History VideoGame / FrontMission

* ''Front Mission Evolved'' (2010, [=PS3=]/Xbox 360/PC) - Third person shooter spinoff by Double Helix, taking place long after all other games.

* AceCustom: ''5'' allows you to upgrade your wanzer parts, which enables them to change into other types if they reach a certain level. Also, since you can mix-and-match any wanzer part as long as they fulfill energy and weight requirements, it's easy to make plenty of these. Bosses tend to show up in [[SuperPrototype souped-up wanzers]] too.
** ''5'' also lets players recreate some of the Ace Customs from previous games, albeit not perfectly, such as the Raven and Gepard, through mix-and-matching and Survival Simulator grinding.

** With the exception of [[TheHero Walter Feng]], ''5'''s pilot management system makes it possible to assemble an all-girl squad.

* AwesomeButImpractical: ''5'' gives us weapons that allow users to attack three times in one round. Sounds sweet... until you realize how horrendous their accuracies are. About the only ones worth using are the melee weapons, since they're actually stronger in terms of raw power.

** The Silver Lynxes (''1st'') are pretty awesome. See the SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome page for some details.
** In ''5'' we have the [[SemperFi Strike Wyverns]] and ''especially'' the [[NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast Barghest]].

** ''5'': [[spoiler: [[BigBad Morgan Bernard]] is (supposedly) gone, but Walter has lost two of his childhood best friends. He was happily married to [[LoveInterests Lynn]]... before she died from S-Type device complications. Also, the miniaturized MIDAS was stolen, which kickstarts ''3'']].

* CallBack: [[TheDragon Glen Duval]] [[spoiler: disables Lynn Wenright's wanzer in Cambodia using a specialized EMP grenade designed to combat S-Type users]]. [[TheHero Walter Feng]] returns the favor, [[spoiler: years later, when they [[FinalBattle meet again in Alaska]]]].

* TheCavalryArrivesLate: Happens in ''5''. Late reinforcements during the Cambodian base defense mission lead to [[spoiler: Walter Feng TakingTheBullet for [[LoveInterests Lynn Wenright]] and nearly dying from it]].

* CoolShip: The ''Eclipse'', hull number CVN-112, in ''5''. While it's designated as an aircraft carrier and is seen launching fighters, the ''Eclipse'' functions closer to a larger cousin of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp_class_amphibious_assault_ship Wasp-class amphibious assault ship]].

* CustomUniform: Seen in ''5''; unlike regular USN pilots, who wear tan or olive drab flightsuits, [[EliteArmy Strike Wyverns]] and [[NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast Barghest]] pilots wear gray and black flightsuits respectively.

** In ''5'', the [[NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast Barghest]]'s camouflage scheme is pitch black with dark gray trimming. Their flightsuits are black, and they are named after a black demonic dog in British myths, but they are [[HeWhoFightsMonsters decent soldiers who fight terrorists]].

* EarnYourHappyEnding: The games' endings all involve ''lots'' of turmoils for the protagonists.
** [[spoiler: ''5'']] subverts this in a big way. [[spoiler: [[TheBadGuyWins Morgan Bernard wins]] every time protagonists in previous entries win, because the latter (unintentionally) help humiliate the globalists and spread nationalism, which Morgan Bernard is trying to do.]] For instance, [[spoiler: although [[TheHero Ash Faruk]] (''2'') is probably glad that his home country gains independence, the incident also topples the OCU's already shaky popularity among its member states. This leads to the union's near-collapse by the time of ''3''. Dr. Bernard [[NiceJobBreakingItHero couldn't be more pleased with the result]]]].

* {{Expy}}: The Barghest in ''5'' is quite explicitly tailored as an obvious Expy to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Force Delta Force]], from the counter-terrorism focus, to their designation (Special Forces Armored Detachment-Barghest vs Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta), to both teams belonging to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Special_Operations_Command SOCOM]].

** The characters in ''5'' [[DownplayedTrope loosely]] form one:
*** TheHero: Walter Feng.
*** TheLancer: Randy, Edward and Hector take turn being this.
*** TeamDad and BigGood: Hector Reynolds.
*** TeamMom: Lynn Wenright.
*** [[spoiler: [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Gal]]: Emir "Emma" Klamsky. AGAIN.]]
*** TheBigGuy: Edward Collins.
*** TheChick: Randy O'Neill. He's sympathetic, and [[spoiler: his death serves as a key motivating factor for Walter to decide to train to join the Strike Wyverns.]]

* FriendlyFireproof:
** Averted in ''5''. Friendly fire is present and can kill your team as easily as it does your enemies, so careful positioning is a must. Players must learn to position their units to minimize friendly fire risk while maximizing friendly fire on the part of enemies.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barghest Barghest]] in ''5''; from British folklore, the Barghest is a black demonic dog, ala Hound of the Baskervilles.

