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Triangle Strategy, one of the best strategy RPGs for the Nintendo Switch was recently released on PC. With a grim, mature story and incredibly sharp gameplay, it’s easily one of the best strategy RPGs of the year. While some may have thought the title of the game was a little on the silly side, Triangle Strategy genuinely delivered memorable story elements, tactical combat, and solid character design.
Around the time of the game’s PC launch, Sportskeeda’s Jason Parker had a chat with Yasuaki Arai, one of Triangle Strategy's producers, about the game’s PC port, the reception of the game, favorite battles, and much more. Whether on PC or the Switch, Triangle Strategy is an unforgettable experience.
Yasuaki Arai on the reception of Triangle Strategy
Q. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! What has the overall reception of Triangle Strategy been on PC?
Arai: Thank you for the interview opportunity. I believe the reception for the PC version has been great, thanks to everyone’s support, and I feel that new players are getting the chance to try this game out.
Q. The story of Triangle Strategy is a pretty tragic one. Did any other games or stories inspire the plot?
Arai: When we first started up the project, we had a common vision during our production: to deliver a story that a mature audience can truly enjoy. In order to make that a reality, we chose the SRPG game format, selected a war chronicle that involves multiple groups of people as our storytelling vehicle, and centered the theme of our story around justice. For the “justice” theme, we pored over Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, written by Dr. Michael J. Sandel, which led us to the three Convictions (Utility, Morality, and Liberty).
As for the war drama aspect of it, we drew inspiration from many works in and out of Japan, but if I were to mention a more globally known example, it would be Game of Thrones.
Q. In Triangle Strategy, the Convictions remain an invisible stat until you go back through on NG+. Why did the team decide to keep that stat invisible?
Arai: The first playthrough is meant for the player to look to their own sense of justice to progress through the story; and once they got to the conclusion, I wanted the player to feel the weight of their decisions and accept that their own choices led them there. (Instead of constantly thinking about “oh, I should’ve raised this element of my Conviction...”)
Just to add some context, the way the story unfolds in the game is determined by your allies’ votes. The player has a chance to “persuade” them before they cast their vote, but it is heavily affected by the three Conviction stats (Utility, Morality, and Liberty), which fluctuate based on the player’s actions up until that point.
During the first playthrough, these Conviction stats will not be visible, so the player will not know which action will affect which stat, nor the impact it will have in the process of persuading.
What this means is that there are times during the first playthrough that things may not go according to what the player expects.
To reiterate, the first playthrough is meant for players to look to their own sense of justice and to enjoy it as their own story, including parts that don’t go their way. Then, in the second playthrough, the player can revisit the moments where they may have wondered “what if I chose something else at this time...” and use the Conviction stats to get through these interactions in a game-like way. And that’s the reasoning behind this design choice; it was to encourage replaying.
There have been mixed reviews regarding this aspect, but I feel there has been a certain amount of praise for being so unique and doing something that's never been done before.
Q. The character classes in Triangle Strategy are all pretty interesting, but does the team have any favorites or any that were difficult to create?
Arai: Thank you for touching on character classes. When planning for this game, our goal was to have each and every playable unit assigned with a unique class that has its advantages and disadvantages, as well as an ability that will especially shine when executed as a combo with another party member.
That means players can’t just level their favorite characters to plow through the game, which tends to be the typical strategy in a SRPG, but I feel that the character classes are a unique aspect of the game that players can enjoy.
We worked until the last minute to fine-tune the balance so that each character has a moment to shine, but out of all of them, my personal favorite would be Jens Macher. As a character, he’s a relatively plain townsperson and doesn’t have any notably powerful skills, but it’s so gratifying to see him willingly participate in the war with his trusty hammer.
Jens can build various contraptions that can be used in battle. It’s exhilarating to shoot arrows from a higher vantage point that’s only accessible by the “ladder” he builds; and I get a rush when enemies walk right into the “spring trap” he sets up on a narrow bridge and get knocked back, plunging to their demise. If players get a chance to recruit Jens into their party, I would love for them to try him out.
