Front Mission FAQ Version 0.5 26th February 2002 By cjs28 (cjspeirs@hotmail.com) & Cro-Magnon (cro-magnon@talk21.com) Any questions, comments, junk mail, complaints, send them to my e- mail address above. Any money, send it to Cro. He needs it at Uni :) This document copyright of Craig-James Speirs. So don't go around making copies of it, y'hear? Version History 0.1 - The bare bones of an FAQ. The walkthrough isn't even finished. 0.5 - Current version. Completed basic walkthrough. In-depth walkthrough still to come. All contributions welcome. Cro saves the day again... Still to come: In-depth missions Tactics (alternate playing styles, such as Human Shields) Shopping List Coliseum (Along with, very possibly, a very special Kanji code...) Secrets (Along with one secret that hasn't been stolen yet. Cough.) Cool ASCII art (maybe) Anything Cro thinks of... 1 - Contents 1 - Contents, what you're reading now. 2 - Characters 3 - Weapon list 4 - Parts list / Item List 5 - Gameplay and tactics 6 - Walkthrough 7 - Coliseum 8 - Secrets 9 - Credits 2 - Characters When you first start, you'll be asked to name yourself, and give a Callsign. The Callsign appears during battles. Here's a list of all 17 mechs that you'll be able to control, in order of appearance. Name Callsign Mech Name (default) Best Skill You (Bob) Roid Shrike Take your pick Sakata Sakata Raioh Short/Long Natalie Natalie PrimRose Short Keith Keith Mr.Jerry Short/Fight J.J J.J Hunter.J Short Frederick Frederick Witness Long Yang Yang Gyokuran Long/Fight Paul Paul Rainbow Long Alder Alder Cowboy Fight Hans Hans My Maria Long Gregorio Gregorio Mr.Kong Fight Maury Maury Tomy Fight Bobby Bobby Death Long Porguna Porguna Natural Fight/Short Yeehin Yeehin Garyo Short Gentz Gentz Richter Fight Ralph Ralph Cancer Fight Roid is known as Lloyd in the translation, but since I prefer Roid, I think we'll stick with that. Other Characters Olson - Your commander for early missions. Tells you where to go to fight, from the safety of his Military Office. Driscoll - The main bad guy. Hiss and throw tomatoes at the screen when he appears. Owns a rather nice mech. Blakewood - Natalie's father. Isn't too chuffed that Natalie is in the unit. Sakata Sr. - Sakata's father. The owner of Sakata Enterprises. Sakata Son - Co-owner of Sakata Enterprises. Involved in dodgy dealings. Peewee - Your supply truck driver. Peewee carries a PAP 55 until quite late in the game, where he upgrades to a Artassault SP. He also learns the Speed skill at Level 3. Hell's Wall Squad - These guys and gals introduce themselves early on. 3 - Weapon List This table shows all the weapons in the entire game. ----- shows that it cannot be bought. Grip Weapon Range Type Attack Hit % Cost Shop Raptor 1 Short 4 x 3 60 ----- ----- Siege 1 Short 5 x 2 76 180 Barinden Sieger 1 Short 1 x 10 76 180 Barinden F-1 Bat 0 Fight 1 x New Milgan Grave 1 Short 4 x 3 74 New Milgan Winee 1 Short 1 x 13 New Milgan Rim-3 1-4 Long 1 x 13 60 New Milgan Shoulder (Missile) Weapon Range Attack Bullet Cost Shop PIZ3 1 x 10 3 MGR-13 2 x 12 3 New Milgan Bone 2 x 14 3 New Milgan Shoulder (Shield) Name Defence Weight Fire Wall 4 - Parts List Body Name Defence Hp Engine Weight Tendus Arm L Name Defence Hp Hit Weight Tendus Arm R Name Defence Hp Hit Weight Tendus Legs Name Defence Hp Move Weight Tendus Computer Name Fight Short Long Agility Cost Rayon Backpack Name Item Range Engine Cost Chipmunk +0 +0 +X 400 Items Repair Repair S - Restores 50 Hp to a body part. Cost - Repair M - Restores 100 Hp to a body part. Cost - Repair L - Restores 200 Hp to a body part. Cost - Repair Sp - Restores 400 Hp to...I think you can guess. Cost - Other BA Mine - When used, plants a small mine where you're standing. Then, if a mech stands on it, boom! However, it barely does any damage. Nearly useless. Save your cash. Cost - Flash Grenade - Stuns an enemy, causing them to lose 2 or 3 turns. Near essential on the Hell's Wall mission. Cost - Chaff Grenade - This is used to prevent missiles hitting a mech in the next turn. Not much use. Cost - Smoke Grenade - I don't know what this does. Cost - Acid Bomb - Again, I'm not sure what it does. Cost - 5 - Gameplay During battle, your mechs receive Exp. This Exp serves two purposes. One - its added to your total Exp, and that lets you gain levels. When you gain levels, you get some bonus Exp to improve your pilot's fighting abilities. Also, you sometimes get a chance to teach your pilots new Skills. I'll explain these in a minute. Two - The exp is also added to your skill exp. If you gain 200 exp from using a Long weapon, 200 Exp will be added to your pilot's Long skill. Not exclusively - Cro has gained Guide after a round of Short fighting. (Cro-Mag: I believe this will only happen if you have all the skills in the particular discipline you are using already.) There are 4 skill areas. Fight - How well the pilot can use Fight type weapons, such as batons, punches, etc. Short - How well the pilot can use Short type weapons, such as guns. Long - How well the pilot can use Long type weapons, such as missiles. Agility - As your agility increases, your guard level increases, reducing the damage enemy mechs deal. Shields can boost your guard level. Now, I mentioned Skills up there. Skills aid your cause in many ways. All skills have 3 levels and a 'Last' level (Cro-Mag: A note about the 'Last' level; you are unlikely to see this unless you train your characters REALLY hard, and even then you haven't much chance of getting more than one or two skills to it. My 'Super Roid', at level 46, still only has one skill on 'Last'. It appears in the following format; taking 'Double' as an example, the skill slot would list it as "Last Double", instead of the usual "Double lvl3"). The higher the Skill level is, the more often it happens/more chance of hitting, etc. Fight Skills - First - Normally, the Fighter goes last, after the enemy has his shot in. But with this, the fighter goes first. Level affects frequency. Double - If the Fighter has 2 fight type weapons in his hands, he can attack with one, then switch and hit with the other. Level affects frequency and number of attacks. Stun - This can make the enemy lose turns, like a Flash Grenade was used. Level affects frequency and length of stun time. Short Skills - Duel - This lets the Short fighter select a body part to attack. As the level increases, it becomes more accurate. Switch - This lets the user attack with one arm, then change to the other arm. Level affects number of Switches and frequency. Speed - This gives Machine Guns extra bullets. At level 1, one extra bullet. Level 2, 2 extra bullets. Level 3, 3 extra bullets. Long Skill - Guide - Choose what body part to aim for. Level affects accuracy. At the end of each mission, there's a status screen. This shows the amount of money you earned, firstly for completing the mission, then for the enemies you killed (referred to as 'bounty' in the walkthrough), then a bill for lost team members. As a lost team member can cost a good amount to replace, you're looking for minimum losses at all times. Finally, units in your squad with NPC beside them are controlled by the computer. Tactics - The starting point here is how you equip each panzer, whether centred around long range, short range or fighting. The character list at the beginning of this FAQ provides indications of each character's potential best areas, based on the skills each can learn for the most part. Some characters gain greater exp in certain areas on level-up, but this isn't a huge factor in development, rather an indication of the area you should be training that character in. But first we'll talk set-ups. Fight - This one's easy. You obviously want both fists free for punching (or hand-rods, of course) otherwise you won't be able to take advantage of any skills learned, so above all look for punching power when selecting arms. Luckily the most powerful arm is usually the one with the most HP, so it isn't much of a dilemma. So that leaves our shoulders free. You will probably have noticed that the enemy missilers always have fists free; this set-up is a good one to follow as it gives you the greatest number of battlefield options. But since you are developing this character's fight skill, don't use missiles when you can dive in with fists. A missile and one shield is probably a better idea for fighters, however; but two shields is a bit of a waste. In terms of other parts fighters have good options, not having to bear the weight of guns, so you can most likely go for the toughest suits. Short - Quite probably the most devastating set-up later in the game, you certainly want to take advantage of the available skills by taking two guns. However, this gives you less choice in terms of body parts as it takes up a substantial portion of your weight allowance. You will almost certainly not be able to take two missiles without sacrificing the best suit for one with more engine power/less weight, and even one missile will put pressure on your choices. It might be an idea to take a missile along though, so you have the tactical choice. Two shelds is lighter and still a better option than in a fight set-up, but you might have to take some tough shoulder-option decisions along the way whatever you do. Another decision you have here is the different style of short-range weapons, the main distinction being between single-shot guns and multi-shot machine-gun types. For most of the game and in most situations you'll want to carry one of each; the former to substantially weaken or destroy a single body part, and the latter to give a good spread of damage. Late in the game, you'll probably find it more effective to use two machine-guns; as your exp rises you can do ridiculous amounts of damage, combine this with the switch skill and it's all over for virtually any enemy. At this level, when selecting the correct gun, it's best to look first at the number of hits rather than damage, since the difference in damage becomes negligible. Long - Since most of the Long specialists don't do particularly well in other disciplines, leaving fists free will give you the most options within the weight limit and will be the best choince in most cases. Even so, compromises will be necessary at some points between the best suits and engine/weight. Of course, you always want to take two missiles with these guys to save them running back to Peewee every couple of turns. Some Notes - - Duel is a wonderful skill when it works, for a number of reasons, the first being you can almost always predict which arm the enemy will attack with. If they have fists or two weapons the same, they will always use the right arm. If they have a fist and a gun of whatever kind, they always use the gun. If they have two guns of different types, they will go with the single-shot gun. A short specialist with high exp doesn't have much to fear in his attacking turn. - Weak bad guys next to supply cars are excellent infinite exp sources. Shoot off arms and legs, and they get replaced next turn all ready to be destroyed again. 