** The Cambodia arcs in ''5'' has similarities with ''2''. [[spoiler: Even though the USN succeeds in their goal of keeping the peace between the country and the OCU, their victory also unintentionally ensures the independence of Cambodia. The independent Cambodia is no improvement over the OCU Cambodia as social and economic problems persists. And, like in Alordesh, there are cases of heavy terrorist and black market activities [[TheBadGuyWins controlled by the Grimnir]]. This also starts a chain reaction which leads to the various revolutions within the OCU, as shown in ''2'' and ''3''.]]
** Also, while ''5'' closes with [[spoiler: most of the [[WesternTerrorists Grimnir]] eradicated and [[BigBad Morgan Bernard]] gone at last, Dr. Bernard has succeeded in his attempt to destroy the original [[WeaponOfMassDestruction MIDAS]] (luckily, Emma drops its power output to the lowest levels, so Alaska isn't vaporized by the antimatter). Also, the JDF steals MIDAS (the portable one powered by radiation) in the midst of the chaos, which sets up the events of ''3'' to come months later. The events from ''3'' eventually result in the OCU almost breaking apart, [[TheBadGuyWins which is also one of Morgan's goals]].]]

* TakingYouWithMe: Survival Simulator enemies in ''5'' have a tendency to do this by shooting cargo boxes next to the player. The resulting explosion is often large enough to kill both units.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Lampshaded by Dr. Morgan Bernard in ''5''.
--> "Aren't you grateful to me? I could have shot you two or three times by now! Do continue talking after you die."
* ATasteOfPower: Variation. You can get some parts/weapons earlier than you could normally buy them. The Egret from Mission 3 in ''1st'' is the most obvious. (Unfortunately, these parts are usually outclassed within a few short missions.)
** Just before the Cambodia arc in ''5'', Walter Feng participates in a joint counter terror op with the Barghest; players get a taste of the high-leveled parts and S-Type pilots awaiting them.

** ''5'' covers ''51'' years worth of story. Most of the time skips happen right when other Front Mission titles are taking place. i.e., 2095 to 2097 (''4'' takes place in 2096), 2098 to 2109 (''2'' takes place in 2102), and so on.

* TrainingMontage: Walter Feng goes through one in ''5'' during Strike Wyverns selection training.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: ''Gun Hazard'' has TWO; see the entry for details.
** In ''5'', the final missions take place [[spoiler: inside the reactor holding the original MIDAS in Alaska.]]

** In ''5'', Walter's story takes him all around the world - from Huffman Island to Kiribati, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Brazil, Peru, and Alaska.

** In the first Cambodia arc of ''5,'' the [[SemperFi Strike Wyverns]] are on a mission to recapture and defend an OCU border defense base against Cambodian insurgents, [[spoiler: who overwhelm the OCU forces thanks to support from the Grimnir]], by the Cambodia-Vietnam border. After defeating several waves of wanzers and a giant tank-helicopter hybrid (whose ridiculousness is lampshaded by Edward), [[spoiler: Morgan and Glen show up, leading to Walter TakingTheBullet for Lynn]].

* ''VideoGame/FrontMission2'' (1997, [=PS1=]) - A direct sequel to ''Front Mission''.

** ''4'' brings us the Durandal, who [[BadassBookworm research military uses of wanzers]], and use their knowledge to [[spoiler: stop a world war]]; and [[LaResistance La Alianza de Libertad Venezolana]], who, despite subpar equipment, manage to force [[spoiler: Zaftrans]] to retreat from Venezuela.
** Lastly, in ''5'' we have the [[SemperFi Strike Wyverns]] and ''especially'' the [[NameToRunAwayFromReallyFast Barghest]].

** Elsa Eliane from ''4''. Over the course of the EC crisis, she increasingly shows signs of this. After the crisis ends, [[spoiler: she mentally cracks and couldn't stay on the Durandal. She ends up addicted to antidepressants. Thankfully, [[ThePowerOfLove her meeting with Darril]] helps]].
** Darril Traubel from ''4''. Though his departure from Port Cumana seemed rather sweet, the other media show that [[spoiler: after fixing the mess with him going AWOL in the USN Army, Darril has a hard time readjusting to civilian life. He ends up blowing most of his cash on alcohol and struggles to find a reason to keep going. It is only when Elsa asks to [[ThePowerOfLove meet him in-person]] that his life starts to change for the better]].

