Now that I'm through with translating the pages for the main characters in the artbook, just wanted to throw out another opening for requests! If there are any characters you want to see the concept art for, or any locations/items you'd like to see art about, feel free to send in an ask/leave tags/comment/etc.
Here's a list of what's in the artbook and what's been translated so far (updated as of November 2024):
General
Foreword (x)
Some concept art for the title/the game as a whole
Some concept art for each of the countries
Playable Characters [COMPLETE]
Serenoa (x) (x)
Roland (x)
Benedict (x)
Frederica (x)
Geela (x)
Anna (x)
Hughette (x)
Erador (x)
Rudolph (x)
Corentin (x)
Julio (x) (want to do a cleaner version)
Milo (x)
Cordelia (x)
Hossabara (x)
Narve (x)
Medina (x)
Jens (x)
Maxwell (also want to do a cleaner version) (x) (x)
Archibald (x)
Flanagan (x)
Ezana (x)
Lionel (x)
Groma (x)
Piccoletta (x)
Travis (x)
Trish (x)
Avlora (x)
Decimal (x)
Quahaug (x)
Giovanna (x)
NPCs
Destra (x) (this was the first one I did, and I want to do a cleaner version at some point)
Symon + Regna + Royal family in general (x) (I've done parts of this one, but haven't touched the parts with Symon yet)
Landroi (x) (want to do a cleaner version)
Rufus
Silvio and Pattriate
Gustadolph, Thalas, and Erika (x)
Svarog, Dragan, and Sycras (x)
Idore and Kamsell (x)
The Hierophant and various automatons (x)
Sorsley and Exharme (x)
Lyla, Booker, and Tenebris (x)
Clarus, Plinius, and Jerrom (I've done the Clarus parts, but not the rest) (x)
General NPCs
Environment
Map of Norzelia (x) (tbf I didn't actually scan this one in, but I do have an image of it that I hacked together from screenshots. Scanning probably won't work super well because the map spans two pages)
Whiteholm - Castle (x)
Whiteholm - Gardens (x)
Whiteholm - Crown City (x)
Whiteholm Bridge
Telliore demesne
Falkes demesne
Wolffort demesne - Town
Wolffort demesne - Castle (incl. interior)
Rosellan Village
Specs of the various boats
The Encampment
Aesfrost - Twinsgate
Aesfrost - Ironstone (incl. interior of the palace)
Aesfrost - Aesfrosti Archives
Grand Norzelian Mine
Deathsknell
Hyzante - Hyzantian architecture/Goddess's Shield
Hyzante - The Source
Hyzante - Rosellan homes at the Source
Hyzante - The Hierophant's Palace
Hyzante - Hyzantian interiors + environment
Some WIP 3d renders of different maps
There's also some other stuff I haven't gotten around to scanning yet (feel free to ask if there's something you're curious about! a lot of it is the other little pieces of art like the pixel sprites, some chibi sprites, and concept art for the various items/weapons)
may i have hyzantian architecture from the artbook.... :3
Yeah absolutely! There's a lot of pages about Hyzante and its architecture so it might take me a hot second to get the actual translations done, but in the meantime if you're looking for art references, here you go! <3
Concept art for Silvio and Patriatte! Translation notes and image ids under the cut.
Translation notes:
Pretty straightforward overall! I think the biggest iffy thing was "Shraut"—It also could have been something like "Shrout" or something else similar.
Image IDs:
[id: several pages of concept art from the Triangle Strategy artbook. The first page has two drawings of Silvio and Patriatte. Some notes from the designers are underneath: "Characters with such cunning and scheming personalities may seem unpleasant, but in historical ensemble dramas, they are indispensable characters that shake up the story and the player's heart, so I'm looking forward to their ruthless (!?) performances in the main story. (Tatsuaki Urushihara)" and "I recall there was a discussion about whether it was appropriate to have the characters in this work hold small items (based on the setting that the Telliore family's specialty is wine). Patriatte was originally named Shraut in the pre-production version. (Yasuaki Arai)". On the second page, there are several rough concept sketches where the design of Silvio and Patriatte is being figured out. Silvio's art is labeled A2 House Lord, and there are small, detailed images of his family crest, his cape and the golden grapevine embroidery on it, and some expressive facial portraits with Silvio looking anxious and smug. The expressions have the notes, "With impatience comes regret" and "The parts are fine, but the balance is off" and "He's elegant, in his own way." On the second half of the page are several WIP drawings of Patriatte (labeled "Head of House") and what seems to be an aide/guard that was originally planned to be at his side. Some notes at the bottom read: "These two have exquisitely distinctive facial features. Mr. Ikushima is skilled not only at creating handsome men and beautiful women, but also at creating these kinds of quirky characters, so I was looking forward to seeing his designs. (Tatsuaki Urushihara)".
