One of the beautiful things that came from the Nintendo Switch era is that the partnerships The Big N had with multiple 3rd party developers led to key titles being produced. While not all of them remained exclusive, that wasn’t the point. They were titles that you wouldn’t have expected to be released on a big platform then, and they helped change the gaming landscape as a result. Specifically, the titles from Team Asano helped reshape the industry via their looks and story. It started with Octopath Traveler, and then it progressed to 2022’s Triangle Strategy, where it was a console exclusive on Switch.
It might not seem like it, but the game came out two years ago, and people are still talking about the game with the “weird title.” Triangle Strategy took the notions and ideas that their previous IP had done and then planted them firmly in the “tactics-style” of RPGs that certain fans loved. You played as a lord that was a Bannerman’s house for a significant empire. However, when a peace agreement goes awry, he, his betrothed, and the allies he made must fight for the peace of the realm. However, the twist was what path that peace would take.
Team Asano celebrated the game’s anniversary by dropping some art featuring the characters. A lovely tribute to a game they clearly enjoyed making:
Going back to the story, the title had key choices made via the “Scales of Conviction.” This was huge because you had to convince others within your party to go on the path you felt was best. As such, there were four paths that the game could take, and not all of them had what you would call “good endings.” Like certain games from Atlus, there was one “golden route” that you could take to see the best ending, or you could follow what you felt was best and see the consequences of your actions both on the realm and the people close to you. We speak from personal experience when we say that some of these choices were hard to swallow, given how far we had come.
As for what is next for Team Asano, it’s unclear at the moment. There was a tease about what franchise they might be diving back into soon. Or, they could be hard at work at a new title in this IP or the other we mentioned before. Regardless, we can count on Team Asano to create worthwhile RPGs, no matter their setting or style.
