City (Front Mission 1)#

City is where battle preparation happen. Although sometimes you stop in a camp, but camps are effectively cities for the game.

In a city you can get directions and information for your next mission, socialize and prepare for battle, save/load a game, or exit a city and move elsewhere.

Shop#

Here you can buy parts, weapons, items and optionally equip them right in the shop. The owner may also have vital information about the game’s progress.

The shop gradually releases newer and better parts as the game progresses. Don’t throw your money on tiny upgrades. Wait til you have significant upgrades in shop. Except you may want to keep some weak weapons for trunk exp farming or boost your odds in the colosseum.

Military office#

Here you receive orders and briefings for the battle and gain intelligence to the enemy. Check the boss data and adjust your setup accordingly. Getting orders is the main way to unlock new battlefields or towns you can move to.

Know your enemy:

  • Named pilots and Commanders: delay fighting with them if you can. Once engaged, focus fire.

  • Attackers (Melee): Even in late game and in enemy phrase they can be still be disarmed without incident even when attacked if you have the Short Skills. But if left unchecked can do some serious harm if your units become stunned.

  • Attackers (Short): Due to the imbalance of Short skills, they can do serious damage in late game. However you can still disarm them like Melee counterpart in the player phrase.

  • Missileers : Due to their range they can focus on your weakest unit (the supply truck that is). Take them out with your close range attackers (they suck at close range).

  • Tanks and carriers. They are not much of a threat. Use them to farm Agility exp and do truck exp farming.

Bar#

Here you talk to people, sometimes you can recruit a pilot here.

Colosseum#

Here you fight for money. You can also lose money, however, if you are not careful (or unwilling to save/load).

Having one Dual or Guide skill can probably get you a win. You can remove unnecessary weapons (e.g. if you don’t need Switch to win, drop a grip weapon) and downgrade parts to boost your payout odds.

As skills level up by activation, you can use colosseum fights to level up skills.

Certain pilots are recruited here after a fight.

  • Front Mission 1st: Remake: exp increased

Status#

Here you check out your current lineup

Setup#

Here you customize your wanzers. This is probably a time consuming process. The commands are almost identical to the shop, except you can only equip things you bought or found in a battle.

Your wanzer is powered by an engine in its body, so the total weight you carry can not exceed that. The setup window displays a W/P ratio, and if you exceed 100%, you will receive a warning. If you leave W/P ration very low, however, you will get some movement bonus.

Melee weapons are usually light (you can even do without those, just use the integrated weapons from the arm. Short weapons are of medium weight. Long weapons are the heaviest.

You can equip backpacks to expand your item storage. However if you remove your backpack or switch to a mobile weapon that does not allow backpack the items somehow stays on you. You can equip more items than your backpack/wanzers allows this way.

How you setup your wanzer depends on the pilot.

  • Tank/Melee units. Prioritize movement and defense. Keep weight/power ration low. Can be mass trained in some platform ports with the help of a secret weapon. Equip a Shield on shoulder. Movement is essential if the wanzer carries Riff.

  • Short units. Can be mass trained due to a secret weapon. Best defensive arm. Machine guns in both grips. Prioritize Hp for body.

  • Long units. They won’t receive counterattacks. You can prioritize output for body and Hit for arm. Due to Short being overpowered, most of them can use Short builds as well, except you need more engine output for the extra weight. You can even equip a Bazooka or Grenade Launcher on one Arm if you don’t feel like running back to your supply truck.

  • Due to every pilot can learn Switch or Double and you need the same type of weapon in both hands to level up those skills, do not mix short and long weapons like those setups you get from the beginning of the game.

The rating of the finished wanzer will decide the colosseum odds.

Save/Load#

Here you can save or load your game progress. Save often.

Exit#

When you leave town, the map will switch to the overall map of the island. Use the arrow keys to select your next destination and press the A button to confirm and move there.

After moving, a “Selection window” may appear. Select “Into Point” to enter another city, or select “Move” and press the A-point to move to another destination.

Even when your default destination is a battlefield (back to back battles happens), you might want to check if you need to come back to a city for save/load, regroup, or go for secret missions in some platform ports.

If you enter a battlefield, you wll be asked to deploy your units.