TRIANGLE STRATEGY (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.1.0 Update

TRIANGLE STRATEGY is a 2022 tactical role-playing game co-developed by Square Enix and Artdink for Nintendo Switch. The game was published by Square Enix in Japan and Nintendo internationally for the Nintendo Switch on March 4, 2022. The Windows version was published by Square Enix and was released on October 13, 2022. The development of the game was led by Tomoya Asano, producer of Bravely Default and Octopath Traveler. Triangle Strategy received positive reviews from critics, who praised the combat, narrative, score, and art direction but criticized the high volume of cutscenes. This game takes control of Serenoa, the rightful successor to House Wolffort, and leads a formidable group of units through a complex web of intrigue, where the decisions you make hold the power to shape the entire narrative. Immerse yourself in a captivating world that seamlessly combines high-definition 3D environments and contemporary effects with pixel-art characters and intricate details, creating a visually stunning HD-2D visual style.

GAMEPLAY

Triangle Strategy is a turn-based tactical role-playing game in the vein of Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics. The player takes turns moving characters from their party across a grid-based playing field in which computer-controlled opponents must be attacked and defeated. Each character has unique attributes and a set movement range per turn, as well as some special attacks and skills that consume a limited but rechargeable pool of Tactical Points per character. During the campaign, leveling up characters by using them in battle will increase their attributes and unlock new special attacks and skills, and players can also upgrade individual attributes and their characters’ class to make them more effective in combat.

Along with the starting characters, several additional characters are recruited into the player’s party during the campaign. If a character in the player’s party is defeated in combat, then they are removed from the battle, but there is no permadeath. Players can use effective positioning of their units for more powerful attacks: for example, two characters placed on opposite sides of an enemy will attack the unit from both sides during the same turn, while an attack from behind or above the enemy will result in increased damage dealt. Doing so also rewards the player with Kudos points, which can be traded for character upgrade items or Quietus skills.

This allows the player to execute one-time special actions during battle such as reviving a fallen party member or imbue all party members with increased movement. Parts of the environment may also be exploited by players during combat: a fire attack could be used to set fire to the ground to hinder movement, while during one stage players are given the option to destroy houses in a village to trap enemy units. The terrain may also affect elemental attacks to the player’s advantage; for example, wet terrain may spread the range of a lightning attack, while a wind attack may be used to push enemies off cliffs.

The game also features exploration stages with no combat in which the player can speak to NPCs to gain new information and find hidden items and money. The game features a storyline with branching paths, with four possible, unique endings. At various points, the player and their party arrive at a major decision by consulting the Scales of Conviction, in which they vote for a specific outcome. Here, the player can persuade characters in their party beforehand to vote for a certain outcome which will alter the direction of the story. In addition, certain characters may only be recruited during a particular branching path.

However, the game also employs a collapsing timeline, wherein branching paths only temporarily diverge the central story, before collapsing back into a central timeline.  This is used until the final decision point, where the story splits into four distinctive endings. Despite this, the characters’ roles in the story, character convictions, auxiliary story elements, and party members will vastly differ based on these choices. The game features a New Game Plus mode, which offers returning players an increased difficulty level as well as the option to see how their decisions affect the story and lead to different branching paths.

Finding the best location in turn-based battles can tip the tide of combat in your favor. Position units on higher ground to take control of the battlefield and gain the advantage with increased range. You can also flank enemies on both sides, then strike from behind for a powerful follow-up attack. Elemental chain reactions are also an important part of combat. For example, use fire to melt icy terrain, then use lightning to electrocute it. Push the enemy into the electrified water to see sparks fly!

SETTING AND CHARACTERS

The game takes place on the fictional continent of Norzelia. The story focuses on a new conflict thirty years after the “Saltiron War”, a war between three countries of the continent – Glenbrook, Aesfrost, and Hyzante – that arose over fighting for the scarce resources of salt and iron. The game follows protagonist Serenoa Wolffort, the heir of House Wolffort, his childhood friend Roland, the second Prince of the Kingdom of Glenbrook, Serenoa’s fiancée Frederica Aesfrost, a noblewoman of the Grand Duchy of Aesfrost, and the steward of House Wolffort Benedict Pascal, as they attempt to navigate their way through the conflict.

PLOT

Thirty years after the Saltiron War, Glenbrook and Aesfrost agree to share the newly discovered Grand Norzelian Mine to improve relations between the two countries. However, as Serenoa inspects the mines with Gustadolph’s cousin Dragan, assassins attack and kill Dragan. Gustadolph then accuses Glenbrook of murdering Dragan, using his death as a pretext to stage a punitive campaign against Glenbrook and invading its capital. Serenoa and his party are too late to stop Gustadolph from killing King Regna and Crown Prince Frani and capturing Princess Cordelia, leaving Roland as the sole heir to Glenbrook’s throne. Determined to bring all of Glenbrook to heel, Gustadolph gives Serenoa an ultimatum: hand over Roland to him or face annihilation at the hands of his army. This represents the first of many choices Serenoa must make, including deciding on whether to enlist the aid of Hyzante to resist Aesfrost or collaborate with Aesfrost to repel an attempted invasion from Hyzante.

Eventually, Serenoa and his party can drive Aesfrost from Glenbrook, and he, Roland, Frederica, and Benedict go about trying to rebuild the kingdom. However, Roland is met with the cruel reality of being king, as he executes many of his nobles for misappropriating reconstruction funds. Serenoa’s father Symon is assassinated by royalists and as he is dying reveals to him that he is King Regna’s illegitimate son who was secretly adopted by the Wolffort family to cover up the scandal. Frederica discovers that her people, the Rosellans, are being used as slave labor to harvest salt in Hyzante due to their ancestors possessing knowledge of sources of salt outside of Hyzante, which would have threatened Hyzante’s salt monopoly. They also discover that the Grand Norzelian Mine contains salt, which would allow whoever holds to it to bypass Hyzante’s salt monopoly.

It is at this point that Serenoa’s comrades suggest differing plans of action. Roland advocates allying with Hyzante to destroy Aesfrost and avenge his family. Benedict recommends allying with Aesfrost to conquer Hyzante and break its hold over salt for good. Frederica implores him to help liberate the enslaved Rosellans and lead them back to their homeland of Centralia. If Serenoa chooses Roland’s plan, Frederica abandons the party. Working together with Hyzante, Serenoa and Roland can conquer Aesfrost and kill Gustadolph and Dragan’s father Svarog, unifying Norzelia under Hyzante’s banner. While salt is now plentiful and the people have plenty to eat, the Rosellans remain enslaved and any dissidents that speak out against Hyzante’s state religion are ruthlessly suppressed. Frederica becomes a traveling nun trying to spread the truth about Hyzante’s corruption to anybody who would listen.

If Serenoa chooses Benedict’s plan, Roland abandons the party. Serenoa is crowned king of Glenbrook with Frederica as his queen. Working together with Aesfrost, Serenoa and Benedict can conquer Hyzante, expose their religion as false, and force their leader Idore to flee into hiding. With Hyzante’s salt monopoly broken and more sources of salt being discovered, Serenoa leads Norzelia into an age of peace and prosperity. However, uncontrolled salt trade leads to a massive wealth disparity leaving large swathes of the population to live in poverty, including the liberated Rosellans who are unable to take benefit of their newfound freedom. Roland, now a monk, joins with Idore to help the impoverished masses Serenoa has ignored.