Square Enix is hitting the vaults for ideas lately, promising a number of sequels to obscure games. One of the first of this wave of sequels is a new game in the Front Mission series, Square Enix's series of tactical RPGs with giant mecha and strong characters, Front Mission 4, due to come out later this year. Looks like the series traditions of heavy hardware and character-driven plots are back in this installment.

The protagonists this time around are Elsa in Germany and Darril in South America. Elsa is the new girl in DURANDAL, a Wanzer (FM's term for mecha) test squadron, investigating an unexpected attack on a European military base. As she's the rookie, her missions teach the player to handle a Wanzer, just as she learns. The controls aren't the only thing introduced; the lengthy cut scenes and dialogue sequences introduce the player to her motivations and a little bit of her personality as she's introduced to the team.

Darril's scenario shows off the series' focus on drama, as his dilemma puts the player firmly into the mindset of the characters. Darril and his team are assigned guard duty far from the front lines of an ongoing war in South America, and are lounging around when they stumble onto a crashed enemy freight plane. The plane's cargo, and their impromptu response, ends up leading them on a merry chase into and out of enemy territory, in the hope of escaping with an unexpected prize. The opening monologue dealing with issues of hope and fate hints at what will happen, but the demo only teases this story.

A complex story lends itself to a complex battle system, and Front Mission 4 won't disappoint there, either. The gameplay is standard tactical RPG, with battlefields laid out like chessboards and units taking turns to attack. FM4 tries to set itself apart with the link attack system: when a unit attacks, any other friendly units will attack as well, as long as they have enough action points and range. Likewise, a counterattack will trigger link attacks. This can mean that a single attack can turn into a salvo, or that a single attack can trigger a wave of counterfire, depending on the way units are laid out.

Front Mission 4 shows, in this limited demo, the potential to live up to the legacy of the Front Mission series, while hopefully disposing of the rather repetitive gameplay that afflicted its predecessor. Look for more coverage on FM4 in June, when it is released for the PlayStation 2.