![I played the entire series in Japanese and fell in love with it. That’s exactly why I want to talk about how *Front Mission* came to be seen as a “finished series” overseas [Ollie’s Robot Game Column]](/imgs/p/JIxo87wJh5Y_xgjF1boGNUXVYNtu3dzb2tnY/23928.jpg)
![I played the entire series in Japanese and fell in love with it. That’s exactly why I want to talk about how *Front Mission* came to be seen as a “finished series” overseas [Ollie’s Robot Game Column]](/imgs/p/_zOaUlRqojxBw0ee6C2849PQ-N8W3dzb2tnY/23928.jpg)
![I played the entire series in Japanese and fell in love with it. That’s exactly why I want to talk about how *Front Mission* came to be seen overseas as a “series that’s over” [Ollie’s Robot Game Column]](/imgs/p/_zOaUlRqojxBw0ee6C2849PQ-N8W3dzb2tnY/23929.jpg)
![I played the entire series in Japanese and fell in love with it. That’s exactly why I want to talk about how *Front Mission* came to be seen as a “finished series” overseas [Ollie’s Robot Game Column]](/imgs/p/_zOaUlRqojxBw0ee6C2849PQ-N8W3dzb2tnY/23930.jpg)
Recently, following his unique take on the *Armored Core* series, Mr. Ollie Bader has become known among many Japanese people as “the foreigner who knows way too much about robot games and anime.” In fact, he is a journalist who has spent many years introducing Japanese subculture—primarily games and anime—to the rest of the world, as well as a game creator who has been involved in a wide variety of titles.
In an interview with our magazine, he confided that his recent frustration is, “I can’t find a studio that will let me make a robot game!” Therefore, in this article, we’d like to share a glimpse of his perspective and aesthetic regarding “robot games and robot anime” through his own words.
The Complex History of the “Front Mission” Series Overseas and Why It Remains Largely Unknown
The *Front Mission* series is one of the longest-running mecha game series. The Vanzers’ designs show a strong influence from *Armored Trooper Votoms*, and the series is also known for its complex mecha customization. Unfortunately, however, these simulation RPGs are not very well known overseas.
Like many Japanese mecha games, most titles in the *Front Mission* series were never properly released overseas. Even the few titles that were released abroad struggled to reach their intended audience because earlier entries in the series had not been officially released, leaving them lacking the background and context necessary to understand the series.
However, around the time the original *Front Mission* was released on the Super Famicom, there was a British gaming magazine that imported the Japanese version and reviewed it in considerable detail.
“Super Play” and the Golden Age of British Gaming Magazines
From here on, let’s talk a bit about that magazine, “Super Play.”
By the time “Super Play” debuted in the 1990s, two major British gaming magazines—*Mean Machines* and *Computer & Video Games* (known simply as “CVG” among fans)—were already competing in the UK market.
“Super Play” was a bit different from these two magazines. One reason for this was that it also featured reviews of anime and games imported from Japan. It also published wonderful illustrations by the extremely talented Will Overton, who could be described as the British equivalent of Susumu Matsushita at “Famitsu.”
One of the drawbacks of these British gaming magazines was their tendency to impose a sort of consensus on British fans.In other words, when “Super Play” or other major magazines rated a game as good or bad, it was often taken as some sort of absolute fact, which naturally led to various problems. (This was likely also due to the fact that the circulation of individual opinions on the internet had not yet developed.)
This tendency was carried over to the magazine “EDGE,” which appeared later.Unfortunately, however, many of *Super Play*’s outstanding writers either left or lost interest in games themselves, so while the aforementioned shortcomings remained, the reviews tended to become much more pretentious than before and, on top of that, contained numerous errors. This was—and still is, of course—extremely frustrating.
In any case, when discussing the reception of the *Front Mission* series overseas—particularly in Europe—one cannot overlook the contributions and shortcomings of these few media outlets that reviewed this Japanese game, for which no official English version was produced at the time.
Zai Nicholson and “Front Mission”
Among the writers for *Super Play* magazine, I consider Zai Nicholson—a truly wonderful person—to be one of the finest game writers the UK has ever produced. He always played the games he reviewed all the way through and strove to evaluate them as fairly as possible.
However, when it came to mecha action games, Zai had a bit of a struggle. I’ll touch on this point later.
In any case, it was Zai Nicholson who reviewed the original *Front Mission* in issue No. 31 of *Super Play*.
Zai wrote an extremely detailed review of the original *Front Mission*—one that almost seemed to convey a sense of affection—and gave it a solidly high rating. As a result, fans began to regard this game as something special, even though, in reality, most of those fans never actually had the chance to play it.
Similarly, when Zai reviewed *Front Mission: Gun Hazard* in issue No. 43 of *Super Play*, he took a completely different approach and was highly critical of the game.Of course, Zai was aware that staff members who had worked on *Heavy Armor Valken* were also involved in this title, and he did compare *Gun Hazard* to *Valken*, but even so, he didn’t particularly care for the game’s actual gameplay.
