The Mean Twins arrive at the throne room to congratulate their Less Mean But Still Mean Brother, and a sniveling Patriatte makes an appearance. And after that… some Game of Thrones-style flavor events will unf
Everything is situated here, and once again I would have welcomed a bit of extra variety to spice things up. Triangle Strategy is rather traditional in its definition of fantasy, so those who aren’t pulled in by political showdowns and melodramatic expressions of bloodshed might not find a lot to love here. The voice acting doesn’t help either, some of which is downright awful thanks to a lack of direction that has some characters come across as emotionless husks that never give the writing they’re propping up justice. Serenoa is easily the worst, a rather damning indictment given he’s the main protagonist we hear from all the damn time.
This political melodrama is all well and good, but if the game played like garbage none of it would matter. Fortunately, Triangle Strategy is a tactical darling. While the camera is a smidge fickle and there aren’t nearly enough opportunities for grinding unless you’re willing to replay the same optional missions over and over again, the core tenets of combat are immaculate. I grew up with Final Fantasy Tactics and Advance Wars, so this feels like a robust expansion of what those games accomplished while making the genre more approachable than I’ve ever seen before. It’s still a tough bastard, and making even a single rash move on normal difficulty will see units utterly decimated. But a handful of new ideas mean conclusions like this are much less common if you’re careful about things.
The larger number of Fire Emblem games to choose from is offset by their growing scarcity, especially with the Nintendo 3DS eShop shutting down in March 2023. Still, Triangle Strategy ’s accessibility compared to most Fire Emblem titles, which are still Japan-only , doesn’t mean it’s a one-to-one replacement for them. The two actually have major mechanical differences that can either lead players to prefer one greatly over the other or to offer welcome diversity in the SRPG fan’s collect
You play as Serenoa Wollfort, a young lord who is forced into the leadership of his house after his father falls ill. The opening hours depict the Kingdom of Norzelia as one of peace, with all three nations entering a period of tranquillity that is slowly but surely being bolstered with trade agreements and communal excavation efforts that will benefit everyone. Serenoa hails from Glenbrook, a region defined by its honour and co-operation, caught in between a duo of superpowers with more influence than it could ever imagine. The snowy plains of Aesfrost awaits in the North, its icy climate reflective of the harsh political machinations that underpin its nefarious monarchy. They are basically anime tories.
Coloured tiles appear whenever you are about to move a character, making it clear when you are within reach of an enemy attack and when you are safe. This makes positioning a breeze, guaranteeing safe passage in the midst of chaos when moving more sensitive units like mages and healers across the battlefield. Synergy is also emphasised. If an attack is performed with an ally sitting on the opposing side of a foe’s position, you will perform a two-pronged combo that essentially doubles your damage. These are small additions, but compile to create a tactical experience that feels infinitely more layered and satisfying. It is no longer about executing a single action and hoping it goes well, forced to restart if the opposing side suddenly decides to call in reinforcements or deal a critical hit.
Serenoa and co. reach Wolffort Castle… and receive the bad news. And then some more bad news. And then yet another piece of bad news. It just isn’t going well for our heroes, is it? It’s a bad day to be a father/father figure in Norze
Fire Emblem titles have dabbled in “branching narratives replayability paths” in the past. In Thracia 776 – a “midquel” to Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War – and Sacred Stones , players can choose between two different “paths,” or sets of chapters to complete, which change the maps they visit and characters they can recruit. But in both these games, the deviating paths eventually merge, and the games thus feature a singular ending regardless of which path they chose. Games like Fire Emblem Fates and Three Houses feature drastic story splits, but they’re each treated as their own game – to the point where players must buy the different “routes” of Fates separately – and don’t have major deviations within them or different endings to unl
With the sand settled and Plinius overwhelmed, the party bids their Saintly allies farewell. Corentin elects to tag along, having had his fill of Hyzante’s tendency toward closely guarded secrets. Time to head back to Glenbr
Each major character also has a trait unique to them – such as being able to act twice in a single turn or build ladders to navigate trickier terrain. Everyone is different, which makes selecting which units are coming into each battle that much more difficult. You will need to mix and match in order to match each new situation, which can often result in lower level characters having to hang back until they are needed because, as I said before, grinding opportunities in Triangle Strategy feel oddly truncated for a JRPG of this scope. Outside of battle and between story sequences you are free to visit a War Tent filled with your allies ready to strike up conversations. This is also where merchants and traders are found, who are required to upgrade weapons and advance character classes on the regular.