It has taken me a long time but I have finally completed Front Mission 2: Remake and have added it to my list of completed games. Front Mission 2: Remake was released initially for the Nintendo Switch in October 2023 then 6 months later on every other platform. Originally however Front Mission 2 was released for the Japan market in 1997 by Square for the PlayStation. Unfortunately until this remake it was never released for any other region.
Front Mission 2 is a turn based strategy role-playing game involving customizable wanzers (mechs) which are piloted by the protagonists and their enemies. Set in the 2102 in a country called Alordesh (Bangladesh) Front Mission 2 tells a remarkable story about a coup d’état, love, betrayal and a secret weapon. I can’t write much more about the story without running the risk of spoiling it for someone, but I will say that the story is excellent and is easily the best feature of this game. One thing I found quite funny is one of the characters, Maylan, reminds me of someone.
I have to admit, that while the story is really good, the combat is clunky and at times the game can be a bit of a chore. After each character has been introduced you end up with 12 pilots and wanzers which periodically need changing for better parts and weapons. Don’t get me wrong, it is fun to customize and try new things, but after a while it became too much and I just wanted to get on with the game. To be fair I am criticizing 27 year old game mechanics which I know was improved significantly for the sequel.
There is a lot of replay value in Front Mission 2: Remake. There are numerous difficulty settings and once you have completed the game I believe you can start over and retain much of the progress your pilots have made in developing their skills. This is also available in Front Mission 1st: Remake, but as before I am only interested in playing through the story and completing the game on ‘normal’ difficulty which actually took over 48 hours of play time. Now I must wait for the remake of one of my most favourite games of all time, Front Mission 3.
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