Support NeoGAF

[seismologist]

I played through the demo and now I'm craving more.

But the reviews weren't too hot. Does the game game stale after a while?
Are there any other strategy games I should get insteas? (Only one I've played is Advance Wars)

 

[belgurdo]

Reviewers hate the game because they see the mechs and automatically think the game is going to be Tech Romancer or something. Anyone who has folled the FM series since the first one knows that it's as slow and methodical as any S-RPG and enjoy it as such

 

[seismologist]

I thought the pacing was fine. It seemed about the same as Advance Wars.

Are there any better S-RPG's on PS2?

 

[Musashi Wins!]

Reviewers hate the game because they see the mechs and automatically think the game is going to be Tech Romancer or something. Anyone who has folled the FM series since the first one knows that it's as slow and methodical as any S-RPG and enjoy it as such

Actually, I've gotten the impression from reviewers that it drops a lot of flavor and conventions from 3, a very well reviewed title, not that it's too slow.

 

[aparisi2274]

Ihave loved the FM series since the very fist one on the SNES, and I love this one, but my only negative about this game is that I think some of the missions are insanely long. I mean I might have like 5 Wanzers on the map and they have at least 9 or something. It just takes a while, but I still like it.

 

[Gibbo]

Front mission 4 is great imo. The game starts off quite slowly ( first 8 missions or so) , but it starts picking up really fast once the new shipment of wanzer parts/ weapons arrives. The main gripe that I have about this game is it's sub-par soundtrack. The same 4 (?) tracks are recycled over and over again

 

[Crazymoogle]

Probably the most enjoyable game I've played this year despite the flaws. I currently have a multipart Journal on the game up at my blog.

The biggest mistake a player can make in FM4 is thinking the game is just like FM3 and skipping the simulator as a result. PLAY THE SIMULATOR MISSIONS. The idea is to build up EP and money so you can buy more AP, Link Points, and skills. If you just rely on each character's innate skills, you're going to have a rough ride in the game, whereas if you build your characters up on your own, a medium powered team can blow through story missions in 15 turns or so.

Hell, FM4 is almost a different game halfway through. Once you have Wanzers with 20+AP and 8+ link points, combat tactics change completely and ammo becomes the biggest concern.

 

[EGM92]

FM4 was freakin awsome I loved it.. I loved it so much that I put 76hours worth of gamplay within 4 days... and there are a lot of challanges in this one. Problem is I wish they would utilize the DVD size and make the game long



Like Crazymoogle said PLAY THE SIMULATOR MISSIONS! that's how I ranked up so many hours.

I say if you played the other FM series and you like Mech S-RPG's get this!

 

[TekunoRobby]

I was very very impressed with the demo and also with my friend's copy of the game.

Based on a quick 2 hour play through (combining the time I spent with the demo and actual game) it seems like a very solid SRPG. So far I'd definitely reccomend it if mechs and heavy strategy amuse you.

 

[Catchpenny]

HATED IT.

 

[calder]

Loved it, didn't miss upgrading mech parts with the EP and links more than making up for it.

 

[Diomedeskun]

Front Mission 3 has a great story with weak characters (at least in Emma's quest, I liked Alisa's quest much more, especially the characters and the mission where you killed Dennis), low difficulty, and a deep world.

Front Mission 4 is all about deep, occasionally challenging gameplay. It is not hard, exactly, but it makes you plan and think much more due to the links. It has very little in terms of exploration because it lacks the Internet feature from 3, but its missions are much larger and more complex. The levels where you get to cammand up to 11 units are awesome. The simulators also have many of the best missions with new enemy layouts and provide some cool secret parts.

My only real gripe is that custom parts seem to be less flexible than 3. In 3, there were many different parts you might use, especially since you could upgrade individual parts. In 4, each new set seems to have one great expensive high power set, and on expensive speed/evasion set. The rest are cheaper and weaker with few advantages over the more expensive sets.

 

[iapetus]

The biggest mistake a player can make in FM4 is thinking the game is just like FM3 and skipping the simulator as a result. PLAY THE SIMULATOR MISSIONS. The idea is to build up EP and money so you can buy more AP, Link Points, and skills.

Well, if you're a lightweight, sure. It wasn't until the last few battles that I felt the slightest need to use the simulator to boost my characters.

Great game, though. Just finished playing through it today, and while I disapprove of some of the changes made from FM3, there's plenty of goodness in the changes as well.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Well, if you're a lightweight, sure. It wasn't until the last few battles that I felt the slightest need to use the simulator to boost my characters.

Great game, though. Just finished playing through it today, and while I disapprove of some of the changes made from FM3, there's plenty of goodness in the changes as well.

That's missing the point though. If you're playing the game as a difficulty whore, sure, don't bother playing the simulator. Just don't complain like certain reviews did about needing 90 turns and repetitive, boring tactics to make it through the game. (not that I'm saying you did, just comparing)

Maybe some guys just missed the whole boat on this one, but playing the simulator and building up the Wanzers is fun. I honestly like building up the team and trying new configurations out so I can beat the brutal 11/12/13 simulator missions, which happen to be far more difficult than the regular game.

Otherwise, though, I agree - dissapointed at some of the changes, but at the same time enjoying the new experience.

 

[Diomedeskun]

Plus, the extras like the Zenith RV (Zenizlev from 3 was a mistranlated Zenith REVised) are all found in the simulator. The Minotaur arms are pretty awesome also, but they are a little overpowered.

 

[Raise Havok]

I'm playing through it now, I'm like 10 - 12 hours into the game, awesome so far. It is like FFTA only with giant mechs, where can you go wrong? I have no clue how long the game is, but either way I'm enjoying it now.

 

[KilledByBill]

I have to admit that Front Mission 4 was a bit of a let down after enjoying FM3 so much on the PSX.

Battles are much different than in FM3. The maps are huge, there are many more enemies in each battle, and you can command larger squads of your own. Unfortunately, combat itself has been rebalanced in a way that makes battles tend to take longer than they should. The weapons in general don't seem to do enough damage and enemy evasion rates don't seem to add up. Unlike in FM3, if an enemy evades your attack you do no damage at all and in later missions opposing Wanzers seem to dodge much more than they should( a Linked attack in close range shouldn't miss 2 out of 3 shots). And while the Link system is great once you have enough points to fully use it, I didn't feel like it added enough depth to the combat. I really miss the Eject/Capture system of the last game, a feature that should have been tweaked not scrapped completely.

The story of FM4 is also weaker than its predicessor. It's good but it lacks the scope and breadth of FM3. Also, the cool Internet feature of Front Mission 3 was left out of 4. This is another feature that added to the fun of the last game that would have helped further flesh out FM4 but the developer just didn't seem to be bother by removing it.


Overall I'd give the game a 7.5/10, bumping it up to an 8.0 because of my Front Mission 3 nostalgia. It's a good game but it seems more "run of the mill" than I would've liked.

 

[seismologist]

well I went ahead and got it.
I never played FM3 so it's all new to me and I'm loving it.
I wonder if they'll make FF Tactics for PS2?