6 - Walkthrough When you start a new game, a picture of you will pop up, and you can name yourself. English letters are near the bottom. Having given yourself a name that'll strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, such as Bob, you'll then get to give yourself a Callsign. Finally, you'll be ready to start...oh wait, there's some text to go through first. CJ's Story Condenser (Tm) - You've been sent on a scouting mission. Go scout. You'll arrive outside The Factory, and there's some more chat between Bob, Sakata, and a girl named Karen. After the small talk, a small squad of USN mechs appear from thin air, and Mission 1 begins. PROLOGUE Your Squad - Bob, Sakata, Karen (NPC) and OCU soldier. Enemy Squad - Driscoll, Attacker x 2, Missiler x 2 Mission statement - USN mechs have appeared from nowhere. Wipe them out. Info for the battle - Driscoll is in a mech that slightly overpowers yours. Don't even try to go near him. Karen can't be saved, so don't worry when she carks it. Your OCU Soldier buddy will never be seen again, so send him into the bottom-left corner. This means Bob and Sakata get all the Exp. The Attackers are in Gust machines, and the Missilers are in Calm machines. Both of these types are so poor you can't buy them. Compared to the Zenith machines Bob and Sakata are in, they're toys. Battle! Simply move Bob and Sakata to The Factory, and wait for the 4 enemy machines to come to you. Use Bob's Bone and Sakata's Ibis to deal most of the damage. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Aftermath Driscoll leaves, and The Factory blows up. No more late night parties there, then. Next is a long story bit. However, the nice chaps at Squaresoft have included an English translation above the Japanese. CJ's Story Condenser (Tm) - Bob was blamed for The Factory being destroyed, and OCU and USN go to war. After a year, OCU owns Huffman Island. But the war isn't over yet... BARINDEN You're in the Colosseum (thank god for spellchecker...) about to fight. Olson pops up with an offer to join Carrion Crow. Then you have to go fight. Fight - Bob Vs Random Mech It doesn't matter if you win or lose. But it's nice to win. You're in a Tendus machine, one of the worst there is. You have equipped a Raptor, a PIZ3...and that's it. Win, and you get an extra 3 Exp. Lose, and you get nowt. Aftermath Olson asks you to join the Carrion Crows, a mercenary force that works for the OCU. After a long, dramatic pause of 3 seconds, Bob joins up. Olson gives you 1000 credits, the kind soul, to upgrade your mech with. Go to the shop in Barinden. I recommend you buy a Siege to replace your Raptor, and replace your Tendus stuff with Zenith. Once you're a happy chappy, go to the Military Office, and tell Olson YES! He'll transport you to an airfield, where you'll be tearfully reunited with Sakata, and meet Natalie. After some talk, you'll be flown to the next mission. MISSION 1 - Reinforcements Have Arrived Your Squad - Bob, Sakata, Natalie, Keith, J.J Enemy Squad - Commander x 1, Missiler x 2, Attacker x Mission Statement - Keith and J.J, other members of the Canyon Crows, are under attack by USN mechs. Save them. Info for the battle - Sakata is in Zenith gear, equipped with a Sieger. Natalie is in Husky Mk.III gear, equipped with a Siege. Keith is in Galvo gear, equipped with a Raptor and PIZ3. J.J is in Alpha gear, and has a Sieger equipped. The Missilers are equipped with PIZ3's, and are a small threat. The Attackers have a Raptor, which is slightly more powerful than a Siege, but dreadfully inaccurate. The Commander has a Siege, and a PIZ3. He's also got the strongest gear of the enemies, so gang up on him. Battle! Move Bob and Natalie closer to Keith and J.J. Keith should shell the enemy Missiler to the North, and J.J should continue to hurt it. Leave Sakata alone for the first turn: he'll pick off the lone mech to the South. As the battle progresses, Natalie should move South, to cut off two mechs from the West, trying to reach Sakata. Bob, Keith and J.J should attack the Commander when he wanders over. The battles over when all enemy mechs are dead. Aftermath Keith and J.J thank you for the save: they're now in your team. You'll be rewarded with a small cash bonus of 5000 credits for completing the mission. You also get about 2000 more for killing the enemy mechs. Finally, if any of your squad hit the deck, you lose money. Afterwards, head out to New Milgan. NEW MILGAN First stop is the Shop. I recommend that everyone get a Tempest body. Then, upgrade the weaponry. I normally give Bob a Rim-3, a Bone, and a Shield. Sakata works well with a Grave, Rim-3, Bone, and Shield. Natalie should be equipped with a Grave in each hand, a Shield, and a Bone. Keith and J.J should each carry a Bone, Shield, Grave, and Winee. If you still have cash after this, get Vapor legs for everyone. You may also want to equip Husky Mk.III arms. That should do you for the next mission. Visit your good buddy Olson in the Military Office. Oh no! An OCU plane has crashed! Best go out there, hadn't we? On the scene, Bob sees a neutral mech, Witness. The pilot Frederick explains that he is a news reporter, after being asked to leave by Natalie. Suddenly, USN mechs arrive on the scene. After a few commands between the enemies, the battle is ready to begin. But wait...this screen will be new to you. It gives a list of all the mechs in your group. The number in the bottom right states how many mechs you're allowed to bring in. In this case, you can bring in all 5. MISSION 2 - Salvage Rights Your Squad - Bob, Sakata, Natalie, Keith, J.J, Frederick (NPC) Enemy Squad - Commander x 1, Missiler x 3, Attacker x 5, Egreter x 1 Info for the battle - The Egreter isn't really called that, but I call him that because he's the one that opens the little crate next to the plane with the Egret in. He will seriously hurt one of your mechs. Thankfully, when he grabs the Egret, there's only one bullet in it. And when you kill him... The Commander is in Zenith Gear, with an Iguit7 equipped. He's pretty dangerous, but for the most part he'll be chasing Frederick. Pick him off with Bone shots before Frederick goes down. The Missilers have PIZ3's. No worries there, then. The Attackers have a Siege equipped. Frederick's in Tendus gear. He will go down pretty quickly if you don't get the commander sharpish. Battle! - Move Natalie and J.J north, and the rest east. Frederick will be attacked and head