Spinoff Front Left Alive appears to have rough Japan launch

If you've been getting your hopes up for Left Alive, the spinoff of the Front Mission series, well, do not. If its Japan, this is a troubled game that Square Enix appears to be burying.

Siliconera notes that players can not stream Left Alive, after being able to do so on the day (Feb. 28). Moreover, the game is already in the bin bargain, selling for almost half-off on Amazon Japan.

When the game was launched last week, players were able to stream from the PlayStation 4 for everything except Left Alive'S cutscenes. Now everything has been disabled. As for user reviews, the same Amazon Japan where the game is 44 percent off a user rating of 1.8 (of 5). It's getting smacked by players for broad, fundamental things like design, controls and graphics.

Famitsu's impressions earlier this month called it a very difficult game oriented towards advanced players and those familiar with the Front Mission series. Survival is the emphasis of the survival-action shooter, where enemies have a wide detection radius and "it is practically impossible to power your way through, even on the lowest difficulty."

Left Alive launches in North America on Tuesday, March 5 on PlayStation 4 and Steam. It's a departure from the rest of the Front Mission series in that it has a greater focus on action rather than tactics. Players confront the Wanzers, the 'mechs' series, traps, and occasionally firepower.

The Front Mission series dates to 1995 but did not have a chance in the west until 2000's Front Mission 3 on PlayStation. The most recent entry in the series was 2010's Front Mission Evolved.