Front Mission 3: Remake

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: This review has been directly sponsored by a kind donation from Jamie and His Cats. Thanks again for your generous contribution!)

(Note: Included in Front Mission Remake Trilogy along with Front Mission 1st: Remake and Front Mission 2: Remake.)

The Front Mission series of mech-centric Tactics-style Turn-Based Strategy-RPGs finally saw release in the West in its third mainline game, released on PlayStation in 2000, with this game receiving a modern remake on Nintendo Switch in 2025, following in the footsteps of 2022’s Front Mission 1st: Remake and 2023’s Front Mission 2: Remake.

This entry introduces some interesting new mechanics to the franchise. Now, when mechs take damage, there’s a chance the human piloting that mech will be forcibly kicked out, making them vulnerable to being gunned down in the open if they hesitate too long to hop back in. Players can also opt to leave a mech deliberately to hop into another one abandoned on the battlefield.

Enemies who are in poor shape may now choose to surrender rather than fighting to the end. In these cases, and in cases where the battle ends with an abandoned mech, you get to keep these mechs as your own, either having your own pilots hop into them before a mission, or using parts from them to upgrade your own mechs, while selling off what you don’t want. Mech customization thankfully comes pretty early into this game, and it definitely seems like there are more options than the series has had in the past, which is nice.

This game also makes use of a different way to learn skills, which are tied to mech parts and randomly become available as you’re fighting. I wish players had more influence over this mechanic, but it’s a cool bonus that will make you think twice about pawning off a part that doesn’t interest you just in case it’s hiding a cool ability that just needs to be unlocked.

The story this time around follows hothead test pilot Kazuki and his slacker friend Ryogo, who find themselves caught up in a conspiracy involving a stolen WMD their government is hiding. I really enjoy that this game is going for something different with the conspiracy plot and two hapless bystanders who are on the run from their own malevolent government, though I strongly dislike both Kazuki and Ryogo, who both seem severely lacking in the brains department and make some really boneheaded choices.

Like Front Mission 1st, this game features two campaigns, though the fork in the road is anything but clear. Rather, you make this selection early in the game in a seemingly innocent dialogue choice, and you’d be forgiven for not even realizing there’s a second campaign at all.

Some of the issues with prior games are fixed here, but some return in full force. This time, when your mechs are damaged or destroyed in battle, they’ll be fully repaired by the next battle, apparently at no cost to you other than potentially earning a worse grade for that stage. On the other hand, this game once again uses the series’ body part-centric damage system while keeping players from being able to target specific parts, resulting in pivotal moments being left to random chance. Oh, and menu navigation is still absurdly clunky, especially in this game’s realization of its simulated internet equivalent.

Oh, and at that, I’d better talk about the presentation. The remade presentation in Front Mission 3: Remake is, I think, for the most part, pretty good. There are some decent lighting effects (but ugly shadows), good 3D environments and textures, nice mech designs (but terrible human designs), and overall looks very good. There’s a nice remastered soundtrack as well, though purists can opt for the original. However, then there’s the 2D assets…

Many have claimed that Front Mission 3: Remake seems to have used AI upscaling for its 2D image assets, mainly those found within its simulated internet, and while I can’t say for sure whether or not this is true, I can say that whatever method was used to create these new assets, the results are mixed. I think some of the images are improved, and some are definitely worse. However, all of this is also on top of the ethical question of whether you want to buy a game that apparently uses AI art assets.

Overall, I think this all adds up to a very uneven experience, but an enjoyable one. I wish this series didn’t adhere so strictly to its dumb body part mechanic when it only adds randomness to otherwise strategic battles, and I wish this remake didn’t apparently take the lazy route with its 2D artwork, but despite these flaws, I think fans of mechs and Strategy-RPGs will find a lot to like here.

tl;dr – Front Mission 3: Remake is a remake of a mech-focused Turn-Based Strategy-RPG with loads of customization, and a decent presentation. I think the new features this game offers, as well as the (secret) dual campaigns make it the best game yet in the series, but it still has some really unfortunate randomness in its otherwise strategic combat thanks to the returning body part damage system, and the remake itself makes some questionable choices with its 2D assets. Overall, this is still a good Strategy-RPG, but its flaws keep it from being a great one.

Grade: B-

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