FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake Reviews
Unless you're a die-hard fan of the original, it might be best to skip this in favor of a good SRPG.
Front Mission 1st Remake is a bizarre title. It is a true remake rather than a remaster, but all the effort has still gone into the visual side of things rather than tweaking the gameplay to make it more in line with the modern era of gaming. It’s a slow-paced title with painful RNG that really isn’t too interested in providing more than a basic SRPG experience with customizable mechs. It’s great to see the series back once again. With a remake of further titles planned, I can only hope this serves as a stepping stone to provide players with a much more fun and engaging title in the future. Unfortunately, as it stands, Front Mission 1st Remake is a pretty title that while offers some fun, really doesn’t stand out in any real meaningful way compared to its many, many peers.
Graphically Front Mission: 1st Remake looks phenomenal on the Series X, small touches like working windshield wipers on vehicles and things really help to immerse players in the game and its world. The remake presents the game in a different camera angle from the original but allows players to choose how they want to play. This is also true of the soundtrack in game as the original and a remastered and remixed version is available as well. While I enjoyed the story of Front Mission: 1st Remake, the combat made the game feel like a chore. In fact, it felt like for everyone good thing I found with the game, I would end up with two negatives. I had issues with the camera control in the heat of battle, the overall difficulty on default is a tad hard (but there is a difficulty selection if you want to play on easy), missing more attacks than I hit even in melee and all these things just led to a poor experience. I think Id love to play a new Front Mission game, one that isn’t a remake and is charting its own path forward; hopefully we can see that one day.
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.
For those who are huge fans of Front Mission titles or turn-based games. Then I think this is most definitely something you should add to your list. However, if you are on the fence then it might be worth waiting for a price drop.
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.
This feels like a game that really speaks to people who were in the sweet spot for certain points of the release window. If you played this on the DS as a younger person, it’s great to revisit it. If you really enjoy Front Mission titles and want to appreciate the first game, it’s perfect. If you’re an absolute turn-based, grid based, isometric combat beast and can’t wait for the Final Fantasy Tactics remake, this scratches some itches, though in a lesser way. It’s fun, it’s comprehensive, but it’s just not…great.
Is Front Mission 1st: Remake as good as Advance Wars? Well no, but it is still a lovingly crafted remake and a decent strategy game with a compelling narrative and fun mech customisation. I just wish Forever Entertainment had spent more time modernising and refining the gameplay experience, rather than just the presentation.
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.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I definitely recommend this to fans of old-style SRPGS, but with the high MSRP and some minor freezes here and there, I do feel it may be best to get it on sale or wait for a bit more patching before giving it a spin.
Front Mission 1st: Remake is a faithful and pretty recreation of a game that hasn't aged very gracefully. It's worth playing all the same.
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.
While the first entry in this long-running series is showing its age, Front Mission 1st: Remake is a gritty, unflinching story of war and the scars it leaves both on and off the battlefield.
This is an interesting anti-war story with two extensive campaigns told from two different perspectives, and with extensive options for customizing mechs and additional gameplay options. The game has impressive modern graphics, sound, and music. However, there are some problems: the length of the game can lead to monotony, and the only way to avoid this is by playing in small doses. The battles can occasionally feel too random, especially at the beginning of the main campaign. The controls could also be better.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Forever Entertainment has proven they are effective at remaking old titles with new visuals while keeping the gameplay as faithful as possible. While Front Mission 1st is a worthy alternative to the old version, maybe an HD-2D reimagining with snappier battles would have been better. Time will tell how their efforts will pay off on the more ambitious upcoming entries in the Front Mission series.
Front Mission 1st would have benefitted from a full remake to address a lot of quibbles that are holdovers from the era it is originally from; however, even as-is, warts and all, the premise and core loop remain fun enough that series and genre enthusiasts, at least, will get a fair bit out of it.
Forever Entertainment's modern crack at a classic strategy RPG has its highs and lows, but I walk away from it feeling stoked for the Wanzer warfare remakes to come.
Solid and definitely have an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
While fans of this strategy RPG “classic” are likely to be excited to see it again, the uninitiated may find it slow
Front Mission 1st Remake is a good way to experience a tactical RPG classic originally developed by Squaresoft on SNES. Though there are elements that could have been better when it comes to properly conveying information, the rich mecha customization and the bigger focus on combat amidst a straightforward war story are some appealing points for adventuring into the game.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review