After deciding to torture myself on Hard mode for 75 hours and nearly two months, I've finally beat this game and can write something about it.
Despite the occasional seething frustration of spending five hours of attempts on a single map, my overall takeaway from this game is very positive. The RPG mechanics of Triangle Strategy are fantastic, and I truly loved the feeling of progression and customization that was developed over the course of playing.
The combat itself is something that unavoidably I have compared a lot in my head to Fire Emblem, and I honestly cannot quite decide which I like more. Triangle Strategy's one-by-one turn-based system, as opposed to FE's "everyone moves at once" system I think increases both potential of both strategy and difficulty. I would not necessarily say it is flat-out better than Fire Emblem, but it at least rivals it. In some aspects I can comfortably say TS's mechanics are better, specifically when to the variance of approach one can take on some maps due to the difference in the turn-based systems.
My biggest issue and overall frustration by far with this game was the map design, and I guess further the Hard mode balancing. This is not the worst Hard mode I've ever played before, far from it, but it does have many of the negatives associated WITH those bad hard modes, specifically ridiculous stat inflation and at-times annoyingly weak units. To be blunt, the bosses in this game are some of the most over-tuned bullshit that I have ever seen. They are more or less the equivalent of like 10 enemies all on crack and more than once ruin the balance of otherwise hard-enough maps.
My issue with the map design is really just that most maps are too cramped. I mentioned how this game has more of a variance in ways you can approach some maps, and by some I mean MAYBE half of them at best. Several of the maps are so small that there are two ways to go: forward or nowhere, and nowhere tends to be the best option (i.e. waiting for the enemy to come to you). The bigger maps I enjoyed the overall flow of a lot more, but there are very few of them. The map size becomes particularly noticeable as more and more archer and mage units appear, all of which have at least 4 range on all their attacks, which will do at least half of any given unit's health. There is nowhere to run, and on one particular map near the end of the game, this was such egregiously bullshit, combined with the most busted boss in the game, that I had to swap to Normal for risk of genuinely losing my sanity.
Triangle Strategy has a unique, political story that I appreciated quite a bit. Although I was a little unsure at first, I am confident in saying that the game has some solid dialogue and great voice acting throughout. Throughout the game there are decisions you must make, and they lead to truly meaningful changes. I'm always skeptical when developers advertise games as having "decisions that matter," however each one of Triangle Strategy's significantly altered the course of the story, and towards the end there is a real, meaningful moral dilemma to an extent that I have rarely seen. I do wish that the game had at least a few animated cutscenes or something, ala Fire Emblem, just to help the characters and plot situations feel a little more 'real', but generally the voice acting is enough.
Despite the horrible name, Triangle Strategy has some unique ideas that in most cases are impressively well-executed. There is plenty of room for improvement, and more personally I'm not a huge fan of the HD-2D art style, but I really am happy I decided to play through this game. On a first playthrough, I do highly suggest avoiding Hard mode unless you are a masochist or have a 500 IQ in strategy games.
8/10
Despite the occasional seething frustration of spending five hours of attempts on a single map, my overall takeaway from this game is very positive. The RPG mechanics of Triangle Strategy are fantastic, and I truly loved the feeling of progression and customization that was developed over the course of playing.
The combat itself is something that unavoidably I have compared a lot in my head to Fire Emblem, and I honestly cannot quite decide which I like more. Triangle Strategy's one-by-one turn-based system, as opposed to FE's "everyone moves at once" system I think increases both potential of both strategy and difficulty. I would not necessarily say it is flat-out better than Fire Emblem, but it at least rivals it. In some aspects I can comfortably say TS's mechanics are better, specifically when to the variance of approach one can take on some maps due to the difference in the turn-based systems.
My biggest issue and overall frustration by far with this game was the map design, and I guess further the Hard mode balancing. This is not the worst Hard mode I've ever played before, far from it, but it does have many of the negatives associated WITH those bad hard modes, specifically ridiculous stat inflation and at-times annoyingly weak units. To be blunt, the bosses in this game are some of the most over-tuned bullshit that I have ever seen. They are more or less the equivalent of like 10 enemies all on crack and more than once ruin the balance of otherwise hard-enough maps.
My issue with the map design is really just that most maps are too cramped. I mentioned how this game has more of a variance in ways you can approach some maps, and by some I mean MAYBE half of them at best. Several of the maps are so small that there are two ways to go: forward or nowhere, and nowhere tends to be the best option (i.e. waiting for the enemy to come to you). The bigger maps I enjoyed the overall flow of a lot more, but there are very few of them. The map size becomes particularly noticeable as more and more archer and mage units appear, all of which have at least 4 range on all their attacks, which will do at least half of any given unit's health. There is nowhere to run, and on one particular map near the end of the game, this was such egregiously bullshit, combined with the most busted boss in the game, that I had to swap to Normal for risk of genuinely losing my sanity.
Triangle Strategy has a unique, political story that I appreciated quite a bit. Although I was a little unsure at first, I am confident in saying that the game has some solid dialogue and great voice acting throughout. Throughout the game there are decisions you must make, and they lead to truly meaningful changes. I'm always skeptical when developers advertise games as having "decisions that matter," however each one of Triangle Strategy's significantly altered the course of the story, and towards the end there is a real, meaningful moral dilemma to an extent that I have rarely seen. I do wish that the game had at least a few animated cutscenes or something, ala Fire Emblem, just to help the characters and plot situations feel a little more 'real', but generally the voice acting is enough.
Despite the horrible name, Triangle Strategy has some unique ideas that in most cases are impressively well-executed. There is plenty of room for improvement, and more personally I'm not a huge fan of the HD-2D art style, but I really am happy I decided to play through this game. On a first playthrough, I do highly suggest avoiding Hard mode unless you are a masochist or have a 500 IQ in strategy games.
8/10