towards Nat/J.J. Next turn, move Nat and J.J close to Fred as possible. Proceed forward, and wipe out each mech in turn. The Egreter will hurt someone bad - pull them out for repairs. The rest of the mission is clean up, though if you're bored, you could grab a lot of Agility exp from the enemies with Seiges... Aftermath - Frederick asks to tag along. And you've got an Egret. WHOOOOOO! Back to New Milgan Frederick needs a much better mech. I recommend the FTHS tactic. Or, Frederick The Human Shield, for long. Equip him with 2 wing shields and whatever else you like. In the next mission, find a few weak enemies, and let them keep hitting Fred while he defends. He'll get a high guard level in no time. From here on in, he can take a LOT of flak. MISSION 3 - Nobody Here But Us Trees Your Squad - 6 units, Supply trucks x 3 (NPC) Enemy Squad - Commander x 1, Attacker x 5, Missiler x 4 Info for the battle - You're vastly outnumbered, but don't worry - the trucks are a lot more powerful than they look. And you've got an Egret. Battle! - Defend the supply trucks. In the first turn, they will drive into the forest area. The enemy approaches in two groups; a small one further along the road, and a large spread out one that attacks from the north of the map. I advise heading off the smaller group, as they will go straight after the trucks. You should try to destroy them before the large group catches up with you, otherwise you will be surrounded. The supply truck's PAP 55 will do quite a bit of damage to the enemy at this stage, so if you get in trouble, just let the enemy attack the trucks. Aftermath - Off to Menasa. Menasa Buy your group Husky gear - it's simply the best here. Equip your mechs with the weapons of your choice, but don't remove the Egret... When you go to the Military Office, you're told you have a day off. Whee. Go to the Colosseum. Yang's gonna loooooose... Kick her butt with judicious use of the Egret. MISSION 4 - Special Delivery Your Squad - 7 units, Paul (NPC) Enemy Squad - Driscoll, Commander x 3, Attacker x 6, Missiler x 3, Supply truck x 1 Info for the battle - Paul will most likely be destroyed, but it doesn't cost you anything. You can't kill the supply truck. Stop trying. Driscoll is killable, and you'll get a LOT of experience, but you'll be trying for days, and you'll get really bored with the game, and give up... Sometimes, you get a PIZ8 when you kill one of the Missilers... Battle! - Send the bulk of your forces to engage the main enemy at the crossroads, and just send one or two to help out Paul (Yang on her own could handle them). After two turns, Driscoll will start to move. If you haven't killed all of the enemies by the time he reaches you, you will be in trouble, so hurry up! (Cro-Mag: Doing this with 4 panzers, Driscoll chased me round and round the buildings for ages: there were two enemy left and I couldn't get near them because of Driscoll, but after a while he just stopped moving again). The enemy supply car will arrive after a turn, then leave again soon after, giving no repairs to their troops. That's because it was dropping things off... Aftermath - Boom. That'd didn't quite grasp the explosion. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! A nice long flashback sequence... GREY ROCK There is a lot to do here. Moth equipment is the best for the next few missions, but there's no way you can afford it for all units. Focus on getting Moth bodies first, and Egret launchers. Shield upgrades are also high priority. Lowest priority is replacing Ibis with Empire - it's a boost of one. Not that important. Getting Alder - Go to the bar and talk with everyone. Someone will mention Alder. Go back to Menasa and talk with Alder. He'll challenge you to a fight. Win and he'll join. Don't lose. He's one of the better fighters in the game. Seek Hans for information, and then head to the office for your next mission. MISSION 5 - Death From Above, Tin Can Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee (first appearance on your team) Enemy Squad - Boss unit x 3 (Anti-air missiles), Commander x 2, Attacker x 6, Missiler x 3 Info for the battle - You have to destroy all three anti-air missile cars before friendly aircraft fly over in 10 turns. This is quite a tough mission because the enemy commanders and missilers have Egrets. Send a small contingent over to the far east of the map to take out the single missile site and the few enemy. Use the main force to attack in the centre; the enemy will try to send troops over to the east, and you must intercept them before they give your smaller group problems. If you can't kill all the enemy in time, just go all out for the missile sites. The more there are left alive, the more friendly planes get destroyed and the less money you get for the mission. Aftermath - MISSION 6 - Break The Wall Down Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee. Enemy Squad - 'Hell's Wall' x 6 (Frost gear: 2 x Fighters, 2 x Missilers (Egret, Goldias), 2 x Short), Missilers x 6 (Galvo SV, Galvados) Info for the battle - Uh-oh. The 'Hell's Wall' attack an OCU outpost. They all have 'Frost' panzers, with very high HP and defence compared to what you are used to, and they carry gear the next level up from yours. They are arranged in two's: Missilers, Fighters and Short, supported by two normal missilers each. Fred The Human Shield - If you have equipped Fred with shield equipment, then this will be a LOT easier. Simply let him take the flak while you shell the enemy with bazookas... (Cro's tactic) From the start, run over to the west of the map, where the higher ground and trees are, and defend this area. Try to stay back and weaken the enemy with missiles as much as possible, and concentrate on one at a time. The Fighters will immediately move to your position, as will one of the Short gunners