Gamers suspect Front Mission 3 remake uses generative AI to produce unrecognizable visuals

Many game developers, GPUs, and consoles employ AI upscaling to improve the quality of older visuals. However, the Front Mission 3 remake appears to take things a step further by using generative AI. Instead of higher-resolution graphics, players are stumbling upon unrecognizable images. RPG Site compared the Nintendo Switch remake to the 1999 PlayStation version and made some surprising discoveries.

Developed by what became Square Enix, Front Mission 3 is often viewed as the best entry in the tactical RPG series. When not battling mecha-like wanzers, players spend time browsing the "Network." The Network is like an internet browser that expands upon the title's storylines and characters. It's in this component of the game that RPG Site found many radically different images.

The most shocking examples involve elements in the Front Mission 3 remake not found in the original. A previously pixelated city scene where a wanzer crashed now includes a deformed helicopter and police tape. In another case, the developers decided to remake an orange Wanzer into a red contraption with an unorthodox design. The changes seem to go beyond upscaling, suggesting that generative AI created additional objects.

While fewer critics object to AI upscaling, generative AI, when used recklessly, can change the entire aesthetic of a game. The evolving technology trains by scanning enormous amounts of data, including photos. Eventually, it learns enough to produce new images as requested. Fans now wonder why MegaPixel Studio wouldn't limit machine learning in the Front Mission 3 remake to cleaning up the 1999 assets.

The role of AI in games has become a contentious debate that's unlikely to quiet down anytime soon. Steam is now labeling titles that include AI-generated assets, with Everybody's Golf Hot Shots as the latest example. In instances like Front Mission 3, gamers accuse the developers of distorting the original vision of the artists.