Forever Entertainment’s remake of Front Mission 3 arrives at a time when tactical RPGs are seeing a welcome resurgence, but it also carries the weight of expectations from fans who remember the original as one of the genre’s cornerstones. With the original’s complex storyline, layered mech customization, and branching campaign paths, this was always going to be one of the trickier titles in the Front Mission series to modernize. The Nintendo Switch version does a respectable job bringing the game into the current generation, and should be a welcome title for those who enjoyed the previous remakes.
The core of Front Mission 3 remains as compelling as ever. Set in a near-future geopolitical landscape dominated by advanced mech warfare, the game puts you in the shoes of Kazuki Takemura, a Wanzer pilot whose routine job snowballs into a global conspiracy. A simple early decision leads to one of two distinct storylines – a rare feature at the time of the original release, and still a strong hook today. Each path dives into military corruption, scientific ethics, and personal loyalty, offering enough twists and ideological friction to keep the narrative engaging throughout its impressive 40 to 50 hour runtime. While neither route is perfect in terms of pacing – with some narrative lulls in the mid-game – they do deliver a sense of scope and thematic maturity rarely seen in tactical RPGs of the era.
Gameplay-wise, this remake stays close to its source, offering methodical turn-based combat with a strong emphasis on mech loadouts and strategic positioning. Wanzer customization is still incredibly deep, letting players tweak everything from limb-mounted weapons to weight and armor stats. Choosing between melee, short-range and long-range loadouts – and then matching them to your pilots’ unique skills – is still as rewarding as it was over two decades ago. However, the game also inherits some of the mechanical quirks of the original. For instance, battles can feel sluggish, with the animations of each action dragging out combat sequences, even with speed-up options enabled. The newly added Quick Combat mode helps, but doesn’t fully address how repetitive missions can become across longer sessions.
Visually, the remake updates the game with improved models, remade environments, and enhanced character portraits. The jump to HD brings clarity to the battlefield, and the overhauled Wanzers look great – especially when decked out in new camo patterns added for this version. That said, while the visuals are sharper, the environments can still feel empty and dated, often lacking dynamic elements or detail beyond flat terrain and static structures. The UI also feels like a missed opportunity, retaining a clunky layout that hasn’t been modernized as thoroughly as it could have been.
The controls translate reasonably well to the Switch, with intuitive grid navigation and reliable input responsiveness, but menus can still be cumbersome – especially when diving deep into customization or sorting through long mission briefings. The reorchestrated soundtrack is a clear highlight though, elevating both combat and story beats with a stronger emotional punch than the original MIDI-based score ever managed. Sound effects, on the other hand, feel a bit underwhelming given the heavy-metal context of mech battles. Wanzers should feel weighty and impactful, but the audio feedback doesn’t always match the visual destruction.
One of the remake’s most interesting features is simply its commitment to preserving what made the original special. The dual-storyline structure remains a standout, giving the game more replayability than many of its modern peers. That said, there’s a nagging sense that Forever Entertainment could have done more to streamline or evolve parts of the experience. This isn’t a ground-up remake like Final Fantasy VII Remake – it’s closer in spirit to a preservation effort, bringing the game forward for accessibility and clarity, but without major reinterpretations.
In the end, Front Mission 3: Remake is exactly what its name suggests – a respectful and generally faithful update of a strategy RPG classic. For longtime fans, the tweaks and upgrades may be just enough to warrant another playthrough. For newcomers, it’s a window into a bygone era of genre storytelling and design, albeit with a few outdated mechanics and presentation issues along the way. It’s a solid return to one of the most ambitious tactical RPGs of its time.
Score: 7.8/10
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