Revisiting Martian Successor Nadesico

Or "a dirge for Gai Daigoji"

Martian Successor Nadeisco is a Japanese animated TV series from 1996, and this is not a review. This is an article that got started when I realised how old my DVD of it was. A review would attempt to judge the subjective experience of it in objective terms. Here, its more a stream of consciousness affair, inspired by its TV tropes entry. I like the series a lot, I think more people should watch it, here's a few things in it I want to discuss. We good? OK.

Nadesico starts out with mysterious aliens known as the Jovian Lizards attacking Mars. It goes terribly for the human defenders. Civilians hiding in a bunker are then slaughtered off-screen, and Akito Tenkawa, the only survivor, screams as the gemstone around his neck glows brightly. Not many comedies start that way. Moving swiftly on.

Nadesico more usually starts with a 12 year old girl saying something cynical and dismissive, before the intro sequence starts. The intro theme features a lot of Gratuitous English, although I'm pretty sure it's parodic gibberish in Japanese too. Its amongst the best openings in 90's anime, but it's also a deliberate misrepresentation of what the show is. Thus begins the latest episode in a sprawling space opera that is actually a comedy more preoccupied with sending up its own genre. It's funny, both as parody and farce. And, as I've hinted at, it's also fond of mood whiplash and black comedy. At the risk of ruining a joke by explaining it, the concept runs along the following lines. Akito Tenkawa is a cook, and fate's plaything. He's basically got a superhero's backstory, and a case of PTSD. A chance encounter sees him meet a childhood friend, Yurika Misumaru, whom he believes would know why his parents were killed. Yurika is the captain of the Nadesico, a privately built battleship created by Nergal Heavy Industries. He joins the crew, looking for answers, only to fall into a robot's cockpit and save the day. So far, so mecha cliche. However, the Nadesico is full of people the regular military didn't want, not least if which is Yurika. She, despite her talents, has the emotional maturity of a toddler, and immediately pursues her childhood crush on Akito. What follows is not so much a love triangle, as a love polygon. Meanwhile, the comms officer is a voice actress, the helmsman is a former secretary built like a pornstar, the engineer joined to ditch his family, and the computer operator is that aforementioned 12 year old girl. It's a ship full of idiots and human resource reports waiting to happen. But I want to talk about just one idiot in particular, and from this point: HERE BE SPOILERS.

Jiro Yamada is an obnoxious blow-hard, who defines his entire existence around a childrens TV show of dubious quality. He's brash, immature, dismisses anyone not on his wavelength, and adopted the name of "Gai Daigoji" because his given name is basically John Smith in Japanese, and he's better than that. Like the vast majority of the cast, he's an idiot, but possibly the biggest idiot as he's the only mecha pilot I've ever seen break his leg while pissing about in the hangar bay. Regardless, we love him, because he's us. We've all been the obnoxious fan, evangelising about some obscure bit of tat, wanting desperately to share your obsession with someone. And more than that, he's so obviously enjoying himself. He's living out his fantasy, with every sign of enjoyment and total commitment to it. There is a sense of audacity, but also innocence. I would give anything to be as happy as this man. Then he dies. Not in combat, which I'm sure he would have been cool with, but through being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a senseless act of murder, killed by an escaping prisoner to prevent him raising the alarm. Jiro for his part is seemingly unarmed and unaware, shot with a pistol, and dying on the operating table. We love him because he was taken from us so violently, and suddenly. His last thought, which ends the episode, are the words, "I'm sorry, Miss Nanako, looks like I'm not gonna take you to the beach like I promised." The following episodes talk a lot about death, and how it gets treated in animes, and Jiro's passing becomes yet another strain on Akito's mental health. As he grieves, he watches the show Jiro loved so much, and encounters a death scene with the same line of dialogue Jiro thought as he bled out in the hangar. The dudes last thought was to pay homage to a pastiche of a 70's super robot show.


Goddamnit, Gai. You big, beautiful, stupid, nerd.

The series uses Gai's love, Gekiganger 3, as a commentary on both itself and a Greek Chorus. It shows how anime used to be, versus how it was after stuff like Gundam. It even uses it as the basis for a clipshow, where the Gekiganger characters mock the show for falling behind schedule, forming a meta möbius strip. But more importantly for today's discussion, Gekiganger is how we find out if these characters are or aren't fans. But let's put a pin in that for a moment, as we need more context. 

So, while mainly concerned with laughs and in-jokes, Nadesico does actually have a plot running in the background. Mostly, this is a framework to hang the parody on, something to provide the necessary explosions, and justification thereof. But it is there, and ultimately its as subversive in much the same way the humour is. Nergal Heavy Industries is an example of corporate greed and war profiteering, the titular Nadesico itself not being altruistic creation, if a warship can be such a thing(1). No, Nergal wants to reclaim Mars for its stockpiles of alien techno-gubbins. It turns out Nergal is not only as shady as balls, it also knows more about the aliens than they let on. So does the regular military. While the Jovians have only used unmanned weapons and seemingly made no declaration of war, thus obscuring their identities, they are in fact human. Actually exiles driven off Mars, and then erased from history. What was previously a just war of self-defence, proves to be as mucky as any other, with shades of grey everywhere. The crew does not take the news well, resulting in the end of at least one relationship, and a death by misadventure. What? Oh yes, this series is still a comedy. But now we find ourselves edging closer to its deeper point.

