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Its a great game all around so I will just list its two main problems. Battle size- way too small for good tactical depth. You can only bring 4 heroes on a mission which really limits the tactics you can use. Difficulty- A little too easy, I usually finish a mission with all mechs standing. A well dont game with only a couple flaws.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Exactly what I was looking for in terms of gameplay, but the storyline and character motivations (especially the motivations) are a bit stupid. If you've played Front Mission 4 (for the PS2) then you've pretty much got FM3 down. Turn-based tactical mech combat, with upgradeable parts, weapons and abilities. Some of the specific mechanics are different (no Linking, but abiliites can combo, allowing extra attacks for free). Even the basic weapon types are mostly the same (a flamethrower instead of a bazooka). Out of battle gameplay is basically menu navigation. There are some nice pre-rendered backgrounds during conversation, and an interesting Internet-type system, to help explain the story. I've also noted that the story can change depending on how you finish a battle, with slight variations in how everything turns out. But the story, ugh. FM4 is basically a sequel to FM3, and the story of FM3 is very similar. You follow a Japanese wanzer (gear/mech) tester as he gets himself involved with a beautiful scientist (and wanzer pilot) and international conspiracies. It worked ok with FM4, but in FM3 the characters just seem stupid. Everybody just jumps about fighting everybody and then leaving, doing whatever they want with no regard for the setting. If it were Final Fantasy, in a setting where the fastest travel was by airship or Chocobo, OK, maybe you can get away with that, but in realistic/futuristic setting where country governments are unified and international politics key, you don't want a group of people running around in weapons of semi-mass destruction doing whatever impulse comes to mind. It breaks any sense of realism. Graphics are standard PSX, pre-FF9. Story sequences are well scripted visually (even if, as mentioned, what the characters do doesn't make any sense) and there are CG cut-scenes at appropriate times. About what you should expect when you buy a 7 year old game (as of 2007). Music is acceptable. Nothing that makes me want to get the soundtrack. I usually end up muting it and putting something else on, but that's just me. The rest of the audio is perfect, with guns and wanzers sounding as they should. There's no voice acting outside of the cut-scenes and those are left in their original Japanese. Controls are fine, since it's turn-based you can take as long as you need to figure anything out. Most things are explained if you read the tutorials, and if not, there's always Gamefaqs :P Secrets/extras out side the storyline seem to be limited, but considering I haven't beaten it yet, I can't say how much there is (or how much I've missed). Game time seems about standard at 40-50 hours, but as I said, I haven't finished it, so maybe there's still a lot more to do, a la Okami. All in all, a good game if you can't wait for Front Mission 5 to come State-side, but don't expect a story on par with Front Mission 4's. A nice change up from the fantasy of Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea/NipponIchi, and definitely worth playing for fans of mechs and turn based RPGs (as opposed to mechs and fighting games). Phew, that's lengthy. But I've got a 3500 character length to use, so why not? :PRead full review
The game is actually two games in one, with a choice early in the game determining the direction of the story so there is a lot of replay value there, not to mention being able to mix and match the parts for your machines, so even choosing the same path could result in a different play experience.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
First, I'd like to clear some odd misunderstanding amongst the rest of the reviews. This game isn't 40-50 hours... maby if you do nothing but button mash through dialogue and don't do anything extra that may be the length of a single scenario. The game is approximately 150 hour long on average, which can actually get monotonous, and probably the only downfall. Story wise, the game is similar to a large scifi novel. The plot is slightly cliche, but the first time through on either scenario has plenty of twists and turns. graphics lately mean nothing, especially on these older games http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t261/RojinPC/FrontMission3ScreenShotenhanced2.png that is a good example of the graphics enherantly programmed into the disc, however the playstation can only handle a fraction of the detail. In all the enhanced graphics i've seen for ps1 games, this is one of the best. with such a long game... the music gets repetative quick.Read full review
Well balanced and compelling gameplay. Lots of customization options. Amazing maps. Two games in one: two entirely different campaigns, both with great story and writing. Dates graphics, but outstanding sound and art direction. "Virtual Internet" feature, full of secrets and codes to discover, and fleshes out the story with details. A Masterpiece.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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