DS Critic Reviews

This game brings both style and content to the table. It doesn't pretend to be anything greater than it is: it's a very straightforward Strategy RPG.

While it’s certainly not for everyone, Front Mission provides awesome tactical combat and enough customization options to keep even the most hardcore gamers busy.

For fans of the strategy genre, this is your definitive game on the DS; go and pick this game up without a second thought.

If you're new to the franchise and don't mind spending some quality hours shopping for mech legs, shields, and shoulder-mounted missile launchers, you'll have a game that'll keep you busy for a long time.

If you’re a diehard tactical gamer, however, Front Mission will offer you more options, more depth, and more overall customization than any of its competitors on DS, with a level of detail, strategy, and maturity that isn’t often found on Nintendo’s handheld.

Once you get into the rhythm of it, the back-and-forth between combat and outfitting gives Front Mission an enjoyable pace. There is a caveat, though: Trying to pound through multiple missions in any one sitting puts a significant damper on your enjoyment.

Front Mission's two main campaigns are excellent, but there's not much else here in terms of extras which is slightly disappointing.

Sure, the game is long, and there's a lot to do, but that doesn't mean it's actually an experience everybody can enjoy.

It's entertaining enough to plow through the two campaigns, but the fact that there are fairly clear-cut optimal solutions to all three facets of gameplay makes this nothing more than a mildly enjoyable look at part of the genre's history. [Nov 2007, p.163]

If you know you're getting into a heady, deliberate, and involved game then you'll be rewarded well by Front Mission.