What do you think happens to Frederica long term after the Utility ending?
That's an awesome question! Thanks so much for the ask <3
My first instinct is that Frederica honestly would struggle to achieve much political change on her own. In the Utility ending's epilogue, we hear that she's got a few ardent followers, but that overall her situation isn't looking super good.
She's got the truth of the salt mines on her side, but Hyzante is actively working to suppress any information that might support Frederica's claim via actions like ordering Exharme to burn down the Aesfrosti Archives.
If nothing changes, Idore could potentially stay in power indefinitely—he alludes to powers of immortality in his golden route boss fight, and if he just takes on the role that the hierophant puppet currently occupies, he's already set up to "die" and then rule without showing his face.
HOWEVER. Here's how Frederica can still win!!!!!! (once again there's an essay under the cut. sorry)
The nice thing about the Utility ending is that there are a TON of characters who'd be at least marginally pissed with the Saintly Seven (and/or Roland in particular). These include:
The surviving Aesfrosti (including Avlora) who would likely resent Hyzante for their role in their home's destruction
Merchants and members of the Consortium who benefited from free trade
Any rebel factions from within Hyzante (similar to Plinius's group)
Anyone else who would sympathize personally with Frederica or the Roselle, such as Geela, Groma, Archibald, or Maxwell
The surviving Royalists who were exiled by Roland
The rest of the Saintly Seven themselves tbh. Exharme definitely intends to oust/kill Idore at some point, and Lyla and Kamsell I think would turn a blind eye to that after what happened with Tenebris getting arbitrarily zapped into oblivion. Roland and Serenoa seem on board with Exharme's intent to change the world as well, so I'd loosely count them in with any rebellion he starts up.
In any case, if Frederica can convince even just two or three of those groups to join her, she'll be at about the same strength as the Wolffort army was during a good portion of the war.
But the big caveat with this is that those alliances do depend on Frederica seeking out those connections and actively choosing to work with others and prioritize their goals alongside her own—for example, with the remaining Aesfrosti, they might want her to take Gustadolph's place and assume a leadership position, which would mean she has to balance that responsibility to Aesfrost's people alongside her desire to help the Roselle. Given how dedicated she is to the Roselle's cause, that might not be a sacrifice she's willing to make.
But if she does manage to put together a force, I think she'd have a pretty good shot at achieving something similar to the Morality ending! We know that the last hierophant's death provided Orlaea an opportunity to lead some of the Roselle to freedom, and Frederica will likely have a similar opportunity whenever Exharme inevitably takes his shot at Idore.
Depending on how that power struggle goes, Exharme might even be open to negotiation with Frederica and the Roselle. He's stated outright that he wants a peaceful world, and especially if the choice is between "admitting he just let Hyzante's entire force of slaves escape" and "striking a deal with Frederica to welcome the Roselle into Hyzantian society, thus painting himself as a benevolent savior (and the rightful successor to Idore who was clearly a heretic)," I could see him choosing the latter. Frederica and the Roselle might not accept that offer after everything Hyzante has done to them, but given that trying to find Centralia is a gamble, they might be tempted to stay and try to make it work.
Alternatively, a less flashy but still happy-ish end to it all is that some combination of Frederica, Serenoa, Roland and/or Exharme work together to gradually, systematically improve the lives of the Roselle. With Roland being the Minister of Salt, he should theoretically have control over the Source, and I assume that despite everything he'd still try to improve the Roselle's living conditions at the soonest opportunity. Over time, I think there's a pretty solid chance that they could enact reform to the point that the Roselle are about as "free" as any other Hyzantian might be, though it seems likely they'd still face some discrimination similar to the Liberty ending.
