Triangle Strategy is a turn-based RPG game where the player will encounter a wide array of characters to recruit and field in dynamic battles. The game has a compelling story shaped by the decisions taken and features heavy character development and plot twists that are done correctly. If you know of Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics, you will be right at home despite some of the differences such as no counterattacks or roles being more diverse.

The story of Triangle Strategy puts the player in the role of Serenoa Wolffort, a young man who due to circumstances becomes the head of his house in the land of Norzelia. There are a lot of gray themes and decisions to be made, and one can often find themselves allying with an enemy or doing questionable things to thrive in the land of salt. As a player, you carry the consequences of your choices and must decide which path is more appropriate for your house, creating an interesting narrative experience. Do you favor effective but cruel tactics, or do you sacrifice the advantage to align with your moral compass?

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Triangle Strategy's story dwells on slavery, betrayal, hard choices, and manipulation. The first few chapters had me bored out of my mind, but once I got around chapters 6-7 a few hours in I found myself hooked as the story picked up. The land of Norzelia is a place where the strong rule over the weak, and those beneath need to obey if they wish to survive. Every faction has its agenda and navigating the political field of the different houses is not only engaging but also compelling. As the player plays the different routes, they find each path reveals secrets and lore about the land itself.

The combat of Triangle Strategy is similar to a tactics game but also includes its flavor. The most important aspect is the environment itself, archers deal more damage when they are in higher places or from a distance, and terrain can become frozen, wet, or burn due to magic, affecting units and even influencing hit rates. It creates a compelling challenge where when playing with higher difficulties every little detail needs to be taken into account.

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The game also uses skill points that are spent to use abilities and regenerate slowly, and depending on what units you field on the battlefield you can have synergies. For example, Benedict can give Serenoa a double turn, while Julio can give Benedict his skills points back, enabling Serenoa to get another double turn or act instantly again skipping everyone's turn. Three characters out of the thirty already show the potential for strategy and synergies greatly. The level design is also fantastic, with multiple conditionals or intricated design, although few levels are reused or can have a simplistic layout, the majority shine as excellent and well-balanced.

The Scales of Conviction is a voting system that many players didn't like back in the day, it felt like it took responsibility from Serenoa and freedom of choice from the player. However, what appears as a restrictive system can have some flexibility to it. Anna is your wildcard which you can influence to alter votes (alongside other characters depending on your convictions) and sometimes dialogue choices can work if you lack the necessary requisite as convictions divide between freedom, utility, and Morality. That being said, in true Japanese fashion, the developers of Triangle Strategy love to keep their best paths to new game plus, as getting the Golden Route in a first playthrough can be vexing both in votes and its gameplay with high lv enemies and harsh levels.

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The game has different endings and routes, each featuring its tone and changing the course of the story. I went with the Benedict route and had an amazing time with its plot twist that I couldn't see coming and gray themes of incredibly harsh decisions. The voice acting is fantastic and sells the story exceedingly well in the English dub, and although Serenoa's voice actor wanes, it also thrives in other scenes. I found Serenoa VA to be decently tolerated, as Triangle Strategy is a grounded story, it fits well into the role to have a more stoic character at times.

The best part of Triangle Strategy is not only its story and combat but also the soundtrack. The music in the game carries the scenes and themes. Resolute Heart, with its heavy tones and melancholy notes, can be impactful during big moments. Others, such as Crimson Might or Combat March, make battles have a tone of fantasy and serious stakes in the former, while the latter provides a more hopeful take on it.

For all the praises I am singing to the game, it is not without its flaws. Unless playing on easier difficulties, grinding is a must in mock battles and it can be extremely tedious at times. As stated before, the first few hours can be a bit lacking and it can be frustrating when one wants to take a route, only for the game to tell you "No, I think you want this route instead" and force you to either take another path or you guest it, grind conviction. In addition, characters join you based on conviction (except the mandatory cast) which can create fear of missing out and the necessity of using a guide.

Triangle Strategy is an amazing strategy game that despite its flaws, manages to convey a story full of twists, tragedies, and the grayness of the world. I liked the tactical use of the environment being on the forefront, and its characters, factions, and world are full of life and passion with a colorful cast using Red, Blue, and Green as primary colors. Being able to become part of a faction to betray them later leaves a lot of choices on the table. It gives a good diversity in the storytelling experience in my opinion. Despite some gripes, I recommend playing the game blindly with no guides on the first playthrough and enjoying the ride on the land of Norzelia.

9/10 AMAZING

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i want to like this game. i read all the reviews beforehand and understood it was story heavy. i like a good story, thats a good portion of the reason i enjoy video games. the story is not great but it is tolerable.

i just can't get over the need to grind so much. and i used to grind tf out of final fantasy tactics. i spent countless hours grinding all my moves for all my heroes - something most people would find super boring. but each hero in triangle strat only has a few moves so the grinding seems super useless and boring.

i feel like im near the end of the first playthrough (i havent been reading spoilers) but i am increasingly finding it difficult to want to continue. the recommended level for the fight im on is 21 i believe and my heroes mostly 20 some 19s. i just dont feel like grinding for 2-3 hours to get no new moves and just have the slight stat gain to power through.

i saw recently the sega genesis collection was going to be delisted (dont know if it has yet) and shining force 1 and 2 were on there. they were half the reason i got FFT when it came out. i feel like im more likely to dive in to those again at this point before i load up triangle strat.

i dont leave many reviews unless i feel like i can add a reasonable take and here i am. the only thing motivating to finish this game is my OCD / completionist personality, and even that hasnt been enough for me to play in the last few weeks.

hope this helps someone.

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