FrontMission.org - Front Mission Gunhazard Gameplay

GAME PLAY

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

GAME BASICS

When you are not in a mission you are located at one of the many locations on the main map. Places you can go have different colored rotating blocks on them. Red colored blocks are levels that you have not completed yet. Blue colored blocks are levels you have completed and Green blocks are shops where you can upgrade your Panzer. Gray blocks are levels that you have competed, but cannot go back to.

The missions in Front Mission Gunhazard are side scrolling. Usually starting from left and finishing on the far right. When in battle, a pilot can get out of their Panzer and walk around on foot. When mission are over you collect money for the enemy units you destroy and experience points.

First lets look at what you can do in the different locations and what certian buttons, functions, and screens do.

UNDERSTANDING MENUS, BUTTONS, AND PLACES TO GO

There are 2 differnt areas of the game where controller buttons are used differently.

1.) On the main map and menus.

A button: select

B button: unselect/go back

1.) During missions.

A button: Fire secondary weapon.

B button: Jump. Holding down the B button when equipped with a jump pack the Panzer or Pilot will hover for different lenghts of time (depending on the jump pack).

X button: Changes to secondary weapon.

Y button: Fires primary (main weapon).

Double tapping the control pad < or >: Allows you Panzer to use it's boosters for a moment.

Pressing diagonally on the control pad: when using the pilot allows them to run.

Pressing up and down on the control pad: when using the pilot and jumping into a wall will allow the pilot to scale up and down the wall.

L1 button: The primary weapon can be positioned to shoot at different angles, the L1 button locks in the current angle so that the weapons does not move around.

R1 button: Activated shield. Different shields have different effects.

Select button: Pilot can leave the Panzer and move about on foot.

Start button: Activates in-battle menu:

Arm: Change out your Panzer and Pilot's weapons.

Item: Lets you use a Repair (repairs Panzer HP) and Aid (restores Pilot's HP) as well as bullet reloads for you secondary weapons.

CMD: Command: When you take the Blenda along with you and you select CMD in battle, a target will show up on the enemy, when you press fire Blend'a ship shoots a rocket at that target.

MAIN MENU

When on the main map you are always on one of the colored blocks (see game basics). By pressing the A button you will go to the main menu. On the main menu a diagram of the Panzer carrier appears. This is the vehicle that carries your Panzer to it's different destinations. Below the diagram is a the main menu commands. These commands are the same on the blue and red blocks, but on the green blocks the Repair/Launch Mission command becomes the Shop command (see The Shop) below. Main menu commands:

Repair/Launch Mission Exit To Main Map Save Game

Panzer/Pilot Setup Game Configuration

Repair/Launch Mission: The repair/launch mission sub menu appears:

Repair: By pressing A your Panzer's/Pilot's HP is filled. This HP "Fuel" will run out unless you buy Fuel at the shops. This selection will also reload your secondary weapons but also will run out unless you buy extra "bullet loads" (BL) from the Fuel/Reloads area of the shop. You have to buy reloads that have the same number of the weapon you want to reload. If you have an HMS-10 for your secondary weapon, you will need to buy BL-HMS reloads.

Launch Mission: You are quickly briefed on the mission and then the mission begins.

Exit: Exits back to the main menu.

Exit To Main Map: Leaves the main menu and puts you back on the main map.

Save Game: There are 4 save slots on Front Mission Gunhazard.

Game Configuration: Here you can set message speed and other game factors.

Panzer/Pilot Setup: Here you view and equip your Panzers and Pilots with weapons, armor, jump packs, and other items. By moving the control pad down you can go to each menu. The menus look like this:

FIRST MENU: Character information. By pressing A you can change the name of your character.

[press down on the control pad]

BODY EQUIP: This menu has several options:

Shows you the currently active Panzer or Pilot. By pressing A you can change, equip or unequip the Panzer. (if the Panzer is unequiped) you will play as the pilot).
Next is the Panzer's jump pack (allows Panzer to hover in air). Press A to change the jump pack (if you have an extra one) or unequip it.
Next is the Panzer's shield (blocks most fire). Press A to change shields or unequip it.
Below that is the Panzer's booster. When you doulbe tap in a direction and the Panzers starts zooming along, that is the booster. The better the booster, the longer the slide will last. Press A to change or unequip it.