Here it is: the Jovian "Lizards" are fans of Gekigangar 3. An entire race of Jiro Yamadas. This makes them likeable as individuals, but the anime does not think this is a great idea. While affectionate in its parody, Nadesico is an argument against escapism, as evidenced by what happened to Gai, and what the Jovians actually are/do. The Jovians base their entire society around Gekigangar, taking on a religious fervour. Unfortunately, Gekiganger is a shallow puddle of cliches, plus the Jovians themselves were originally right-wing separatists. They view Earthlings as inherently evil monsters, while describing themselves as "The Superior Male Forces". Predictably, their attitude to women isn't great either, being something in between geeky embarrassment, and sexism disguised as veneration. The series isn't exactly woke, but the ladies in the cast are either bemused or insulted. If this is sounding anything at all like a certain modern fandom, perhaps one set in space with a historically black and white view of morality, yes, you'd be right. Everyone believes they are the rebels, not the empire(2), and Nadesico does not endorse this myopia. While the Jovians view themselves heroic protectors of life, they place little value on the lives of those opposing them, because they are the bad guys. Their leaders like it that way, and quite happy exploit that zealotry while being as cut-throat as Nergal. The most heartbreaking moment in the series is when the cast tries to broker peace following an actual anime convention, only for the Jovians dark side to be made obvious in the most brutal way possible. Yes, that's right, a convention, and while its spot-on as a depiction of such things, that episode ends very badly. They thought being fans would bridge the gap, and sadly fandom ultimately fails them, prompting Akito to reject Gekigangar. But, while presenting this tragedy to us, Nadesico also rejects cynicism and despair, remaining optimistic despite it all.

I may be reading too much into it, but the series stops short of blaming fandom, and the team of halfwits and weirdos that crews the Nadesico do ultimately win on their own terms. The ending sadly isn't as strong as the rest of the series, but at least its true to the tone of the work. In the final 3 or so episodes things get real, but it's not the depression grand tour that Evangelion and it's imitators took. Maybe the writers found themselves in a corner, and decided to go out with a bang. Things are definitely played with less humour, but then the series always did know when to take things seriously. And perhaps, mocking anime tropes only to play them straight for the climax is an example of having your cake and eating it too(3). But, remember the point I made about black and white morality above? You know which character brings that up in the final episodes? One of the series' few actual arseholes, someone whom was never a fan of Gekigangar, and preferred animes where both sides had realistic reasons to fight. He'd have a point, if he didn't immediately follow that with justifications for his own greed. Its not Gekiganger that's wrong, its us, and those power-brokers manipulating people. In this case, the long plans of a weapon manufacturer,an Earth Government trying to cover is own backside, and a political class defined by war. The crew of the Nadesico seem to know this, if not put that way, and they certainly don't accept it. After much faffing about, they opt to remove the actual reason for the war, the alien technology on Mars. And when presented with the option to undo everything via timeywhimey in the climax, the cast chooses not to. Instead, they choose to remember both the good & bad. You could almost say it was breaking a cycle, or something, given that so much aggro was caused by conspiracies to hide the truth and “pragmatic” thinking. It ends with them accepting Gekiganger 3 for what it was, and valuing the time they spent together, above erasing the past. Please don't ask me about the movie.

Meanwhile, everything descends into farce, plotholes appear, time travellers turn up, Yurika tries to detonate the ship, plotholes are called out, and Akito comments that the last episode of Gekiganger was terrible.

Conclusion
In my younger days, I liked Nadesico simply because it made me laugh. Later, because I recognised myself in it. And now, for all those things, plus its critique of fandom and what arguably counts as left wing politics. Perhaps it is just because I am old now, or maybe because time has changed its meaning. If you have to be a fan of something, you could do a lot worse than this.  Go watch the first episode dammit. 

Footnotes

1. I'd love to see a Marxist reading of the show.
2. Or in more Japanese terms, honestly believe the Republic of Zeon was fighting a war for independence, not a genocidal power grab.
3. Although, using that phrase makes me guilty of grammatical pedantry.

The Space Marine Problem

 

Or “how to ruin something through repetition”

This article is like the fifth iteration of an article that I write every time there's an editorial about Space Marines on BLOS, or a new rulebook for them is announced. And a new one has been. A completely new Space Marine codex was just revealed, with new units, the controversial Bolter Discipline rule, and a new rule giving them a bonus attack in the first round of combat. I have no actual reason to believe this will be less than a quality product. GW has been pretty good in 8^th edition, and nobody actually has this book in hand. So, fingers crossed. The thing is though, I do feel that a lot of unwarranted complaining has preceded this announcement, and I'd hate to think this was influencing the design process. To get my own bias up front, I play Orks, I basically could not run a shooty army until I got a codex, which was a long wait, but it was worth it(1). This means I only have, um, limited sympathy for people complaining about their army being flawed, when they were first in line for new releases. I also find this sort of article to be an unproductive and inherently negative use of my time, but once it's published, I can put it down, and move on. I have clouds to yell at. So lets get into this, The Space Marine Problem.

The Problem, as expressed by the Internet

Since 8^th edition launched there has been a general feeling that Space Marines are underpowered in some quarters. There is not a single issue highlighted, more a general feeling that things aren't right. Some point to the fact Marines now suffer penalties to their armour save, and are proportionally more vulnerable to Mortal Wounds. Some complain that bolters do not ignore armour saves of light infantry. Some feel that 8^th edition favours generally favours quantity over quality, as templates have been removed for simplicities sake. Some point to marines generally not being better performers in the tournament scene. Some point enviously at other factions, which may actually do something better than a marine. Some point at the open nature of 8^th ed allowing for things like “Imperial Soup”, where you mix and match and remove the unpopular beakies. Stuff like regular Tactical Marines have been unpopular for a while, often ignored in favour of the cheaper Scouts. As I say, its rarely one agreed complaint. Meanwhile, the response from people not currently playing a Marine faction is along the lines of “What? You've been the company favourite forever, adapt.” None of viewpoints are completely without merit, some more than others TBH, but its ultimately missing The Space Marine Problem.

