Set 12 years later in Alordesh, Front Mission 2: Remake follows the perspectives of three characters – Corporal Ash Faruk of the Muddy Otters, Captain Thomas Norland of the Dull Stags and Lisa Stanley, an OCU intelligence officer. Following a new coup, the three’s stories intertwine as they attempt to navigate the crisis.

Front Mission 2: Remake features revamped visuals and updated music with improved battle scenes. A free demo is available for PC via Steam, but you can check out our review here. It’s since received an update, Ver. 1.0.4, which rebalances the difficulty, makes several improvements to the UI, localization and much more. Head here for more details.

Originally released back in October 2023 on the Nintendo Switch, Front Mission 2: Remake features enhancements over the original in both visuals as well as gameplay. The game, a remake of the 1997 PlayStation tactical RPG, revolves around three characters—Ash, Lisa, and Thomas.

Some of the enhancements in Front Mission 2: Remake include updated music and effects, faster load times by taking advantage of more modern hardware, and support for other languages in its dialogues and menus. The game has also seen updates since its release, including one in November, which brought fixes to the in-game cutscenes and rebalanced the game’s difficulty.

For more details on Front Mission 2: Remake, check out our review of the original Nintendo Switch release.

To learn more about how Night Slashers: Remake and how it is toeing the line between recreating a classic and modernizing it for a new audience, we recently reached out to its developers with some of our most burning questions about the game. Below, you can read our interview with Storm Triden CEO Sebastian Kijaczko and QA tester Paweł Naruszewicz.

Three decades on from its launch, what motivated the decision to bring Night Slashers back for modern audiences?

Bringing Night Slashers back for modern audience is a nod to nostalgia and a celebration of the original game’s impact on gaming history. The decision was motivated by a desire to introduce a new generation of players to the thrills and excitement of the classic beat ’em ups, while also giving some old school fans an opportunity to relive their cherished memories. On top of that, we still don’t have a lot of horror themed beat ‘em ups and Night Slashers was a perfect fit to fill that gap.

Beat ’em ups have enjoyed something of a resurgence of late. Given the steps the genre has taken forward with several notable releases, what are the biggest changes you are making to Night Slashers to bring it up to modern standards?

We are enhancing the gameplay mechanics to offer a more fluid and responsive combat system, providing players with a greater sense of control and mastery over their character’s actions. This also includes refining and optimizing enemy AI for more dynamic and challenging encounters.

We are also updating the visuals to take advantage of modern hardware, delivering high-definition graphics with detailed character models, effects and immersive environment. With that we were also able to add more color palette swaps to both main characters and enemies.

Biggest change in the game is the addition of a 4th character (which is yet to be revealed) and possibility to play as 4 players instead of 3, which was the case in the original game.

Given Night Slashers’ reputation for gruesome action, as well as its horror trappings, how much emphasis is being placed on using technology that wasn’t available at the time of the original’s development to make the remake an even more visceral experience?

While staying true to the essence of the original, we’re leveraging modern graphics, sound design, and gameplay mechanics to intensify the horror atmosphere and deliver a truly gripping experience.

Overall, our goal is to honor the legacy of Night Slashers while embracing the advancements of modern gaming. One of the visual upgrades we are happy to add is interactable water, that can be tainted with blood in real time, or leaving bloody footsteps while getting out of blood splats.

Have Night Slashers: Remake’s controls been redesigned from the ground-up? What are the biggest ways the combat will benefit from the improved controls?

The controls for Night Slashers: Remake have indeed been updated, but not really redesigned from the ground up. Game will still provide players with a smoother and more intuitive combat experience with improved controls through enhanced responsiveness and precision.

Can you talk to us about the process of re-recording Night Slashers’ OST for the remake? What kind of balance did you strike between modernizing the music and retaining its original qualities?

Re-recording the OST for Night Slashers: Remake was an exciting journey that required striking a delicate balance between modernization and honoring the original’s iconic qualities. While we remained faithful to the essence of the original tracks, we also took creative liberties to enhance their impact. We had a few takes for each of the tracks to find the perfect one.

How many new characters will you add to the roster in Night Slashers: Remake? What can you tell us about the design process for the new heroes?

While I can’t disclose any specific information on this subject, I can assure you that the design process for the new hero was the result of brainstorming concepts and ideas that would complement the game’s universe, drawing inspiration from various sources. There were a lot of ideas on new characters for the game, so it was not easy to choose the best one.

Moving beyond the new content, what are the biggest changes and enhancements that players should expect from the remake in terms of the content that it’s bringing forward from the original game?

As stated before – the ability to play as 4 players. New character in the roster. General UI overhaul including completely new character select screen. There will also be achievements/trophies. Having the game on every major platform is definitely a plus. We will have more info to share about the game’s changes and upgrades very soon.

What has the process of implementing four-player multiplayer support been like? Did you find that you had to make any drastic changes to the game’s core design or mechanics to ensure that it could accommodate co-op?

One of the main challenges we faced was balancing the difficulty and pacing of the game to account for the presence of four players. With four players on screen simultaneously, encounters needed to be carefully tuned to provide a suitable challenge without feeling overwhelming or unfair. This involved tweaking enemy AI, adjusting spawn rates, and fine-tuning the distribution of items throughout the levels.