and all the normal missilers, but the Hell's Wall missilers and their leader, one of the Short guys, will stay put; a good thing. Try to ignore the normal missilers until you have a bit of breathing space: they can be a pain, but you must concentrate on destroying the Hell's Wall members. Flash grenades can be very useful here (but I didn't bother with them) to make them easier missile targets. Once you have taken out everyone who attacked you, have Peewee make repairs on everyone and restock on items, then go after the missilers. They just stay put for the most part; you can win the standoff through superior numbers. Go in close when they are weakened to finish them. Then go for the last guy left: the leader. Just surround him and missile to death. Go in close for better EXP, but watch out, as he knows the Switch skill. (CJ's tactic) Head South. Get into a formation to repel the Missilers. I'd recommend: Fighters/Shorts Missilers Peewee From front to back. Then hold in position. Even if the non-HW Missilers attack - hold position. The missilers of HW will take the bait and fire at your front most troop. Pull him back to Peewee, and shell the missilers before you send in the close rangers. With luck, both will be dead in 2 turns. Then swat any troublesome missilers, and set up your formation to the other direction. The fighters of HW will have been closing in - welcome them with open rocket launchers. By the time they're dead, you'll need to reload - do so, then proceed to charge the Short HW, winning the map. Aftermath - Well, you're better than the best now, aren't you? MISSION 7 - Night Watch Freedom Your Squad - Enemy Squad - Boss x 1 (Clinton Type-spiderbot), Commander x 1 (Clavechi Lv.8), Attacker x 7 (4 x Pavot II, 3 x Galvo SV), Missiler x 5 (Zigle 6B - Galvados), Supply car x 2 Info for the battle - Your forces are strung across the bridge. Head to the east and wipe out the small forces there. Swoop north and kill the truck. Aftermath - Hans joins, thinking he'll be safer with you. Fool. FREEDOM (town update) MISSION 8 - Aftermath Of War Your Squad - 9 units, Peewee, Maury (NPC) Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Moth Lv.9), Attacker x 5 (Genem), Missiler x 4 (Grop), Supply car x 2 Info for the battle - A pretty easy mission. Maury will almost certainly be blown up. She IS in Tendus gear. There are three enemy groups: one directly ahead of your start position, outside the built- up area, one in the far south eastern corner, and one to the north west. Split into 2 groups, with equal numbers of fighters and missilers. Aftermath - Back in the town, upgrade Maury with the best defensive gear. Don't bother arming her yet. MISSION 9 - Maury Iscariot Your Squad - Must take Keith and J.J., 8 units, Peewee, Maury (NPC) Enemy Squad - Commander x 3 (Moth Lv.11), Attacker x 5 (Grop), Missiler x 4 (Genem), Supply car x 3 Info for the battle - Maury will get trapped between an enemy Commander and a Missiler in the jungle area to the north. If she has decent gear and a shield, you should be able to just let her hold out indefinitely until you are ready to rescue her (all she does is defend). Be careful not to get stuck in the trees ahead of where you start, as it can leave you open to heavy missile attacks. Try and destroy any damaged enemies quickly, as they will run to the supply trucks for repairs. Once you have eliminated the enemies closest to the start, it should be easy to clean up the rest on the more open plains. Be sure to get the Supply cars, and don't forget about Maury. Aftermath - MISSION 10 - Moon River Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Boss x 2 (Grostar walker), Commander x 2 (Vasa Lv.15), Attacker x 4 (Avenir), Missiler x 6 (Bizant), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - Battle across a river. One of the missilers has better equipment than the others. The Commanders pilot Panzers the next level up from you. Aftermath - PESETA (town update) MISSION 11 - The Great Train Robb...Bugger, It's Blown Up Objective - Railway car Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Vasa Lv.15), Attacker x 6 (3 x Crof, 3 x Bonart), Missiler x 3 (Zeareid) Info for the battle - Secure the railway cars in 8 turns by eliminating the enemy. (Very easy) Aftermath - BELTCHKA (town update) To save money, only upgrade your 5 best Panzers, as that's all you can use in the next mission. MISSION 12 - Desert Storm Your Squad - 5 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 3 (Husky Lv.15), Attacker x 3 (Sand Vapor), Missiler x 3 (Husky, Ragos) (NOTE: These are not the same as the husky suits you can buy - they are utterly unique) Info for the battle - The enemy pops up (literally) in 3 groups of 3: A Commander, Missiler, and Attacker in each. They give tons of EXP. They always defend in the turn they are attacked. Roid should have some decent skills at this stage; with the new equipment, this should be easy. OCU FRONTBASE (town update) MISSION 13 - Rogue Force Your Squad - 10 units, Peewee, Yang (NPC until she reaches Yeehin), Yeehin (NPC, Type90X, Donkey) Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (S Orcs, Ragos, Magic Box), Attacker x 4 (Grop SP-V), Missiler x 3 (Cicada II, Magic Box), Supply car x 2 Info for the battle - Yang cannot be controlled until she has reached Yeehin. The enemy does not move on the first turn. The main group is to the south east, and there are missilers in the jungle to the north. Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty MISSION 14 - Kirkland's Hill Objective - Fortress Cannons Your Squad - 9 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Boss x 3 (Long Force cannon), Guns x 4 (Defence MG), Commander x 1 (Jinc, Kirkland - Character), Attacker x 8 (3 x Prisomea, 2 x Grop, 3 x Type 90), Missiler x 3 (Type 65 - Egret, Donkey) Info for the battle - The big guns have a huge range and hit about 100 on an unshielded Panzer. The smaller guns are weaker but still pack a punch. The enemy is spread out: a small group of attackers to the north of your start position, attackers and missilers to the far east of the map, three attackers in the centre, Kirkland to the far north. The cannons are spread out. Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty MISSION 15 - Liberation Fort Monus Your Squad - 10 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Boss x 1 (Seaking, Grieg of Hell's Wall), Attacker x 3 (Prisomea), Missiler x 8 (3x Arpeggio - Skull, 5 x Type 65 - Slay), Supply car x 2 Info for the battle - Fighting around the skyscrapers of the city of Fort Monus. A straightforward mission made difficult by the high number of enemy missilers. Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty FORT MONUS (town update) MISSION 16 - We're Not An Escort Service... Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Richter, Gentz - Character), Attacker x 6 (Orgel x 3, Jinc X 3), Missiler x 5 (Ratmount - Slay), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - This mission introduces Gentz, a local bandit you'll meet at several intervals, and his private army, who are currently trying to assassinate Sakata senior as he cruises to a helipad in this forested region. The enemy is very spread out, main groups starting to the far west, some around a Supply car to the north, and Gentz plus some others to the south-east. The helicopter starts in the south and travels up to the helipad in the north. Don't worry if the chopper is destroyed: Mr. Sakata survives and there is no effect on the game as far as I can tell. Even if it reaches the helipad, enemy troops can still get at it anyway. Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty MISSION 17 - War And Peace Your Squad - 10 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Prozion), Attacker x 4 (Type67C x 2, Algem x 2), Missiler x 6 (Ratmount - Slay) Info for the battle - A very straightforward mission, with your group starting at the bottom of a hill, facing the main enemy group at the top. A small enemy contingent of three starts down a slope to the east of your start point. You should have no real difficulties here. Aftermath - Olson turns up in a chopper to debrief (?) you, because... "On this day, the second Huffman war come (sic) to an end. Along with this cease fire, both countries, OCU and USN, were in position to accept the proposal of Zaftra Republic, one which exercises direct control over PMO." (Don't look at me, this is what it says) This is followed by scenes from what is presumably the peacekeeping operation. Reward: Bounty only. FRONT INFIRMARY No shop here; just make sure you are all set up and talk to everyone in the menu. MISSION 18 - Medic! Your Squad - 5 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Ratmount), Attacker x 6 (Prozion x 3, Zeroa x 3), Missiler x 3 (Orgel - Slay) Info for the battle - A mission I can't really say much about without knowing what everyone is talking about (help me out here CJ), other than this mission is rather easy. The enemy begins spread out around the infirmary, and for some reason the Panzers furthest from you will run off to the north-west when the mission starts. Around 4 Panzers start to the south-east of you; they will engage you immediately, as will the commander and the couple that start in front of you. You should be able to mop these up without difficulty. Aftermath - You get a storyline segment here. Reward: Bounty only MISSION 19 - Driscoll VS Gentz Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee NPC: Driscoll Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Gentz - Character, lvl. 17), Attacker x 6 (Orgel), Missiler x 5 (Zeroa - Donkey DX), Supply Car x 1 Info for the battle - Driscoll joins your forces temporarily as you both try to take out Gentz and his bandits once more. There are enough of them to keep you busy, but not enough to cause you any real trouble. Driscoll will make straight for Gentz, stomping all who try and get in his way. For reasons of pride (and exp.) try not to let Driscoll kill to many, and race him to get Gentz first. The trees are quite thick here and there aren't many paths through; don't get stuck. Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty MISSION 20 - There's Bandits In Them Thar Hills... Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Attacker x 7 (Orgel), Missiler x 6 (Ratmount - Crane), Supply Car x 2 Info for the battle - Comparatively difficult as missions go, mainly due to the small gap up the cliffs that you have to take to reach the enemy forces, and that the enemy attackers carry Hexafire guns, which are pretty nasty. There is an open plain to your east on which a Supply car can be found, but other than that all the enemy start up a large hill. Run up to meet them or wait for them to come to you, depending on what type of player you are (i.e. Short or Long). Aftermath - Reward: 20,000 + Bounty MISSION 21 - Slide City of Soleit Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Gentz x 1 (Gentz - Character, lvl. 17), Commander x 1 (Walker), Attacker x 4 (Orgel), Missiler x 9 (Fagot - Donkey DX), Supply car x 1... And, er, Frederick. Info for the battle - The enemy defends an industrial complex at the base of a large steep hill - naturally, you start at the top. Because of the steepness and the trees blocking your paths, there are only a few routes you can take, and this leaves you vulnerable to a pounding from the missilers, so watch your health. You should soon have them on the run back to their supply truck though. Storm into their base and finish off Gentz, the big Walker thing and anyone who is left alive. Frederick appears on the enemy side here; he won't attack you, but kill him if you want, it makes little