The gameplay is fun, although it does get a bit tedious toward the end. You move your units square by square in turn-based mode. When your 'mecha' is close enough to attack, you can. Each mecha's body parts can be attacked separately. If you want to cripple their movement, target their legs. To incapacitate them, attack their right or left arm (which holds the weapons). Missiles make long-range attacks possible, and makes careful planning crucial to success. You can also upgrade and recruit various mechas and pilots throughout the game, although you can never fully trust anyone.

Cool-looking mecha, intuitive controls, and a superb plot make Front Mission one of the best and most underrated (at least outside Japan) games on the SNES. Relatively simple gameplay mechanics by PC standards are more than made up for by the superbly written plot. The fangroup who made the English translation patch did a great job at bringing the well-written dialogues to life. For a fun, unassuming, "beginner's level" strategy game with a fun story, look no further than this console underdog. Highly recommended!