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"November 5,2007 - Since SquareSoft merged with Enix, the quality of released games has been extremely inconsistent. Very few of the games released for any supported systems have been unique, and on the handheld front, almost everything has been a port or an updated rehash. That just happens to be the case with the recently released Front Mission for the Nintendo DS, perhaps the most underappreciated franchise in possession of this once dominating RPG publisher."
Full Source:
Gamer 2.0
"Good things often come in small packages (see also: the DS), and sometimes, they even come in small doses. That's the best way to describe Front Mission, the tactical strategy title that originally debuted on the Super Nintendo, and has now come to the DS. The re-packaged port looks good in its transition to the DS, even without having too much done to it -- not that the series, which hasn't ever achieved major popularity despite being fully awesome -- really needed much more than a spit-shine."
Full Source:
DSFanboy
"Over the last few years Nintendo DS has been getting a ton of support from the Japan-based company Square Enix. Known most for its RPG powerhouse Final Fantasy, the company has brought far more than just its primary franchise to the table, as games like Rocket Slime, Children of Mana, Dragon Quest Monsters, Mario Hoops, and Crystal Chronicles wow us time and time again with either impressive depth, graphical superiority, surprisingly deep story, or a combination of each."
Full Source:
IGN
"Why the Front Mission series has never found its audience outside of Japan (and even there it isn't exactly a bona fide hit) stands as one of videogaming's little mysteries. Taken on its face, turn-based tactical combat with mechs wrapped up with Square's flair for dramatic presentation certainly sounds like the makings of a winner. Yet neither Front Mission 3 on PlayStation nor Front Mission 4 on PS2 made much of a splash here, leading to the decision not to even bother bringing over Front Mission 5. Nintendo's DS, already proving a welcoming home to both classic and tactical games, presented a uniquely well-suited opportunity to reboot the series and give it another shot. So, over a decade after its 1995 debuted on the SNES, the original Front Mission finally arrives in North America."
Full Source:
1up
"The dual screen set-up is perfect for handling the way the action unfolds. Because of the amount of information you need to be aware of, having a second screen full of stats to look at is great. And this is a stat-based game. In addition to keeping track of what type of ammo you have for each of your mechs, you have to be up on how much health they have. In a nice touch of realism, health is broken down by part. Instead of having a single health bar, you have bars for each arm, your legs, and your body. If the health level of your body gets depleted, you explode and you're off to the great metal resting place in the sky. If one of your arms gets destroyed, though, you continue to fight, but you no longer are able to use that arm's weapons. If your legs get trashed, you can still fight; you just can't move. Staying on top of all this is much easier on the DS than it was in the PS2's Front Mission 4."
Full Source:
Gamespy
"The mechs have come home to roost. After over a decade of Sony exclusivity, the giant robots of Square Enix's Front Mission series have returned to a Nintendo console. For the first time in over a decade, and for the first time in this country, Nintendo players -- in this case, DS owners -- will be able to pound away in heavy metal turn-based action. I got to do some mech battling in a preview version of the game, and was impressed by the overall depth of the thing."
Full Source:
Gamespy
"At the moment, you could be forgiven for thinking Square Enix is reaching into its well-stocked archives and re-releasing games on PSP and DS like game design is a discipline without a future.
We're hardly surprised then that the somewhat obscure (from a Western perspective) if critically-acclaimed, turn-based Mech strategy role-playing game Front Mission is receiving a DS makeover. Boasting touchscreen controls, a graphical overhaul, and a new multiplayer mode, it could be one of the most significant facelifts we've seen for a handheld."
Full Source:
Pocketgamer.co.uk
"Despite being one of the smaller franchises in the Square-Enix stable, the Front Mission series has enjoyed a devoted fan-base that has remained loyal over the past decade or so. It's loyalty that has paid off too, because what promises to be the best Front Mission game in a long time is making its way to the Nintendo DS. Indeed, during our hands-on time with the game we were impressed with Square's robo-strategy game, because it mixes up elements of Advance Wars with the more familiar levelling-up gameplay of previous Front Mission games."
Full Source:
IGN
"During E3, we got the opportunity to sit down with Square Enix's Koichiro Sakamoto, who just recently served as the producer on the company's Front Mission DS, due for release in the US this October 23. Mr. Sakamoto very graciously discussed the game, his love of the Front Mission series, and answered the questions we had on it.
Firstly, Mr. Sakamoto was asked if there were any difficulties in porting the game to the DS. On the contrary, he said, it wasn't difficult at all. He stated that he felt that the dual screen setup of the system could provide much more information to the players, which would make for a much smoother gameplay experience. There was additional discussion on the system's capabilities. When asked if the team considered adding multiplayer via the WiFi Connection, he responded that they would have liked to, but the truth is that it would have been too difficult to properly rebalance the game, which simply offers so many customization options through equipping different Wanzer (mech) parts. Sakamoto didn't want the game's original balance to be forcibly adapted for the sake of wireless. The producer was also jokingly asked about using the microphone; his response was laughing that this thought never occured to him, but that it's an interesting idea."
Full Source:
RPGamer via
DSFanboy
