I first played Final Fantasy Tactics in… 2002, probably? I don’t remember which one, but I received it as a birthday gift one year, and since then it has been the gold standard against which I measure all other tactical RPGs. I’ve played dozens of them, and I think that I’ve beaten maybe three in addition to the original FFT.
Since Triangle Strategy released a few days ago, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into why it is that I usually bounce off any tactical RPGs that aren’t Final Fantasy Tactics. And I’ve come up with a fairly simple answer: unit classes. For me, 90% of the appeal of FFT is being able to customize you unit’s jobs and skills, and that’s something that very few other TRPGs have done in a way that really satisfies me. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance might be the only other one.
To break it down: Tactical RPGs are all about putting together a squad of warriors that will be able to overcome each combat scenario. Each character on your team will typically have a job/class that dictates what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what abilities they’re able to use. In most of the TRPGs I’ve played, these classes cannot be changed. Maybe they can be upgraded in some fashion, but for the most part, your sword guy is always going to be a sword guy, and your magic girl is always going to be a magic girl.
Final Fantasy Tactics, on the other hand, steals the job system from Final Fantasy V wholesale and transplants it into the TRPG genre. What this means is that any of your units can be assigned whichever job you want. So if you want a balanced party where every character has a different job, that’s fine! If you’d rather have a team that composed entirely of ninjas, that’s fine, too! Whatever combination of jobs you can dream up, Final Fantasy Tactics allows. You might have a hard time winning any battles with a team made up of six white mages and a chocobo, but you’re more than welcome to try!
On top of that, characters are able to equip any skills they’ve learned, regardless of which job they’re currently assigned. Do you want to build a black mage that has access to healing magic and can wear heavy armor? Go for it! How about a dragoon that can harness the awesome power of MATH? Totally a thing you can do! The depth of character customization in Final Fantasy Tactics is not only super fun to just play around with, but it also means that you can play the game in a basically unlimited number of ways. Goofing around with different combinations of jobs and abilities is far and away my favourite thing about FFT, and the main reason that I hold it in such high esteem.
Triangle Strategy doesn’t have any of that (at least, not so far). Like most other TRPGs, it hands you a swath of characters, each with their own set class and abilities, and then you have to make do with what you’re given. And yet, I am significantly more invested in Triangle Strategy after only six hours of play than I have been with every other TRPG I’ve played combined. Well, at least the ones that don’t have “Final Fantasy” in their title.
I think it probably has a lot to do with the fact that in those six hours, I think I’ve played only four battles? Indeed, while the core gameplay is very good, I think Triangle Strategy is much more interested in telling a story than being a game. It’s weird, but I like it! It has a really interesting story so far! In fact, the plot begins after a thirty-year war, when the three major nations of the game’s world are starting a joint project meant to bring peace to the realm. And while I know that eventually strife is going to win out and another war will begin, I very much like the idea of a game that you can win almost entire through diplomacy. Indie developers, please get on that.
While it’s still much too early to lay down a verdict on what I think of Triangle Strategy, I really, really like it so far. Except for the title. I’ve said it before, and I don’t think I’ll ever change my mind on this one: Triangle Strategy is a dumb title. While it does convey one of the game’s themes and its genre, which would normally be a hallmark of a good title, it just sounds stupid. But maybe that’s just me.