Triangle Strategy is more cutscene than combat, but it modernises Tactics Ogre in all the right ways

It's been an interesting exercise playing Triangle Strategy and Tactics Ogre: Reborn in quick succession lately. I've now played both Square Enix strategy RPGs for around six hours apiece now - starting with Tactics Ogre for my preview the other week, and following it up with a Triangle-shaped chaser. I didn't have any history with either game before now, but it's become increasingly apparent that they're effectively cut from the same tile-based cloth. And I mean, exactly the same. They're so similar, in fact, that it's kinda hilarious Square are releasing them so close together on PC, with Tactics Ogre's release on November 11th following little more than a month after Triangle Strategy.

At the same time, though, their approach to story-telling couldn't be more different, and comparing and contrasting them like this one after the other has been both fun and enlightening. Triangle Strategy, for example, is about 80% cutscene, 20% fighting for its first six hours, while Tactics Ogre is pretty much the opposite. And yet… I think I sort of prefer Triangle Strategy? Let me explain.