Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness (2008). Play online

Summary

Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness is an enhanced DS remake that completely overhauls the original’s graphics, character artwork, and cut‑scenes while tightening the story into a more linear flow. Touchscreen features replace the original’s button‑heavy controls, giving players a intuitive pad for managing their wanzers between missions.

The version adds several mechanics from other Front Mission titles: armor coating, part sorting, and remodel upgrades, plus a new "Links" system that lets two units coordinate attacks as long as they wield different weapon classes. Shotguns now fire multiple rounds per shot and rifles are dedicated long‑range weapons. Unfortunately, space constraints forced the removal of the multiplayer mode, but the single‑player experience still offers branching mission paths, arena battles, and the classic briefings that longtime fans recognize.

Storyline

Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness is set in 2089 on Huffman Island, a year before the Second Huffman Conflict. The island had already suffered a series of skirmishes in 2086 that sparked the Huffman Crisis, pitting the O.C.U. against the U.S.N. peacekeeping forces. By 2089 both super‑states have bolstered their garrisons and are hiring mercenaries to conduct espionage and reconnaissance along the Mail River, the border separating their territories.

The story follows a mercenary team led by former O.C.U. captain Ernest J. Salinger, codename “Storm.” Their sorties near Mail River start as routine data‑gathering missions, but several mercenaries on both sides begin to vanish without a trace. Storm’s superior, Falcon, orders an investigation into the disappearances.

During the probe the group encounters a mysterious mercenary outfit called the Vampires, first introduced in this title. The cast includes Kate Houjou (“Oddeye”), an ex‑operations coordinator with C.I.U. ties, G. Lycov, an engineer working on bioneural‑device weapons for Sakata Industries, and Stan Williams (“Champ”), a former mixed‑martial‑arts champion seeking purpose.

The narrative spans from 2089 to 2093, weaving political tension, covert warfare, and the emergence of the enigmatic Vampires into a compact tactical RPG experience.