August 11, 2000 respectively. Front Mission 4 became the second entry to undergo an English localization and was released in North America on June 15, 2004. A three-year gap followed before the localization of the Nintendo DS port of Front Mission First, which saw a release in North America on October 23, 2007. This marked the third time that a Front Mission title was localized for the North American region. Front Mission Evolved became the first spin-off entry to be localized in North America and Europe, making it the fourth and second titles respectively to reach those regions. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2010, in North America on September 28, 2010, and in Europe on October 8, 2010. To date, only five Front Mission entries have ever been officially localized and released outside Japan. Common elements Gameplay Although Front Mission video games venture into multiple genres, each of them contain core elements that are universal to the entire series. In the Front Mission series, players use playable units called wanzers, a term for mecha derived from the German word "Wanderpanzer", or "walking tank". Wanzers differ from the typical combat unit in that it has four modular parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Each part has a specific function and its own health bar. The legs parts enable movement and evasion, the arm parts are necessary to use hand and shoulder weapons, and the body part maintains the wanzer's operability. In the event the body is destroyed, the wanzer is removed from play completely. Destruction of arm and leg parts does not remove the wanzer from play, but it severely cripples its performance. While the player fights mostly wanzers, vehicles, aircraft, and mobile weapons platforms are also featured. These enemy units generally have only one part, the body, and are much stronger than wanzers themselves. Wanzers can be customized with a variety of parts, computers, auxiliary backpacks, and weapons. The player has full control over customizing their wanzers and can do so as long as its total weight value does not exceed its given power output. To field a wanzer in battle, it must have a complete frame of parts: body, left arm, right arm, and legs. Parts with built-in weapons in the body or arm sections can also be equipped on a wanzer. In most Front Mission titles, computers must also be installed; these improve