Play Front Mission Online

Summary

Front Mission on the DS takes the tactical depth of the original and stretches it across the handheld’s dual screens, giving a clear, split‑view of the wanzer battles. The map is point‑and‑click, with towns serving as hubs where you can re‑equip your mechs, while each mission unfolds on a separate battle zone that disappears once you’ve completed it.

What makes this port stand out are the extra pieces of the Front Mission universe it pulls in: fan‑favorite characters like Griff Burnan and Glen Duval appear alongside brand‑new parts and weapons borrowed from later entries, and nine hidden missions expand the story beyond the main campaign. The wanzer customization is granular – you swap bodies, arms, legs and backpacks, balancing weight against power output, and you can outfit units with melee, short‑range, long‑range or support‑fire weapons, even adding shields for extra protection.

The game also includes an Arena where you can grind AI opponents for cash, and a briefing screen that lays out enemy composition before each sortie, helping you plan which limbs to protect or sacrifice. While the DS version lacks online play, reviewers praised its depth and options, noting it feels like a futuristic Advance Wars with a darker tone.

Released only on the DS in North America in late 2007, the title sold just over 57,000 copies in Japan, earning a respectable 72 on Metacritic and solid scores from outlets such as IGN and Game Informer.

Storyline

Front Mission 1st, the Nintendo DS remake of the classic tactical RPG, is set in 2090 on Huffman Island – a volcanic island the size of Oahu that was split between the Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU) and the United States of the New Continent (USN) after the First Huffman Conflict of 2070. The story follows two parallel campaigns. In the OCU route, Roy Clive, leader of the mercenary group Canyon Crows, investigates the Larcus munitions factory, discovers a conspiracy involving the secretive Nirvana Institute, and battles B‑device‑enhanced wanzers while trying to rescue his fiancée Karen and expose the truth behind the war. In the USN route, Kevin Greenfield, a former Black Hounds special‑forces officer, is disgraced, joins the Nirvana Institute’s research division, and later commands the Silver Lynx strike force to push the USN offensive during the Second Huffman Conflict. Gameplay is turn‑based, using the DS stylus to select units, issue attacks, and manage menus for wanzers, tanks, and helicopters. Both campaigns intersect as the Crows uncover Nirvana’s brain‑machine graft experiments, confront Driscoll, and ultimately see the conflict’s resolution framed by the Peace Mediation Organization, leaving the island’s future uncertain.