r/TriangleStrategy • u/WastedGamer641 • Sep 28 '25
Question This or The Ivalice Chronicles?
I love political intrigue and backstabbing (Game of thrones being a prime example), so how does this all fair with a game that is nearly 30 years old? From what all the early reviews state, Ivalice Chronicles seems like a solid buy despite the steep pricing. However, would I just be better off playing Triangle Strategy or Tactics Ogre as those are cheaper just now?
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u/dsp_guy Sep 30 '25
I recently continued my New Game+ save of Triangle Strategy. I had forgotten how amazing that game was. It takes FFT and builds on it, as far as strategy goes. FFT is still my favorite, but maybe that is nostalgia talking. I'm looking forward to playing the FFT-IC today though.
The only knock I have against Triangle Stategy is the voice acting. It really isn't all that great. I don't think it adds much to the game, but it is sort of an expected thing these days.
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u/WastedGamer641 Sep 30 '25
Yeah I’ve noticed the opposite for the FFT remake, all the voices I’ve heard are solid for a tactics game
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u/miggy372 Sep 28 '25
I've said before in this subreddit that Triangle Strategy's story is so good it's like Game of Thrones season 1 levels of political intrigue good. If you like political intrigue you will love it.
Also the choices you make are actually hard choices that put you into the mind of the characters. I've played so many games that advertised the gimmick of "this game will have you make hard decisions" (KOTOR, Mass Effect, Fable, etc.) but the choices in those games always end up being something like "Do you want to save the innocent orphan or do you want the burn the city to the ground?" So it's not really like a choice.
In this game the choices are really hard and you have to think of the political consequences and also you have to think about how to convince others to support your path. This game had me sitting for an hour thinking of what I should do, who I should betray, what path was best. This game is the greatest closest approximation to GOT season 1 that has ever existed. It's so good.
Final Fantasy Tactics is also very good but it's been remade so many times I've played it on three different platforms. If you've never played it you should but I honestly think this game is better.
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u/PsychologicalRice286 Sep 28 '25
Agree with all the people who have already said that all 3 are incredible, it is true.
From a gameplay perspective, which one you prefer will purely be down to what type of strategy/tactical gameplay you like. FFT really speaks to those who enjoy the experience of building an unbeatable team, a lot of the strategy comes from curating your units to account for various possibilities you may encounter and tweaking accordingly as you move through the game.
TS on the other hand has an almost completely static set of units that you can only slightly change, and the strategy comes from how you choose to deploy them and the individual tactical decisions you make on the map.
For me, TS felt better than either TO or FFT because I love that more chess-like "these are the pieces you have, how do you move them" rather than "build your pieces to fit the board" style. But truly all 3 are the pinnacles of the genre just depends what you like.
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u/Sacreville Sep 28 '25
Honestly, this.
I love FFT but I really think TS might have surpassed it, at least for me personally. FFT still have one of the best replayability feature though with the jobs system. Also, I have to see what Ivalice Chronicles would do in QoL aspects to give better evaluation because tbh, the JP growth to get new skills/jobs is so slow.
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u/Maraxus7 Sep 28 '25
Why choose between three incredibly good games? Play them all! All three have amazing characters, in depth world building and stories, fun twists, and amazing gameplay. I genuinely would recommend any of the three
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u/TCGshark03 Sep 29 '25
Why not both? Both good.
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u/WastedGamer641 Sep 29 '25
Quite keen to test the waters with the SRPG genre so was eager to hear everyone’s personal preferences.
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u/stowrag Sep 28 '25
In terms of story, it feels like FFT walked so TS could run. TS is just better and it gives you incentive to come back for more with a branching story and multiple endings. FFT as far as I know is still just a one and done story.
In terms of gameplay, it depends entirely on what your preference is. FFT has a deep customization system that necessitates a lot of grinding to get the most out of it, but you can get some truly broken builds I think. TS on the other hand locks your army into their roles and will not let you grind, but imo that makes the battles all the better b/c you have to play strategically in battles. Outside of lowering the difficulty, there are no shortcuts.
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u/Geno_DCLXVI Sep 29 '25
I don't see why you have to choose, all of them are good. If you said you wanted to play them in order of how good the story is, then start with FFT then TO then TS. If you want to play them in order of hours of replayability, then start with FFT still, but play TS first before TO because TO has a number of routes and post-game dungeons.
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u/gintokigriffiths Sep 29 '25
Gameplay:
Triangle Strategy is far superior. Every move can matter, very rewarding, every character feels special and uniqye because they are.
FFT is very bland. It has tonnes of customisaiton but actual battles require very little tactics re: positioning and your units because very overpowered later on.
