Genre: Role-Playing (RPG), Strategy / Tactics
Perspective: 3rd-person
Pacing: Turn-based
Vehicular: Mecha / Giant Robot
Published by: Square Electronic Arts L.L.C.
Developed by: Square Co.
Released: 2000
Platform: PlayStation (PSX, PS1)
In all there are about a dozen real strategic RPG games released for PC, and they can be quite worthy of being played. But Front Mission 3 is the only game I would put on a par with Final Fantasy Tactics as a must-play game to play for any fan of this genre. Basically, Front Mission 3 is so specific it makes it plausible. Well, of course, giant robots are running around there, but there are also tanks, military vehicles, helicopters, weapons that are universally recognized, and military vehicles. A realistic and detailed plot is also helping: the action takes place on Earth in the near future (in 2112, to be precise). As a result, you face the same type of political struggle you can read about in the evening news. This is a pleasant new change compared to the endless swords and witchcraft that overwhelm almost any other game of this genre. In addition to the rather large amount of time you spend holding a conspiracy, quite a lot of effort in Front Mission 3 you have to spend and on battles, which is also quite nice. The game will do a great job, introducing you into the system of battles and teaching you to control the situation and to resist the enemy in the most difficult battles. There is ample space for planning and strategic deployment of troops, for choosing attacks and balancing between the possibilities of attack and defense. However, they are never too much, so that the game is boring or seem monotonous. There are also many possibilities for building military installations and equipment with various equipment in accordance with your wishes. In addition, you can develop martial arts and special skills of your characters.
In fact, the only complaint that I can submit to Front Mission 3 is the lack of diversity in missions. There are more than enough scenes here (the game is huge), and the scenario leading to the battle is diverse and interesting, but too often the main goal is simply the destruction of all the bad guys. Several times you will meet other tasks - escape from the enemy military complex, capture of the enemy ringleader, etc., and these tasks, of course, inspire fear and reverence, I just feel sorry for having so few.
Description of the effects of the Anti-A, Anti-P and Anti-F options:
Anti-A (Anti-Impact Defense) Strengthens protection against melee attacks and shotgun shots.
Anti-P (Anti-Piercing Defense) Strengthens protection against missiles, rifle shots and stationary guns, as well as tank shells.
Anti-F (Anti-Fire Defense) Enhances defense against missiles and fire.
Tips
- Pay attention to the morale of the enemy (morale). If any unit declares that it is surrounded, fire it several more times so that the pilot leaves the battlefield. When you surround Wanzers, sometimes they can make a fake confession about the environment, and then rejoin the battle, but if the pilot leaves Wanzers, that will never happen.
- Pilots who left their Wanzers, should be the primary goal. Be sure to try to kill them before they have time to return to their car or take some other.
- If your Wanzer is almost destroyed or ammunition has run out, jump out of it and try to hide in cover. Then, if you see surrounded enemy Wanzer, you can climb into it and again take part in the battle.
- Inspect the battlefield in search of weapons hidden somewhere. It often takes the form of boxes or some unnatural bands on the ground.
- If you are trying to earn platinum medals, then you should not make a fuss. You will receive the appropriate rewards, depending on the time spent on the mission and the damage received, so it all depends on your skill. The less you get fussed, the higher the reward. Attack with all your missiles, act as decisively as possible, faster, and platinum medals will be yours.
- When you are short of funds, enter Simulator Mode and return to HQ. This will give you the opportunity to earn a lot of points during the testing of your Wanzers.
- Try to capture all the details of Wanzers that you can, from your enemies. If the list of spare parts in your inventory is filled to capacity, then you can sell these parts for money, and if not, you can just break them.
- Try to save more AP's at the moment when the "move" of the enemy comes. In this case, your unit will have a chance to give a return volley if it is attacked.
- Use more often the same weapons, so that the skill of your character is continuously growing, then it will act more accurately, faster and cause more powerful damage.
- Improve your MECH as soon as you have money. Be sure to increase the ability of Wanzer to dodge enemy fire (Dodge Percentage), then you will have a chance to stay alive even in the most difficult combat situations.
- Split Point. This fork is almost at the very start of the game, so players can play the same story and do not even know what they did wrong. You will immediately recognize this place after you have completed the Wanzer test. Royogo asks you: "Do you want to send Construction Wanzers with him?" If you go with him, you will play Emma's story. And if you refuse, then play out the story of Alice.
- To capture an enemy Wanzer, you must make him surrender. Any Wanzer who surrenders before the fight ends will automatically become yours. You can easily find out whether Wanzer is given, by its color. If it is blue, and a white flag is developing over it, then it really does give up, but there are times when Wanzer will try to "deceive you". Be very careful. This method, however, does not work when you deal with tanks, jeeps, etc., and this way they will not be able to be captured.
- If you capture an enemy Wanzer at the end of the fight, then save it. In this case, if you lose your Wanzer in the next fight, you can take the trophy. In addition, you will not need to replace any damaged or destroyed parts in the captured Wanzere, because they will automatically be repaired. Just be sure to add some weapons to it, because the captured Wanzer's have only Haderblow as their weapon, which is a very weak thing.
- Be sure to remember the game as soon as you start the next battle. In this case, even if you lose, you can restart the memorized game and start the battle from the very beginning. It is possible to use a completely different strategy. In this case, you also will not lose Wanzer, which is very important, especially if you really like it, and want to keep it.
- Attack the pilot who jumped out of Wanzer with his machine gun, gun or flamethrower. Although missiles and melee weapons do much more damage, you will often miss, because you can only make one shot, while the machine gun and the gun allow you to do many shots at once, and the flamethrower can attack the target at least four times.
- When the fight with helicopters is due, as they are very large, then you have a good chance to shoot them from a machine gun or a gun, and other long-range weapons in this case will be less useful. However, missiles most often can still hit a helicopter, even if it is at the limit of the missile's range.
- The grenade launcher does not attack one "square". The explosion of the grenade captures several squares, depending on the type of ammunition. When shooting a grenade launcher, make sure that your allies are at least two squares away from the zone of defeat, otherwise they will cause them serious damage.
- Successfully complete the secret mission with Emma or Alice, remember the game. After viewing all the credits, load the memorized game on the title screen to play any storyline again, and you will save all the previously learned martial arts (Battle Skills).