What's Actually Wrong

So, here's the actual problem. Its not a matter of how this faction in all its variety is designed, nor of game mechanics, its more appearances. Space Marines are described as the best of the best, the closest thing the setting has to superheroes, rare and special. They are positioned as the starter army, with 40K designed around them. They have also become, over time, a majority of the forces in the game. This has created something of a conflict between their key concepts and how to play. Tactics 101? Tool your army to murder Space Marines, and you'll probably be OK. However, there is an unavoidable assumption that Marines should be the best army, special, but they absolutely cannot be that and ubiquitous at the same time. Sliced bread is pretty amazing, objectively, but do you care since its everywhere? This is not a problem of things being underpowered, this is a problem of mediocrity through over-exposure. If, say, Astra Militarium was the defacto default and given the same focus, Marines would look utterly spectacular in the comparison. The rules as they are do back that up. If we go straight to the bottom and compare Conscripts with Tactical Marines, the beakies trounce the cannon fodder. Some stats are actually double, nothing is worse, and the area where the beakies match the plebs is foot speed. You do pay for this, but well, you should, shouldn't you?(2) Actually competent Guardsmen fair a little better, but it's still a case where there is an overt gap in capabilities. So why don't we judge Marines higher in the army rankings? Why are they reputedly poor performers in tournaments? It certainly not because they lack in other areas, they are very well-supported. It's because everything else is judged against them as a baseline, and everyone knows how to beat them. This is The Space Marine Problem, and it will not be solved by just making units “better”, or applying an army-wide special rule, as GW seems to be doing.

The Why
This is ultimately a problem of GWs own making. They always favoured beakies, but things didn't really get out of hand until 3rd edition, an admittedly bloody long time ago, but there we are. It was during this period GW favoured the "mini-dex" concept where there was a single major Beakie codex which would receive a supplement to make more specific chapters. This grew into the Index Astartes series of articles, and is the forerunner to army variants found in the modern 8th Ed codex, although it would take 20 odd years before this applied to everyone. GW now had an easy to do a 40k release, just to apply a new special rule to the Marines and add a new model or three , and you're done. Easy money in the sort term. The long term effect was that Marines became the default, these new armies pushed non-beakies to the back of the queue for support, and marine players would begin to squabble jealously over who got what hat. Each subset of the Marine faction assumes, on some level, that they are the best Marines and there's such overlap between them. The first codex the Blood Angels got was shared with the Dark Angels. Does every first founding chapter/legion deserve its own book? Should Deathwatch be its own thing? Should maybe they and Grey Knights be under the Inquisition banner? With so much overlap in rules and models, does this not become like picking between flavours of potato crisp? If, just if, GW had been more restrained, this would be less of an issue. And now, things have gone full circle, with the mini-dex concept returning for this new release. 

To their credit, GW has demonstrated the self-awareness to address these problems, as there's evidence of it long term. Notably, the Black Templars and Salamanders got rolled back into the main Marine rules, and it would be hard to argue with a straight-face that Space Wolves aren't their own thing. Their most recent attempt is the entire Primaris concept, which is proving to be something of a long term revamp of the army from the foundations up. Its too early to say if this will work, and speculation enters the realm of tinfoil hats and chemtrails. On the one hand, this would bring Beakies closer towards their fictional depictions, but what its mainly done so far is highlight the “weaknesses” of the traditional Marine. Almost, as if, GW wants Marine fans to buy a completely new army? Right now, what they mainly do though is add yet more units to a faction already very well-equipped to the point of redundancy. It is FAR too early to tell what the new Codex will mean for the faction, but if they are getting a new bonus rule for the Fight Phase, one hopes for a price increase. Even so, none of this doesn't actually address The Space Marine Problem. Should GW update all Space Marine factions to Primaris, or otherwise rebalance things with their new codex, that would leave us in exactly the same position of beakie over-exposure, and potentially over-correcting versus other factions. Remember, the tactics you would use to defeat Primaris are the same as other forms beakies; they are good, but they are still ultimately a small/quality force with no special resistances to anti-tank guns and Mortal Wound effects. They are fated to be the new average.

The Solution

I dunno, is there one? Fanbases are notoriously hard to please. One possibility I've already hinted at is to put the toothpaste back in the tube, and simply release marines less often. Yes, they sell, but that's confirmation bias at work. If only marines are sold, only marines sell. Let the diehards have the Horus Heresy setting, and start amalgamating these chaps into omnibuses. If this seems unfair, well, its still more in the way of spin-offs than your average Xenos race gets. Alternatively, people could gain some self-awareness and realise how “first world problems” this all is and accept Marines can't be the entire game. But that's probably even less likely than the first solution. Whatever, I'm done being grumpy now.....

Mind you, I'd loot this walker.

Foot notes

1. Then there was the 7^th ed book, but lets not get sidetracked.
2. If you think the answer is “no”, maybe you should stop reading.

Retro Review: Kidou Senshi Gundam F91 - Formula Senki 0122 (Super Famicom)

In terms of genre influence and sheer relentless merchandising, the Gundam franchise is very much the Japanese Star Wars. Not the first of its kind, but one of those works that came along, dropkicked the status quo, and became the establishment. Anime wasn't the same after. It even has its own laser swords and Space Nazis. As it has nearly 40 years of material, of wildly variable quality, its not easy to generalise, but the gist is as follows. People live in space stations, some on Earth, bad feelings all round, so war with giant robots, piloted by angsty teens. Lots of moral ambiguity and war is hell motifs. Today's game, Kidou Senshi Gundam F91 - Formula Senki 0122 , or F91 for sanity, fits into the original Gundam canon, where a bunch of Space Nazis from Mars are causing trouble. They use robots which look exactly like those from the 1979 original, though updated, seemingly just for reasons of brand recognition(1). But is F91 any good? Well, interesting is perhaps the better word. 

