Back to the Future Part III was a mistake. There, I said it. It is the worst way to end the trilogy and the one saving grace is that it’s iconic enough in its stupidity to be remembered fondly by children who were impressionable at the time. No matter which way you slice it, the changes to the dynamics of Doc and Marty’s relationship, the shoestring science that justifies every invention, and the wrapup that basically was a soft launch for the insane Saturday morning cartoon were all poor choices. The only reason it worked is that Part III came so hot on the heels of Part II that no one had a chance to talk about what didn’t work before everyone in The United States watched it. It’s the third installment of a beloved franchise that only exists because the first two were excellent. Enter Front Mission 3: Remake.

Man, how have you never read a single book of your own country’s history?

I’m having a real hard time with the Forever Entertainment port of Front Mission 3 because I’m devoid of nostalgic connection to the franchise. I was aware of the series on the Playstation, but I was too busy grinding through some of the best Final Fantasy titles ever made to really look into it. And yes, I’ve enjoyed the first two titles thanks, in large part, to what they brought to the table. The first Front Mission brought in the world of the Wanzers, the body-part destruction of the mechs and the gradual but satisfying upgrade system, not to mention the fact that it relies on the already existing Nintendo DS port. Front Mission II made the storyline more engaging and cinematic, amped the graphics and allowed you to get EXP, thus making your progression a visual aspect. In all, two solid steps forward from the franchise marching towards modern players.

Front Mission 3 does take a bold stab with the storytelling, letting you start as Kazuki, who is overly worried about his little sister, and Ryogo, who is a raging sexist for…laught, I guess. The pacing for how the plot is delivered is mostly okay, but it becomes a bit too far up its own backside with the minutiae of it all. For example, between every single scenario the player has a chance to check your email (where you’ll occasionally get plot centric information) and dive onto the multi-tiered Internet facsimile that you have access to. This Internet exploration is a nightmare to navigate, and I never, in the whole time I tried it, walked away with new or useful information. This is some world-building iconography that matters if you give a damn about what’s happening, but it’s still obtuse and hard to unpack.

This map helpfully tells you where things are, so you have context when you just end up there, blasting at other robots.

In fact, that feels like where a majority of the development of this game went. I was astonished that you end up on 90s-era websites filled with static images and massive kanji symbols that equate to an Encarta Online about Japan’s geography and the theoretical history of military academies that may not be real. This is something that fans will positively go nuts over, and I can understand why. Being able to have more and more details that allow eagle-eyed gamers to connect events from previous games and even find hints at future moments (like which story path connects to Front Mission V). It’s all well and cool, but only if you’re fully on board with the rest of the game.

The biggest reason I stuck with the Front Mission series is the combat. I’ve enjoyed the isometric, grid-based strategy, the variety in weapons, the disabling of the different segments of the Wanzers and the overall victory system. Some of that remains intact, but a lot of it appears to have been tossed out with the bathwater. Fighting no longer zooms in during pivotal moments, instead remaining as an eye in the sky for the duration of the fight, robbing you of cool, personalized moments. The camera has a noticeable jank to it, making it more difficult to align with where you are and where the enemy is. I am unable to tell if this has always been the case or if it’s a quirk that comes with the Switch port, but neither feels satisfying or good.

Not to mention this combat grid is somehow both busy and bland.

While the player still gains EXP from attacks and successful destruction, a lot of the elements of combat have been stripped down and simplified: appendage damage seems to be random. You get new skills or attacks in the heat of battle for seemingly no reason, and you can feel disoriented trying to assign them when you’re still figuring out your next move. This is supposed to make gameplay feel more svelte and streamlined, but instead it comes across as dumbed down and empty. Move robot towards other robot, hit robot, wait for robot to hit back. Even the inclusion of the new pilot eject system – where you can leave your Wanzer or force others to leave theirs – seemed too arbitrary to be useful for military planning. I watched the AI jump out of their Wanzer, take a lap and then re-enter, seemingly just for fun.

It looks like I’m just aggressively hurling lawn darts at someone.

I never felt a sense of connection with Kazuki or Ryogo in spite of Front Mission 3: Remake trying hard to make them sympathetic and humanistic characters. Their rapport together feels less like “longtime friends and coworkers” and more like “two actors who inherently dislike each other forced into a buddy cop film.” The dialogue throughout is wooden, which is impressive given that you read the whole thing. By the time the story really takes off and begins introducing the morality of genetic engineering and eugenics, I was basically done having to deal with these two and whichever female scientist got dragged into their stupidity field (the character changes depending on the story branch). It’s a shame, because the plot is where Front Mission hangs its hat, and it lost all meaning to me fairly early on.

Lastly, the graphical upgrades are…simply not good. I don’t know if something changed in the algorithm or artists or whatever from the last Front Mission remake, but the overall effect is like adding shiny mud to a game. The portraits all feel slick, but less like a “look at this modern approach” way and more like a “one of these people will sell me a used Gremlin” vibe. The areas have been made a bit sharper in contrast, but without gaining anything from it, just being able to see an area slightly better, which makes no difference when a lot of them tend to be in dark areas or climates. I was fully expecting explosions and details to really pop, but everything just seems muted. When you couple that with other annoyances – seemingly self-destructive AI, some unfortunate crashes and save-file locks – the whole package is an unpleasant effort.

Totes, Ryogo! Hey, isn’t it really weird how a woman can, like, vote her own opinions and stuff?

In a world where games can be patched and updated till they barely resemble their original form, Front Mission 3: Remake still could not grow into a better and more satisfying sequel. Clean up the graphics, tweak the AI and make the missions load faster, and you’re still left with bland combat and unlikeable leads. I doubt this’ll be my last time with the franchise, but, in a world where even the best games can be left behind in a blink, I have no choice but to eject from Front Mission III immediately to save myself.

Front Mission 3: Remake is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Front Mission 3: Remake was provided by the publisher.