Triangle Strategy has been in the works for some time now. First announced at a Nintendo Direct in February 2021, the game received a release date of March 4 at this year's Direct. The gameplay largely resembles that of the Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics series, but with a more unique "HD-2D" visual style and the unmistakable artwork of Naoki Ikushima. In the game, even more similarities to Fire Emblem: Three Houses are apparent. Most notably, a branching storyline where players choose to side with one of three political powers contending for control over a continent. There are many areas in which Triangle Strategy can lean into and learn from its similarities with Three Houses.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is arguably Nintendo's biggest Fire Emblem to date, both in its scale and its commercial success. It isn't just because of Nintendo's marketing push for the game, either. Three Houses fine-tuned the things that Fire Emblem fans love and added world building and a sense of lore. Its unique turn-by-turn gameplay saw new options for exploration, a dynamic unit class system, and in-depth romance options. Triangle Strategy, even with all the anticipation of its release, has much to learn from Three Houses' triumphs.
Three Houses' Varied Cast of Characters
Triangle Strategy should aim to develop its characters meaningfully. Arguably the backbone of the series, there are almost always darker backgrounds behind the bubbly anime appearances of characters in Fire Emblem. Given a video game where most of the player's time is spent reading the dialogue between characters, it's essential for Triangle Strategy (or any RPG, for that matter) to make sure that dialogue is worth reading. Three Houses accomplishes in part by incorporating character changes into gameplay. As the situations of characters change, so do their presentations and stats in gameplay. If developer Artdink can manage similar harmony between characters and gameplay, then Triangle Strategy will be all the better for it.
Fire Emblem's Chance of Critical Hits
Fans of Fire Emblem are no doubt familiar with the satisfaction that comes from a character landing a critical hit on an enemy. One of the reasons criticals are so satisfying is because of the flashy animations that accompany them. In a game focused on thinking over acting, these fancy moves can improve each level's pacing, a bit like how Shin Megami Tensei 5 handles it. Triangle Strategy would be wise to incorporate more chance-based attacks like these. Various attack animations can be seen in Triangle Strategy trailers, which is encouraging, but it's not enough to capture the excitement of Three Houses' critical hits. To truly excite the player, Triangle Strategy should add some degree of chance to these flashy moves.
Strategy in Fire Emblem Games
Fire Emblem's punishing gameplay is another fitting element for Triangle Strategy. In Fire Emblem, once a unit is lost in battle, it's unplayable for the rest of the game. This sort of punishment for mistakes encourages more thoughtful gameplay. Triangle Strategy seems to be using more vertical gameplay (like that of Final Fantasy Tactics) which opens the door for more complex strategizing. This "strategizing", however, doesn't carry the same weight unless the stakes are kept high. Rather than tanking through levels with overpowered units, Triangle Strategy should punish players for sloppy resource and map management—something that even Three Houses misses the mark with.
The parallels between Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Triangle Strategy are numerous: tactical RPG gameplay, levels divvied up into a grid, three branching story paths, the list goes on. There are many opportunities for the latter to outshine its Nintendo Switch twin, and incorporating more of what makes Fire Emblem great would help Triangle Strategy stand out. Square Enix's last entry into the Final Fantasy Tactics series was Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift in 2007, so Triangle Strategy is well positioned to be Square's primary tactical RPG for the foreseeable future. To make that future a bright one, it's important for the team at Artdink to innovate and reinvent Triangle Strategy's gameplay.
Triangle Strategy is scheduled to release on March 4 for Switch.