"Front Line" - NES/Famicom

Front Line was initially released by Taito way back in 1982-- before the Famicom even came out in Japan. And now it's making an appearance on the Famicom in 1985. Front Line's graphics would have been too complicated to replicate on the Atari 2600 though (though that wouldn't stop someone from trying), so that only left PCs as a porting option until the Famicom existed, so it can be somewhat forgiven.

Apparently Front Line was one of the first titles in the overhead run 'n' gun genre that used shooting and grenades, like Ikari Warriors would go on to popularize later. The English Wikipedia claims that it was the first console game by Taito, but the Japanese Wikipedia said that they developed the port of Space Invaders... I don't know which is correct, let me know if you have better information than I do and I'll change this section! Now's your chance!

Apparently also, the game was well liked enough to be runner up for "Coin Op Game of the Year," at least as decided by "Electronic Games" magazine in 1983.

Somehow I doubt, having played it before, that I'll be that impressed with it during another go, but let's play it again so I can write about it:

Notice that there's no Back Line alternative. Or Second to Front Line. This game isn't for cowards.

----- Playthrough -----

Front Line is a pretty simple premise: you're an army guy in a blue suit and standing between you and the enemy commander (the enemy army is green), is a whole host of guys, and guys in small tanks, and guys in big tanks. And you'll have to walk upwards and throw grenades and shoot your pistol, and occasionally hijack a tank or two to get you close enough to take him out and make the whole battalion surrender.

Because that's just what the Front Line boys do.

B shoots your pistol, and A throws a grenade which has a longer travel time but also a longer range, and does more damage. If you want to take out vehicles on foot, you'll have to use your grenades, which means timing the throw to hit them with it, with its slow lob time.

You shouldn't have to do that too much though, because as you get up the level you'll start to encounter abandoned tanks and mini-tanks, suspiciously painted in your army's color scheme and just sitting behind enemy lines for you to hop into.

Nice of you fellas to prepare this for me. I wish I had brought something for you.

The only real consideration once you're in the tank is that if you get hit with a shot, the tank will start smoking-- which is your cue to hit A and jump out of there right away. If you stay still, it will blow up after a second or two, taking a life, but if you jump out in time, you can actually get back in it again and be fine.

The map is of a decent length and you'll see a few scenery changes as you continue upwards. Probably the most exciting part of the game is crossing these bridges.

If that gives you a hint at how exciting the game is.

Eventually, you come to the big bad leader guy, in a tank of his own, which'll withstand 5 or so shots. Dodge carefully and take him out, and the entire enemy army will surrender with him, because that's just pretty much how warfare works, I guess.

That's how it works, right? Don't look at me like that, I'm a computer science major, not a soldier.

----- Review -----

How long did I play?
7 minutes (lmao)

How much did I beat?
I beat one loop of the game and died somewhere in the second.

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Intuitive Design: 

How easy is it to intuitively understand the game?

Considering it's an arcade game it should come as no surprise that it's pretty easy to get a hold of if you can figure out the d-pad moves and the A and B button do shooty things. Shoot bad man, win game.

Gameplay / Difficulty: 

How rewarding does playing the game feel?

The game's not unreasonably hard but it can be a little punishing when you miss shots. Only being able to fire once every few seconds means that you have to aim very carefully, and when enemies walk on screen, if you miss them, it'll take a few moments for you to get another shot.

So that's why you shoot them from two inches away. Never miss.

Depth: 

How deep/long is the game?

Well, a full loop of the game apparently takes about 6 minutes (I died once and had to start over). I'd have to say, for me personally, that's not an amazing amount of content for a Famicom game.

It's also pretty simple so there's not a lot of tactical consideration involved.

Sound / Graphics: 

How's the sound? How are the graphics?

The game looks fine, there's certainly an effort to create different sections of the map that have different themes and details-- but ultimately nothing in the game is really that striking or interesting and it's kind of a boring look, with a lot of dull greys and greens.

The sounds are fine, but there's really no music in the game at all, so it's a pretty empty soundscape.

Personal Chord: 

Does the game have that undefinable "something" for me?

To be honest I don't even really like good games of this genre that much, so Front Line doesn't have a lot to offer me on its own, especially with its lackluster presentation.

Should You Play: 

Is there a reason to even bother with this one?

I wouldn't. There are much better, later examples of this run 'n' gun genre, but this particular one definitely doesn't have anything you're missing out on if you don't play it.

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