** Rocket-shaped verniers in ''4''.

** Also inverted in ''4''. [[spoiler: The antagonistic Zaftran forces]] have a black color scheme.

** In ''4'''s Durandal campaign, we have the following group:
*** [[TheHero The Heroine]]: Elsa Eliane.
*** TheLancer: Dieter Borsh.
*** TeamDad and TheFace: Zead Elger.
*** TheSmartGuy: Hermes Sturges.
*** [[TheBigGuy The Big Gal]]: Latona Rodiona Vasilev.
*** TheChick: Beck Canova, a former pro soccer player. What's he doing here, exactly?
*** BigGood: [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Prime Minister Lionel Noland]] and [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Vice Minister Allison]].
** As for the [[LaResistance La Alianza de Libertad Venezolana]]:
*** TheHero and TheLancer: Interestingly, Darril Traubel and Luis Perez trade off on these two roles. From the perspective of Darril and his buddies, Darril is TheHero, since he's the one leading them towards their hidden goal - [[spoiler: To escape from Venezuela with Diaz's gold.]] From the La Alianza's point of view, however, Darril is TheLancer to Luiz's TheHero, because the former is (supposedly) there to support the latter in combat.
*** TeamDad: Carl Thammond. He doubles as TheBigGuy, due to his rich military experience. He's also TheSixthRanger, for his joining the group is somewhat of a surprise factor.
*** TheSmartGuy: Billy Renges.
*** TheChick: Ines Torres.
*** [[TagAlongKid Tag Along Kids]]: Phillip Chaeffer is this. Noticeably younger than the main character? Check. Inexperienced? Check. His inexperience causing troubles? Check. And also [[TheLoad Elmo]].
*** BigGood: [[spoiler: Maria Paredes,]] in a way.

* FriendlyFireproof: Played straight in ''4''.

* GuideDangIt:
** In ''4'', there are missions which have secondary objectives and will reward you with nice stuff if they are completed. The problem is that some of them are hard and chances are that you will miss most of them on the first run through the game. Speaking to certain people during the intermissions can also get you some additional gear.

* JokeCharacter: Linny Barilar forces himself onto your team fairly late in Emma's campaign in ''3''. He is trying to make a name for himself and his family, with a methane-powered wanzer. It makes sense since he comes from an agricultural background, but [[NauseaFuel using animal waste to power wanzers]] does not go unnoticed by the other team members.
** In terms of gameplay, he only has a C rank for missile launchers and... nothing else.

* MildlyMilitary: The Durandal in ''4''. Although most of them are on secondment from their national militaries, the group is fairly laid back. But if you think that makes them less dangerous, perhaps you should [[BadassCrew think again]].

* MultinationalTeam: The IMAC in ''Alternative'' is made of members from various OAC states and the OCU. Also, the Durandal in ''4'' has members from the EC, the USN, and Zaftra.

** The 332nd Mobile Company group from ''4'' is made of two veteran soldiers embittered by their dead-end careers and a {{Manchild}} with a habit of exposing their whereabouts to enemies.

** ''4'': [[spoiler: The Zaftran conspiracy to destroy the resource base in Poland and start a war between the [=EC=] and [=UCS=] would've been busted a long time ago if someone had the brilliant idea to use Video Cameras to record footage of the "mysterious" attackers.]]

** In ''4'', the Durandal travels across the UK, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Zaftra (Russia), Ukraine, Portugal, and France.

* ''VideoGame/FrontMission2'''' (1997, [=PS1=]) - A direct sequel to ''Front Mission''.

* ''VideoGame/FrontMission2'' (1997, [=PS1=]) - A direct sequel to ''Front Mission''.

** The unified Burg Transportation force (''2'') consists of the Muddy Otters, Dull Stags, and OCU GDFIA 2nd Division. Yeah, this group [[spoiler: fights [[BaseOnWheels mobile fortresses]] ''twice'' and saves Alordesh from being blown up by nuclear missiles]].

** ''2'': The People's Republic of Alordesh [[spoiler: has earned the independence its people hunger for]], but [[spoiler: thousands of Alordeshi civilians and soldiers [[WarIsHell had to pay for it with their lives]]]]. As in the case of the crows, [[spoiler: the OCU is now hunting down Ash and his buddies, for having played a vital part in foiling the plan to test the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction FENRIR]]]].

** [[spoiler: Use a civil war as the cover for testing a WeaponOfMassDestruction on a poor fellow nation, when the said fellow nation stops being economically exploitable, of course (''2'')]].

** Somewhat justified in that the crows are [[HiredGuns mercenaries]], so Royd can take whoever he likes, and to fight someone is a reasonable method to test if he's good enough for your team.
** In ''2'', you can recruit up to three teams of mercenaries as hired help for a certain mission if you can beat them in a team match at the Bornea arena. This, too, is entirely optional.

