On the downside, the Conviction system is masked for the entire first playthrough, which did lead me to some confusion over whether I was supposed to know what was happening or not. That scrupulous honesty, for example, helped me acquire the honest anti-corruption support character Julio, who proved invaluable in the late game as someone who could keep my mages casting spells with no breaks. All the little dialogue decisions you make (and even some actions taken in combat) end up combining to both subtly lead Serenoa down particular paths, and unlock side characters and flashbacks for them. The voting and Conviction systems end up being very clever ways to manifest your choices. Needless to say, things go badly, and everyone starts fighting once again. The three competing states have vied for control of salt and iron, but a new joint mining project serves as a symbol of peace.

Instead, the characters do battle over resources and political authority. Magic exists on the continent of Norzelia, but here it's a tool and weapon more than a world-defining power. It's important to start with the plot and setting, because this is a story-heavy game. Likewise, (and also extremely importantly for a word- and number-heavy RPG) I was able to easily read all the text fairly easily both on the Switch itself and on a relatively small television. It looks good on both TV mode and handheld on the Switch, although I ended up preferring the latter slightly because the characters really popped on the small screen. Being able to zoom in and out and swirl the camera around or tilt from an isometric to a top-down view, all while looking consistent and clear, is a tremendous achievement. It’s the hallmark of Tomoya Asano, who also worked as a producer on the similarly impressive Octopath Traveler. The initial impressive standout for Triangle Strategy is its two-dimensional character pixel art that exists in a flexible three-dimensional world.

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