29 May 2008
29 May 2008 - Nintendo DS
In fall 2007, Square Enix Co., Ltd. announced that it would be creating a remake of Front Mission 2089 on the Nintendo DS and named it Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. The games producer Koichiro Sakamoto indicated that a survey of the series fans showed that most did not play games on their cell phones, and so Square Enix decided to bring it to the Nintendo DS. This remake of Front Mission 2089 featured completely remade visuals, new character artwork, new cut-scene events, a rewritten story, new game scenarios, and new battle maps. Also incorporated in the game were touchscreen features and a revised interface for more intuitive touchpad controls. Likewise, various game play mechanics from other Front Mission entries such as armor coating and linked attacks were added to Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness. Multiplayer mode had to be dropped due to space issues on the Nintendo DS.
Set in 2089, the story of Front Mission 2089 takes place on Huffman Island one year before the 2nd Huffman Conflict. A series of skirmishes across Huffman Island in 2086 causes chaos on the island. The O.C.U. and U.S.N. send in peacekeeping forces on their respective sides of the island to quell the violence. This conflict, known as the "Huffman Crisis", increased tensions between the two supranational unions. By 2089, both super-states increase their military presence on the island and begin hiring mercenaries from all over the world. These mercenaries were then sent on espionage and reconnaissance operations around Mail River - the border that divides the O.C.U. and U.S.N. territories on Huffman Island.