Battles begin at a half hour to 45 mins, with that nearly tripling as you continue on throughout the game. There's no denying its appeal though, as Front Mission remains to be one of the best pure strategy games on the market. Diehard strategists will be in heaven, while casuals are completely overwhelmed. Battles end up playing out in similar fashion to literally any strategy game on the market now (they had to get their inspiration from somewhere), but the customization is just insane, as every mech in your party can be fully upgraded piece by piece, with each decision changing their movement speed, section-specific armor and attack power, overall weight, and even physical appearance. Without a doubt hardcore tactics fans will dive into Front Mission with little resistance, but at the same time the game doesn't do much to explain the interface, battle strategy, or nuances of the game, so unless you're a seasoned player - or don't mind reading the instruction booklet cover to cover - you may feel pretty overwhelmed at first. Stylus works, but we'll take the classic configuration any day, as the on-screen units, squares, and commands are really, really small.
All in-game actions can be pulled off with either stylus control or d-pad/button play. When doing battle you'll automatically target the enemy mech's legs, body, or left/right arm depending on the attack and position, so it's a battle to not only wipe out the other team, but tactically disable them in the process. Attacking players can make use of left and right handed weaponry, as well as shoulder-mounted cannons. Your group of Wanzers hit the field, you command and move them to any available highlighted box based on their movement speed and mech weight, and do battle with enemy units until one team is entirely wiped out. In general it's a mix of Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Neo Pocket's Faselei, combining grid-based battlefield with close, medium, and long ranged attacks. The majority of the game takes place on the battlefield though, so that's where the value (or lack of, for some gamers) will be found. The only real gameplay outside of the overall story arch rests in the arena mode, where players can select one of their Wanzers and battle them against AI opponents in order to gain more cash and experience. The overall experience is entirely linear, with a main story unfolding with short in-game scripted sequences before and after each bout. Once you return, simply repeat the process by upgrading, repairing, and setting up for the next battle. You'll navigate a main home base via menus, trick out your Wanzer units (Front Mission lingo for "Mech"), and enter battle. Even more than something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics, Front Mission is 100% strategy and very little RPG at all, filling the genre of tactical/strategy more than strategy/RPG. The original Front Mission set the tone for the rest of the series, so while it may lack some of the presentation and cinematic feel of later games (Front Mission 3 on PlayStation was a cult classic, despite relatively low sales) it's still an impressive core design.
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