* FailsafeFailure: The ejection seats in ''3'' are ridiculously faulty. It is not that they don't work when the pilot is about to experience a fiery death, but are in fact ''way'' too prone to ejecting pilots from their wanzers after their machine gets shaken a bit too much. Being flung out of your wanzer with nothing but a worthless handgun seems almost random at times.

* KillSat: In ''2'', we have [[spoiler: a satellite equipped with the FENRIR]], in ''Gun Hazard'' we have [[spoiler: ATLAS]] and in ''Evolved'' we have [[spoiler: Vritra]].

* LethalJokeCharacter: Don't forget about [[spoiler: the Iyana Wanzer]] from ''2''. Sure, it [[spoiler: looks goofy and carries a parrot-shaped missile launcher,]] but judging from its in-game stats, it is on par with [[spoiler: the '''[[TheDreaded RAVEN]]'''.]]

** In ''2'', [[spoiler:Ash Faruk and company face off against Domingo Kyatt and his Dark Geese aboard the LSHD-4 Monto. This battle is much easier than the actual final battle, which involves taking down the Bismillah and its lackeys and then deactivating the FENRIR back at the secret Intergehen factory.]]

* PrecisionFStrike: "Why are you such a bitch?" in ''3''. Funny because it's random.

** In the ending of ''2'', [[spoiler: Burg Transportation stops the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction FENRIR]] and secures enough evidence of the OCU's political machinations, with some [[NiceJobFixingItVillain indirect help from the Grimnir]], to guarantee Alordesh's freedom. However, Alordesh being independent from the OCU isn't exactly a win. As shown in ''3'' and ''5'', all those economic and social problems actually ''worsen'' since the country achieves its independence years later, not to mention there are also cases of terrorism and violent infighting going on in the country. Alordesh isn't that much better off with the OCU, but at least the union kept a lid on the violence.]]

** The Dulls Stags (''2'') are apparently involved in lots of black market activities and have a habit of backstabbing, [[spoiler: as [[TheHero Lisa Stanley]] and her buddies find out the hard way.]]

** ''Front Mission 2'' has the Muddy Otters, Dull Stags, and the Dark Geese

->''"Desire spawns Madness."''
->''"Madness collapses into Disaster."''
->''"[[HumansAreBastards Mankind Never Learns.]]"''
-->-- '''Opening text of ''Front Mission 3'''''

* ArtificialHuman: [[spoiler: The Real and Imaginary Numbers in ''3'']].

** 3 has the missiler Salvo skill. When triggered, the pilot fires all the missles they have left in their rocket launcher. On one hand, its really cool looking and powerful. On the other, you have no more missles left unless you have spare rockets in your backpack. And the skill activates at random, which means it could trigger on a wanzer that is already about to die.

** Kazuki's TrueCompanions (''3'') eventually grows into this over the course of their stories. Both campaigns, no less.

** Emma's campaign in ''3'': Kazuki Takemura manages to [[spoiler: stop [[BigBad Lukav Minaev]]'s plan, but his father [[HeroicSacrifice Isao was killed]] and [[HeroicSacrifice Alisa]] stayed behind to get rid of the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction MIDAS]] for good. At least he, along with the rest of the gang, arrive at the USN Assembly Building in time to tell the truth of the MIDAS incident to the whole world...]].

** Shields, ''especially'' in ''3''.

*** They are so effective in ''3'', that on gaming message boards, the oft-suggested build for most pilots, is their weapon they are the best at and a shield. The only exception to this is [[TheHero Kazuki]], given his Hybrid Assault focus on shotgun and melee, and even then, a shield paired with a shotgun or melee weapon isn't out of the question for him.

** ''3'' takes this a step further with battle skills that allow pilots to attack an enemy en masse.

** [[spoiler: Fight for the copy of another WeaponOfMassDestruction and, to prevent the other party from obtaining it, detonate the said copy in a densely populated area, killing millions of civilians (''3'')]].

** In ''3'', Jose Astrada at the finale of the Taal Naval Base arc: [[spoiler: He [[TheWorfEffect wipes the floor with the mighty Purple Haze]] before you fights him and... you can kill him in a turn once the cutscene ends]].

** Inverted again in ''3'', where [[spoiler: the JDF Special Force]] sport darkly colored wanzers.

** In ''3'', there is one example of this. Depending on the path you take for the mission to save Alisa in Emma's path, you recruit Jose after defeating him in battle. However, on a different path in the mission, he just dies and you recruit someone else later.

** In ''3'', Kazuki's TrueCompanions are eventually [[spoiler: working with either a DHZ intelligence agent or the FAI.]]

