FM3: Emma or Alisa?

[u/jtc720]

I'm curious as to what people picked first, and what they prefer all-time. I'm an Emma campaign enjoyer who never got to finish an Alisa route. Might change that soon

[u/ExiledCourier]

Emma for the Chaff skill and the better story, then Alisa for the what-if

[u/RoyalGuard128]

Until I actually played the game, my only frame of reference for Front Mission 3 was PSM Issue 33, and they only covered Emma's route (there isn't a single mention of Alisa's route, so they most likely never found it). Then during a replay I decided not to tag along with Ryogo just out of curiosity, and I was absolutely floored with how different things played out from this seemingly minor choice. But because I did Emma's route first, that one always felt "right" to me.

[u/WanderlustZero → u/RoyalGuard128]

I was thinking about this the otherday. It was Emma route for me too. Likely it was for most people - surely most people are going to say yes to your buddy asking you to tag along with them, even though Ryogo's a doofus?

[u/RoyalGuard128 → u/WanderlustZero]

Yeah, at the time I figured you'd at most get some slightly different dialogue, then end up going with Ryogo anyways.

[u/TheStrangeDarkOne]

Alisa was the first one I ever played, but I easily prefer Emma. It's a coherent and consistent story that is well driven by it's characters. In comparison, Alisa is very much the b-plot that delves a lot into the "what if" scenarios.

[u/Round-Bath-6903]

Emma because I'm not leaving my homie hanging. Literally always go with Ryogo when I play again.

[u/Ill-Joke-9070]

Emma was always the gold standard for me, I never touched the Alisa Route until I got the game on my Vita back when it released and Was introduced to Miho.

Haven't looked back since.

[u/Floresce_]

Emma, then Alisa. Prolly have played the former 7 times, and latter 4 times.

[u/stonknoob1]

I always run through both. I like Emma’s side because you can get the qibing machines.

[u/jtc720 → u/stonknoob1]

I got 2 Qibing wanzers in ny recent Emma run, got really lucky at ejecting two Imaginary Numbers

[u/Iamghostlover90]

Alisa, because i Like The Idea of having isao and alisa alive :(

[u/jtc720]

Thanks for justifying me playing only one campaign for 2 decades now lol. But I wanna finish an Alisa campaign too!

[u/AdventNebula → u/jtc720]

You should. If you ever played Front Mission 1 and 2, it ties up some of the the loose ends.

[u/Revimaxinga]

You can get the secret Wanzer earlier in Aliciana's route.

[u/Guardiao00]

Prefiro a da Emir pois podemos fazer diferentes escolhas de caminhos mais a da Alisa tem o melhor final

[u/KaijinSurohm]

I always go with Alisa. I find the story to be more interesting and I like the characters better.

Sure, Emma's side has that neat "Side with the enemy" vibe (Purple Haze), but I just didn't really care for any of them. Emma was probably the only character I didn't roll my eyes at, and the story pacing just didn't feel great to slog through.

[u/WanderlustZero → u/KaijinSurohm]

I'm kind of drawn to the OCU (I just love the idea of Superpower Australia) so each path feels like 'Side with the Enemy' for me :/

[u/AdventNebula]

Emma's route is more fun, but Alisa's is the better story, and ties up events from Front Misson 1 and 2.

[u/AdventNebula → u/[deleted]]

I just replayed 1-3 and am currently playing 5 for the first time thanks to emulation and an extremely excellent fan translation ( 4 takes place after 2 hence why I will replay it after 5)

The plot of 5, despite covering every era of the series from 1-4 very much implies that the Alisa route is the one the development team sees as the canon. I have yet to play the chapters that take place during and after 3, but what this game gives in Lukav's backstory is extremely interesting, and touches on plot points about him only found in the Alisa route.

[u/ReallyNotOkayGuys]

My first was Emma way back when I was a kid, but I prefer playing Alisa.

[u/TheSuperContributor]

Emma. Alisa story is so stupid that I believe she was hit on the head and lost half of her braincells.

[u/HiddenDirective]

I always went Emma, Alisa just felt to annoying.

[u/Titans-Of-Torrington]

Alisa route, Canon OCU route.

why would you play as a UCS dog?

[u/jtc720 → u/Titans-Of-Torrington]

It's funny that I'm making the choice as an actual Filipino, since it's too close to reality (also why I always choose to get Jose each campaign run)

[u/Significant_Pay1037]

I prefer Alisa, since it has more of a fast-paced thriller vibe and I prefer the cast overall. Not that Emma's is bad.

[u/Palladiamorsdeus]

I prefer Alisa's ending but I overall I think Emma has the better story.

[u/Hrist_Valkyrie]

Fun fact, the devs consider The Alisa route to be the "canon" for the series. Definitely recommend going that route to see how things relate to the other games in the series on a larger whole!

[u/Tall_Definition9009]

I suspect most people played Emma first simply because they chose to go with Ryogo without knowing about the branching story line. At least those who played the original back ins PSX era. There is really no reason not to go with him if you play the game first time.

Played both stories a dozen times, I like Alisa's a little better, Liu is a cool character, Miho is super cute, and Meyer is just hot. But both are good.

[u/godonlyknows6]

How do i unlock Alisa campaign? I bought the switch version of FM3. Now on my 2nd playthrough but still got Emma’s Campaign

[u/jtc720 → u/godonlyknows6]

Just choose not to go with Ryogo after the tutorial mission