The right choice isn’t the one you want to make. Every choice comes with sacrifice, and each person will always be leaning towards things that vie for their heart. People are inevitably in conflict and choosing is never going to feel easy. Triangle Strategy mechanically make choices feel difficult. It will fill you with regret and show you the reminders of the path you have chosen? It’s wondrous.


Triangle Strategy as a tactical RPG is FRESH. A SRPG in the way of Final Fantasy Tactics, I just want to first give adoration to its class systems. The recharge of actions and how that affects abilities ( a little bit of cribbing from the Bravely actions) is something that affects the entire combat. In some ways it limits you, to get great use out of mages, you can’t spam magic, you have to plan its use. While many times it felt like I underused elements, they create unique items (such as ones that add action points upon a kill) or unique support units, that can give away their actions or manipulate the actions of other enemies. These actions in game are called TP, technique points. I think so much about Julio and how he ruins enemy units and expands others because all his actions are about changing yours and enemies. In many ways the magicians get to really be the unique component of this game. The effects of their magic affect the map and are dynamic. If enemies are on metal train tracks or in water, thunder magic (and items that work like them) are exploitable. You can freeze walls around you to affect how enemies will try to engage with you. You can throw oil on the floor and burn them to create fire walls that enemies will avoid to lose health. You can manipulate so much. They even can work together, melting ice with fire to create puddles you can electrify. I just wish that the magic was just a bit more powerful and doled out a bit more . That when getting to use the magic or plan in terms of environment synergy , that I would really gain an advantage and feel powerful. When I talk about a mechanically amazing system, I want to even mention Jen! He was an MVP, a blacksmith who was a trap setter is so unique, I have never used a character like him. He has ladders he can create that make scaling walls different and he can lay traps on the floor that will fling enemies into differs parts of the map or even to each other. As a game very much with the format of individual movement moment to moment rather than army to army, it just feels like you have an assortment of options and this ignores that I didn’t use everyone.


I think what stands out with Triangle Strategy is how that choice making affects how you maneuver the story. At key junctures you have choices with he core story cast. You have 7 characters that judge to make decisions that are not clear cut. They vote on the decisions and you ahem dialogue trees to see where people will vote. However you have to convince them based on who they are as a character. What values do they have, and can you pick choices that lean them towards what you care about. It makes all these characters feel alive. It’s been heart wrenching at moments to disappoint some with the path you have chosen or seethe your conversation with them couldn’t sway them. You can’t always get your way. 
In order to have the upper hands in some of the conversations the other part of the game come into play, exploration of the maps.

At most junctures you can enter the surrounding area to talk to player characters and npc and find items. This was so effective, you got the opportunity to try to get more information from the world, and use them in your deliberations with teammates. In the world you see and learn different elements of the maps. It makes these maps feel like real places, and you even see these places return for future cutscenes or even totally different maps. What this really has done is create a sense of place. Norzelia: with the Aesfrost, Glenbrook and Hyzante countries feel real, lived in and you play battles where people truly breathe.

I think the weakest part of this game is that you never feel powerful and that can affect how the pacing of this game can feel. On one hand never feeling truly more powerful even at higher levels sometimes, means that often when you win a map, you truly feel like it is your wit at work. The satisfaction that you were able to get he best on your opponent is great. Strategies of unit placement , team composition, being aggressive or patter truly radically affect the outcomes. Maps like Chapter 16 and 20 for Frederica’s route demonstrate the unique predicaments and gimmicks that challenge your thinking. From a map design it’s great. But feeling weak with such detailed customization (but low numbers) can feel disheartening. It means often in games after several turns of great plays, that if you make one mistake , it’s unlikely you will recover. There were many moments where the minute the other team gets more units than me alive, that my wits couldn’t out do the lack of offensive power. It also makes it feel peculiar about how to upgrade units when the improvement is so minimal on defense and attack. Again it makes for feeling you are smart but I think of a time where it ended up being a map ending at a one on one at the very end with one of the strongest units and grunt enemy and I couldn’t beat them without consistent use of health items. It makes battles feel a tad longer and feel like you are behind.


These issues are minor when great that the cast and story is on display. People have lamented that this is a talky game but I can’t imagine what people would have wanted them to truncate. The game circles Benedict, Frederica and Roland primarily and they are a sensational trio. It makes decisions that let some of them down feel like heartbreaks. Benedict in particular as a machiavellian schemer is the best character in this game and adds so much to the feeling of decision making here. No one is completely right and you can’t always win. I love that you can always look at the bio of who is speaking, it means for later you can always catch up on the story if you leave it BUT even better seeing characters bios change because of choices you made, feels like the world is evolving.
This game really does ask you: do you courage to stick to your convictions? I appreciate that it asked me that both in and out of battle. Special game.