** In Emma's campaign of ''3'':
*** TheHero: Kazuki Takemura.
*** TheLancer: Ryogo Kusama.
*** TheChick: Alisa [[spoiler: Klamsky.]]
*** TeamDad: Dennis Vicarth.
*** [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Gals]]: Emir "Emma" Klamsky, and the {{Hackette}} Yun Lai Fa.
*** TheBigGuy: Marcus Allen.
*** TheSixthRanger: Either [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn Jose Astrada]]]] or Li Xiang Mei, depending on [[spoiler: your choice.]]
*** BigGood: [[spoiler: Isao Takemura, much to Kazuki's dismay.]]
*** TeamPet: [[spoiler: [[JokeCharacter Linny Barilar]].]] Nobody really knows what he's supposed to be doing.
** In Alisa's campaign of ''3'':
*** TheHero: Kazuki Takemura.
*** TheLancer: Ryogo Kusama.
*** TheChick: Alisa [[spoiler: Klamsky,]] also (occasionally) [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Gal]].
*** TeamDad: Liu Hei Fong.
*** [[TheSmartGuy The Smart Gal]]: Miho Shinjo.
*** [[TheBigGuy The Big Gal]]: Pham Luis. BIG TIME.
*** [[TheSixthRanger The Sixth Rangers]]: [[spoiler: [[HeelFaceTurn Lan Xiao Hua]]]] and [[spoiler: [[FemmeFataleSpy Mayer Edward]].]]
*** BigGood: [[spoiler: Isao Takemura again.]]

* ForWantOfANail: In ''3''... the fates of a ''lot'' of people are effectively determined by a rather simple choice made very early in the story. It is, in many cases, literally life-and-death.
** Happens again in ''5'' but [[DownplayedTrope downplayed]]. Apparently, whether two unnamed soldiers get to survive or be blown into bits by a wanzer's bazooka rests on how Walter Feng and his crew enters Ya Dav.

** In ''3'', a new weapon class called "Beam" exists for energy-based weapons which happen to be the most powerful, since there is no defense against them. There are only a few Beam class weapons, and the player has access to [[InfinityPlusOneSword one]].
*** It is possible to use an enemy unit's Beam weapon if you hijack it...

* GuideDangIt: In ''3'', most guides include how to get [[spoiler: the Hoshun Mk. 112]]... not so much on ThatOneLevel in Alisa's campaign, where, like all missions, you have [[ArbitraryHeadcountLimit four people]], but you ''must'' have Ryogo on foot (which makes him squishier than Twinkies), and only three wanzers against a '''full''' complement of squads. And Ryogo *has* to go ahead, activate a panel, and then come back. If he bites it, game over.
** The secret is actually simple. [[spoiler: Just go to the Network and download a map of the Sewer area beforehand. Also, in both scenarios, you can buy the image-enhancing software. Use it on the map and you can go through the map normally with four units.]]
** In the PSN version of 3, [[spoiler: simply downloading the map will let you use all four wanzers, and the location and password of the map is given in an e-mail a few missions beforehand.]]
** This is required to recruit [[spoiler: [[PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo Darril Traubel]]]] in ''5''.

* LaResistance: The creation of the People's Republic of Da Han Zhong led to the rise of an internal resistance faction called the Hua Lian Rebels which is equipped and financed by the [=USN=]. Although under-equipped and outnumbered by the Changli Army, the Hua Lian Rebels seek to put an end to Jie Bo Lao's Dictatorship at any cost.

* LethalJokeCharacter: Those attack helicopters in ''3''. When you hijack them with your long-range combat specialists, HilarityEnsues.
** [[DontExplainTheJoke To note]]: Helicopters have TWO built-in missile launchers... Expect MacrossMissileMassacre before you return to your wanzer.
** Don't forget about [[spoiler: the Iyana Wanzer]] from ''2''. Sure, it [[spoiler: looks goofy and carries a parrot-shaped missile launcher,]] but judging from its in-game stats, it is on par with [[spoiler: the '''[[TheDreaded RAVEN]]'''.]]

* MindRape: In Alisa's campaign in ''3'', [[spoiler: neither Emma nor Alisa are willing to tell Lukav how to build the [[WeaponOfMassDestruction MIDAS]], so he forcibly extracts the information from Emma, and leaves her little more than an EmptyShell by the time Kazuki and Alisa rescue her.]]

* MyHeroZero: A popular Japanese wanzer type in ''3''.

* OnlyAFleshWound: In ''3''', some of the enemies you encounter are Infantrymen, Tank Drivers, and Wanzer Pilots fighting on foot. The fact that you have to hit them more than once with your Wanzer-sized weapons before they go down really does not make any sense as the various projectiles you're firing at them are between 20mm (Wanzer guns) and 6 Inches (Missile Launchers) in diameter.

