The continent of Norzélia brings together three different countries, whose respective resources have always been a source of conflict. Located on a central river, the Kingdom of Glenbrook excels in the naval trade. The snowy mountains of the Duchy of Aesfrost are full of iron veins. And the sacred lands of Hyzant are the only ones to have access to salt, a particularly valuable resource. Of quarrel in quarrel, the economic competition ended up transforming into a great devastating war, which ended thirty years before the start of the game. We start the adventure in peacetime, but this fragile truce must be consolidated by Two major events: a union arranged between two future spouses of different origin, and the common exploitation of a new iron mine. Obviously, everything will not happen as planned and the human and political bases will not be longing to come to sow disorder and desolation among the different families and houses. We will not go back too much in the details, to do not disclose anything, but know all as well as family betrayals, benecking the sword and in public place, magical and religious context, political marriage, tournament, huge stone wall, struggle For power and other situations are at the rendezvous. As many events that immediately refer to Game of Thrones, which seems to have been a major influence for developers. Even even the stylized map of the world recalls somewhat the generic of the series. This inspiration is obviously to bring to the game credit, which offers us a bushy and interesting scenario, as well as a vast gallery of characters, playable as not playable. Not staggering in subtleties, Triangle Stragy also has a system of dialogs that hiddenly affect three types of convictions (ethics, pragmatism and freedom) which, in turn, have an effect on the possibility of whether or not enlist new characters. If this point is positive, be still defended that the game is extremely talkative. The many dialogs and other narrative scenes impose a slow and a lot rhythm, a lot of reading. Some players will be able to enjoy so much lore, but others will fit in front of the scarcity of fighting. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the thing, you will only participate in a single fight during the first hour of play, while the second will only arrive after two hours…
SANDWICH TRIANGLE
The choice of a narrative / fighting ratio as much at the disadvantage of clashes is all the more surprising as the tactical wealth really responds to the call. The positioning of units on field boxes is extremely important. Thus, attacking from a height box increases the damage, while the attacks in the back automatically trigger a critical blow. It is therefore necessary to circumvent the opponents as much as possible and, conversely, always position oneself in such a way as to protect its rear. The game offers us a mechanical of attack in very nice pellet. If an enemy finds himself sandwich between two of our units, the shot worn by one of them will be assigned at an attack on the other unit. Strong practical, the interface warns us in advance with color codes and some icons of what it will happen on this or that box. And it is always possible to go back to change your mind, even after making a trip. Tactical gameplay is both accessible and rich.
This wealth also comes from the high number of characters to enlist, each of them playing differently from others. Frédérica favors spells of fire and zone, Geela has care capabilities, Anna can make it invisible and realize two actions per tower, Roland is able to hit two boxes in ride thanks to her spear, huguette and her falcon benefit from Further reach if they are placed in height, Jens installs scales, traps and automatic turrets, while Narve can change the orientation of enemies through wind spells. And we are only scratching the surface, many other heroes being at our disposal. This turn-in turn gameplay also allows you to apply (or receive) varied state alterations that affect different actions and statistics. From blindness to anger, passing through paralysis, poison or silence, we count more than twenty. Field effects are also of the game, the wind propagating the fire, which itself can melt a frozen terrain and create a puddle, on which we will not hesitate to trigger a lightning spell to maximize the damage. Tactical possibilities are innumerable. And in the sake of brevity, we will avoid detailing assets and points of assets, ranks and skills of weapons, the grades of the units, the bonuses of inaction, the points of high facts and some other mechanics again!
Democracy in action
Outside the fighting, Triangle Strategy also offers us “investigative phases”. These are sequences where you can freely explore the surroundings in order to pick up objects scattered in the sets and talk to the NPCs. These discussions sometimes make it possible to obtain important information, which then unlock additional dialogues in the upcoming sequences, particularly in those dedicated to votes. At major events, a democratic process makes it possible to choose between two solutions. Each character votes according to his own convictions and the majority prevails, as it should. But before the vote, a persuasion phase still makes it possible to change some advocates, thanks to the information harvested during the investigative phases. This is an elegant way to give back a little hand to the player, who can then affect the course of things subtle. Some of the choices are really crucial and lead to totally different branches. Whether they are different chapters, some events or characters to unblock, it is impossible to see everything in one part. Rejoicing is therefore present, as long as a high lifetime since it is already necessary for thirty hours to complete the adventure for the first time.
Fortunately, the game leaves us free to accelerate the animations of the fighting and the narrative sequences. It is also possible to abbreviate the dialogs, a history being accessible at any time in case of support a little too fast on the zapping key. We will not extend long on the so-called “HD-2D” graphics that resume identically the aesthetics of Octopath Traveler. This semi-pixel and deliciously retro style is charming, although it is necessary to recognize that the sprites of the characters are animated only summarily. On the side of the soundtrack, everything is fine with the exception of the absence of French voices. Japanese and English voices are credible, while music is perfect for the general atmosphere. On the other hand, French subtitles are likely to annoy the Anglophones because they differ far too often from what is pronounced in English. For example an “Ironic” becomes “it disgusts me”, “You are finally back” turns into “you look like a good mood”, and “it’s shameful to our family” is replaced by ” He will never grow up “. It sometimes causes sometimes to a few misinterprets even though, fortunately, the general purpose remains intact and understandable. In a game that puts as much on his scenario and his narration, it’s the least of things.