The games big selling point is that while it looks like a SRPG it's actually a , honest to god, turn-based/real-time hybrid. A faintly underwhelming map screen, gives way to a faux cockpit, with 3rd person battle animations. Your main inputs are manoeuvre and positioning in real time, but with attacking and the map screen handled in a turn based fashion. Its a a rush to line up a shot against rapidly moving targets, with each weapon having own its optimal range, and your Gundam having limited fuel. Succeed, and you get an animation of the attack connecting, and hopefully an explosion. Fail, and see it miss. You can dash back to a capital ship for a top up, and switch between fancy weapon packs mid battle. The Gundam(2) you use for most of the game has modular parts, allowing you to tailor it to your requirements, adding a layer of strategy to an otherwise tactical game. But the battle continues without you, Jegans and Zakus beating 7 bells out of each other, meaning you can get flanked, and so on. Its not rendered in 3D, but feels a solid representation of Mobile Suit combat as presented in the various animations, with the music being a highlight. Meanwhile there's a story going on, depicted mainly by cutscences between battles. Any good? Well, it's a Gundam sidestory where the antagonists are cosplaying warmachines from 40 odd years prior. A translation patch is required, which seems to work OK. The narrative definitely looks and feels appropriate to the franchise, if not one of it's best. And that's the game in a nutshell, really. It looks and feels right, having pretty good production values, if not necessarily exceptional in its execution. The general feeling of above average is also backed up by it having a battery save, even though the game is light of justification for one. This game could have easily worked with a password system, as it has only 12 levels and is not an RPG, so I can only assume Japanese convention was happily at work here.

The battles do however get a bit samey. As the battle animations are repetitive, what the game ends up doing is training you to stare at the radar in the bottom right, as that's where most of the useful info is. That sense of repetition also increases as the game goes on, where you end up on Earth after fighting in space, and the game plays the same. Kinda disappointing, that. Its also something of a coin toss if an attack connects or not, as the game doesn't see fit to let you aim yourself, or tell you the odds. Also, choosing between the weapon pack doesn't actually represent that big of choice, as there's only 2 at first with limited weapons. This makes things a little frustrating, although new weapons and equipment do unlock and ease these complaints. Ultimately though, its not that deep of a game, despite nailing the setting. While by no means bad, I feel this game needed to be either more of a simulation, or more a bangy-zoomy game.

 

Conclusion
<Indecisive noise>, okay. F91 is a game that sets out to capture the spirit of its setting, while defying gaming convention, and largely achieves both aims, but I didn't love it. I wouldn't really call it a great game, but it is an mechanically interesting one. And, despite nitpicks, I can certainly imagine Gundam fans then and now warming to it. Some distance from a classic, but it doesn't have much to apologise for. If the concepts discussed above appeal to you, maybe check it out.

Foot notes

1. I am deeply cynical about this, and it makes less and less sense the more I think about it.
2. The term “Gundam” is also used mainly for brand recognition, as in universe it was the most famous Federation mecha.

Retro Review: Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross (Famicom)

I think we need some context, here. In 1982, Big West went and made The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, a very influential Japanese anime. They did however run short of money, prompting some poorly worded contracts, and a never ending legal nightmare for all involved. It is for this reason Macross is known as the foundational instalment of Robotech, a series where 3 unrelated properties were nailed together by the famously litigious Harmony Gold. Its a long story, but eff those guys. Transformers fans will also recognise the main mecha from it as Jetfire. Meanwhile, the UK gaming scene was off being its own thing, dominated by low-cost computers like the Sinclair Spectrum, and then by the Sega consoles and stuff like the Amiga. This is also a long story, but suffice to say the NES/Famicom wasn't as a big thing here as in America and Japan. Advance forward thirty odd years, and I'm experimenting with retrogaming platforms. I chance upon a Famicom Macross game, and decide it would make a good test subject for my Retrofreak.

I kinda hate it.

Now, this is not automatically the same as saying its a bad game. I lot of people make that mistake, especially fanboys, you disliking something is not automatically a failing in that media(1). Objective flaws of course do exist, coding bugs for example, and when writing a review it's best to keep some kind of dispassionate viewpoint, lest you confuse an emotional response for an actual fault. What this game does wrong is mainly be very old, and not especially creative with the licence, while I generally suck at this sort of game and don't have the necessary nostalgia goggles. 

So, lets talk mechanics. CJYM is a side scrolling spaceship shooter, a shoot-em-up, the Battle Royale of its day. You advance from left to right, shooting baddies, and eventually fighting bosses. It's fairly typical of its time, although with two major exceptions. Your Valkyrie can change form, behaving differently in each, and has a health bar. I didn't find much reason to transform, but the latter change goes some way to making the game tolerable for me, if still having embarrassing difficulty with the first level. Presentation is also quite reminiscent of the series, with recognisable enemy designs, and a Minmay doll starting the action with a gong, while a chip tune version of the series' track Shao Pi Long also plays. In so far as the technology of the time allowed, it's a reasonably mix of gameplay with licence, like putting Bruce Lee in a Street fighter 2 clone(2). Mind you, "of the time“ is probably the most obvious stock complaint I could make of the game. Its production values show its age, and the gameplay isn't good enough to compensate. Less subjectively, it would appear to be a game with no actual ending, instead looping indefinitely the same level, just with an increasing enemy count. I can't confirm this, and the let's play I found tend last 20 minutes at most, but I honestly can't bring myself to check. It's Transbot all over again. 