In a world where the Roselle do have the support of Exharme, Roland, and Serenoa, I could definitely see Frederica reclaiming her identity as Frederica Aesfrost and becoming a public religious/political leader for the Roselle. And if Exharme really does radically change things and brand Idore as a heretic, inviting Frederica or a different Rosellan to become one of the Saintly Seven would kinda make sense as a political gesture, especially since Serenoa and Roland were both brought in under similar circumstances. Again, it's not really clear if Frederica would accept a position like that after everything Hyzante has done, but she might be tempted if it would give her more leverage to help the liberated Roselle.
And you know, one thing I love about Frederica during Roland's ending is that, even if she doesn't achieve anything, I think it's great that the story ends on that note of "she keeps fighting anyways." She might not manage to get anyone to join her. She might not ever save the Roselle! But her character is such that she keeps pushing toward that goal anyways because it's the right thing to do, and that's very cool in and of itself :)
Also!!! That last post reminded me that I had these old screenshots from the first anniversary stream that I never posted. The Asano team made some stamps/stickers (for sending over SMS) that had little quotes from Triangle Strategy characters. Below are the stamps, as well as the original survey that was sent out where Japanese players were allowed to submit quotes for consideration.
(I'll copy and paste the text below as usual, sorry it's all so small lol)
Translation notes and transcriptions:
Quotes [Note: a lot of these aren't direct translations, they're instead the English translation of the equivalent Japanese line. Some of them I couldn't find or didn't quite make sense in the English version so those ones are more 1:1 with the Japanese lines]
Serenoa: The way forward is decided!
Decimal: CLANK CLANK CLAAAAANK
Serenoa: I'll see us all through safely!
Serenoa: Consult the Scales of Conviction!
Serenoa: We choose as best we're able, and strive to ensure we chose wisely.
Serenoa: I would hear everyone's mind.
Serenoa: Then we've no need for the Scales.
Roland: Wha… What!?
Lionel: You!
Benedict: … It's nothing but a fairy tale. [in English the line was "Centralia is a myth."]
Milo: Life must be hard for you, being so ugly inside and out.
Young Benedict: I followed you into this hell of my own will.
Benedict: Yes, that's me. [in Japanese the line is lit. "Yes, that's me," in response to Serenoa's question, "You live in the past, don't you?". In English, Serenoa's question is, "You are shackled to the past, Benedict." and "I would call it loyalty." I went with "Yes, that's me," because it seemed more appropriate as a stamp.]
Benedict: I will not—I cannot—endorse such betrayal!
Narve: My studies have paid off!
Piccoletta: I feel great!
Medina: Feel better!
Serenoa: The way forward is decided!
Frederica: Flames consume you! (lit. "burn it down", though the word they use for "burn" seems like it might specifically be a word for cooking/grilling)
Frederica: A stew to tickle the tongue and sate the stomach! (lit. something more mimetic in Japanese)
Benedict: Pray try to remain calm.
Benedict: Compassion can only exist so long as it has an army at its back!
Julio: I must serve as best I can.
Decimal: CLANK CLANK CLAAAAANK
Trish: Heh, heh, heh
Erika: Silence!
Avlora: I will be your sword.
Gustadolph: Then it seems your death is at hand! (lit. "I'm not asking permission," the quote comes from the Liberty ending as he orders his men to take down Kamsell and the rest of Hyzante's troops.)
Avlora: So long as you must look to others, you do not deserve freedom.
Svarog: You'll understand when you too grow old.
Thalas: Bwahaha!
Roland: I will not have you lecture me on feelings! [Lit. "You know nothing of my pain!"]
Roland: Have you no shame!?
Anna: Time to work.
Hughette: You're finished! [lit. "It's over"]
Geela: Keep going! [lit. "Recover!"]
Dragan: The future rests in the hands of the ardent youth!
Rudolph: You're in for a world of hurt. [lit. You're in for a treat.]
Maxwell: Prepare to face the Dawnspear! [lit. something like "Maxwell is here!"]