difference. Aftermath - You get more storyline here, and Gentz joins your forces. Reward: 5,000 + Bounty SOLEIT Upgrade in Soleit, your first chance to in quite a while MISSION 22 - Inside The Heart Of The Beast Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee, Gentz. Natalie, Keith and J.J are unavailable Enemy Squad - Driscoll x 1 (Type11DS), Attacker x 8 (Type 67C - Some carry Donkey DX), Missiler x 3 (Perzea - Donkey DX), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - Driscoll again, but this is the first battle in which you have a decent chance of beating him. You start on a raised area that would probably be quite defensible if you wanted to play that way, with enemy groups to your east and another to your south. There are a lot of missiles flying around this mission, due to some of the 'fighter' classes carrying missiles and long-range guns. It's probably an idea to finish off most of the enemy before going after Driscoll, as the stage ends if you destroy his Panzer. To take on Driscoll himself, use someone skilled in Short and Duel off his arms (Remember: Most panzers attack with the right arm first). Any other method and you are taking serious risks. Missiling him, for me, takes too long. Aftermath - Once again things blow up. Driscoll has serious anger issues. You get more storyline revelations; particularly important ones at that. Reward: Bounty only MISSION 23 - Deja Vu Your squad - 11 units, Peewee. Natalie, Keith and J.J are still absent. Enemy Squad - Driscoll x 1 (Type11DS), Attacker x 10 (Fagot x 6, Perzea x 4), Missiler x 3 (BriziaII - Crane), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - Back to the scene of Roid's disgrace, you take on Driscoll once more and quite a substantial force of his. The enemy is in two groups; one over to the east, on one side of the derelict factory, another with Driscoll to the west. You start in the same place you began before a year ago, in the trees to the south. The missilers here come in the hardy BriziaII suits, but apart from that the enemy is pretty standard fare. I would advise heading east first to take out the group and their supply car. Driscoll is kitted out for Short encounters; he has two rather disproportionately large gun arms. Take him on with care, as always. Aftermath - Reward: Bounty only CARRIER CAMP This town is a one-off; you can't get back to it after completing the next mission. It has equipment quite a lot better than the stuff you have had up to now, so upgrade thoroughly. MISSION 24 - Double Cross Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee. Natalie, Keith and J.J rejoin you after 1 turn. Enemy Squad - Olson x 1 (Eldos - Character), Commander x 2 (Banyan - Spiderbot with Long Range cannon), Attacker x 6 (BriziaII x 4, Perzea x 2), Missiler x 6 (BriziaII - Crane), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - Turns out Olson was manipulating you all along. Oh well. Natalie, Keith and J.J start the mission on his side, but after the first turn they see the error of their ways and return to the Carrion Crows. Natalie will attack Olson right away, but after that it's probably best to have all three of them run back to Peewee, as they haven't had the chance to upgrade for a while. A group of enemy missilers start out spread out in the trees ahead of your start position, the rest start in a big clump amongst the hill to the north around Olson and their supply car. The missilers in front of you usually run away from your main group to intercept Natalie, Keith and J.J, so try to get them quickly. Take on the main group slowly and they shouldn't cause much difficulty, but watch for the long range Spiderbots. Also, Olson is pretty well equipped; take him with care. Aftermath - Reward: Bounty only MISSION 25 - Of Course Explosions Are Stealthy... Rupidis Your Squad - 9 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Gavel - Stomper bot, Long Range cannon), Attacker x 3 (Type150), Missiler x 5 (Type103 x 3, Pegase x 2), Supply car x 2 Info for the battle - This mission is the start of a campaign to rid Rupidis of Olson's forces. The first step is taking the main city itself; the rest take place in its transport links. Get used to fighting the tough Pegase panzers here; they appear as missilers near your start position. Otherwise, there isn't much to this mission. The commander is in a stomper bot with a long range gun, but up close he's a wimp. Aftermath - Reward: Bounty only Now you have the run of Rupidis, the final city of the game. First stop: the shop, for the best equipment money can by. Short rangers get the fantastic FV-24B, long rangers get the (apparently) nuclear Donkey DX II or the three-shot Albatross, depending on your preference, fighters get the nasty-looking Dalser Ironclaw (you may have found a similar arm during an earlier mission if you're lucky). The huge Valiant suits have a ton of HP, but the lighter Zenith V has the better all-round stats. Take your pick. After shopping, talk to everyone in the bar. The next mission will open up in the "Harborware" section of Rupidis. MISSION 26 - Redemption Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee NPC: Cars Enemy Squad - Olson x 1 (Eldos - Character), Commander x 3 (Brizia II), Attacker x 5 (TNPAH x 3, Type 150 x 2), Missiler x 3 (Pegase), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - Time to take on Olson once and for all, along with his relatively well-equipped forces in some familiar looking terrain. Small groups of enemies start out to the west and east of the warehouse you emerge from; I suggest heading west first to slaughter the larger group and letting the rest come to you, before heading to Olson and his small group in the south-east of the map. There are two NPC cars on this stage, one containing Natalie's father. They get in a little fight a few turns