[press down on the control pad again]

ARM EQUIP: There are 2 selections on this menu:

Primary weapon. By pressing A on either selection you can change the weapon or unequip it completely.
Secondary weapon. By pressing A on either selection you can change the weapon or unequip it completely.

[press down on the control pad]

HUMAN EQUIP: Here there are 3 selections:

Armor (or suit) By pressing A you can change the suit (if you have another).
Primary weapon (note: you cannot go on a mission without your primary weapon). By pressing A you can change the weapon or unequip it completely.
Secondary weapon. By pressing A you can change the weapon or unequip it completely.

[press L1 or R1 at any time]

FRIEND: This shows your your friend's Panzer status information. Press A and a list of your current friends will appear. Some will have a Panzer, some will not. If you choose someone (press A on their name) they will accompany you in battle. If their HP gets low, you must refill it using your own REPs. They do not seem to be useful to me and wind up not doing any good so I usually leave them out of battle.

[press L1 or R1 at any time]

ITEMS: This menu shows you what items you currently have (see Items for a complete list in the walkthrough). The first number is how many you have, the second number is how many you can carry.

[press L1 or R1 at any time]

BASE: This shows your Panzer's means of geting about and who the pilot is. By pressing A you can change the pilot's name.

IN BATTLE

While in battle there is a status bar on the top of the screen. Here is what is on the bar:

TOP LEFT CORNER: This is the Panzer's Hit Points (HP). When the pilot is out exploring on his own, it is the Pilot's HP. HP is shown as a status bar and not a number. When HP is low and warning sounds begins to beep. You can disable this sound in the main menu's Game Configuration sub menu.

NEXT TO THAT: Next to the HP is your pilot's experience.

NEXT TO THAT: next to the pilot's experience level number is the experience level meter. As you destroy more and more enemy units, the meter will increase. When the meter has 3 full lines, you have gone up a level.

NEXT TO THAT: Next to the Experience meter is the enemy meter. When an enemy is in sight, the meter shows the enemy unit's HP. The meter decreases when you it is attacked. After the enemy is destroyed, the meter now shows how much experience you gained form destroying it.

BOTTOM LEFT CORNER: This is the primary weapon name.

NEXT TO THAT: Next to the primary weapon type is your primary weapon ammo status. When you fire your primary weapon, the green bars will get smaller and the number next to them will decrease. After the ammo is fired a few moments later it is replinshed. Different weapons have different recharge rates. The more powerful weapons usually take longer to recharge.

NEXT TO THAT: Next to the primary weapon status is the secondary weapon name.

NEXT TO THAT: Next to the secondary weapon name is it's status. On the example above, the secondary weapon is a punch. That weapon has no ammo limit.

At the end of each battle 3 post-battle screens show up.

The first screen shows how many enemy units you destoyed (a number on the left) and how much you get for destroying them (number on the far right). The total is added to your current money and the grand total is shown at the bottom of the screen.
The second shows again the number of enemy units you destroyed (number on the left), and the experience points you get for destroying them (number on the right). The total is then transfered to the next screen.
The third screen shows how much experience you gain for the battle. The first number is how much experience you get for this battle alone (it transferred from the previous menu). The next number down is the experience level you are currently at. The next number down is your total experience points. The final number is how many experience points you have to go until your next level-up. When you go up a level in experience you will be shown your old and new stats together.

THE SHOP

Shops are located on the green blocks on the main map (see Game Basics). When you press A on the green block you will be taken to the main menu just like the one on the blue and red blocks, except that then Repair/Launch Mission command is now the Shop command. Selecting this option takes you to the shop. In the shop you have a new menu:

Buy: Buy all available parts and items. All items you do not currently have will have an exclamation mark next to them. A sub menu appears:

Items you are currently equipped with Primary Weapons

Secondary Weapons All items for Pilot

Items Panzer Enhancements

Ammon Reloads/Fuel Weapon Enhancements

Items you are currently equipped with: Shows the items for Panzer is currently equipped with.
Primary Weapons: All primary weapons currently available.
Secondary Weapons: All secondary weapons currently available.
All items for Pilot: All items (suits, primary and secondary weapons) currently available for pilots.
Items: All currently available items (Repairs, Aids, ect..)
Panzer Enhancements:
Ammon Reloads/Fuel: Here is where you buy Fuel for refilling your Panzer's HP between battles.
Weapon Enhancements: These will increase certian aspects of current weapons.

Sell: Sell all parts you want to get rid of.

Exit: Exit to the main menu.

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