As a result, from that point on, the general perception overseas became that *Gun Hazard* was a “bad” game. However, once again, very few people had actually played it themselves to form their own opinion.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Zai was undoubtedly an excellent writer and someone who could play games properly.However, even years later, when he reviewed a game like *Cyber Troopers Virtual-On: Oratorio Tangram* for *EDGE* magazine, he still gave it a low rating; he didn’t particularly like its controls or combat system, and he didn’t fully understand them either.
At the time, I often criticized him about this, so I imagine it was quite a nuisance for him. However, I think it’s necessary to touch on this background in order to explain how *Front Mission* came to be generally received overseas from that point onward.
An Incomplete International Launch and Widespread Confusion
Although the existence of *Front Mission* was known thanks to the *Super Play* review, the original game was never released overseas for the Super Famicom. The official overseas release of the original didn’t happen until much later—the Nintendo DS version in 2007—and even then, it wasn’t promoted very extensively.
Titles that would have filled the gap in the meantime—*Gun Hazard*, *Front Mission Second*, and *Front Mission Alternative*—were never released overseas, so there was no opportunity to dispel the impression left by the “bad” reviews of *Gun Hazard*.
In fact, the first *Front Mission* series title to be officially released overseas was *Front Mission 3* in 1999. However, for overseas fans, aside from the few review articles mentioned earlier, there was virtually no way to learn about the earlier titles in the series, nor any opportunity to actually play them.And, as was the case with many Japanese games at the time, there was, of course, virtually no promotion for the game during this period.
Later, *Front Mission Force* was released; while it was released in the United States, it was not released in Europe. However, the follow-up, *Front Mission Fifth*, was again a Japan-only release, as was *Front Mission Online*. Furthermore, *Front Mission 2089* was also released exclusively in Japan.
In short, the only titles overseas fans could actually play were essentially *Front Mission 3* (and *Front Mission 1*, which was ported years later); for American gamers, *Front Mission Force* was the only other title they could somehow get their hands on. Consequently, in terms of what they could actually play, the majority of the series remained unknown to many gamers overseas.
*Front Mission Evolve* and *LEFT ALIVE*
A few years after *Front Mission* was released on the Nintendo DS, Square Enix decided to commission an American game studio to develop a shooter based on the *Front Mission* franchise.The reasoning behind this was likely that, since American gamers tend to prefer shooters, this would be the best way to relaunch the series overseas.
Unfortunately, however, *Front Mission Evolve* turned out to be a game that lacked any sense of cohesion. The biggest problems were the controls and the Vanzers’ movement; it felt as if you were controlling someone inside a robot costume.
This was a common problem with mecha games made in the U.S. at the time. Since they were largely unfamiliar with the mecha genre, they treated it—much like a child running back to mom when in trouble—as nothing more than a game where a muscular man runs around firing giant guns.
This approach (as with other examples) ended in failure; the game received poor reviews, sales were lackluster, and it effectively brought an end to *Front Mission* overseas.
Then came *LEFT ALIVE*.
This title aimed for a direction completely different from *Evolve* and, of course, the other games in the series; the early part of the game focused on stealth on foot, with players finally encountering Vanzers only toward the end.
The staff involved in this title included a lineup of highly notable figures who were well-known even overseas, but unfortunately, the actual execution of the game failed to fully capitalize on that potential.
The story-driven structure and stealth elements didn’t mesh well, and even when you finally found a Vanzar you could pilot, its controls were simply difficult to handle.
To reiterate, Japanese games at the time were still in the process of learning from overseas games, particularly regarding control schemes and camera work. Furthermore, the game’s attempt to take a unique approach to Vanzar controls certainly did not help in attracting the target audience overseas.
A Lackluster Remake and General Lack of Interest Overseas
At this point, Square Enix decided to relaunch the original simulation RPG series and commissioned a Polish game studio to develop a new remake.
However, by this time, the series’ image had already been severely tarnished overseas, so when these remakes were released, many people viewed *Front Mission* simply as “a series full of unwieldy, subpar games.”
These remakes were unable to dispel that reputation; they received extremely negative coverage overseas, and reviews showed very little enthusiasm, with many expressing a lack of impression with the actual content provided. There were also numerous complaints that the games were “simply too difficult.”
Fast forward to the present: the reality is that, at least overseas, *Front Mission* is effectively seen by many international gamers as a franchise that’s already over.
Of course, there are exceptions like me—people who played all the older titles in Japanese and came to love them. Unfortunately, however, I am not the norm (though at this point, I don’t think I even need to explain that anymore).
So, while I’m happy to be asked to talk about the *Front Mission* games, the sad reality overseas is that this series still isn’t truly understood or appreciated.
To be frank, I don’t know if there’s a clear way to break out of this situation overseas. However, a younger generation of gamers abroad is starting to play the original Japanese versions and is beginning to realize just how wonderful these games actually are.
This gives me hope that one day, *Front Mission* will finally reach its intended audience overseas. However, for now, unfortunately, the outlook remains quite bleak, and the reality is that many people haven’t even tried the series yet.
If any studios or organizations are interested in collaborating with Mr. O’Leary to create a “robot game,” we would appreciate it if you could contact him directly via the profile link at the end of this article.
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(価格・在庫状況は記事公開時点のものです)
