New ‘Triangle Strategy’ Demo is a Great Introduction to a Deep Narrative

Triangle Strategy, name aside, has grasped the attention of many Final Fantasy Tactics fans since its unveiling. In February of last year, its first demo provided a delectable taste of the combative and narrative systems.

As a relatively fresh-blood with Tactics games, not having even played Final Fantasy Tactics, I tend to be intimidated by the sheer mention of the genre alone. However, Triangle Strategy’s presentation and premise did more than enough to entice me into trying the new, extensive demo, and I’m damn glad I did.

This demo includes the title’s first three chapters, granting players a generous window of the in-game systems, varied cast, and intriguing lore. In fact, a solid chunk of this demo is character interaction, perhaps hinting at the full game’s heavy story focus. The beginnings of the narrative are incredibly gradual, with the game taking its time to explain the world’s regions and its respective prominent individuals.

The writing quality quickly kept me invested, and it’s clear that much thought was primarily poured into the world-building. The additions of optional Notes in the main menu serve to expand upon details of vital figures and environments, instilling an undeniable sense of immersion I typically feel from the Trails series, another JRPG franchise I’m familiar with that excels in that endeavor.

The cast size is courageously vast right from the get-go too, with the game not shying away from introducing several key characters right after the other. I could go on and on about how impressed I was by the character and story focus, but there is more to this demo than just that. While rather occasional throughout this demo’s duration, battles occur.

The tutorials sufficiently express necessary information, yet these encounters don’t feel forcibly scripted. A balance is struck so inexperienced Tactics players like me can get the hang of the battle mechanics easily without feeling pitied. In the barest terms possible, like practically any Tactics game, each unit falls into a job class, with their abilities hinting toward their best-utilized applications. Positioning is paramount, with unit backsides being their weak points. The essentials are all simple to grasp, and the battles in this demo never feel overwhelming regardless of potentially lacking genre familiarity.

Weapon upgrading and class changing are also featured, though understandably, not fully explored due to the confines of this demo. However, the straightforward UI and clean menus provide a cozy ambiance that makes learning these mechanics a welcoming experience. Further, several gameplay sections allow exploration of story-centric areas that have choices to make, hidden items to find, and more. If it wasn’t already clear, I fell in love with this game through this demo. I haven’t even discussed a significant feature, the protagonist’s choices, but hey, this is just an impressions piece.

Triangle Strategy is panning out to be a genuinely masterful experience based on these opening hours. The superb writing, immersive lore texts, engaging character banter, intuitively approachable combat, and more have pulled me in. If you haven’t tried this demo yet, then do yourself a favor and do so. It lasts the first three chapters, with save data carrying over to the full release. Its lengthy nature should at least let you know if this title is for you.

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Triangle Strategy is coming to Nintendo Switch on March 4, 2022.