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Sorry for the long update! Things have been very busy for our team in real-life in the past month or so. Don’t worry, we’re still working away on our projects here!

Anyhow, head on over to our project website for some information on the updates. If you don’t want to do that, I’ll post a few of them here.

First off, our website’s hit a major milestone as of March 2011 – over 500,000 visitors! That’s the total for the 3 years frontmission.info has been around since March 2008. Not too bad for a franchise which supposedly has a very “small presence” outside of Japan, eh?

The other major update I have to say is that the next patch for Front Mission 2 is being tested as we speak. It’s looking sweet to see more and more of the game in English, even if we’ve ran into some programming roadblocks along the way. Editing thankfully has been finished for a while now, so it’s just a matter of trial-and-error with the programming parts. As editing lead, I’ve tried harder to make the text flow better so I’m hoping those results show with Front Mission 2!

Oh yeah, I forgot! Toshiro Tsuchida’s no longer with Square Enix! He’s been officially an ex-employee since February 28, 2011…the same day that the Front Mission Mobile service officially ended. We’ve made a special tribute page to him on the website, so check that out whenever you can!

So what does that mean for Front Mission? Well, it’s virtually assured that we won’t see any more Front Mission video games in the future. Kind of a bummer that Front Mission Evolved will be the last title in the video game line-up. On the other hand, Front Mission is still alive and well through other media! Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style 07 is coming out this June, with an eighth volume confirmed for release in 2012…and possibly more! Also, the South Korean edition of Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style 05 was recently released so that’s a sign that the brand still sells. With any luck, Front Mission might officially end by its 20-year anniversary in 2014…

Operation Nightfall? Belgrade? Sounds eerily similar to 24, doesn’t it? Well, stay tuned for a featured article on why Front Mission and 24 have a lot in common with each other!

While we are preparing for the release of Prototype Patch 2, here’s a small gift for all of you fans – the opening and 2 full-motion video (FMV) event scenes in English! Just as a warning, the two FMV event scenes spoil what happens at the end of Front Mission 2. Watch at your own risk if you haven’t played and beaten Front Mission 2 yet!

Opening

Australia (SPOILERS!)

O.C.U. Central Parliament (SPOILERS!)

Happy New Years, everyone! The catchy 20-10 will be making way for the not-so-catchy 2011 and with it, the official beginning of the new decade (if you count 20-10 as part of the 2000s decade). And with that means Front Mission will officially be 17 years old! Goodbye Sweet 16! You will be missed!

So, in the 16 years or so that the franchise has been around, what has been released? Let’s do a quick check…

• 11 video games – 7 main entries, 4 spin-off entries
• 2 video game remakes – Front Mission First, Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness
• 2 video game ports – Front Mission for the WonderSwan, Front Mission First for the DS
• 1 video game compilation – Front Mission History
• 9 expanded universe book series – 6 manga series, 3 novel series
• 17 expanded universe books overall – 13 manga entries, 4 novel entries
• 2 expanded universe live-action films – Front Mission, Front Mission: Gun Hazard
• 1 expanded universe radio drama – Front Mission: Gun Hazard
• Tons of other merchandise – art books, data books, soundtracks, action figures, phone cards, posters, etc.

Not too shabby for a video game-based franchise that got its start from a manga series and a live-action film in 1994…and is long past its due date, eh? Now it’s just a matter of how much longer Front Mission can keep going before its batteries run dry. It’s already assured of survival in 2011 through Front Mission Dog Life & Dog Style, but for how long? Well, if the recent Dog Life & Dog Style chapters in the new Young GanGan magazines I’ve read are any indication of the franchise’s survival, then I think it’ll be around for a few more years. As one character says in the aforementioned chapters…”Goddamn it, this fight’s just getting started!”

Speaking of which, here’s a nice way to start 2011: a Japanese interview with Yasuo Otagaki! Regarded as one of Japan’s top seinen writers, Otagaki-san talks about his work on the Front Mission franchise as well as his own personal creation – Moonlight Mile! Moonlight Mile is an award-winning seinen manga series (with an anime adaptation) that’s usually seen as the new “Front Mission” of this generation in Japan. Although it revolves around the themes of space exploration and colonization, it’s heavy on political intrigue, character development, and philosophical issues. It even features mecha in the form of power loaders and other plausible creations that we might see in the near future! So without further ado, check out the interview with Yasuo Otagaki in this video:

Welcome to the Front Mission: Series Translation Project blog! In this blog, we’ll be talking about anything and everything related to Front Mission. Video games, merchandise, fan translations, and whatever floats the boat as they say! There’s tons of Front Mission info that remains Japan-only and our job is to educate as many people everywhere else about this under-appreciated and largely forgotten diamond in the rough. And with Front Mission back in the spotlight through Front Mission Evolved, our teammates felt now would be a good time to connect with anyone who wanted to get into the franchise.

Feel free to talk about anything Front Mission in here, and enjoy learning more about the franchise! Don’t forget to spread the word to other people and donate to keep the project going!