Anyone who knows me knows that there is only really one Square Enix game that I care about: Balan Wonderworld. You may think that I’m joking, but I actually think it’s genuinely excellent and I don’t really care much for the typical RPGs that Square Enix produces.

Still, there was much demand to see me cover Triangle Strategy on the Meta Quest 3, so I caved in and gave it a try. The question is whether or not it can win me over.

The answer may surprise you.

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THREE SIDES, ONE VICTORY
Triangle Strategy is set in the war-torn continent of Norzelia, a land divided among three powerful nations: Glenbrook, Aesfrost, and Hyzante. These nations fight for control of the local resources, namely salt and iron, which are crucial to their economies and military strength.

The story follows Serenoa Wolffort, a young lord of Glenbrook, who finds himself dealing with many political and moral dilemmas as tensions escalation. He’ll have to try and forge alliances to help shape a safe future for his people.

As an RPG, you can expect a tale full of twists and turns – as well as lots and lots of dialogue. Usually I find it tiresome (which is one of the reasons I don’t care much for the genre), but it’s pretty tolerable here. Having to deal with lots of text can be tiring, but I also found the narrative in Triangle Strategy to be quite intriguing – which is what kept me pushing forward.

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Starting off, you’ll be greeted with a huge map of the land, where you can analyse your units and wander the encampment, or you can choose to follow one of the side missions or main missions. Side missions are time sensitive and will disappear as the game progresses, so it’s worth going for those ones first.

Once you enter your mission, you’ll soon find yourself in the midst of a battle, which is where the true gameplay lies. Your team will have to traverse the map, positioning themselves in strategic positions and taking out the opponent. The game encourages you to synergise your team for maximum effectiveness, and you can even score critical attacks and bonus hits depending on where you are placed. 

Honestly, as a turn-based strategy game, Triangle Strategy isn’t massively different from other games in the genre; however, the real beauty is in its presentation. Your team are moved around at the guidance of your pointer, and all the menus and UI elements (such as turn order) are really well integrated into VR to help maximise immersion. The most impressive element though is the diorama-like battlefields, that you can rotate and shift as you see fit. It looks great, and the inclusion of mixed reality makes it feel like you’re engaging in an interactive table-top role playing game.

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Of course, being originally a flat strategy RPG means that there are bound to be some issues with translating it fully into VR and – quite predictably – there are many flat cutscenes for you to watch in-between all the strategic elements. It’s not quite as much of a dealbreaker as you may expect though, as they’re beautifully presented via huge scrolls that unroll in front of your eyes. It works quite well and, especially in mixed reality, never really feel like a burden to watch. Whilst I normally find myself skipping flat cutscenes (even in Resident Evil 4), here I was quite content with sitting back and watching it play out in front of me. Of course, your mileage may vary, but it’s worth taking note of going in.

That being said though, this VR translation was not only surprising in terms of its existence, but also in how well it works. You’d think that a flat turn based strategy game would be quite difficult to translate to VR, but they’ve done an admirable job. Sure, it’s not as immersive as if it was created for the platform from the ground up – but it still feels right here on the Meta Quest 3. And to be honest, I think that’s what really matters.

VERDICT
Triangle Strategy was a game that I didn’t think I would find enjoyable, nor did I think it would work well in VR. However, Square Enix certainly proved me wrong. Sure, there are still a lot of cutscenes to watch, but the presentation of the game is wonderful and makes even watching the flat cutscenes a delight. And with the game’s budget price tag (for a thirty hour experience), you can’t deny that this is a must have VR Strategy game.