Triangle Strategy is a fantastic tactical RPG, and I'm so very glad to see it ported over to the PC. It offers a near perfect balance of strategy gameplay, active worldbuilding, and passive worldbuilding to get players committed to Norzelia and her inhabitants. While the gameplay may be too handholdy for tactical veterans, its accessible enough to encourage you to spend more time playing the game rather than trying to customize characters to the best they can be. This port doesn't really offer much of an incentive for those who own the Switch version, but...the game is near perfect as is. Why bother trying to improve on a stellar tactical RPG?
There needs to be more turn-based tactical RPGs for the PC. There, I said it. Nintendo has created a name for itself with Fire Emblem, Square Enix dabbled in Final Fantasy Tactics (with varying degrees of success), Nippon Ichi’s Disgaea series have been mostly hits. But…so few of these titles are available on the PC, assuming they make their way to North America at all. When I think back to my childhood, I attribute much of my decisionmaking skills and interest in the strategy genre thanks to Advance Wars for the Game Boy Advance and the few Generation of Chaos titles that made their way to the PSP. But, these games are not for everyone, and it’s rare to see titles get rereleased/remastered after the fact. Thus, my surprise to see Triangle Strategy make its way to Steam no more than eight months after its Switch release was that of a pleasant surprise. Even more, I was quite happy to review it.
Triangle Strategy was initially released on the Nintendo Switch in March 2022. For some, including myself, it was safe to assume that this title was to be a Switch exclusive. This HD-2D tactical RPG was released with mainly positive reviews stemming from its gameplay, unique decisionmaking, art, and music from the likes of the development team behind Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler. I needn’t repeat myself about how much I enjoyed Bravely Default II, but I was thrilled to see Square Enix and Artdink release another RPG in the same style as some of my favorite modern RPGs. For those of you who enjoyed Bravely Default II on the PC, I won’t mince words: Triangle Strategy is a very, very good game.
Triangle Strategy takes place on the content of Norzelia, a land of three kingdoms embroiled in a conflict over resources. You take the role of Serenoa Wolffort, along with a large cast of his companions, to navigate their way through conflicts over resources, betrayal, and politics. The beginning of Triangle Strategy is quite drawn out, almost to a Kojima-extent of worldbuilding through cutscenes. The tutorial seems simple, but you won’t be playing much for the first two (or so) hours. I can understand why some may be put off by this glacial pace, but it serves a greater purpose in connecting you with the world of Norzelia and the characters within. Beyond the main story, there are smaller cutscenes that can be accessed on the main map that can add to the worldbuilding, giving you hints about happenings elsewhere in Norzelia and glimpses into the lives of characters who may, or may not, join Serenoa.
Triangle Strategy is indeed a tactical RPG. Perhaps unintentionally, Triangle Strategy is a perfect blend of strategy turn-based gameplay, active worldbuilding, and passive worldbuilding. The blend of these elements is weighted equally, which is ironic given the game’s name, and these elements are thoughtful yet compelling. The turn-based strategy is deceptively deep. The passive worldbuilding via cutscenes succeeds in getting you attached to Serenoa’s journey. The active worldbuilding via exploration mode succeeds in thoroughly breathing life into Norzelia and her inhabitants and secretly giving you tools to assist you in navigating the world outside of the battlefield. I thoroghly enjoyed this blend of elements, as I never once felt like I was wasting my time or going through the RPG grind.
Most tactical RPGs have a steep and sharp difficulty curve, even if a difficulty setting (when available) is set to the easiest mode. It wouldn’t surprise me if some folks resorted to using a guide on YouTube, Reddit, or elsewhere, to figure out how to navigate a tricky battle in Fire Emblem or Advance Wars. In Triangle Strategy, the battles may be difficult, but that difficulty is very easily overcome by trial and error rather than getting lost in the mire of trying to determine the best-in-slot items for each individual character and/or min-maxing their stats. In fact, you’re rewarded for making mistakes as you play, and you’re given multiple opportunities to freely experiment with your characters in each battle sequence. If you lose, you’re rewarded with all of the experience you’ve gained thus far, and the items you used in your failed attempt get returned to your inventory.
