Front Mission 2



Front Mission 2 is a tactical role-playing game for the Sony PlayStation developed and published by Square and released in Japan. It is the second game in the main Front Mission storyline.

According to the series' public relations manager Koichiro Sakamoto, the game was never released outside of Japan due to the presence of situations and vocabulary which would be considered faux pas in North America.

A remake for the Nintendo Switch was announced in 2022.

Gameplay
Front Mission 2's gameplay has many similarities with Front Mission First. This is likely because the game retains the core foundation seen in Front Mission. This does not mean the game is an exact copy of Front Mission. Numerous changes are noticeable in Front Mission 2. First, more weapons now have range as opposed to being limited to merely missile and grenade launchers. Second, terrain (known as Geo) affects conditions such as Accuracy and the ability to successfully counterattack. Another noticeable change is how all weapons now have ammunition, with the exception being Fight-class weapons. The most noticeable changes are the Action Point(AP) and Honor system.

The AP system dictates how many actions can be done with each combatant. Actions such as movement and attacking take a certain amount of AP to use. At the end of a full turn, one Player and Enemy Phase, a certain amount of AP is restored. The AP values, amount and charge, increase as pilots gain levels through clearing missions. These basic fundamentals of the system are present in future installments. The AP system in Front Mission 2, however, has much more additional factors that give it more layers of strategy.

The amount of AP dictates the potency and effectiveness of several factors such as Accuracy and Evasion. Having close to full AP while attacking often results in landing hits while lower amounts lead to missed hits. AP amount is also a factor in successful counters and skill activations, making it more crucial to manage everyone's AP carefully. The Honor system, which evaluates how the enemies and allies respect each combatant, adds even more factors that tie-in with the AP system.

The Honor system's greatest feature is the team effect, where traveling with allies close by grants advantages over enemy forces. Such a situation results in extra AP amount and charge, as well as boosted stats vital for combat. Likewise, surrounding enemies made it easier to destroy them, as their AP and stats are lowered. The same situations apply to enemy forces as to balance the system. Honor is increased by destroying enemies and successfully utilizing the team effect. Battle skills are only gained through usage of the Honor system as well.

When combining the AP and Honor system, Front Mission 2 has an impressive amount of layers involved with strategy. Add the other changes to the system and they result in the most strategy-heavy Front Mission installment to date. This incredible focus on strategy does have its drawbacks however. The learning curve is quite steep and the game is far from being user-friendly in this aspect. The missions, often throwing 20 or more enemies in tough Geo conditions, only prove this as well.

Battles aside, Front Mission 2 is relatively the same as Front Mission. There are town segments where the player can purchase parts at the Shop or fight in the coliseum to gain additional funds. The massive customization involved with wanzer creation has been retained, with even more parts than before. The Network feature is the newest element in Front Mission 2, which is essentially a pseudo-Internet that allows the player to understand more about the world through various websites. This feature is further expanded in Front Mission 3.

Setting
Set in June 2102, Front Mission 2's story of takes place in Alordesh (modern-day Bangladesh), a member state apart of the Oceania Cooperative Union. The formation of the OCU in the early 21st century led to rapid industrialization of developing countries such as Bangladesh. During the 1st Huffman Conflict in 2070, Bangladesh's economic growth flourishes with the OCU because of many war factories in the country. However, the economic boom begins to slow down in 2080, with a loss of foreign investments and pullout of several businesses. Five years later, the OCU offers to provide Bangladesh with foreign aid, provided it joins the union. The Bangladeshi economy resurges briefly during the 2nd Huffman Conflict. Anti-OCU sentiments grew after the war and in 2094, Bangladesh renames itself as the "People's Republic of Alordesh." Four years later, the Alordeshi military, the Forces of Alordesh, staged a coup d'état. While the coup failed, it further increased anti-OCU support and led to a second coup in 2102.