** The Changli Army and Rapid Reaction Force in ''3''.

** Also, while ''5'' closes with [[spoiler: most of the [[WesternTerrorists Grimnir]] eradicated and [[BigBad Morgan Bernard]] gone at last, Dr. Bernard has succeeded in his attempt to destroy the original [[WeaponOfMassDestruction MIDAS]] (luckily, Emma drops its power output to the lowest levels, so Alaska isn't vaporized by the antimatter). Also, the JDF steals MIDAS (the portable one powered by radiation) in the midst of the chaos, which sets up the events of ''3'' to come months later. The events from ''3'' eventually result in the OCU breaking apart, [[TheBadGuyWins which is also one of Morgan's goals]].]]

* SequenceBreaking: A minor, yet comedic, example in ''3''. If you happen to download the Nagoya Sewers map before you discover the password to download it, Kazuki questions it.
-->'''Kazuki''': ''Ryogo, how do you know the password?''
-->'''Ryogo''': ''Wouldn't you like to know?''

** A FAI assault unit in ''3'' is known as the [[Music/JimiHendrix Purple Haze]].

** There's an USN fighter codenamed "[[Film/ANewHope Red 5]]" in ''3''.
** In ''3'', searching the USN network of the internet will reveal some information about a convicted killer named ''Norman Bates''. Further research reveals that Norman Bates [[spoiler: is a failed [[ArtificialHuman Imaginary Number]].]]
** Also in ''3'', the name of the pseudo-Internet, ''Tenmou'', literally translates as [[{{Franchise/Terminator}} Skynet]].

* SphereOfDestruction: [[spoiler: The [=MIDAS=] in ''3''.]]

** Kazuki and Ryogo start off ''3'' testing out the Shunyo Mk. 111, a top-tier Gunner wanzer that you can't get until late game.

** In Emma's story in ''3'', there are two noticeable time skips towards the end. One happens [[spoiler: right after the MIDAS vaporizes the Ocean City, when Kazuki and co. head to the USN assembly to expose the truth about the incident.]] The other one happens in the epilogue, which takes place a year after the story ends in 2113.

* WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture: Averted. In ''3'', there are the downloadable Picaresque and Kaleidoscope software, whose functions are to reveal the hidden layers of picture files and magnify them with perfect quality.
** Played straight in ''Evolved'', though.

** In ''3'', you'll travel to Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, and China (Da Han Zhong).

* AttackDrone: ''Gun Hazard'' has "Wireless Gunpod" weapons. The [[spoiler: "Save the Queen" laser drones used by the [[SuperSoldier Strike Eagles]]]] in ''Dog Life & Dog Style'' also count.

** ''Gun Hazard'' also graces us with worthy contenders for the title, notably Colonel Ark Hellbrand and Bishop the Berserker.

* {{BFG}}: Intermittently played straight in ''Gun Hazard''. Your most likely candidates in the core games include missile sites, aerial bombardments and other called-from-offscreen or [[CutscenePowerToTheMax cutscene-restricted]] displays of conventional military firepower.
** Played straight to a somewhat ridiculous level with ''Evolved'''s bazooka weaponry. It resembles nothing so much as an enormous sewer pipe with a grip, and has the ability to destroy anyone unfortunate enough to be at the open end. Naturally, the more dangerous enemy units tend to carry it.

* CoolShip: Moreso in ''Gun Hazard'' than the mainline games, though some military helicopters and planes in the mainline could count.
** The ''Eclipse'', hull number CVN-112, in ''5''. While it's designated as an aircraft carrier and is seen launching fighters, the ''Eclipse'' functions closer to a larger cousin of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasp_class_amphibious_assault_ship Wasp-class amphibious assault ship]].

* CriticalAnnoyance: The one in ''Gun Hazard'' is known for being one of the few you can turn off.

** ''Gun Hazard'' does this with infinite vernier power for two aerial missions, and infinite dash for a few missions... although the later roller dash units can pretty much go on forever anyway.

* ForSCIENCE: ''Gun Hazard'''s Dr. Akihito Sakata uses this as his motive for joining the good guys. Mostly because he wants to find weapons to test his shield against, although in the ''Gun Hazard'' radio drama, the scientist says he was moved by Albert Grabner's plea for help.

** In ''Gun Hazard'', you can use laser rifles that fire a thin or medium-length beam, depending on what you buy. The Spark Shot special weapon fires a homing-type laser, too. Enemy units have a wider variety of laser weapons to play with. There is also [[spoiler: the ATLAS orbital elevator's main beam cannon, which is powerful enough to [[CessationOfExistence erase towns from existence]].]]