Battles are straightforward and operate just like other tactical RPGs — each character on the field gets their own turn based on their stats. Whe moving characters around, the UI will clearly display if enemy units are capable of attacking, along with any combat bonuses/modifiers in play. The information shown is what players need to see, and I appreciate being able to make an informed decisions. Units can simply attack or enact abilities/cast magic, but instead of mana, these abilities/magic cost Ability Points (AP). Most abilities cost one or two AP, and you regenerate AP each turn. This system is simpler than some of the more complex battle systems, but it’s SO much easier to follow and make thoughtful decisions. The fact that even losing battles is rewarding makes battles that much more enjoyable and less stressful.
Yes, there are a ton of playable characters in Triangle Strategy. If you were a fan of the large cast of unique characters in Final Fantasy VI, you’ll feel right at home playing Triangle Strategy. Each character that joins your party has their own set of battle abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, giving you ample opportunities to change up your strategies. Should you want to add more mages to the battlefield, you can add-in all the offensive and defensive mages you’ve unlocked so far. Should you want to brute force your way through battles, you can swap out your mages and replace them with warriors and knights to soak up the damage. I won’t spoil how many characters can join your party, but I can assure you that these characters are far from being carbon copies of each other.
Beyond customizing the makeup of your army on a battle-by-battle basis, you can lightly customize each of your characters in between battles. Thankfully, there’s very little to customize beyond equipping accessories and prioritizing which stats to upgrade on a unit-by-unit basis. Now you’re probably thinking, “Will. You mean tell me that I don’t need to constantly swap units’ weapons and armor and such? It’s only accessories and some stats every so often?” Yes. That’s it.
The simplicity of character customization and management brings into question the overall simplicity of Triangle Strategy. To be the most brutally honest: Triangle Strategy takes a lot of agency out of the player’s hands as it relates to managing the large cast of characters. I can understand that veterans would balk at the amount of handholding and ease that Triangle Strategy offers to players, but it demonstrates to me that the intention is to play the game rather than having players spend oodles of time in menus and customization screens. Look, I’m 30; my time is no longer in a position to be wasted participating in fluff, exercises of futility, and mucking about trying to min-max my characters (even though I occasionally get sidetracked, sure). I very much prefer being encouraged to play the game as it exists rather than mindless stat-seeking and grinding.
Speaking of grinding, there exists a light degree of grinding in Triangle Strategy. At any point before a battle begins, you can visit your “Encampment” and check your characters’ equipment, purchase materials, and engage in mock battles. Since most battles restrict the total number of folks you can take to the battlefield and experience is only gained on the battlefield, you’ll need to participate in mock battles to get your underleveled folks up to speed. Luckily, these mock battles are short affairs. This makes grinding optional for the most part, unless you rarely swap characters out from your party. While I don’t really like the idea of having to engage in mock battles every so often, this is still a form of grinding that I prefer over the more time-intensive grindfests found in the RPG genre.
In between battles and cutscenes, I was presented with opportunities to explore the world of Norzelia in an “Exploration Mode,” where I was allowed to walk around, interact with a few NPCs, and uncover items/currency that could help me in battle. Sometimes, these exploration opportunities were chances for me to explore the location where the next battle may be taking place and identify spaces that could give me the upper hand if I was against an onslaught of warriors. Othertimes, these opportunities gave me glimpses of the thoughts and behaviors of my own party who had much to say about the current state of affairs.
Triangle Strategy’s story branches off very early on in the game. Wartime decisions are not easy to make, but Serenoa’s companions help to make these decisions through the use of the Scales of Conviction. At multiple points of the story, Serenoa will be asked to make a critical decision, often one that will dictate the immediate future. Seven of Serenoa’s companions will vote using the Scales, making Serenoa a leader guided by the majority rather than a unilateral dictator. Your companions can be convinced to vote for another option, should you utilize your Exploration opportunities and talk to everyone in a strategic fashion. So, if you’re wanting to “game” the system (you silver tongue, you!), expect to do some exploring so you can convince your companions to your wishes.
