Blair Loveday
Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler really proved one thing. JRPG fans don’t just love old games because of nostalgia, new ones are awesome too.
Well the mind behind those excellent JRPG’s is behind the latest Square Nintendo offering Triangle Strategy and I am all in.
Triangle Strategy isn’t just a dumb name, it is also an excellent story.
One of the things that will determine how much you will like this game will be how much you like reading and/or listening to a lot of dialogue. Seriously, there is a lot. A lot of these text heavy games I can accidentally start skipping some of the dialogue as I try to get to the playing part of the game. If you do this then it will be at your peril as the story is a very important part of it.
The game is set in a continent of three nations. These nations have been at war for years because of their resource needs but eventually came to a truce. Many years later you take control of a group headed by Serenoa to stop a new conflict kicking off.
You will venture around and see all of the nasty politics at hand.
One of the coolest aspects of the game is that the decisions you make influence characters, and then when choices arise the team votes on it. Many times your vote won’t be the one that decides what happens next. Some of these situations you need to collect information and get people on your side to get the answer you want. I spent the whole game not wanting to commit until I explored more because I was worried I was going to screw it up.
The other biggest strength is obviously the absolutely fricking gorgeous art. The pixel inspired art style with some extraordinary details scenery makes every moment of playing a real treat for the eyes. This is very important because again, so… much… dialogue. There is voice acting which is decent enough, and helps because you can keep enjoying the stunning world while you listen to so… much… plot.
That covers the Triangle, the three nations and all that jazz, but what about the strategy I hear you asking. Well it is a strategy RPG. That was easy, next question.
Annoyingly the Strategy battles aren’t anything to write home about.
For those who are unfamiliar, battles take place on a grid and for each turn you move characters around, and hopefully attack your opponents until the board is empty. One thing I liked is that you don’t just have a turn where you use all your characters and then the enemy has all their turns, instead each character has their turn. This means keeping an eye on the battle’s turn order is crucial.
Aside from this though, the battle system is pretty stock standard. This isn’t a massive issue as strategy battles are fun as hell, it is just missing a hook that makes the game stand out.
Triangle Strategy is in some ways a great game and in some ways a decent game. If you are itching for a Tactical RPG / Strategy RPG then this will definitely scratch that itch. It has a really enjoyable story and competent enough gameplay.
The only thing it lacks is there is nothing that makes the game stand out, and as such it will likely be forgettable before long.
Released: March 2022
Rating: PG
Platforms reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Genre: RPG
Developer: Artdink
Publisher: Square Enix / Nintendo