Front Mission 1st Remake

Front Mission 1st Remake is a faithful adaptation of a franchise I’ve been desperate to see get a second chance. Alongside the likes of Triangle Strategy and Mario & Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, the Switch is becoming a bastion for strategy RPGs – and Front Mission 1st rightly earns a spot alongside them.

Front Mission 1st is a solid and entertaining tactics game that deserved a bit more attention than it got.

I enjoyed revisiting Front Mission, and I think the base game is neat enough to warrant a look for any RPG fan out there that hasn’t had the opportunity to play one of these games yet. Both campaigns are pretty sizable, it took me a bit to finish the initial OCU campaign, and then there’s the tougher UCS campaign to check out that I haven’t finished, so you’ll certainly get a number of hours out of the game if you decide to dive in. I’d suggest giving Front Missions 1st: Remake a shot, maybe more so if you’ve never played the game before, just keep in mind that it’s a prettier port of a classic strategy RPG that may not have all the bells and whistles you’re used to with more modern titles.

A very straightforward remake misses some opportunities, but delivers a fun enough outing for the genre nonetheless.

Front Mission 1st: Remake often feels old but that’s no huge surprise. It is after all an old game. It released nearly 28 years ago. That it still mostly holds up as an excellent strategy RPG with an excellent story, interesting customization, and strategic combat, is impressive. While it may fall a bit short of what we’d hope for in a true remake, it remains a strong game worth the time of fans of the genre.

For a 27-year-old game with only minor changes this is still an enjoyably taxing tactical role-player but it’s new games this series needs, not more remakes.

Front Mission 1st is a remake that renews the '95 game mainly from a graphic standpoint. Maybe that's enough for some, but we would have preferred something bigger and more exciting.

Unless you’re a die-hard fan of the original or the TRPG genre in general, you’re probably safe to give this one a miss or just lower the difficulty of the combat to enjoy the story. Despite the strengths of the setting and the characters, the gameplay becomes more frustrating than fun and won’t keep most players engaged past the first few hours. It’s a shame because there is a brilliance to telling the same story from two opposing points of view, but that gets buried beneath poorly implemented mechanics. Unfortunately, modern visuals and sound can't salvage gameplay here that feels too random to be satisfying.

A list of boxes was checked, but the soul here is missing, and players will most likely pick up on that and stay away. This franchise has long been neglected by its owner, and while a trilogy of remakes ought to be a sign that Square wants to reignite interest in Front Mission, 1st is, unfortunately, the exact opposite. You wanted Front Mission; here it is, now go away.

Regardless of how essential Forever Entertainment’s updated Front Mission 1st Remake update is, the game itself is a classic. It’s wonderful that it’s now available on a modern platform and that the developers have sparked their own revival for a series that has been mostly dormant for over a decade (Left Alive? Never heard of it). With one game down, it’s easy to look forward to the eventual remakes of Front Mission 2 and 3 and, hopefully, even more to come after those with Forever Entertainment in the cockpit.

Front Mission 1st: Remake is a good time, if not quite a great one. For all its bumps in the road, and in a strange way, perhaps in part because of them, there is immense satisfaction in clearing each stage. Regardless, I’m glad the series is getting some love again, and I’m pretty pleased with Forever Entertainment’s crack at things overall. If their quality of work is maintained going forward, I suspect we’re in for some real treats with the second and third installments.

Front Mission is a venerable SRPG series that appears to be turning a corner in the West. Front Mission 1st: Remake is a solid effort at remaking the first game in the series without modifying too much of what makes this game a classic. With announced remakes of Front Mission 2 and 3 forthcoming, it is an exciting time to be a Front Mission fan. While more effort could have been taken in actually modernizing and upgrading the game’s mechanics for modern sensibilities, Front Mission 1st: Remake preserves the integrity and depth of the original’s complex systems, even if these metal joints are starting to feel a bit rusty.

The game remains a solid revisiting of a years-old game. And it serves as a good way for folks to experience one of strategy and mecha gaming’s foundational works on a current platform. Front Mission 1st: Remake won’t set hearts aflame with novelty, but it is a satisfying return to first principles, with a promise of more to come.

It's a pity that Square Enix and Forever Entertainment had both settled for a (too) faithful remake of a game that was fascinating and difficult but also unbalanced and often unfair. Little things like new menus, new tutorials and a slew of QOL options could have made this a much better game overall. The way it is now, it's only recommended to hardcore long-time fans.

As remakes go, Front Mission 1st: Remake gets the job done and not much more. Its cleaner visuals oddly make the thing look cheaper than the original at times, but the fundamental gameplay mechanics and story are both as sound as they ever were and generally carry the whole affair. This is a game that probably could have benefited from some bigger changes, but if all you’re looking for is a straight remake and don’t mind the new look, here you go.

Front Mission was already an amazing game that is fun to play even nowadays, and that got better over time, but the remake managed to correct almost all the flaws from the previous ones: brought a faster and intuitive gameplay, more accessible in terms of difficulty, amazing graphics that don't take away the atmosphere which the old ones got right and much more. If you want a game like DioField Chronicles or Tactics Ogre Reborn, but with a modern setting, or just want to play an incredible TRPG, this game is for you.

It’s good to have a remake available in Europe and localized, but it feels like a missed opportunity to improve the outdated gameplay.