I quite enjoy the Scales of Conviction as a gameplay mechanism and a plot device. With the branching plots (and serious decisions, yeesh), the Scales breathe life into the NPCs who are helping Serenoa make a decision. Even more, if you’re wanting to tip the scales, you can create an illusion of choice and game the system. It functions quite well and adds a level of complexity in the active worldbuilding that places the player as an instrument of storytelling rather than a silent strategist moving units about on a board.
For those familiar with the Bravely series, you will be pleased with the HD-2D planes of Norzelia in Triangle Strategy. The character art is striking and contains the same pseudo-Victorian designs that players of earlier Final Fantasy have become accustomed to. While the exploration areas are not that large and fully lifelike as you may expect from, say, a modern Final Fantasy title, Square Enix and Artdink succeed in packing just enough life as to give players reasons to explore. For a 2D game, the sprites and in-game character models contain just enough detail to communicate emotions and visibly demonstrate actions.
Triangle Strategy’s original soundtrack is fantastic yet complex. Right from the start, my ears were pleased with the orchestral arrangements of Akira Senju. Each of the title’s tracks contain ebbs and flows, matching the seriousness (or silliness!) of the events taking place. That, combined with the tone of the story, offer players audible journeys as you make your way across Norzelia. I remember hearing The Goddess Smiles for the first time and feeling goosebumps on my arms from the strings and piano that gent meld together to create a melancholy waltz. Each region of Norzelia leans heavily into utilizing specific instruments, such as flutes for the desert region of Hyzante and horns for the mountainous kingdom of Aesfrost. These small audio details add up and contribute to a very thoughtful package, and I have to give credit where credit is due for how Triangle Strategy succeeds in the soundtrack front. The music is fantastic.
The voice acting in Triangle Strategy features some stellar voice actors, including Shai Matheson and Alan Lee on the English side to Kensho Ono and Yuichi Nakamura on the Japanese side. Personally, I preferred listening to the Japanese VAs as I played, but the English dubs were pretty good. I’m hesitant to enable English versions in RPGs given mistranslations and emotional disconnections that can sometimes occur when a Japanese script is translated, sometimes word for word, to English, but that is not the case here. The English AND Japanese cast are clearly committed to their roles, and you’ll enjoy their work either way.
If you’ve reached this point in the review, you’re probably wondering why I haven’t yet touched on the port quality yet. Two reasons: First, this is a solid game, and there really isn’t much to improve on less than a year out from Triangle Strategy’s release on the Switch. Second, this…is a good port. Solid. During my playthrough, I didn’t once encounter frameskips, bugginess, or any force closes. If anything, this port is a carbon copy of its Switch version. All things considered, I could make the argument that Triangle Strategy should run just fine on the Steam Deck, albeit not for long. While the game itself may be lightweight, the max settings of maintaining 60FPS at 1080p on my PC was a breeze. But, if you’re wanting those level of specs on the Steam Deck, expect a hit in battery life and/or a hit in the resolution/framerate department. The game is verified for Steam Deck as of writing, so that should assure anyone hesitant as to the quality of its functionality on the Steam Deck.
Usual questions I’m asked about ports tend to be: What’s in it for PC players? How about current owners on the Switch (or original console)? What’s worth the upgrade? Well, unlike Bravely Default II that featured mild ambient gameplay changes in the form of the Ship Exploration system, no such gameplay changes exist in the PC port of Triangle Strategy. I would have liked for some features, like an “ultra-fast battle mode,” to be a PC exclusive, but I can live with the lack of exclusive features. Sure, the graphical settings available for the PC give Triangle Strategy additional depth and detail, but…that’s about it. For players who already own Triangle Strategy on the Switch, I struggle to recommend this port unless you absolutely need graphical improvements. But, for those of you who are PC players, this tactical-RPG becomes an incredibly easy recommendation to play on a snowy day this Christmas.
Triangle Strategy is a fantastic tactical RPG, and I’m so very glad to see it ported over to the PC. It offers a near perfect balance of strategy gameplay, active worldbuilding, and passive worldbuilding to get players committed to Norzelia and her inhabitants. While the gameplay may be too handholdy for tactical veterans, its accessible enough to encourage you to spend more time playing the game rather than trying to customize characters to the best they can be. This port doesn’t really offer much of an incentive for those who own the Switch version, but…the game is near perfect as is. Why bother trying to improve on a stellar tactical RPG?