Conclusion

There could have been a good game here, but what we have here is a best a prototype that wasn't finished. Video games based on licensed properties do have a terrible reputation, and my self-doubt aside, this game is an example of why. I honestly can't recommend it. Maybe look into Scrambled Valkyrie on the Super Famicom, I hear its rather good.

Foot Notes

1. I'm looking at you, people complaining about female characters in Star Wars and Captain Marvel.
2. Which they did. And a Bruce Lee clone in actual Street Fighter 2.
   
   

Retro Review: Front Mission (Super Famicom)

OK then, I finished Front Mission 3. What game did I play next? Something even more obscure and gaming-hipster-weeb, the first game in the series, Front Mission. Another strategic game with big robots. A game made during the golden age of Japanese Role Playing Games, but one not to get an English version until it got remade for a later platform. Here we see two superpowers, the OCU and USN (1) slug it out over a scrap of nothing called Huffman Island, but is it any good? Well, I'll get to that, but first, I wanna talk about how I played it. While Front Mission received a remastered version on the Nintendo DS, here I used an original cartridge on the Retrofreak emulation console. This provokes a certain degree of "Vinyl versus Spotify" style argument amongst purists, as this is mechanically different from the original hardware, even with the original cart. 16 bit emulation is however a mature technology at this point, and devices such as this allow HDMI output, which is more convenient. I also used the Retrofreaks ability to apply fan-made translation patches, without which the game is somewhat unplayable.

Moving on.....

On first impression, the original game is much more consistent visually than FM3, if inevitably more primitive. FM doesn't have the burden of awkward 3D, and by the standards of the time, certainly holds its own. Its a later generation Famicom release, so the developers knew what they were doing, but also because the game is going against so many JRPG conventions. At the risk of making a sweeping generalisation, games of this ilk, especially those by Squaresoft, tended towards bright colours, and frequently cutesy character designs. Of course, cutscenes and close-up character portraits may have been completely different, but that was the default. Even the seemingly immortal Super Robot Wars series did and does favour a super deformed look for its mecha. This probably owes as much to technical limitations as artistic choice TBH, and this is by no means a failing, but genre convention was there. Here's a screen grab of the highly regarded Final Fantasy VI(2).

 

Notice how the baddie is a nice big-if-static sprite, where as the heroes are in totally different style, and the menu takes up much of the screen space. Now here's what today's review subject looks like.

 

See what I mean? FF6 is a classic for a reason, but, Front Mission is by comparison a darker, grittier, and more visually detailed game. At least in areas which it prioritises. Mecha designs are basically gorgeous, with pleasing animations, and lengthy customisation potential. It's not a big thing these days, but back then? Having equipment visibly change on a sprite was a rare, even if Front Mission seems to like its robots carrying a pair of guns as big as they are(3). Mind you, FM also boils down interactions outside of combat into a series of menus, and you'll see the same town a lot. A lot, a lot. There's no overworld to explore, no random encounters, no side quests, and the closest thing to a diversion is the colosseum, which offers simplified battles where you can bet on yourself. So, if you're not sold on the battles, there's only so much else here. The general interface does also feel outdated, with the day-to-day matters of Wanzer management being more fiddly than they should. In battle, its possible to loose Wanzers behind buildings, or forget what units are damaged, as the game isn't too hot at conveying info on the map screen. This is what I mean when I say this game was more primitive than its PS1 sequel; its clearly an earlier version for less capable hardware, but pixels are more nostalgic than polygons...

Combat is elegant, favouring large groups. if having some quirks. It uses a grid map, but displayed from a fixed isomeric angle. Its functional, dropping into more viseral combat animation, but Its somewhat more in your face and exaggerated than I expected. Most guns have a range of 1 square, the main exception being Missiles, which have limited ammo. Wanzers can act to defend themselves in the enemy turn, if not by counter attacking then by blocking with arms to protect the main body. Going melee is quite practical, due to the prevailing presence of single shot attacks and easy item stowage. Choosing the right tool for the job though is important, Wanzers having separate health bars for body parts, and guns firing either a burst of shots or one big bullet. Then there's wrinkles like Shields sharing the same shoulder mounts as Missiles and hybrid weapons that have variable range. The whole Lego mecha appeal is definitely here, if slanted towards Wanzers some de-facto character classes. The game presents foes with names like Missiler and Attacker, and while these aren't fixed, they do represent the obvious designs. All this often boils down to a rock/paper/scissors affair, but you'll be controlling more than 10 units at a time, so there's plenty to get your teeth into. Here's a summary of what you'll be working with, named after the class of weapons they use.

Fight Wanzers
Fairly self-explanatory, these guys rock up and punch things. Often literally, as while tonfas are a thing, some arms hit really hard bare-handed. These Wanzers have to be both fast and tough, as they not only have to walk a fair bit, enemies can fire their guns defensively before you can swing. Special skills however turn off that weakness, as well as allowing you to do combos and stun people. Fight Wanzers are the hard-counter to missile equipped Wanzers, but they aren't precise.

Short Wanzers
The tactically flexible and the most powerful type of Wanzer, with a wide array of weapons, but most frequently dual machine guns. This is due to the aggressive selection of special skills, which allow for both more dakka and the ability to target specific body parts. This can mince a majority of targets, although weight and effective range can be an issue.

Long Wanzers
*Sniggering* These are characterised by having two big missile launchers, and maybe a bazooka as a back-up. Acting to soften up a target before you finish them off, these only get one special skill, and it's a goody. They can target specific body parts at a distance, and can therefore disarm people before they become a threat. Ammo is however a problem, as is absorbing damage, so they tend to stick close to....

