diaz). Along the way, they encountered various problems ,mainly from the Zaftran army. And that's where they play some important role to stop the imminent war between the EC and UCS...Gameplay:
As the genre implies (tactical role playing games), it mainly revolved around moving the unit (wanzer) around the battlefield, with the action based on any available weapons equipped on the wanzer. Each action (movement, attacking, support etc) cost AP (Action Point), which varied based on the type of weapon. The basic weapons available for wanzers includes Machinegun, Shotgun, Rifle, Bazooka, Grenade, Rocket, Missile, and Melee equipments like Shield or Knuckle. Each weapons has varying AP cost, which can further modified by battle skill.
In a more advanced gameplay, each unit can support each other via "linking". From the offensive to defensive link, players are free to assign any unit capable for supports, which means nearby linked allies can support in attack or when attacked, or by various other support action, like EMP pack which provide anti-missile and Ratio pack with Salvage support which can brings any supported unit back to battle once destroyed. As each action require AP, thisi means units with more AP can support each other more. While most mission do not require much strategic planning to achieve victory, there are some which really require proper preparation, especially missions which served as pre-requisite of some other stages/simulator. And later in the game, there are some very challenging simulator mission which require the units to work in two groups, and hence supporting each other efficiently is terribly essential.
Off battle, player can spend money and EP (Enhancement Point) gained during battle to upgrade the pilot, and buy new gears for wanzer. Wanzer setup consist of players buying wanzer parts (body, arms, legs, weapons, backpacks) suitable with their ability, although sometimes it does not hurt switching roles (near the end of the game, I switch Zead role from heavy missiler into a mix of missile+rifle. So does for Beck) for the sake of splitting the team into two forces that can survive on its own. Of course, more money need to be spent in order to enhance the pilot ability with the new role. While money is spent on purchasing wanzer parts and pilots computer abilities, EP points were spent on unlocking pilot abilities, either after being naturally upgraded or by purchasing additional skill from the Computer Shop.k enough of useless crap. why I like this game? Well playing Utawarerumono a few months ago really remind me of some other tactical rpg games I've played before, and this game was among the few which popped up in my mind. As mentioned before, I ordered a new fresh original copy of this game and started playing, finishing the game about two weeks later. I enjoy the gameplay pretty much, it is not hard to master the gameplay as the tactical department is not as complex as, say, Disgaea or Samirai Warriors Empire. While there's not that many side quests offered in this game, the unlockables weapons/parts are really worth to get, especially the Minotaur Arm for Darril side, and the Vampire Arm for Elsa side.
Tales of Grace F
Warrior Orochi 3
FFXIII-2
0 comments:
Post a Comment