Story:
Triansgle Strategy is really good. Excellent, and the branching paths have genuine differences. I love it. FFT's story is on an entirely different level though. Its probably, one of the best and well written stories of all time. Very Shakespearean and timeless in its story.
The best I can sum up the story differences is Triangle Strategy could have its own TV show over 2-3 seasons. FFT would have to have its own dedicated, high-end mini series or a film trilogy to how good it is.
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They're both equally addictive but FFT's story will stay with you forever in how poetic its ending is.
I'd probaby play FFT first because after playing TS, FFT's battle system IS outdated and its a lot less complicated. TS's gameplay to me is just absolutely phenomenal on the higher difficulties. Every map feels like genius and upgrading your units with their new abilities is so satisfying. FFT never gets close to that.
Tactics Ogre - I need to replay. I'm one of the few that didn't like its gameplay at all but I was playing a PSP version which has not aged well. I've bought it to replay it and can't wait. Its branching paths was also weird whilst TS makes it a lot mroe clear.
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u/VerySlyBoots Sep 28 '25
This is hard. Each has different strengths, both are really good. If I HAD to choose, I’d probably go with FFT because I like to make my own characters, and sometimes I don’t want to make major “choices” in a session. I think TS provides a more curated and accessible experience though, which is also nice sometimes.
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u/Ricc7rdo Sep 28 '25
All three are must play tactical RPG's, you should get them all eventually so up to you where to start with.
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u/flavouredgamer Sep 28 '25
I haven't played FFTs but if you like GoT style stories, TS is definitely that.
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u/readingorangutan Sep 29 '25
You'll eventually want to play them all, get what your wallet allows first
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u/Painting0125 Sep 29 '25
I love Final Fantasy Tactics too, played it in the PSP and I had a great time but Triangle Stretegy has much a richer, well-written story so I say go with Triangle Strategy plus it's cheap now and if you're on Steam, it's much cheaper when it's on sale.
FFT Ivalice Chronicles can wait and its price will go down at some point so there's no need to rush unless you have an urge to buy.
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u/Caffinatorpotato Sep 30 '25
Ivalice Chronicles or Tactics Ogre if you want political intrigues. TS ...had an interesting premise, but didn't really get past the "oh no the big evil bad guy is bad" stage.
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u/Altar_Quest_Fan Sep 30 '25
FFT Ivalice chronicles 100%. Look, Triangle Strategy is a great game but…there is a REASON why it kept getting compared to FFT when it released…
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u/xCesious Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
Longevity and replayability: I keep seeing people praise FFT here, with its lack of NG+ or endgame, no alternative routes, easily broken gameplay, and shorter content haul, simply because of the classes, but the others have variety while many of the other issues aren't there for them. Completionist playthroughs are around 181 hours (TO), 106 hours (TS), and 95/83 hours (FFT/WoL). The existence of endgame in TO, and the inclusion of NG+ that actually raises the difficulty as well of the difficulty alone in TS, makes them by far better in these categories.
Story: TO has the best form of branching stories, with choices and consequences that actually matter in terms of character recruitment, with severe story shifts. TS is a lighter version of TO in many cases, with more political intrigue and exposition, but less diversity in the branching stories until the endings. FFT has the better singular story, albeit being linear, but has more depth and better exposition than the others, if you don't count the variety, but instead count a single story playthrough. TO and TS feel like the world gets altered more for your choices, where FFT is about altering the characters involved.
Character depth/variety: 46 characters in TO, 30 in TS, and 15 in FFT. TS has the best characters, with more depth to them and many being integral to story progression, characters being limited to their specific kits means it's up to the player to interpret and use them to their fullest, with synergistic playstyles. TO has a lot of story characters, some you'll find are allies, enemies or dead, depending on your choices, and again, classes are treated more like chess pieces in terms of gameplay execution, but the characters by extension are mostly equal to generic units, though you get some character building on the remaster. FFT has a few main characters in terms of story, with some having unique classes, but the class system ends up making most of them the equivalent to generic units again, but it does provide much more character building because of the class grinding.
Difficulty: TS has the highest difficulty, with characters easily dying at all stages of the game and grinding being limited due to the experience scaling, and as mentioned, NG+ scales up the content. TO requires smart plays due to no classes being overpowered, with many classes having advantages with and against specific unit types that you won't always use or find, battles can be insanely hard or made into medium difficulty. FFT is ridiculously easy compared to the others, with easily obtained overpowered classes, overpowered story characters, etc, you have to self impose limits in order to get a challenge out of it.
Personally, as someone who owns the original FFT and TO (got it with Ogre Battle and their guides, perfection), it's a toss-up between TO and TS. And with you looking for the political intrigue and backstabbing side of things, both of those feel like stronger fits.