Peewee the supply truck driver

A source of passive buffs where everyone else is a fighter class, Peewee provides emergency repairs, and spare weapons should you need a different gun. He and his ilk add a lot the game, and I feel Front Mission 3 suffers for their absence. Then again, this is another area with an awkward interface.

Two things however bother me about the whole business though. Firstly, the game doesn't actually encourage you to experiment with Wanzer designs that much. Most parts are linear upgrades, which undermines the whole appeal of customising your robots, and upgrades are so frequent as to make it feel like busy work. Its the old RPG staple of new town, buy new sword. Second, while there is a hint of a logistics/management side to the game, I didn't feel I had to make difficult decisions as such. You do get money based on mission performance, and charged for repairs, but I was swimming in cash for the most part, even as my squad sizes hit double figures. If I'd done less well, or if replacement parts had been a bit more spread out, maybe I'd have enjoyed things more, but your mileage may vary. That said, variety and meaningful choice does increase as you go on, with weapons being more immediately complex than Wanzer bits as they often represent side grades to each other. Also on the plus side, the game does not require or encourage level grinding, in my experience.

And finally, there is the matter of narrative, which is OK, if slow to bloom and linear. Putting aside sheer genre saturation, the SNES/Famicom format having buttloads of RPGs, it wouldn't be a surprise if FMs story was part of the reason why it wasn't localised into English at first. Nintendo USA at around this time was clearly opposed to "adult" stuff, and while this game isn't gory its definitely dark and political. I mean, in the first level alone the lead character Lloyd Clive(4) undertakes a blackops mission that goes so badly a war starts, sees his fiancé brutally killed in combat by the final boss, only to then be made a scapegoat for the entire mess. He then joins a mercenary unit, thus becoming a man both grieving and in decidedly grey moral standing. Its not the hero's journey, and it doesn't really become a revenge story until much later. What it is at first is episodic, and quite anime cliché, but gets increasingly bleak and almost unrecognisable in later missions. That said, while the themes and ideas are interesting, the actual execution isn't great. How much of this is the fan translation, or just it being an old game, is up for debate, but I found it to be workmanlike rather than compelling.

Conclusion
A good first try, but not a masterpiece. Front Mission is a game with a very specific appeal, offering some nice strategic gameplay, robo-go-boomy, an interesting story, but very much a product of its time. Is it better than Front Mission 3, the game that brought me to the franchise? Honestly, no. The overall experience isn't as refined, the mechanics of the game not quite coming together, and the story being functional rather than having a strong hook. Is this the same as saying its a bad game? Definitely not. I had a good time with it, so check it out. Maybe go for the DS remake though, if the option is available.

Foot notes

1. That's Japan + others versus The USA + others.
2. Or Final Fantasy 6, if you want to use proper numbers, and aren't currently in 90's America.
3. Not a complaint, an observation.
4. At least, this is what the translation patch calls him. The instruction manual romanised his name as “Roid Clive”, while other sources give it as “Royd Clive”. I'm not in a position to judge which is more correct, so I'll use the one that is less immediately stupid.

Retro Review in Progress: Front Mission (Super Famicom)

Hi there!

The shambling resurrection of the blog continues, with various articles on the go. The one that is closest to completion is a review of the painfully obscure Front Mission on the SuperFamicon/SNES. Yes, the original that Front Mission 3 descends from. I'm halfway through it, and I remain undecided as to whether or not I should pull the trigger on it before the final level. Got a twitter thread going on it, if anyone is interested. Also got an article on Space Marines on standby, should I be in a bad mood.

In the meantime, enjoy some screengrabs.

Ten Tips for Playing Front Mission 3

Does it count as a clickbait title when the subject is so obscure? Ehh. Following on from my review of the game proper, here's some advice for playing Front Mission 3. And so you know that I'm not completely useless, here's my end game rankings. Yes, there is some vanity in displaying it.

 

Go on that Intarwebz
While the Internet is the least exciting part of the game, it occasionally can assist missions, and does provide various battle simulators for level grinding. Also, its possible to acquire the most powerful Wanzer by keeping an eye on shady websites. You don't have to check every mission, but don't ignore it.

Never sell your starting Wanzers, just pass em around
Front Mission 3 is rather obtuse about Battle Skills, but most characters have machines that match them rather well. The Zenislev(1) and Kyojun Mrk107 are also notable for having skills that remain unexciting-but-useful throughout the game.

It's best to have lots of little skills
While things get more nuanced later on, it's usually best to stack multiple 1 slot Battle Skills, ideally identical. This is because these trigger and combo more often. In an extreme example, when using a Rifle, it's more or less mandatory to take Zoom 4 times, as it overcomes the problems of being single shot.

Missiles are easy spammed, but Shields are better
Due to their range and damage, Missiles are powerful even in the hands of a novice character. However, this does not last, as your foes improve. Shields however are always useful, and increasingly mandatory. You will almost always be outnumbered, after all.

Be a fiddler crab
You are not obliged to have symmetrical or even attractive Wanzers, so mix and match parts. My goto design was a skinny but precise arm with 2 guns on it, a beefy arm for the shield, and a generator backpack to compensate.

Steal every Wanzer you see
Tactics are ultimately king, but don't let yourself fall behind in the arms race. Boss types can't be pinched, but there's an entire family of high quality Wanzers you can't buy, but you need(2). This can be be greatly eased by....

Buy a Tiadong ASAP
Pilfering Wanzers is hard to do at first, as you have to force units to surrender. You need the luck for them loose morale, and a gentler weapon to force the issue without killing them. The Tiadong arm however has the useful skill Eject Punch, which saves a bit of time, if somewhat unsporting.