into the mission, but I won't know what they are going on about until I play through the English version. Aftermath - A short conversation with Natalie's father. Reward: Bounty only The 'Dock of No.16' is now open back in Rupidis. When you are ready, head over there. MISSION 27 - Family Matters Your Squad - 8 units, Peewee. Must take Sakata Enemy Squad - Commander x 1 (Valiant), Carrier x 1 (Algem - Walker bot), Attacker x 8 (Type 105 x 4, Pegase x 4), Missiler x 3 (Vals - Albatross), Supply car x 2 Info for the Battle - Looks like Sakata got here before us - you encounter him meeting his father who disembarks from a cargo ship in a black car, but the car is immediately shot to pieces on the order of the dastardly Sakata Son, much to the alarm of our Sakata. The boat steams away, leaving us and Sakata at the mercy of the forces who them mount an ambush. Sakata starts out in the centre of the map, the force you bring along to save him starts to the west. The enemy has a group to the direct north of your start position around a supply car and a walker bot, a group to the far north-east with the commander and another supply car, and a force mainly composed of missilers spread out to the south of the map. You can most probably afford to split into two groups; short-rangers to take out the group immediately north of you quickly, so you have command of that area as a defensive position, and missilers to attack the enemy's equivalent to your south. The rest should come to you, and, being unsupported, get slaughtered rather quickly. Aftermath - Reward: Bounty only Now the Airfield is open back at Rupidis. You're going to be needing that helicopter... MISSION 28 - We're Taking Over! Your Squad - 11 units, Peewee Enemy Squad - Commander x 2 (Innova - Spiderbot, L/R cannon), Commander x 1 (Valiant), Attacker x 8 (Arpeggio x 4, Pegase x 4), Missiler x 5 (Eldos - Donkey DX II), Supply car x 1 Info for the battle - A tough mission once again, you are up against quite a large enemy force. You start to the south-west, with enemy strewn over a large platform area to the north of the runway. They have two routes down from the platform, one immediately to your north and another further to the east nearer the runway. Depending on which way you head, most will come down the closest route to you, but a few will always take the other. The big spiderbots will keep their distance and pound you from afar. There will be plenty of enemy running back to the supply car here, so it might be an idea to send all your forces to the furthest route, thus luring the enemy that way, then sending a couple of tough panzers the other way to take the car out and anyone who tries to run from your main force. They'll probably have to contend with the spiderbots on the way though. Aftermath - The area secured, a couple of stray enemy show up at the end but are quickly blown away. You all get into the helicopter and fly away to the final encounter. Back on the map screen, you'll probably want to go back to Rupidis to restock first, so press 'cancel'. Note that offshore island, though. MISSION 29 - Oh My God, It's Huge! Your Squad - 17 units, Peewee. Everyone, basically. Enemy Squad - Driscoll x 1 (MNP OPNEH - 3 parts, becomes Type11DS - lvl 44), Koichi Sakata x 1 (Growning), 6 x Attacker (Eldos x 3, KOPONZI x 3), Missiler x 2 (Valiant - Donkey DX II) Some of the above names contain characters that I can't find, so these are the closest approximation. They aren't in the Greek set, contrary to common belief. Info for the battle - Take a look at that big ugly thing right at the top of the map first of all. Yep, that's Driscoll somewhere in all that. But first of all you have to contend with the dastardly Sakata Son and his forces. They're quite tough, as you'd expect. It's probably best not to take all 17 (if you remembered to pick up everyone along the way) characters, just your best 8 or so, as you are very likely to lose the weaker ones. Or you could just use them to guard Peewee, or something. Easiest way to win here is to keep everyone together; the enemy may be tough but there aren't many of them, so you can swamp 'em quickly. Especially the nasty and very tough missilers. Sakata Son is in a Driscoll-type multi-part big panzer, but he won't join the fray until you get close to him. He can be taken out pretty easily with a decently skilled character (duel his arms off, as usual), leaving you with a clear run to the Big Bad Guy. Now then. Breathe in, clear your mind, have a cup of tea, check for damage, then move out. Driscoll has the rather strange ability to tractor- beam in to close range anyone within a certain distance, and then quite probably demolish them with his very powerful minigun-type weapon. On top of that, he counts as three in one: he can attack you three times in one turn, enough to kill even the hardiest panzer. Unfortunately for him, the range of the Donkey DX II just about exceeds his own, so you can quite safely sit back and pummel him into oblivion. It'll take a few turns, but he'll be powerless. Once again, a big explosion ensues, but as the dust settles you probably won't be surprised to see that he's still there, only this time in the more recognisable panzer of earlier missions. He doesn't seem to have improved much from earlier missions either, so, for the sake of poetic justice have Roid move in close and destroy him. Aftermath - I think you can guess what comes next. The ending, of course. Oh, and congratulations from us. -------------------------------- 9 - Credits Cro-Magnon - Main contributor to this FAQ. Without his help, I'd never have started. Me - For being bored at school and hooked on FM. Square - For making it. Gamefaqs.com - For hosting this. Until we meet again... Craig - James Speirs, 26th February 2002 Douglas Roberts, aka Cro-Magnon, 20th February 2002