Story
The plot of Front Mission 2 revolves around three individuals from the OCU - Corporal Ash Faruk, Captain Thomas Norland, and intelligence officer Lisa Stanley. On June 12, 2102, the Forces of Alordesh declare independence from the OCU. Through a well-orchestrated plan, Alordeshi troops overwhelm OCU forces at their military bases in the country while overthrowing the government. In the midst of the chaos, Ash Faruk and members of the Muddy Otters unit attempt to flee the country. Along the way, they come across some OCU survivors led by Thomas Norland of the Dull Stags unit. Thomas leads the survivors to the estate of Saribash Labra, the CEO of the transport business Burg Transportation. Saribash offers to help them escape by the seashore, the only part of Alordesh not controlled by the coup d'état forces. As the survivors head for the seashore, an OCU regiment lands in the country. Tasked with freeing POWs, Stanley leads a small unit to investigate the movements of the coup d'état forces.

Upon intercepting a transport helicopter, she learns of a detention center where OCU POWs are being held. Lisa succeeds in liberating the inmates and begins preparing for an operation to rescue Alordeshi government officials in Dhaka. A major battle breaks out in the city. The operation succeeds with some help from Thomas and his subordinates, who opted to stay in the country and fight the coup forces. Meanwhile, aboard the OCU aircraft carrier Monto, Ash is confronted by an officer from the OCU's Central Intelligence Unit. He reluctantly agrees to return to the country when the officer, Pike Reischauer, reveals that some of his colleagues in the Muddy Otters are still alive. Upon returning to Alordesh, they are pursued by coup leader Ven Mackarge. A link between Ven's pursuit of them, the OCU's liberation attempts, and Burg Transportation's involvement in the war is eventually formed when it is revealed that the Forces of Alordesh are receiving support from an unknown third party, and are in possession of a device codenamed "FENRIR".

OCU Marine Forces

 * Ash Faruk - Age: 25. Ash is a Corporal and a member of the OCU Maritime Defense Force (MDF) 41st Battalion, the Muddy Otters. Ash was a former Second Lieutenant in the Alordesh Army, but was discharged for reasons unknown in 2098. Faruk then enlists in the OCU Maritime Defense Force in 2100.


 * Amia McCalum - Age: 25. Amia is a Marine First Class and a member of the Muddy Otters. Amia originally served as a transport pilot for the OCU Air Force until she decided to switch to a ground assignment in 2099. She applied for a wanzer pilot post and was assigned to the Muddy Otters two years later.


 * Joyce S. Whitfield - Age: 26. Joyce is a Marine First Class and a member of the Muddy Otters. Joyce enlisted in the OCU military in 2094 and was assigned ground duty with the regular army. In 2100, Joyce was reassigned to the Muddy Otters after being warned about his playboy attitude towards women.


 * Griff Burnam - Age: 32. Griff is a Sergeant and a member of the Muddy Otters. He spent much of his career with the OCU Ground Defense Force (GDF). In 2092, Burnam was assigned as a wanzer instructor before applying for a switch to the MDF in 2101. Griff also appears in the DS version of Front Mission, where he was assigned to bring OCU troops out of Huffman Island.

Dull Stags

 * Thomas Norland - Age: 47. Thomas is a Captain and the leader of the OCUGDF 89th Mobile Battalion, the Dull Stags. Thomas is a veteran of many conflicts, but has been subject to military inquiries with respect to embezzlement of goods. Norland also appears in Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness, where he is stationed at the Mail River border on Huffman Island during the Huffman Crisis.


 * Roswell Tarana - Age: 29. Roswell is a Sergeant and a member of the Dull Stags. Originally from EC Italy, he enlisted with the OCU military in 2090 and was assigned ground duty. In 2100, Tarana transfers to the Dull Stags stationed at the Ramanston base in OCU Alordesh.


 * Rocky Armitage - Age: 28. Rocky is a Sergeant and a member of the Dull Stags. Rocky enlisted in the OCUGDF in 2091. He was offered a promotion to Second Lieutenant in 2100, but he refused and opted to apply for a post with the Dull Stags.

Central Intelligence Unit

 * Lisa Stanley - Age: 26. Lisa is a Captain and a special intelligence officer with the OCU Central Intelligence Unit (CIU). Lisa attended officer's school in 2093 and graduated with honors in 2095. Shortly thereafter, Stanley was assigned to the agency and has proven herself in many espionage operations.


 * Sayuri Mitsuzuka  - Age: 21. Sayuri is a Second Lieutenant and Lisa's adjutant in the OCU Intelligence Agency, where she joined in 2101. Sayuri previously served as an infantryman with the regular army and proved her worth by helping her company retreat after a failed operation in Belgrade.