Have understudys, but not clones
Front Mission 3 ultimately gifts you with 8 characters, and it wants you to use them. Try to maintain a pair of missile people, and two punchy dudes. Note that Wanzers can fulfil more than one role, and try not to overspecialise.

If in doubt, set your armour to Piercing
Cutscenes will often telegraph what the enemy has, but weapons that cause Piercing damage are the most common. The only force that doesn't favour machine guns or rifles are the regular army of Da Han Zong, where upon you choose Impact.

And finally, go with Ryogo
When he asks. You know, early on.


Foot notes
1) Actually a mistranslation, it should be Zenith Rev.
2) And when you meet their owners, trust me, you'll want to take them out of spite.

Retro Review: Front Mission 3 (PS1)

A depressingly small number of people seem to care about the Front Mission series of video games. I mean, obviously, its established in Japan. Its just when you google it, you get tumble-weeds and Russian-language video clips. There is an entry on Steam, but its so badly received, I've not bothered to play it. I did however pick up Front Mission 3 (FM3) while at a retro-games fair, having happy memories of it. FM3 is what I like to call a "Lego mecha game", where a majority of your time is spent swapping parts, refining a team of giant robots and sending them into battle. It falls into the Strategic RPG genre, in that its turned-based and set on a grid, while have role playing mechanics. Such things aren't hugely common these days, and certainly weren't back then, either. This example is however noteworthy for not being a licensed game, naming its robots “Wanzers”, and for being made by Squaresoft at the height of their Play Station power. Yes, the Final Fantasy people. This franchise should be absolutely HUGE, but it isn't, due to a lack of localised entries. First impressions after 20 odd years, running on my PS3?

Its not exactly a looker.

Making the obvious allowances for age, FM3 is somewhat uneven when it comes to production values. There's no denying the detail and sense of weight that Wanzers have, with some good CG cutscenes at key points, but its not exactly a performance game engine. The image above makes it look better than it does in motion. Its all about brief exchanges of violence, and uses depressively low res sprites for the map screen. The game was criticised for this at the time, IIRC. I've found myself wishing for a HD remake along the lines of Valkyria Chronicles , because while it isn't actually ugly, it does feel like a awkward transitional step like so many of the early polygonal/CD games of its time. And then you remember Armored Core was out 2 years before this, and Final Fantasy 8 was out in the same year..... Of course FM3 probably wasn't meant to be played on a flatscreen. And there's the cleaned up network version that you can play on a Vita, as well as "aftermarket" options. Strategy games aren't really about the graphics, of course, and the game is spectacular on its own terms, but uneven is uneven. Another area where the game has aged poorly is its Internet section, which provides some distractions from the meat of the experience, as well as world building. Sadly, it runs at the speed of dail-up, and doesn't really offer much incentive to keep coming back.

Anyway, despite subjective complaints about presentation, the actual combat system is a pleasing solid one, the kind where simple but elegant concepts get layered atop each other. You can simply just power through the violence like you would with a Final Fantasy, by grinding and simply buying shinier kit, but that's not really clever long term. You need to pay some attention, and experimentation is encouraged. Here's some of the things you need to consider.

1) Wanzers move and attack based on Action Points, which are also used in the enemy turn for defence and counterattack. You therefore have to strike a balance between offence, defence, and positioning.

2) Weapons have differing ranges and AP costs, as well as one of three damage types which a Wanzer could get bonuses against. So, you need the right weapon in the right place.

3) Furthermore, Wanzers have 5 distinct health bars, only one of which being fatal, while weapons alternate between a single big hit or a spray. Again, you need the right weapon in the right place, to wear down, cripple, and finally finish off your target.

4) While having healing items like a common JRPG, these have to be assigned to s specific Wanzer in a dedicated backpack. Certain weapons also have limited ammo, which also have reload items. This will result in design compromises.

5) Punching people is entirely possible due to the high accuracy and low AP cost. Such attacks do however allow the enemy to shoot a Wanzer before it strikes.

6) Finally, Battle Skills break these concepts in various ways, but triggering randomly so you can't rely on them. You can however chain them together for max damage.

I had some immense fun with all that. There's a some some real chunky goodness to all this if you care to look into it. The battles are often scripted, rather than having noteworthy AI, but the game does reward intelligent and adaptive play. I called this a "Lego mecha game" earlier, and that is very much the case. You can and should rebuild your Wanzers as you go, trying to optimise your designs and unlock new skills. However, if you want a character to keep their original Wanzer, you can do that too. Components can be upgradef multiple times, characters often having some handy skill in their starting mecha. The worst I can say is that a FAQ might be useful, because the game obscures that sort of information. Here's a video of what you are in for.

I've talked mainly about combat and how its presented so far, but there is in fact a story. Two of them. FM3 benefits from 2 lengthy narrative campaigns, each being the thick end of 40 hours. Which one you get is based on an innocuous choice, which sees characters switching roles, quite dramatically in some cases, but the broad-strokes remain the same. What starts as an espionage thriller, sees the cast flee Japan, becoming catspaws for a rival superpower, getting involved with a civil war in future-China, before returning to Japan to take on the Real antagonists. There's a lot of realpolitik going on, and there's enough meat to keep you interested, although I regret that its not really possible to go into the full merits here. The unfortunate thing is that this is relayed entirely through cutscences, not gameplay. Its a wall of text, something which I suspect console gamers of the time didn't welcome. Indeed, it's easy to go on autopilot with these sections, and maybe miss a few of the meaningful choices you can make. I did, completely missing one character for 20 odd years. Characters can also blur together after a while, going out of focus as the narrative forgets about them for a bit. There's no actual mechanical difference between them, as skills are based entirely on Wanzer parts, which can be a strength, but if you're gonna have this much freedom, you may as well allow full character creation. Either that, or give characters something unique to hang a hat on. That having been said, the narrative is never less than engaging, and while I like the gameplay more, seeing where the plot would go had its pull.

