Here's a neat little promotional album. I don't know what it took to originally get ahold of it, but cocoEbiz/VGMWorld had it for sale for awhile...if you check, it may still be on sale!

Anyway, with the release of Front Mission 4, there was a renewed interest in Front Mission which got re-released and renamed "Front Mission 1st." As track 8 signifies to me, there must have been some added missions or scenarios, because Iwasaki is listed as the composer of this new song, "Theme of BlackHounds." Other than this song (which is pretty good), the rest of the songs are just slightly upgraded versions of the original versions heard on the old OST. In fact, I'm not sure that there was any upgrading done to the synth, perhaps just better sound quality on the CD this time around. They sound good.

For those unfamiliar with the first Front Mission, this mini-album serves as a healthy reminder of how good Shimomura and Matsueda are, each in their own way. The "Shop" theme is one of the catchiest little tunes known to man, and "Karen" is a lovely and sad melody, projected through synth "ahh" voices in full chordal structure. All of the songs selected here are decent, but I sampled my personal favorites.

If you already own the OSV from yester-year, this album isn't worth your time. But, if you haven't heard Front Mission music before and you can find this little promotional item for a cheap price, I say go for it. The BlackHounds Theme makes it worthwhile.

Reviewed by: Patrick Gann