Triangle Strategy is exactly what it says it is – a long, slow burner of a strategy game that is a mix of Final Fantasy tactics, bad voice acting and an overserious story all piled into one very long game. With Square Enix at the helm, Triangle Strategy also feels right at home for those who enjoy classic strategy games. There’s little freedom here when it comes to the world and how you approach it but if you’re invested enough in what’s going on, I think you might just enjoy this game a lot.
Triangle Strategy also focused heavily on its world-building making decisions I made during the game affect the overall plot and also the character relationships. Square Enix has clearly put the characters in the game in front of everything else and while I struggled to listen to them at times, they all offer some certain depth that made them relatable, if not lovable.
Triangle Strategy is set in the land of Norzelia. It tells an original of about three divided countries. Norzelia is made up of Glenbrook, Aesfrost and Hyzante. As most stories about countries go, this one is also about a war that took place over thirty years ago. These three lands went to war over the land’s iron and resources. However, they signed a peace treaty and lived in harmony for a while. That is until Serenoa Wolffort, the game’s protagonist gets wrapped up in a power struggle that threatens the peace on the continent.
Triangle Strategy is about diplomacy, conflict and of course, the people all involved in the looming war that could be brought on if things don’t settle down. For the most part, Triangle Strategy is also about a sense of discovery. As the Serenoa progresses through the game, I learnt a lot about Norzelia, the people and its past. However, the game also relies on reading documents to fully understand the continent and there’s a lot to digest in this game.
Triangle Strategy also features a handful of unique party members to get to know. They are all well-rounded and pretty fleshed out. It also helps that mostly everything in the game is fully voiced, even if some of the voice acting is questionable at times. The party members also have their own minds in the game. When decisions need to be made, these characters vote on what they believe is the right choice. In a way, this makes them feel much more believable. It beats them just plodding along and accepting my choices even if they didn’t agree on it in the first place.
There are even opportunities in Triangle Strategy to try and sway a party member’s vote to your favour. This meant I had to speak to them and try and make them believe my decision was the right one. However, this also came with a catch. I also had to be fully invested in the game’s lore to understand why they didn’t want to look at things my way. This relied on paying attention and piecing together this convoluted continent’s history
Triangle Strategy is a slow-burner. In fact, it took me around 20 hours before the game reached a stable progression flow. The first few hours all happen like a whirlwind and it sets the pace for things to come and didn’t shy away from throwing me right into the action.
The game is also a strategy experience so when I wasn’t listening to the thousands of voice lines or reading the pages of documents, I was having fights on the battlefield between my team and another. It is a turn-based strategy at heart here and there’s a deep combat system that is impressively delivered in the game. While the general system, like move here, do that, hit this person, felt familiar there are some decent mechanics in play that mix up the formula too.
Characters all have roles I had to remember to keep my health up, magic casting and tank damage strong. At the same time, I had to take into account their weaknesses, damage output and even the environment around me to either save them from death or kill an enemy faster. Things like a puddle of water can be electrified to deal more damage to enemies and chain attacks can be used on enemies who are surrounded by multiple allies.
I do have to mention that combat in Triangle Strategy doesn’t happen very often. I was actually surprised to see how little there was in the game. It is also the game’s best feature so it is a pity to see these encounters in short supply. There’s a lot more talking and talking and talking to listen to here than actual combat. Again, this game relies on you being fully invested in the game’s story and characters.
Triangle Strategy also doesn’t do most of the characters justice in the game. They only became likeable and connected with me quite far into the game. Those of you who are looking for a quick relationship here are going to be disappointed.
In the end, Triangle Strategy is a decent strategy game. I do believe it focused a bit too much on its story and lore and this often puts the best features like the combat and decisions on the sideline. Both of which I could have done more with. But the game is delivered in a nice classic style that is for those who enjoyed the good old days of Final Fantasy Tactics.
This Triangle Strategy review is based on a code sent to us by Nintendo. You can pick up the game for R1,129 from the local Nintendo store here.
