Extremely Cool
Triple Triad should be a game that FF8 fans will remember well. Triple Triad Extreme is an online version of this with a much expanded rule system and shed loads of cards to collect. As this is probably one of the less well known online card systems out there I thought it well worth a review as this is an awesome little game.
For those of you that aren’t in the know, Triple Triad is a game where you are given a grid of 9 squares and the aim is to control the most cells to win. You gain control of these squares by placing cards. Each card has a set of four numerical values on it and to win a square you have to trump your opponents adjacent card. This in itself sounds relatively simple if you have the right cards and know how to place them. Then they throw in extra rules.
The rules used to play the game are set by the table owner so players will need to learn all of the different rule sets to be able to play effectively. This can take some time and players that like to just be able to jump straight into the action might find it slow going at first. Rules such as “Combo” can be major game changers. With the combo rule in play it is possible to set off a cascade which will not only take one cell but if you place the card correctly will take many all in one go. This happens when a row of cards are able to take each other and, therefore, a domino effect is created until the chain ends. Other rules are plus and minus which trump cards with values of one more or less than the card you are playing. The list of these rules goes on and I’m not going to explain them all because I’ll be old and grey by time I’ve finished, but you get the picture.
Cards are levelled and decks are collectible. The higher the level of the card the better the values on it. Values go from 1 to 10 or Ace and there are 10 levels. As far as decks to collect this is an anime and comic book fans dream. The decks are sizeable and there are a lot of them. You might choose to collect the Final Fantasy edition decks or the Anime ones. There are decks based on Sega and Nintendo characters. Or the one I’m collecting at the moment which is Marvel and DC based. It will take a lot of time and effort to build a full deck but when you’ve done it you’ll feel a real sense of achievement.
You gain cards via a number of means. This is an online game that accepts donations so you can buy your cards with real money. This really isn’t necessary as you win gold by playing and can use this to buy booster packs. You also get a nice little gold bonus when you level up so this also helps. There are player shops that allow you to buy particular cards with game gold you’ve earned. This is really helpful if you’re looking for a particular card and don’t want to buy a bunch of random boosters. Lastly you have trade matches where you put your cards on the line in the hope of winning them off your opponent.
As far as decks to collect this is an anime and comic book fans dream
There are also a number of different takes on the Triple Triad game. These are namely Omni Triad which is Triple on a much bigger field. TT Memory which is a “flip two” memory game played against an opponent. There is the newest addition called Triple Triad War which is all about placing cards in an attempt to knock out your opponents life points and lastly Chinoren, a betting game using dice.
The players are very friendly and there is an active guild system and tournaments which are run from time to time. The only down side is that the player base is relatively small so it can take a little while to get a game. You can sit and chat to your hearts content while you are waiting and as it’s so easy to make friends here you don’t really notice. When you do get playing you’ll probably play a lot of matches as games are quick and very addictive.
There isn’t any sound with this game which may or may not be a good thing. It isn’t something that bothers me as I just play music while I’m playing but it might be an issue for some gamers. I’m going to leave this as a 5 because I’m not going to rate something as being bad that doesn’t exist at all. As I say, it doesn’t detract from the game so it doesn’t seem fair to drop the rating.
Graphically the game is very basic but the card images are really nice and someone has put a lot of effort into creating them. You have to remember that this isn’t an official game, it was probably created by a group of Final Fantasy fans so you can’t be too hard on them, they really have done a great job with the work they’ve put in. My rating is based on the card art for anyone who looks at the game and thinks I’m nuts.
Gameplay is very addictive and in my opinion this is the most important factor of any game. If you want to come back and play again and again then surely nice graphics and funky sound effects come second to this.
All in all I reckon that this is something that is worth a pop for anyone who likes strategy and card games. Yeah there is a lot to learn but you can pick up everything you need to know from the site and players will be happy to teach you the rest as you go. It doesn’t matter if you’ve played Final Fantasy 8 and the original Triple Triad or not, this is still definitely at least worth a try.
The Bad: Can take a while to get a game, fairly narrow audience.
Bronze Y Award