* GondorCallsForAid: In the finale of ''Gun Hazard'', [[spoiler: during the assault on ATLAS, almost all of the supporting cast you've worked with before in the other areas. Richard Millman from the Kernelight Association seems to head things up, with a posse of mercs who take out the AA defenses so you can make your assault. Pretty much every one of Albert Grabner's former contractors also makes an appearance there.]]

* TheGrimReaper: The Preatorian's motif in ''Gun Hazard'' and he plays it rather well, making use of YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe to communicate, piloting the reaper-like Edel Ritter wanzer and [[spoiler: killing "The Society" superiors like Jose, who have]] [[YouHaveFailedMe failed the organization]]. His only mistake is not wielding a scythe as a weapon but a giant rod with a iron ball on the top.

* Creator/MasashiHamauzu: Composed part of the music for ''Gun Hazard''.

* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Moss Orwen of ''Gun Hazard'' is a badass President who is willing to give it all away if that's what it takes to save his country.

** In the Emma scenario of ''3'', [[spoiler:Kazuki Takemura and company face off against some USN police wanzers as they try to break through the convention center in order to expose the conspiracy behind the MIDAS incident. This comes after the final battle against Lukav Minaev and his lackeys back at Ocean City in Okinawa.]]

* RobotBuddy: An EasterEgg in ''Gun Hazard''.

* TheSyndicate: [[spoiler: "The Society" led by [[BigBad Henry Sherwood]] from ''Gun Hazard''. A cabal of powerful and influential Europeans dedicated towards bringing about a "New World Order", starting conflicts to weaken national governments and make them ripe for control. After bringing them to control, The Society would then bring about "peace" in the war-torn region. In the expanded universe media, it is revealed that the organization was formed by the architects of the "ATLAS" orbital elevator after countries involved with the project had abandoned it. Dismayed at how humanity chose to throw away an opporunity for real peace and progress, Henry vowed revenge against the very nations that once supported "ATLAS".]]

* TechnicalPacifist: ''Gun Hazard'''s Dr. Akihito Sakata. Sure, his wanzer does not have any weapons mounted, but that doesn't stop him from blocking a boss's WaveMotionGun using his [[BarrierWarrior Infinity Plus]] [[DeflectorShields One Shield]].

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: ''Gun Hazard'' takes place around 2064 (although this game is not canon). The series storyline starts action in 2034 with about a century of backstory. Neither has progressed far enough for wanzers to completely displace conventional military force.

* WaveMotionGun: The majority of ''Gun Hazard'''s {{BFG}}s are this.

** [[spoiler: Royce Felder, Genoce's sister from ''Gun Hazard'', attempts to put an end to all the never-ending conflicts around the world by joining "The Society". As seen in the expanded universe, she was seduced (figuratively and literally) by "The Society", and its seemingly compassionate solutions (actually very violent) to bring about long-lasting peace to the world, by creating a [[OneWorldOrder "New World Order"]]. It doesn't succeed, and it is ''not'' because of Albert and co.'s doing!]]

* WorldTour: In ''Gun Hazard'', you'll get to travel to Bergen (Norway), Vorkuta and Sivilska (Russia), Cenktrich (Switzerland), Al-Hari (Saudi Arabia), Zambola (Zambia), Machu Picchu (Peru), Esporte (Brazil) and the shop-only United States and Australia.

* Creator/YasunoriMitsuda: Composed part of the music for ''Gun Hazard''.

** Rook the Detonator tries it too in ''Gun Hazard''. His words are almost those.

* ''Front Mission'' (1995, [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom]]) (2002, UsefulNotes/{{Wonderswan}}).

* ''Front Mission 2'' (1997, [=PS1=]) - A direct sequel to ''Front Mission''.

* ''Front Mission 3'' (1999, [=PS1=]) - Sequel to ''Front Mission 2'', but with little connections to the first two games. First in the series to get a localized release.

* ''Front Mission 4'' (2003, [=PS2=]) - A side-quel that runs parallel to the events of the first game. Second in the series to get a localized release.

* ''Front Mission 5: Scars of the War'' (2005, [=PS2=]) - An epic opera that serves to close the main story of the franchise and spans from right before the events of the first game, until long after the events of the third. Unlike ''3'' and ''4'', this was only released in Japan. A FanTranslation patch for the game exists, however.

* ContinuityReboot: The franchise has laid dormant since 2010 and is now planned to be revived with a new game currently in development and scheduled for 2017-2018.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zenith_wanzer_01.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: A marriage between [[RuleOfCool Cool]] and (relatively) [[TruthInTelevision Realistic.]] More or less the franchise in a nutshell.]]

