Thestrategy RPG genreis far from dead. However, it is not as prevalent as it used to be. Past the 16-bit era of consoles, it found a new home with portable systems. RPGs are a natural fit for handhelds as players can multitask while leveling up.
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Even though theSwitchis primed for on-the-go experiences like strategy RPGs, there haven’t been many on the system in its five years of life.Fire Emblem: Three Housesis without a doubt its biggest example. How does the newest entry to the genre,Triangle Strategy, compare? Will it overtakeFire Emblem: Three Houses’throne?
8Art Style: Triangle Strategy
The most distinctive thing aboutTriangle Strategyis theHD-2D art style. It looks like a retro game but better thanks to the infusion of 3D graphics and modern textures like shadows.Fire Emblem: Three Houseslooks good on the Switch as well. However, it’s one of those games that had cutting-edge graphics at the time of release.
Thankfully the game didn’t go full realistic with its design choices. The anime visuals help make it pop, but will it still look good ten years from now? Hard to say.Triangle Strategyis still the nicer piece of eye candy.
7Production Value: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The pixelated art style ofTriangle Strategymay resonate more with fans ofold-school strategy RPGs. However, there are things about its production that is lacking. For example,Fire Emblem: Three Houseshas full-on cutscenes to better engage players with the story. It’s hard to care about a battle between enemies inTriangle Strategywhen it plays out like a normal combat scenario.
Fire Emblem: Three Housesfeels bigger than life. It’s also a game that gives players a lot more to do. The world in it is expansive and with three campaigns, it should keep players occupied for quite a while.
6The Class System: Triangle Strategy
One of the more disappointing things aboutTriangle Strategyis that it doesn’t have aflexible class systemlike manyFinal Fantasytitles. That might be the initial thought of players. However, each character has a job to do that helps give each unit a specific need in combat. Because they all have their strengths, it givesTriangle Strategyplayers a lot more to work with.
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Jens, for example, can build ladders to reach greater heights quicker.Fire Emblem: Three Houseshas classes too but they are not as unique. Certain classes can beat others in a one-on-one fight but that is about it.Triangle Strategyjust feels more dynamic in its refined, pared-down state.
5Battle Shortcuts: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Strategy RPGs are beloved by fans because they engage the brain more. Strategy is inthe genre namemeaning players must plan out each match as if it were a game of Chess. This also means that battles can sometimes last up to an hour depending on the difficulty level chosen.Triangle Strategygives players the ability to fast-forward through matches to help speed things along.
However,Fire Emblem: Three Housesdoes more to shorten the time of battles. Players can cut out battle animations or even skip turns. It would be nice ifTriangle Strategygot this feature patched in.
4The Music: Triangle Strategy
Music can be ahard thing to critiqueas everyone has their preferences.Fire Emblem: Three Housesdoes a good job with its soundtrack inside and outside of battle. It is fitting for a fantasy-based strategy RPG. However, it is one of those soundtracks that works best while playing the game and isn’t as spectacular outside of the experience.
The opposite is true forTriangle Strategywhich helps get the blood pumping in battle. The map and town tracks are good too, but any battle theme inTriangle Strategyblows whatFire Emblem: Three Housesoffers out of the water.
3Branching Paths: Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Both games offer more thantypical strategy RPGsthanks to their branching paths. At critical points inTriangle Strategy, players are asked to vote on how they are to proceed. Some decisions don’t change the story much while others affect it on a grander level.
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As dynamic as these choices are inTriangle Strategy,Fire Emblem: Three Houseshas a lot more to offer. After a couple of hours of game time, players are asked to follow one of three houses. Some of the stories these three campaigns follow are similar but they are also drastically different. They give players new environments to explore along with characters to team up with. As stated earlier,Fire Emblem: Three Housesgives players more bang for their buck.
2Characters: Triangle Strategy
The amount of characters players can recruit inFire Emblem: Three Housesis also a detriment. There are too many to remember or care about. This is true not across all three campaigns either but in each school. This daunting number makes it hard to choose who to follow initially.
Triangle Strategy’sstory also has a lot of characters that can make it hard to keep up with. However, the amount of playable characters is more manageable. The pacing in which players receive new characters is better balanced. Sometimes less is more in a video game.
1Verdict: Triangle Strategy
The Switch does not have a lot ofAAA strategy RPGsas was stated earlier. However, a system does not need a lot to have a good library. There are more than these two certainly but they are now at the top. Even though the verdict falls onTriangle Strategyin this argument,Fire Emblem: Three Housesis a hair away from being tied. It all comes down to personal preference.
Triangle Strategy has a classic old-school feel with engaging music and a good class system with characters players will want to care about. The overall story and production ofFire Emblem: Three Housesis what makes it appealing. Fans cannot go wrong with either choice.
