Front Mission

Front Mission (フロントミッション, Furonto Misshon) is a media franchise created by Toshiro Tsuchida and owned by Square Enix, primarily consisting of tactical role-playing video games. Launched in 1995 with the original title for the Super Famicom, the series has grown to include 15 video games, including seven main numbered entries and five spin-offs exploring genres like real-time strategy and third-person shooters. The franchise also encompasses manga, novels, film, and radio dramas that expand its complex universe.

The series is set in the 21st and 22nd centuries on a future Earth where powerful supranational unions, such as the Oceania Cooperative Union (OCU) and the Unified Continental States (UCS), engage in political tension and military conflict. These mature, politically charged stories often focus on Huffman Island, a fictional landmass in the Pacific Ocean that serves as a hotbed for war between these superpowers. While games feature self-contained plots, they tie into a larger, overarching narrative comparable to a serial drama.

A central gameplay element is the use of customizable giant mecha called “wanzers” (from the German Wanderpanzer, or “walking tank”). These modular machines consist of four main parts—body, left arm, right arm, and legs—each with its own health bar and specific function, such as movement or weapon usage. Players have extensive control over wanzer customization, equipping various parts, weapons, and auxiliary backpacks while managing weight and power output constraints. Missions typically involve turn-based tactical maneuvers on diverse terrain, where strategic positioning and part-specific destruction are key to victory.