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Front Mission DS site slowly explodes into the internet
Two weeks away from Front Mission DS's release, Square Enix has introduced the SRPG's official North American site with a bang -- a drawn-out, "exploded bits hanging in the air for what seems like an eternity" bang. A bang that consists of a five-plus-minute movie in which nothing about the game is revealed.If you poke around the site, though, there's a lot of material there to help you get hyped up about this remake of the Front Mission series' first title. In addition to information about its setting, story, and characters, you'll find four short clips demonstrating Wanzer (mecha) customization and combat, all of them significantly more substantial than the explosion video arbitrarily embedded on the main page. %Gallery-4781%
Square Enix teases Front Mission 2089
Square Enix has released a short teaser video for Front Mission 2089. Before you watch, a warning: this video contains no mecha. No giant robots, no "gears", no mechs, no wanzers, or any of that. We assume they're in the game (it's a Front Mission game! Besides, the mobile version had them.) but that Square Enix decided it wouldn't be enough of a tease if we actually got to see any big robots.Instead, we get an introduction to the story, with English voice acting. For such a short video full of static character portraits and no mechs, which advertises a DS remake of a cellphone game, we think it works pretty well! We want to know what happens along the ... BORDER OF MADNESS. [Via NeoGAF]
TGS07: Front Mission 2089 announced for DS
Square Enix quietly revealed its next Front Mission project at the ongoing Tokyo Game Show, and it's for the DS! Aside from its name, Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, not much else has been announced -- we can safely assume, however, that it'll be an SRPG packed with highly customizable wanzers (mechs) and political drama.Previous Front Mission 2089 titles have been released for mobile platforms, but we're not sure yet if Border of Madness will be a port of one of those cell phone games or a completely new entry to the spin-off series. Of course, we hope for the latter. Regardless of its origin, we likely won't see it localized for the US unless we support Front Mission DS's release in the states next month!
Just in case you forgot: Front Mission DS is awesome
We understand that though most of our readers aren't familiar with the Front Mission series, there are still a number of you who, like us, have a deep-seated need to command giant, customizable mechs on an SRPG battlefield. Pocket Gamer has a preview of Front Mission DS that will get you up to speed on the Square Enix remake, outlining the various phases of combat from start to finish. Their hands-on impressions also shed some light on the game's campaign details, touchscreen controls, and wanzer customization. It's disappointing to hear that the head-to-head multiplayer mode will be limited to local wireless matches only, but given Square Enix's online support shenanigans so far, we're not surprised. Front Mission DS arrives in North American stores this October 23rd. Plan your budget accordingly. %Gallery-4781%
E307: Great while it lasted
... but all good things must come to an end, eh? It's always nice to wallow in the explosion of news that surrounds a trade show, and even the diminished E3 was no exception. Sure, for Nintendo fans, at least on the DS side, things started out a little slowly, but once the media hit, we no longer had anything to be disappointed about! So what was tops for DS owners? Here's the best -- according to us, at least.Top E3 trailers: Contra 4 -- After all our Contragasms, you knew we were going to say this! Front Mission DS -- What can we say ... we're big fans of ass-kickery. Brain Age 2 -- We know you'll probably disagree with us here, but we can't help it. We a) dig a good, brainy challenge and b) think the selection of games looks even better than before. Less-discussed games we desperately want right now: Professor Layton and all his mysterious locales -- Okay, we wanted this before. But it was mentioned in passing around E3, and now we're more rabid for it than ever! Nintendo Magic -- Another game we weren't sure would head our way, but that just sounds like fun. Advance Wars 2 -- The first is one of the best the DS has to offer, though it seems to rarely get a mention. Worst trailer that should have been awesome:Insecticide, hands down. Please pass us some Dramamine on your way out.Biggest disappointment:Probably the missing wi-fi for Mario Party DS. C'mon, Nintendo, slip it in there! We promise not to complain about friend codes for at least a week.
E307: Front Mission DS interview and media galore
We've got a flood of Front Mission DS media for you today. In addition to the new screenshots viewable in the gallery below, there's also a minute-and-a-half-long trailer for the Square Enix SRPG past the post break. If you need more than just combat clips and menu hopping to get you going, scroll down a bit further for the original Japanese trailer.Front Mission DS finally bring the series' first entry to the states, adding touchscreen controls, multiplayer battles (local only), and several new Wanzers to the mech-based title. While this release already includes the alternative UCS storyline from the PlayStation remake, five new missions specific to the DS version have also been added.RPGamer had a chance to sit down with producer Koichiro Sakamoto to discuss the handheld port and his thoughts on bringing more Front Mission games to the DS. According to the interview, were it not for the campaigning of a particular team member, North America might not have received the game: "There was one [who] was very passionate about the game, and wanted to give players in the United States the chance to experience. He felt that Front Mission 3 and 4 proved that there is a userbase, and since the DS is currently very popular, the thinking went, 'Why not give it a try?'"%Gallery-4781%
Square Enix release dates: RoF due next spring?!