The difficulty is rebalanced, and information for build-in weapons is available in the Garage and Shop. Fixes for in-game cutscenes in three of the later stages, UI bugs in the Colosseum, the Raven fight, and issues where you couldn’t obtain weapons and monsters through surrender are also live. Some missing sound FX and music have been added, and the localization polished. Check out the full patch notes below for more details.

Front Mission 2: Remake is available exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Check out our review here – we awarded it a 7 out of 10 due to the difficulty and poor localization, which the update addresses. Aside from the randomness, it’s still a fun time, with the remade visuals looking excellent and mechanics lending to compelling battles.

A new major update to ver. 1.0.4 for FRONT MISSION 2: Remake is now available on #NintendoSwitch!

See the complete list of changes below:
– Changed scale for some units
– Skill trigger fixes
– Improved battle UI placement and overall UI improvements
– Difficulty rebalance
-… pic.twitter.com/pNq2mG6iF1

— FRONT MISSION Remakes (@FrontMissionRM) November 22, 2023

Thanking fans for their feedback, it revealed that the team is “hard at work on updates and improvements, including bug fixes and further work on localization to meet your standards.” It also apologized for any inconvenience caused.

In our review for the remake, the poor localization, somehow a step down from the first game, was noted to be a bummer. Of course, combat feeling frustrating due to randomness and a more predictable narrative didn’t help matters. Hopefully, there will be options for easier battles (if not less RNG) with future updates.

Front Mission 2: Remake delivers good-looking visuals and features updated music and effects, support for other languages, and faster loading times compared to the original. Stay tuned for more details on subsequent updates and improvements in the coming months.

Important notice regarding further development of FRONT MISSION 2: Remake pic.twitter.com/zX88ZWua8S

— FRONT MISSION Remakes (@FrontMissionRM) October 13, 2023

Priced at $34.99 on the Nintendo Switch eShop, the game is currently available at a 10 percent discount, which will go on until October 12. Those who already own The House of the Dead: Remake, Panzer Dragoon: Remake, Cooking Simulator, Thief Simulator, or Green Hell on the Nintendo Switch will be eligible for a 15 percent discount. Those who own Front Mission 1st: Remake will get a 20 percent discount.

Front Mission 2: Remake was originally slated for release back in July before it got delayed to its October release date. Developed by Storm Trident, the remake is based on the classic 1997 tactical RPG on the original PlayStation, and revolves around three characters—Ash, Lisa and Thomas.

Alongside bringing the classic game to a modern audience, Front Mission 2: Remake also features enhancements, like updated music and effects, faster loading times, and support for other languages in dialogues and menus.

Storm Trident’s remake is based on the 1997 PS One tactical RPG Front Mission Second, available only in Japan. The story is set 12 years later and focuses on three characters – Ash, Lisa and Thomas – as a crisis erupts in Alordesh. In addition to revamped visuals and modernized battle scenes, players can zoom in and rotate the camera during battles.

The remake also has updated music and effects, faster-loading speed and support for other languages in the dialogues and menus. You also have new options for Wanzer colors and camouflage. Check out the last trailer here to see the game in action, and stay tuned for more details before its release.

In addition to the same storyline, turn-based combat and Wanzer customization, players can expect “modernized” battle scenes. Considering the original’s visuals, having the remake zoom in and dramatically showcase each Wanzer in combat is pretty cool. Players can also freely pan the camera around the battlefield.

If the revamped visuals aren’t enough, the soundtrack and in-game effects have also been updated, while the dialogue and menus are available in other languages. English and Japanese are a given, but you can also choose French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German and Traditional Chinese.

Front Mission 2: Remake planned to release on June 12th for Nintendo Switch. However, it’s been delayed, with plans to release it in Q3 2024. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.

“We want to ensure that we have sufficient time to add as many functionalities as possible while proceeding with proper implementation and tests, to meet your expectations for a modern-day remake.” It told fans to rest assured that it’s “fully committed” to a polished and “faithful remake” of the franchise.

A new release date couldn’t be specified, but the team is “working tirelessly to complete the project as soon as possible.” The current plan is to release it in the third quarter of 2023. Again, this isn’t guaranteed, so further delays are possible.

As the name indicates, Front Mission 2: Remake is a remake of Front Mission Second, which was only released in Japan for PlayStation One. Developed by Storm Trident, it retails for $34.99 and features improved visuals. There’s also a free camera to zoom in, additional language support, new color and camouflage options for the wanzers, and much more. Stay tuned for more details and gameplay in the coming months.

Important notice regarding the premiere of FRONT MISSION 2: Remake pic.twitter.com/Hw1rAmoTrN

— Forever Entertainment S.A. (@ForeverEntert) May 26, 2023

Set 12 years after the first game in Aldoresh, a coup de tat by the Armed Forces has begun. Three members of the Oceania Cooperative Union – Ash Faruk, Thomas Norland and Lis Stanley – are the focus. The first two attempt to flee with their wanzer units while Stanley arrives to help free prisoners of war.

In addition to the classic turn-based combat, the remake sports a free camera for zooming in. There are also new options for coloring and camouflaging wanzers, a revamped soundtrack, and support for additional languages. Since Front Mission Second never launched outside of PlayStation in Japan, the remake should be a good way for fans to experience the classic.

Stay tuned for more details and gameplay en route to its release. Check out our review of Front Mission 1st Remake in the meantime.