Conclusion

Front Mission 3 is very good at what it chooses to focus on, but it hasn't aged gracefully. A lot of the complaint s I make boil down to genre convention; you don't buy a game such as this for graphics, you buy it for the turned based combat. That's got a very specific appeal, and while the game makes efforts to present things well, those efforts were not treated well by time. Its not a game that' you'd use to convert someone to a genre, is you get my meaning? Fortunately, the actual gameplay has held up extremely well, and the story holds your attention. If you can get past its dated graphics and you're onboard with giant robots, give it a try. And then wonder where that month went.

Orks in 8th Edition: Command Points & Stratagems

OK, I said that I might write a bit about the newish Ork codex, and here we are. MUCH LATER. Let's start with one of the big ones, Command Points & Stratagems. I must confess I'm a late comer to this entire concept, Orks having extremely limited options until the new book. For the unfamiliar, Command Points (CP) are a resource generated by building your army in a specific way, which can be spent on special rules, Stratagems. Think of them as a hand of cards you can play(1), interrupting the normal turn sequence to affect the game. Orks can do rather well out of Stratagems, because our low cost units can enable a lot of them, granting flexibility to your forces. I'm not going to do a blow-by-blow of those available to Orks, these are fairly self-explanatory, but I will talk about a few highlights and how best to get them. 

The Basic Idea

The stratagem holy trinity is probably Teleportas, Ramming Speed, and Unstoppable Greentide. Basically everything choppy benefits from being teleported in, but it's a gorksend for your Deff Dreads and walkers. This has synergy with Ramming Speed, which can make the teleported vehicle a nasty surprise for people, as well of being handy for the new Speed Freek units. These two allow for what every ork force ultimately wants to do, getting in your opponent's face on your terms. Factor in Da Jump, and you can get a metric ton of stuff in the enemy deployment on turn 2, and this is where Unstoppable Greentide comes in. Not only do you get models back for free, you can redeploy the unit. While it is extremely predictable, a typical Battle Forged Ork force will start with these three stratagems in mind. However, you need CP from somewhere, and a lot of people start with something like this:

HQ

Weirdboy with Da Jump

Weirdboy with Fists of Gork

Troops

10 Gretchin

10 more Gretchin

Another 10 Gretchin

This basic battalion is and easy plug in for an existing force with an infantry element, and is a decent example of how to work more Command Points into your force. It only costs 214 points, grants 5 CP, and while grots are famously crap at actual fighting, even they have a use. The Grot Shields Stratagem allows them to protect other infantry like the famously bullet-prone Lootas, and if not, they can do the boring stuff like hold objectives. The Weirdboyz are also inexpensive, and bring two useful powers, and can Smite stuff in the absence of better ideas. This battalion is obviously not self-contained, and would require there to be a big unit of Boyz or similar to work properly, but it really wouldn't be difficult to add one, and then do exactly what you want with the rest of your points. Alternatively, a more self-reliant battalion might look like this:

HQ

Weirdboy with Da Jump

Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun

Troops

30 Shoota Boyz, including a Nob with a Big Choppa

10 Shoota Boyz, including a Nob with a Big Choppa

10 Gretchin

This battalion is about footslogging and doing unglamorous jobs like supporting fire and holding objectives. There are two Stratagems you can use here, the aforementioned Unstoppable Greentide, and Mob Up. These are mutually exclusive, so don't mix them up, but using Mob Up to nail two units together and then jumping them somewhere is well-worth considering. Remember Ork units usually work best as big as possible. That said, clan kulture starts to make its presence felt here, requiring some tweaking. Goffs would definitely want to go the Skarboy route here, for example.

Going Further

OK, so you got a battalion, do you need more that? Possibly. Going for 2 battalions gives pretty much all the slots you'd need at under 2000 points and 10 CP, assuming you don't mind taking the mandatory Troop units and HQ. I come from the school that believes ork armies should have at least a hundred models in them, so I don't. This may not however be the case. One thing that tends to turn up a lot in the discourse is the idea of small formations of differing clans, maximising their speciality. Badmoons or Freebooters would like the Spearhead detachment, Evil Sunz would like Outriders, and so on. These do suffer from fairly minimal CP, so variants of the grot battalion seem more popular. Alternatively, if you are a clan purist(2), there's always the brigade. This grants more CP than 2 battalions, and requires one less HQ, but asks that you take a lot of everything. Fulfilling that requirement is tricky, but there is an inexpensive unit for each slot. Unfortunately, Orks don't do the whole “Multiple Small Unit” thing very well(3), so this really isn't sensible below 2000 points. Here's an example of what people are trying.

Bad Moons Battalion

HQ

Weirdboy with Da Jump

Weirdboy with Fists of Gork

Troops

10 Gretchin

10 more Gretchin

Another 10 Gretchin

Heavy Support

15 Lootas

10 Lootas

This is a culmination of what we've talked about so far. You Mob up the 2 Lootas, have them shoot, and them use the Bad Moon specific stratagem “Show-Offs” to make them fire again. Tactical Rerolls and More Dakka also have applications here, to maximise the Dethguns, and Grotshield will protect them from the inevitable attempts at revenge. Of course, this eats CP like me at an all-you-can-eat buffet, which is another reason why this is a battalion.

Wrapping Things Up

This concludes our brief look at the matter of Ork Stratagems. TL;DR try to have as many as possible.

Foot notes

1. Literally, in that you can buy them as cards.
2. Dodgy wording alert!
3. Possibly Deathskulls, but its a push.