Balancing the Scales

As a fan of SRPG series like Fire Emblem and Disgaea, I was naturally intrigued by the initial reveal of Triangle Strategy but it wasn’t until I played the final demo that I was sold on reviewing the game. The mix of socio-political intrigue, meaningful choices that change the course of the game and a strategic combat engine combined together, scratched an itch that I didn’t know I had at the time.

However, it remained to be seen if the formula would remain compelling to completion and I’m happy to report that it certainly did.

A life on the scales.

MSRP: $59.99
Platform: Switch
Length: 40~ hours

Thirty years have passed since the end of the Saltiron wars where the three great nations fought to gain control over the most precious resources in Norzelia, salt and iron. Young Serenoa of house Wolffort, in service to the kingdom of Glenbrook is to be wed to Frederica, a Scion from Aesfrost to mark a lasting peace between the two nations. However, a shocking discovery is made that sparks the flames of a new war that threatens to shake Norzelia to its very core.

The story that unfolds in Triangle Strategy is more mature than most, touching on difficult topics like racism, slavery, class separation and more. While I would not say it’s the most compelling media that have touched on those topics, I feel that it was done so with competence, helped along by the fact that it was up to me to make some very difficult choices, which would have lasting consequences.

As the leader of the Wolfforts, Serenoa is a righteous man who holds a sacred responsibility to the well being of his people, as well as to the sovereignty of Glenbrook but various factors make it impossible to satisfy all the parties involved and for some promises to be kept, others must be broken.

It’s in those moments that the Scales of Conviction are brought to use and the members of the Wolffort inner circle must vote to choose a path. It’s not enough to make a decision, Serenoa also must convince others to believe in his judgment through debate to reach a majority vote. Paths chosen through the Scales of Conviction often led to entirely different story moments and battles which made coming to a decision all the more difficult and meaningful.

In an industry where the illusion of choice is much more commonly offered compared to real choices that matter, I was happy to see the divergent paths laid out in front of me.

As for the characters themselves, I found them to be likable for the most part, despite many of them not getting much time to shine during the main storyline. Luckily, the fact that the game was fully voiced through all main/side events helped bring the characters to life and while the VA performances were a bit uneven with some being vastly superior/inferior to others, it was a welcome addition all the same. There were also specific character stories that I could view that added much needed context to the reason why they were fighting and I was eager to view them all as they became available.

The combat doesn’t introduce many innovations but is solid all the same.

The meat and bread of any good SRPG is the strategic combat engine and while there aren’t many innovations to the formula to be found here, it was more than serviceable, providing satisfying challenges to overcome.

To those unfamiliar with SRPGs, the combat takes place in a movement grid where positioning of units is paramount to success. It’s a slower paced combat that rewards anticipating the movements of the enemy units and using the terrain to maximize advantage. One element that I felt was done well here is the use of weather effects and how the elements interact with the terrain.

For example, I could use ice magic in an area which would leave a snowy frost on the ground to slow down enemies trying to get through it. Then, it could be melted by fire magic and the water on the ground could be electrified to deal damage to a wide area. In an area with greenery, fire magic could be used to deal initial damage and leave the ground aflame, dealing damage over time to anyone unfortunate enough to stand or pass by that area. There were many different interactions just like this that could turn the tides of a battle.

I felt Triangle Strategy had an excellent balance of challenge on normal mode where I chose to go in a little underleveled and often walked away, having won the fight by the skin of my teeth with only one or two units remaining out of the ten that I dispatched at the start. There were these “Mental Mock Battles” that I could take part in to level up and gain important material for upgrades but I found I was doing them for the upgrade materials more than the levels.

Speaking of upgrading the units to increase their effectiveness, I found the quantity of materials required to increase their weapon skills to be a bit too high, forcing me to play favorites with certain units which were used for the majority of the game. This is a shame because there are a lot of interesting units but the time investment required to get them to the same level as my main force seemed a bit much.

On that note, all the units are very much set in their roles and there isn’t much customization outside of different types of accessories and minor deviations in the skill tree. While this certainly promotes characters to be unique in what they are capable of doing, I find that one of my favorite things about SRPGs is creating the ultimate team by mixing skills/classes and that wasn’t an option available here.

Rock and a hard place seems like the goal they had in mind when coming up with some of these choices.

Triangle Strategy weaves a mature story full of intrigue and places the player in an unenviable position of having to make some very tough choices with meaningful consequences, all the while challenging them to face encounters that will test their strategic mind. In other words, it’s a compelling good time.

Fun Tidbit: I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight the beautifully orchestrated soundtrack that fits the mood of the game perfectly. This particular song somehow managed to turn this rather generic and silly title to make it something special.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.