FrontMission.Org] Front Mission Alternative Gameplay

GAME PLAY

This section will help you understand game play and menu and controller commands.

GAME BASICS

You need 1 Free block of memory to save.

The very first thing you will need to do is change the menus from Japanese to English. To do this, do the following....

1.) When the very first menus appears (after you are briefed on the first mission) Choose the last option. A submenu will appear...

2.) Choose the last option on that menu. This will take you to a new screen and a new menu.

3.) Go to the second (2) option and another menu will appear. Highlight the bottom option and press the X button. The menu should change to English right away!

This game is played in missions. When you are not on a mission, you are outfitting your WAW or learning about the next mission. The mission information and story line are in Japanese, but the menus and other vital information are in English.

TARGET SELECT SCREEN

In the target select screen, you can plan and run a time simulation on the next mission in the game. This is if you wish to really conserve on time and plan you attack out to the letter. It is not necessary in the earlier mission, but you might want to use it if you are having trouble in later missions. Most of the mission give you plenty of time to complete them. All mission have a 30 min. time limit. The controls and symbols are the same for the Battle Menu, so refer to it if you need help.

BATTLE MENU

The Battle Menu is actually the place where you will be planning your actual attacks. In the Battle Menu you select your attack route for your platoon(s). This screen can be accessed before and during a mission. When you plan you attack for a mission, you are given 3 targets. You use these three targets to move your platoons to locations on the map and actually attack enemy platoons. When your platoons have completed moving through all three targets, you will need to set the 3 targets again, to get your platoon moving again. In a mission, you can press the start button at any time to see the progress your platoon has made on the map and select new targets. In this screen there are several kinds of symbols:

Blue Dots: These are way points. When you decide on a plan of attack, you use these like connect-the-dots.

Blue Symbol: This clump of squares is your platoon(s).

Red Symbol: This clump of squares are the enemy platoons.

When you are looking at the mission map, you can use these commands to change the camera view, so you can get a better look at the terrain:

Press the Square button to get a side view of the map.

Use the game pad to move the map around to get a better view.

To Plan an attack route:

1.) Press the O button to bring up the select target menu. Here you press the O button again and move the game pad to the first blue dot or red target to plot the movement of your platoon. * Be sure not to plot a course through thick foliage or cliff walls! If you do, all you need to do is come back to this screen during the mission and readjust your course.

2.) When done plotting all three courses, press the R1 or L1, select Battle Field, then choose Sally. (If you are currently in a mission, just press the start button again).

SALLY FORTH!

When you begin a battle, your platoon will automatically begin moving according to the instructions you set in the Battle Menu. If you did not set a course in the Battle Menu before the mission, you will need to do it right away (see Battle Menu above). In the upper right hand corner is the time in which you have to complete this mission. Here are the commands you can choose during the mission:

L2 or R2 buttons: Zooms camera in or out. Use the control pad to move the camera about.

Triangle button: Shows or hides your platoon's WAW information and the radar screen.

Select button: This sets the currently selected platoon on offensive or defensive posture. To select a platoon use the L1/L2 buttons to cycle through them.

Start button: When you want to check the progress you have made you can see in the Battle Menu / Target Select screen.

Square button: Changes the view to Mc Coys actual view. Use the control pad to look around.

L1 or R1 buttons: This will cycle through the menu bar at the top of the in battle screen. You can highlight either the different platoons in your command or you can highlight the options. Here are the items you can highlight:

Options: Press O and here you can select these Options:

Scouting: Will show you the different enemy platoons.
Camera: Can choose Autochase, Automove, or Behind Unit.
Sound: Can change the sound volumes of Special Effects and BGM.
Color: Can change the color of the menus.
Rader: You can choose Wide or Narrow. This is the Radar screen in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If you select Wide, it will show you a large overhead view, Narrow will show you a close up view.

Platoon 1, Platoon 2, ect...: Pressing O makes the in-battle menu appear Here you have the following options:

Behavior: Can select either Offensive or Defensive. Most of the time, it will be set to offensive. If during a mission, your WAWs won't attack their targets, you will need to change this option to Offensive (it will be on Defensive).
Attack Type: Can select either Local Raid or Diffusion. Local Raid will have your WAWs attack only one of the enemies in the platoon. Diffusion will have each WAW attacks all enemy units in the platoon equally.
Platoon Information: Gives you comprehensive info about your platoon's WAWs.

HOW TO GET THE DIFFERENT ENDINGS

By Henry Chan

There are FIVE endings in this game. Here is how to get to each:

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FULL STORY ENDING NUMBER ONE:

Things you need to do: On mission 1. Take more than SIX minutes to complete it.

(you will) go to 2 and 3.

Take LESS than 8 minutes on mission 3.

(go to 4, then to 5~14)

On 15, let one or more enemy retreat!

(go to 16, 17~19)

Now you are on 20, but before the next one, you have to lower your Average Ranking. If the Ranking is too high, you will go to another ending!! (The semi story ending)

(go to 21~23)

On 24, FAIL THE JAPANESE WEAPONRY TEST

(go to 25~32)

Now, you are ONE lousy player, but you get to see everything!!!!!!!!!!

(go to Full Ending One)

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FULL STORY ENDING 2

On 1, take over 6 minutes.

Go to 2.

On 3, take LESS than 8 minutes.

(go to 5~14)

on 15, KILL ALL ENEMIES!

(go to 17~19)

On 20, keep your Avg. Ranking LOW!! If you do good on 20, you will skip 21!

(Go to 21~23)

On 24, COMPLETE the test!!

(go to 25~32)

You will see the Second Full story!!!

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SEMI STORY ENDING:

You can see that BOTH the first and second full story has a divergent point on 20.

If you have the lower avg. ranking you will go to either FULL one or FULL two. But to see this Semi-story, you have to have a HIGH avg. ranking, which is actually much easier to get than a lower one.

Then you will go to 22, then to 24.

On 24, if you failed the test, you will play a few more missions.

If you success the test, you will go to 27 and to ending!!

*************************************************************

NON-STORY ENDING:

Take less than 6 minutes on 1.

Go to 3.

On 3, let the sixth enemy unit go away.

(4~5, 6, 10,11, 13, 14, 17~19)

You will go to this stupid and non-story ending.

*************************************************************

SUPER SOON ENDING:

Take less than 6 minutes on 1.

Go to 3, and KILL SIXTH unit on 3.

(go to 4, 5, 10)

then you will go to this super soon ending!! Enjoy (not).

How to get bad ranking:

Too bad there is no ranking meter. On 20, where the route diverges, you have to be careful.

You can make the ranking low by retreating once in a while (the best way). And get a lot of your WAWs damaged on other missions.

You should begin to be careful as the cities getting close. If you have the high ranking, you will go to 22 after 20. BUT if you have low ranking you will go to 21. And this is the only way non-Japanese readers know!!!

HINTS

If you take more than 30 minutes on a mission, you will fail it, and it is count as ONE retreat. If you retreat over 4 times on one mission, you will get game over. If the total number of retreats in the whole game is over 20 times you get game over as well.

BUT if you stay on the mission longer, even if you DO NOT move you still learn the skills (set up learning direction)!! SO if you want to get the mission done, just stay there for 20 or more minutes, then kill the enemies under the other 10 minutes and you will learn a lot of skills. Do these on missions that are not important to the endings!!

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