The Central Intelligence Service of the Union

 * Pike A. Reischauer - Age: 30. Pike is an agent working for the Central Intelligence Service of the Union. Shortly after the outbreak of the Alordesh coup d'état, Pike was sent to the country to assess the nation's conditions and assist survivors from the OCU military. He also was searching for proof Pang Chang-Jang had a hand in FENRIR's development on behalf of the CISU.

Berg Transportation Company

 * Maylan Malda - Age: 36. Maylan is a Captain for the Alordesh Army. Maylan enlisted in the service in 2084 and worked in many posts over the years. Maylan becomes one of the major supporters of the Army's revolt against the OCU and the independence movement.


 * Saribash Labra - Age: 50. Saribash is the founder and CEO of Burg Transportation, a major transportation business in Alordesh. While he supports the independence movement, Saribash is opposed to the Alordesh Army's use of a coup d'état to achieve it. Labra also hires mercenary Royd Clive from Front Mission to protect him from the Alordesh Army as he wages war against them.
 * Cordy Hoffa - Age: 26. Cordy is an Arena fighter and a former member of the OCU military. Cordy worked alongside Sayuri as infantrymen during many operations for the regular army. After leaving, Hoffa embraced a lifestyle as an Arena fighter in OCU Alordesh.

Revolutionary Army

 * Ven Mackarge - Age: 26. Ven is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Alordesh Army and the leader of the coup d'état forces. Not satisfied with Alordesh's current state, Ven declares independence from the OCU and renames the Alordesh Army as "The Revolutionary Army". Through an elaborate and well-executed plan, Mackarge holds the nation hostage after overwhelming OCU forces in Alordesh.

INTEGEHREN

 * Franz Herschel - Age 70. Franz is an disgruntled ex-executive of the weapon manufacturer Intergehren serving as a proxy for Morgan Bernard in Alordesh and primary antagonist of the plot. Herschel lost everything when Intergehen was exposed in a scandal and then quietly bought out by Schnecke. He then swore revenge on the OCU, promising to bury it in a nuclear sea of fire

The Black Geese

 * Domingo Kyatt - Age: 40. Domingo is a major in the OCU Army and commander of the Black Geese; an OCU Black Ops unit specialized in Assassination. He's an old war buddy of Thomas and is very happy when seeing him. Unbeknownst to Thomas after Huffman Domingo became disillusioned with the OCU and joined Grimnir. Being sure to tie all loose ends of Grimnir's hand in the coup. Ash and Team are confronted with this fact when the Black Geese attempt to kill them as they leave Alordesh, therefore serving as final boss of the game.
 * Pang.pngPan Chang-Jang - Age 64, a senior Intelligence Officer in the CIU from OCU Korea and commander of Sayuri and Lisa's operation in Aldoresh. Pan is very secretive even keeping the main objective of Lisa's mission a secret and being all business when contacted. He later is revealed to have a vested interest in FENRIR and securing Herschel's objective as a Grimnir sympathizer while eliminating Herschel himself. Pan sends the Black Geese into Alordesh to cover-up FENRIR; his ultimate fate is unknown, though Pike promises to take his findings to the CISU and OCU Central Government after the Coup.

Wanzers

 * Autel
 * Calm
 * Castigo
 * Degen
 * Frost
 * Gaff
 * Galumph
 * Giaour
 * Giza
 * Gust
 * Hart
 * Hayle
 * Igel
 * Iyana
 * Jaboa
 * Kafir
 * Moth
 * Manege
 * Mythos
 * Negus
 * Obadiah
 * Qwagger
 * Raven
 * Robust
 * Schakal
 * Stabline
 * Talldog
 * Tatou
 * Tedium
 * Torero
 * Type 99
 * Type 100
 * Vaje
 * Vigor
 * Walrus
 * Zaigaut
 * Zeal
 * Zebu
 * Zeder
 * Zenith
 * Zora

Mobile Weapons

 * ISV07 Zadok
 * ISV09A-S Bismillah
 * OSV-08 Goalton
 * OSV-08 Tilden
 * OSV-12 Grook
 * OSV-13
 * OSV-21 Lavant