* SpaceElevator: Featured prominently in the form of ATLAS in ''Gun Hazard''. Multiple [[SpaceElevator Orbital Elevator's ]] also appear in ''Evolved'', with each supernation having at least one.

*** [[spoiler: Vritra]] is an expy of [[spoiler: ATLAS]] from ''Gun Hazard''. Both are [[spoiler: [[KillSat Kill Sat's]] located at the top of an [[SpaceElevator Orbital Elevator]] constructed in a joint effort by the major superpowers before being abandoned. Both also serve as the [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Very Definitely Final Dungeon's]] of their respective games.]]

* TokenMinority: Joynas Jeriaska (J.J.) from ''1st'' is your token black guy, making him Keith's BlackBestFriend. Porunga is an Australian Aboriginal. [[TheFaceless Gentz Weizer]].... well, who knows?

* BlackBestFriend: Joynas Jeriaska (J.J.) from ''1st'', who's Keith Carabell's best friend.
** Edward Collins in ''5'' attempts to invoke this. It doesn't really take, though Walter Feng still likes his old friend. Lynn Wenright finds Edward completely annoying.

* AGodAmI: [[spoiler: [[BigBad Lukav Minaev]]]] in ''3'' is a major case of this.

** [[TheHero Walter Feng]] from ''5'' counts. Though [[spoiler: the [[WesternTerrorists Grimnir]]]] are all pilots using [[spoiler: BD S-Type devices to control their wanzers like their own bodies (making them [[SuperSoldier Super Soldiers]])]], Walter is able to beat them simply through hard work... after he trains with [[spoiler: the Barghest's own S-Type pilots for ''years'']]. Your squad as a whole can count if you have no S-Type pilots in it, [[spoiler: except for Hector Reynolds, who's [[BadassGrandpa badass enough]] anyway]].

** This trope hits a new height in ''5'', where we have Hector Reynolds. Although [[spoiler: he's supposedly in his ''[[BadassGrandpa 60s]]'' by the time of the final arc, he is still the CO of the Barghest, and more than capable of helping [[TheHero Walter Feng]] kick asses in the battlefield.]] Wait, did I mention that [[spoiler: he helps stop a group of SuperSoldier terrorists from [[ApocalypseHow vaporizing Alaska]] in the said story arc?]]

* TropicalIslandAdventure: The first game has a fictional tropical island in the Pacific, Huffman Island, as it's main setting, ''3'' has a large portion of the game set in the Philippines, as well as missions in Indonesia, Singapore, Okinawa and Taiwan, and ''5'' has missions in the aforementioned Huffman Island as well as Kiribati.

* TropicalIslandAdventure: The first game has a fictional tropical island in the Pacific, Huffman Island, as it's main setting, and ''3'' has a large portion of the game set in the Philippines, as well as missions in Indonesia, Singapore, Okinawa and Taiwan.

* TropicalIslandAdventure: ''3'' has a large portion of the game set in the Philippines, as well as missions in Indonesia, Singapore, Okinawa and Taiwan.

** In ''The Drive'', this occurs between [[DirtyOldMan Captain Xiao]] and [[HelloNurse Leung Flybird]] ''thrice''. But the most notable instance gets to be this one: [[spoiler: When Captain Xiao arrives and stops Leung from murdering an unconscious [[TheHero Albert Masel]], he somehow thinks that it's a good idea to start making out with her right at the spot]].

So, what sets it apart from other mecha series? For starters, the action comes as TurnBasedStrategy, which, aside form ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'', was largely unheard of in the mecha fandom when the first game was released in 1995. The franchise is also known for applying as much realism as possible within the genre: both EasyLogistics and CriticalExistenceFailure are generally subverted; Wanzers are easily destroyed machines, meaning that winning battles requires extensive teamwork; and, as any fan of the series will tell you, the stories are heavily packed with {{Realpolitik}}.

So, what sets it apart from other mecha series? For starters, the action comes as TurnBasedStrategy (largely unheard of in the mecha fandom, upon the game's first release in 1995, save for ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars''). The franchise is also known for applying as much realism as possible within the genre: Both EasyLogistics and CriticalExistenceFailure, are generally subverted; Wanzers are easily destroyed machines, that require extensive teamwork; And of course, as any fan of the series will tell you, the stories are heavily packed with {{Realpolitik}}.

Creator/SquareEnix's chief HumongousMecha franchise, ''Front Mission'' throws readers and players into gritty RealRobot stories, in which conglomerate nations from TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture fight for power and political control, using armies of [[AMechByAnyOtherName Wanzers]] (short for "Wanderungpanzers" - loosely translated from German for "walking tanks").