The Front Mission series has been one of Square's longer-running ones, but the 3rd installment is the first to be ported to the U.S. Frankly, Square's timing couldn't be better.

The Front Mission games in the main series are strategy RPGs, along with Gun Hazard and Alternative, which strayed from the game play format of its predecessors. Front Mission 3 follows this mold, and battles, which comprise around 95% of the actual game, are played on battlefields separated into squares which the units occupy. If you don't follow me, think Final Fantasy Tactics. If you still don't follow me, go rent both of these games NOW. Every turn, your characters are allotted a certain amount of AP, which are spent on actions like moving, attacking, using items, etc. You move around on the battlefield and, basically, use weapons such as shoguns, machine guns and missile launchers to blow the crap out of your enemies. Did I mention that you do so from the confines of a large mecha? You do, except they're called Wanzers (pronounced Vanzer, short for Wanderung Panzer, which is basically German for walking tank) in the game. It sounds simple here, but it's not. It sounds complicated from in-depth descriptions, but it really…well, is. But as with all good RPGs, you get used to it quickly, and it grows on you even quicker than that. Battles range from laughably easy to insanely hard, and sometimes the difficulty swings the game out of balance, but it's tolerable in the long run. However, any RPG fan will enjoy most battles anyway, especially TRPG fans. I give game play: 98%

The control of the game is good as well. In battles, when you move a cursor, it glides fluidly across the stage. However, it doesn't snap automatically to the next square, which can cause quite a few *very minor* annoyances. And, really, that's all the "control" in the game. All the menus are laid out nicely and are very organized. However, I do have some gripes with Wanzer outfitting. This really isn't a problem until later in the game, but as the weapons get better, they get heavier. All Wanzers have a set weight limit according to the body of the Wanzer. To have the best combination of weapons/hit points/accuracy/battle skill possibilities, you will most probably spend hours upon hours of buying and trying to find your ideal fix. I did. Also, the menus at the bottom of the screen while you are buying and trying took me a while to figure out. Quick tip: READ THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL. It actually helped me with this game! *gasp!* Overall, even with these and some other gripes, I give the game's control: 90%

The graphics in a game play such an important role; you don't know what to shoot if you cant see it, can you? Don't get technical with me, the answer is "no." In this age of Dreamcasts and PS2s, we expect to be treated to a graphical wonder whenever we hit that power switch. Well, you may have to go somewhere else to find what you're looking for. Don't get me wrong, the Graphics in FM3 are good, they just aren't anything special. The Wanzers are large and well illustrated, and any changes you make to your Wanzer (color, parts, weapons) are reflected not only in cinemas, rendered in real time, but on the battlefield as well. I don't know why I was remotely taken aback by this, but that's how it is. There are also a number of cinemas rendered with the beautiful computer graphics that have become a trademark of Square games, and while they are indeed nice to look at, they are few and far between, until the end anyway. Other than that, the graphics are not spectacular, but they get the job done well. I give graphics in FM3: 85%

A large portion of a game's enjoyment stems from its sound/music. How do I put this? The music in FM3 is, well, little short of spectacular. Some may not enjoy it, but I for one caught myself humming the battle tunes long after I put down my controller for the day. Catchy, to say the least. The sound effects, however, are another story. While not horrible, they aren't anything you're going to drop your jaw over. From the standard "boom" and "pow" of the missiles and guns to the "clank" of the walking Wanzers, all the sound effects, while well done, are all rather vanilla to me. At the onset of the game, the endless "clank-whirr, clank-whirr" of the Wanzers trudging along were about to drive me crazy, but in no time I didn't even notice them anymore. So, in the end, Music=good, sound effects=not so good. I give sound/music: 90%

Any real RPG fan can tell you that the one driving force behind the game is its story, and FM3 excels in this area. First off, I should say that there are two storylines in FM3, Alisa's and Emma's, and I played Emma's (most will; if you choose to help Ryogo, you get Emma's. Choose not to, you're in Alisa's). A short summary is hard to give, but I'll try: A college student is working as a Wanzer test pilot, and as he delivers a shipment of new Wanzers to a military base, a mysterious explosion rocks its depths. His adopted sister, Alisa, is working there at the time and goes missing shortly thereafter. His search for her drags him into a deep, twisting story that involves the government, deception, and the fate of the world. Hmm… now that I read what I just wrote, it actually sounds rather boring and unoriginal. But don't worry, it's anything but. All I can say is that if you like plot twists, FM3 has 'em coming out the wazoo! Also, having two storylines gives you a large amount of replayability; the way I've seen it, the two are actually different, instead of the same story from two viewpoints (coughstaroceancough). Although your goal gets sort of muddled partway through the game, the story is still this game's strong point. I give it: 95%

Overall, Front Mission is a good way to spend the long, sleepy days this summer. I hope the days are long for you, anyway; it'll take 60-70 hours to go through if you spend as much time on the network as I did training and assembling my Wanzers. Also, use the 'net in between battles. The ultimate Wanzer is downloaded from there, and everyone likes ultimate Wanzers, no? :P Front Mission 3, despite its setbacks, is the best thing to happen to TRPGs since Final Fantasy Tactics; don't let it pass you by. Overall: 96%