7.0 KiB
| title | date | score | game_release_year | howlongtobeat_id | howlongtobeat_hrs | game_name | game_developer | game_genre | tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle Strategy: Not Quite Final Fantasy Tactics 2 | 2024-02-11 | 2 | 2022 | 88750 | 33.6 | Triangle Strategy | Artdink Corporation | SRPG |
|
Why let a perfectly good 2D HD pixel art engine go to waste, they must have thought at Square Enix a few years after the release of the first Octopath Traveler. While I haven't played the Octopath games (yet), I have to admit that the beautiful retro-esque vibe with modern touches sprinkled upon looked very appealing---and very applicable to the Strategy RPG genre---indeed. The deceptive Final Fantasy Tactics vibe eventually swayed me to dive in head first without the free demo, a classic mistake I shouldn't have made.
Triangle Strategy is the result of a cooperation bween Artdink Corporation, Netchubiyori Ltd. and their big daddy publisher Square Enix. In it, you assume the role of Serenoa Wolffort, a young lad that is forced to take up the duty of heir and lord of the house sooner than he wished, inadvertently dragging his close friends into dirty politics, bloodshed, and grief.
I'd dare to say that Triangle Strategy is not a Strategy game, even though that's part of the name. While "playing", it felt more like an interactive novel, where I was fed cut-scene upon cut-scene interspersed with so-called decision making mechanics that also felt very artificial. When you're not doing either---that's +60% of the time, by the way---the game finally says "yes, I'm also a video game, here are a few turn-based battle sequences, have fun, but not too much".
I was clearly ill-prepared for that overload of cut-scenes. My appetite for a potential Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT) sequel convinced me I shouldn't bother reading reviews rating it lower than the hype. On top of that, the actual SRPG gameplay feels very restrictive. FFT and Disgaea fans that like to break the system, power-level, and configure like there's no tomorrow should look elsewhere: while the character cast is large and everyone is unique, the way they join your party and partake in the grand scheme is awkward and feels forced.
There's very little depth when it comes to customization: equipment is set but can be upgraded three times by constantly walking back and forth the raw parts seller and the smith. Skills are hard-baked into each character. There are no real classes and there's no switching of any kind. The closest thing I can compare it to is some Fire Emblem class upgrades. I know this is all done on purpose to create a very tight gameplay loop with heavy emphasis on tactics: get to know your people well and make use of their unique abilities depending on the terrain and objectives.
That brings us to yet another problem: Triangle Strategy is clearly meant to be finished three or more times. The first playthrough, the game feels very restrictive: you don't even have enough materials to upgrade most of your favorite crew members! That lead me to keep on relying on a small group of "these-are-the-upgraded" folks instead of trying out new recruits, which is a shame, as I knew that new wizard was better than my usual one, but I simply didn't have the resources to invest in him. I suppose it's fine for people looking forward to indulge in yet another 25 hour long cut-scene watching game, but I'll pass, thank you very much.
While the game is objectively very beautiful thanks to the engine, it does have its rough edges. For instance, edges of battle zones look like strange disconnected parts of the world map in the same color, frequently confusing me whether or not that are was traversable. Also, up close, the pixel art is very blurry---at times, I even preferred Tactics Ogre: Reborn's blurry pixels, and that one is known for its lousy upscaling job, while Triangle Strategy is new and could have done better.
Still, the different terrain effects at times look stunning, especially when Frederica sets a wheat field ablaze or Corentin turns mining tunnels into icy slippery slopes. The spell casting effects look nice too, although the second or so lag between casting and showing the animation sometimes felt a bit irritating. I don't know if this is an engine thing, but I'd rather have a less impressive show that has me executing actions faster.
The biggest appeal of the game, according to Square Enix at least, is the sheer amount of choice and branching storylines. Someone visualized them all on Reddit, and the amount of options is very impressive, except that the way to take these paths using the so-called Scales of Conviction for me felt very awkward. Serenoa is the lord---that's medieval speak for boss---yet he has to convince his loyal followers to take a certain route. If he fails to do so, your party members will choose another path to follow! Convincing them depends on investigating your surroundings and making just the right remark. If you screw up, the scales will tip against you.
Yes, in theory, it's great to have your party members get actively involved in your quest and choices. But in practice, I'm the boss and the player playing this game, so I want to make these choices. A few times, I forgot to inspect something or accidentally chose the wrong dialog option, leading to an outcome I didn't want to take at all. That's very frustrating for a game where I'm already frustrated since I've been watching 20 minutes of cut-scenes just to get Serenoa moving again!
On top of that, while the English voice acting was good, the emotion in the voices wasn't. Benedict, one of the older strategists in my team that raised me (Serenoa), ultimately decided to leave the party because of a choice I---the team---made, yet while "yelling" and/or arguing, the tone of his voice did not move an inch. As the plot thickened and became more and more grim, none of the characters seemed to showcase any kind of emotion apart from the textboxes. The game feels like it tries too hard. I grew tired of the plot pretty quickly.
What we're left with is an admirable effort to emulate that pixelated nineties SRPG greatness, but fails to reach the same heights. Even though perhaps Triangle Strategy tries to do its own thing, if I want a novel, I'll treat myself with a book instead, and if I want a tight RPG with ample of real emotions, I'll play Final Fantasy VI or Dragon Quest VIII instead.
Tactics Ogre: Reborn stays the undisputed SRPG king on my Switch.