Q. I really enjoyed how varied the story battles were when it came to stage design of Triangle Strategy. Does the team have a favorite story battle, in terms of the actual stage design?
Arai: It’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but I would probably pick the battle in which the player has to ride around in a mine cart and diffuse bombs.
The battle team was very passionate about this stage, and during the planning phase, we were all excited about how fun this would be. Once the team started building the stage, I remember providing lots of feedback for my team to adjust, until the game balance was just right and fun to play.
Some of the more granular adjustments included comments like: 'Are we not making the bomb detonation timing too unreasonable, while still being balanced so that the player feels the tension and thrill when the detonation countdown begins? Is there a sense of give-and-take strategy in using the carts to go to the depths of the mine and come back, or dealing damage to enemies by hitting them with the cart?' and so on.
Q. The HD-2D visuals for Triangle Strategy are gorgeous, but were there any other visual designs the team considered before that?
Arai: No, we didn’t. Since the start of the project, the intent was to create a second game in the HD-2D format. With the positive response to the first title, OCTOPATH TRAVELER, we looked into what kind of game we should create in the HD-2D format next; and as mentioned towards the beginning, we (Asano) wanted a story that a mature audience would truly enjoy, and we drafted plans based on the concept of the game genre being SRPG and depicting a war chronicle that involves multiple groups of people.
Q. Triangle Strategy had an interesting gameplay design, where each character has their own goals and intents. Ultimately, it could force players down paths in the story that they don't wish to go on. While it felt realistic, and I enjoyed it, it could also be seen as frustrating. Could I get some insight on why the game was designed this way?
Arai: I may have already said this before, but this is the result of striving for a story that a mature audience would truly enjoy.
Q. Were there any game design choices that, looking back, you aren't happy with? Are there any you'd change, and if so, why?
Arai: After the initial launch, we conducted a player survey. Additionally, we read as many Amazon reviews and comments on our social channels as possible. We compiled input from actual players of the game as well as the assessment from players, and I shared them with my developers as well.
With that said, and to answer your question, I would choose battle unit progression and customization. The reason being, a substantial number of actual players made requests surrounding those elements.
As previously mentioned, I placed heavy emphasis on having each character have a unique ability, and I kept my distance from balancing the game in a way that players could plow through using just their favorite units.
On the one hand, we received praise for that feature; but on the other side, there was a substantial number of players asking for more ways to enhance their units or to customize them. I would imagine balance adjustment would become more difficult, but it will enhance the strategic aspect of the battles, so if I ever have an opportunity, I would like to revisit it.
Q. While the name "Triangle Strategy" definitely makes sense, some have thought it to be a silly title. Were there any other titles that were considered?
Arai: Yes, there were. We asked members of the development team for ideas, sought input from our international staff, and ultimately, Asano made the final decision as the one who carried the responsibility of planning and concept. This is the same process we followed for Team Asano’s previous games, but we decided on these names based on the understanding that overseas players won’t find them extremely strange or unnatural.
Rather than the vibe a name would give off, or the stylishness of its phrasing, we place heavier emphasis on making it easy to understand “what the game is about.”
Q. Without discussing the actual endings of the game, there are definitely a lot of possibilities to continue telling stories in this world. Has a sequel or even a prequel in the world of Triangle Strategy been considered?
Arai: The feedback and encouragement from our players will be the catalyst for such ideas. Your continued support for our titles would be very much appreciated.
Q. What does the future hold for Triangle Strategy? Are fans going to see more stories set in this world?
Arai: Allow me to reuse the response from the question previous to this one.
Triangle Strategy is currently available for the Nintendo Switch and PC platforms. While it’s uncertain if there will be another game in this franchise, many fans are hopeful to return to this war-torn continent. Interested readers can also check out our review of Triangle Strategy here.
