Front Mission 3
Developer(s)	Square
Publisher(s)	JP Square NA Square EA PAL Square
Composer(s)	Koji Hayama Hayato Matsuo SHIGEKI
Series	Front Mission series
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date(s)	JP September 2, 1999 NA March 22, 2000 PAL August 11, 2000 JP September 28, 2000 (Millennium Collection) JP January 17, 2002 (PSOne Books) JP October 6, 2006 (Ultimate Hits)
Genre(s)	Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) OFLC: 8+ USK: 12+
Media	1x CD-ROM

Front Mission 3 is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation, created by Square and released in Japan on September 9, 1999, and later in North America on March 22, 2000. It is based on the near-future of the real world, circa 2112.

It was the first title in the Front Mission series to be released in North America, courtesy of Square Electronic Arts.

Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Plot 2.1 Setting and story 2.2 Characters 3 Audio 4 Reception 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Front Mission 3 is a turn-based strategy RPG, where the player goes through a series of battles interspersed with cutscenes. The player's party consists of several playable characters (PCs) and the robots they pilot, referred to as Wanzers. Wanzers are customisable, consisting of four parts: body, two arms, and legs. An optional backpack can also be attached, which can either be an item container or a turbo backpack. Fresh wanzers can also be assembled from scratch.

Battles take place on maps divided into a grid of tiles. The player may deploy a maximum of four units, and gets the first move. Each team moves all their units before the turn switches to the other team. In certain maps, the player will have allied units that may also be in need of protection. On the same note, the enemy could deploy reinforcements on later turns. Enemy units are defeated by destroying the Wanzers, directly killing the pilots, or forcing them to surrender. Most battles are won through the destruction or surrender of all enemy units. The player can also access new combat skills by meeting certain conditions involving their Wanzer's parts and weapons.

In between battles the story progresses through a series of semi-interactive cutscenes, referred to as "Intermissions." The player may save the game at any point during an intermission. Player characters each have an email address, as well as a shared one for the team. This is mostly for receiving messages, although characters can only reply to certain messages with predefined replies. There is also a virtual network set up as a sort of mini-internet, containing websites which can be accessed after their addresses are discovered, either through interaction with NPCs, reading hints on other websites, or through the email system.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting and story

Front Mission 3 tells the story of OCU Japan citizen Kazuki Takemura, who is the player character. In 2112, Kazuki is a Wanzer test pilot for Kirishima Heavy Industries. He and his friend, Ryogo Kusama, get caught up in a national conspiracy involving a massive explosion that occurs during their visit to the Yokosuka military base. From this point the plot splits into two different storylines depending on a choice made early in the game.

One storyline (where Kazuki joins Ryogo in delivering construction wanzers) has the player aligned with the USN. In this side of the story, Kazuki teams up with USN officer Emir Kramskoi (Emma Klamsky in the North American release). Their partnership brings them into a conflict against the DHZ and the OCU in search of the ultimate weapon of mass destruction: MIDAS, which the Japan Defense Force (JDF) stole in the game's introduction cutscene. Emma is assigned to recover the device.

In the other storyline (if the player refuses to accompany Ryogo), Kazuki and Ryogo along with Kazuki's stepsister, Alisa, join up with Da Han Zhong agent Liu Hei Fong who helps them escape Japan after the JDF marks them as scapegoats for the explosion. Unlike the Emma storyline where the player fights against the DHZ Army, players will ally with the DHZ against the USN and Hua Lian Rebels. For example, in one part of the Emma storyline, the player must disable the DHZ Changli Army mobile fortress Tian-Lei while in the same plot sequence during the Alisa storyline, the player must protect it from the Hua Lian's attack.

The two storylines in Front Mission 3 intertwine, often requiring the player to play both scenarios to understand the game's plot. However, it is not known which of the two scenarios are canonically related to Front Mission 5: Scars of the War, as parts of FM3's MIDAS theft cutscene is recycled late in the game as security camera footage.

It should be noted that except for Kazuki and Ryogo, each scenario has six different playable characters.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Audio

The game's musical score, Front Mission 3 Original Soundtrack, was composed and arranged by Koji Hayama, Hayato Matsuo, and SHIGEKI. It was produced by Hayama and Matsuo. The soundtrack was released on September 22, 1999, by DigiCube and has not been re-released by Square Enix. It bears the catalog number SSCX-10035.

Hayama and Matsuo split the composition of the soundtrack, with the former composing 20 tracks and the latter 26 tracks, respectively. SHIGEKI has a sole contribution, the first track of disc one.

Front Mission 3 Original Soundtrack track list
Disc One 68:34
	Track name	Composer	Length
1.	The Government	SHIGEKI	1:50
2.	Starting	Hayama	2:30
3.	City (Japan)	Matsuo	2:40
4.	Problem	Hayama	4:00
5.	The Bar	Matsuo	3:05
6.	Infiltration	Hayama	4:08
7.	Setup 1	Hayama	3:34
8.	Setup	Hayama	2:48
9.	Network	Hayama	4:05
10.	Base Invasion	Matsuo	4:11
11.	Impact	Hayama	2:18
12.	Silence	Matsuo	2:41
13.	Defensive War	Hayama	3:20
14.	Anger	Matsuo	3:07
15.	VS Mercenaries	Matsuo	4:06
16.	City (China)	Matsuo	2:54
17.	The Bar (China)	Matsuo	2:46
18.	Agito	Hayama	3:08
19.	Escape	Hayama	2:27
20.	Army Base	Matsuo	3:06
21.	Research Lab	Matsuo	3:01
22.	Lucav 1	Matsuo	3:00
23.	Suspicion	Hayama	1:14
24.	Front Line Base	Matsuo	3:00
25.	Attack	Matsuo	4:30
Disc Two 72:29
	Track name	Composer	Length
1.	Rest 1	Hayama	4:13
2.	Rest 2	Hayama	3:12
3.	City (Ruins)	Hayama	3:03
4.	Barrier	Hayama	2:55
5.	Plains (China)	Matsuo	4:06
6.	Fort Invasion	Matsuo	4:00
7.	Forest (Southeast Asia)	Matsuo	4:56
8.	Enemy Attack	Hayama	2:15
9.	Scout Unit	Hayama	3:54
10.	Raid	Matsuo	5:04
11.	VS Imaginary Number Forces	Hayama	1:52
12.	Isolation	Matsuo	3:02
13.	Lucav 2	Matsuo	1:54
14.	A Promise	Hayama	3:49
15.	Assault	Matsuo	3:59
16.	Determination	Matsuo	4:32
17.	Memory (Alisa)	Matsuo	1:42
18.	Swift Attack	Hayama	3:40
19.	Stage End 1	Matsuo	1:08
20.	Stage End 2	Matsuo	1:38
21.	Game Over	Matsuo	1:10
22.	Ending	Matsuo	6:25

[edit] Reception

Front Mission 3 has sold 298,342 copies in Japan the year of its release.^[1][2] Like its predecessor, Famitsu magazine awarded the game 32 out of 40 upon its release.^[3]

Front Mission 3 has been re-released a number of times in Japan. In 2000, the game re-released as part of Square's Millennium Collection, and included collectable goods such as a keychain penlight, key fobs, and a wallet and chain.^[4] In 2002, the game was re-issued as part of Sony's PSOne Books line of best-sellers.^[5] The game was also packaged with both Front Mission and Front Mission 2 as part of the Front Mission History compilation in 2003.^[6] Finally, the game was re-released in 2006 as part of Square Enix's Ultimate Hits line.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Official Square FM3 Website
• Overview of the game's storyline
• Front Mission.org website
• Front Mission 3 at MobyGames

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