Square Enix spent the morning revealing its lineup of "fresh new faces and timeless classics" that the company plans to exhibit this week at E3, attaching US release dates to its upcoming titles: Heroes of Mana - August 14 Front Mission - October 23 Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker - November 6 Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings - November 20 Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates - Spring 2008 We're jumping on our beds with glee over the fact that we'll be receiving Front Mission so early after the localization was announced, but several disappointing details failed to escape our attention -- Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire, It's a Wonderful World, FFIV DS, and Dragon Quest IX's absence; and Ring of Fates' distant date. The multiplayer ARPG and its DS Lite bundle are scheduled to hit Japan this August 23rd. [Via NeoGAF]
Square Enix in your pocket: DS edition
Unlike its PSP counterpart, the Nintendo DS has been no stranger to North American Square Enix releases. Chocobo Tales, Final Fantasy III, Children of Mana and Dragon Quest Rocket Slime have all graced their presence on Western shores. And Square Enix is far from done supporting Nintendo's money-printer.Of the eight titles, we've got 4 Final Fantasy games, 3 strategy games, 2 remakes, and one surefire Japanese phenomenon by way of Dragon Quest IX. Have a look at the publisher's upcoming selection after the break.
GameStop reinforces Assassin's Creed, Front Mission rumors
A GoNintendo reader was scouring the GameStop product listings and found a couple of interesting, items. Front Mission 1st, previously sort of confirmed for a US release, is marked as releasing on October 2nd.Assassin's Creed, which was spotted on the leaked GameStop release list, now has a listing on the GameStop site, with a September 25th release date and the completely final boxart seen here. As our copy of Superman for the Playstation will attest, the GameStop computer system is completely accurate and infallible, and once something has a listed release date, it's definitely coming out for real.
Front Mission 1st coming to the US?
We were convinced that Square Enix would never bring Front Mission 1st stateside, leaving us to languish with only fantasy-based SRPGs for the duration of our handheld's life. Front Mission's "marketing blog" says that won't be the case, and if we're to believe the sweet whispers they've murmured into our ears when the lights are out and everyone's asleep, the localization process is already well underway.The team hasn't show much beyond a single English-translated screenshot from one of the futuristic mecha game's cutscenes, but we expect to be hit with more media once the North American version is officially announced. As of now, the only bit of information we've heard is that the US title won't be suffixed with the 1st numbering, shortening it down to just Front Mission.[Via NeoGAF]
Front Mission: The sale
We've been excited about Front Mission: The First since we saw the remake's trailer last month. While Square Enix's mecha-based SRPG has a cult following in the states, none of the original game's various versions have ever made it to the US. If you've been thinking about importing this introduction to the Front Mission series, you're in luck! Play Asia has the game on sale for $19.90 (while stocks last), less than half the price of what eBay stores are asking for!Political-drama-based plots are usually awash with text, but since the game's menus are already translated into English, Front Mission: The First should still be playable even if you don't know any Japanese. It's not like there are any good SRPGs released in the west yet, anyway.[Via CAG]
Japanese release day highlights: 03.22.07
Some game release Thursdays in Japan are surprisingly dull. Today is one of those days, really, but there is some digital sunshine in the Akihabara sky. If you have the means, do consider these three gems before economizing for the big releases of April*: Armored Core 4 (online mech goodness from From Software; Xbox 360) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable 2 (bigheaded baseball; PSP) Front Mission: The First (SquEnix' frontin' robots; DS) *Next month's Japanese hitters include Super Paper Mario, Gyakuten Saiban 4, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and Panel de Pon DS. Wallets at the ready.
Front Mission 1st promotional trailer
Preparing for Front Mission 1st's March 22nd release in Japan, Square Enix has released a two-minute promotional video for the futuristic SRPG. The trailer features a touchscreen demonstration and several dozen gameplay clips bookended with two gorgeous FMV scenes.Players will command an army of customizable mechas, directing their turn-based skirmishes over a 21st century battlefield. While Front Mission 1st will be a remake of the identically-titled 2003 Playstation game (already an enhanced port of the first 1995 SNES original), this first entry to the Front Mission series has never seen an official North American release. Most of the screenshots at the Front Mission 1st site indicate that essential menus will be in English, but the Japanese-heavy dialogue and plot text is still a high barrier for possible importers. [Via NeoGAF]
Front Mission port announced
The popular turn-based strategy franchise Front Mission is seeing an installment hit the DS in Front Mission The First. A port of the first game in the series, Front Mission The First is said to feature new mechs (Wanzers) that were not included in the original title, as well as Glen Duval from Front Mission 5. Other details are unavailable at this time, as well as any screens for the upcoming game.[Via Go Nintendo]