Exharme: This was destined to occur! [lit. "My path is certain!"]
since you run the triangle strategy quote bot, are there any quotes you particularly like or find memorable/funny/interesting?
Oooh that's a great question, thanks for asking! <3 A lot of my favorites predictably come from Avlora —I'm a big fan of her Whiteholm Bridge "But today your sun sets and a new age begins" speech and her "You've every right to doubt me when I say Lady Cordelia has touched me" dialogue later on when she surrenders to House Wolffort.
BUT if I had to pick one bit of dialogue that makes me go OOOOOOH every time, I think it'd have to be this exchange from the first part of Roland's ending where Frederica breaks off from House Wolffort:
Frederica: ...Serenoa, you are an honest man. One who wants to do the right thing. Truth be told, it was those very qualities that I fell in love with...
Serenoa: Frederica, please...
Frederica: But now I find it loathsome. What you would claim as righteous will destroy the lives of those who have no voice. So allow me to speak on their behalf: The Roselle do not recognize the judgment rendered by the Scales of Conviction! I will defend my people's right to live, and so challenge you to a duel!
Serenoa: You what!?
Geela: Do you hear yourself, Frederica!? Think about what you're doing!
Frederica: I haven't the luxury of thinking about anything else. Stand back, all of you.
Frederica reaching that breaking point of "you can go to hell actually" is SO good to me!!! It's so thematically fitting for her character arc as someone who's learning to stand up for herself after a lifetime of abuse, as well as an excellent first blow to the kneecaps as far as illustrating the tragedy of Roland's route.
And that last line in particular about "I haven't the luxury of thinking about anything else" is such an excellent dig at Serenoa + everyone else in the room who's willing to stand by as others are subjugated for their benefit. And such an excellent point about the personal injustice it is for Frederica as well, because it's not just the Roselle at the Source that they're condemning!!! Frederica is absolutely going to suffer under Hyzante's rule, even if she herself can theoretically be spared from outright slavery. Like have they stopped to think about what they're doing? Have they stopped to think about whether Frederica will ever be able to live a happy life under Idore's thumb? If she'll ever honestly be accepted as an equal to all the non-Rosellans around her? In deciding to follow Roland's path, everyone in that room was very vocally, very explicitly saying that Frederica's happiness and safety was a sacrifice they were willing to make. She has every right to be furious and to say what she says to Serenoa, and it's all just very sexy of her <3
May I offer thee one last Avlora? The countdown to TriStrat's release had countdown art of TriStrat characters with characters from other Team Asano games (this is where the Roland and Oersted fr9m LaL official art came from), but there was also one of Avlora (with a character from a now dead bravely mobile spinoff)
Oh dang that's so cool, thanks so much!!!!! I'll add that to the post <3
Happy 3rd anniversary! Destra's page was one of the first character pages I ever translated, so here's a cleaner, more accurately translated version. Translation notes and image ids under the cut.
Translation notes:
"Tavern" could have also been translated as "bar."
"pg 7" was weird, since the actual page 7 in the book is some of the title art for Triangle Strategy (so no characters, just typography), so I'm not sure what it's referring to either way. Possibly some other reference material not included in the book?
I noted this on the first version of this post as well, but one thing of particular interest that came up was that note next to Benedict. The first line reads as “Secretly” and the second + third seems to be this phrase:
It seems like it has a variety of meanings, including potentially romantic ones, but I’m not sure contextually how to read it. I went with “caring for” as a hopefully middle-of-the-road sort of option.
Image IDs:
[image id: A single page of concept art from the Triangle Strategy artbook, posted once in Japanese, and then in English. This page centers around Destra and her design and backstory. It shows several images including several of Destra while she's pregnant with Serenoa, as well as one where she's meeting Regna while serving him at a tavern (labeled, "Image of how their relationship began at a tavern"). Another set of images shows Serenoa between Destra and Regna's profiles, indicating the resemblance between them. Toward the bottom half of the page, there are several additional drawings. Under one label, "When she was poor", there is a drawing of her in peasant's clothing, with some details pointed out of her kerchief she wears tied around her hair, captioned "Clever and energetic, she did her best in all circumstances." There's also a drawing of her as a child, sitting down and holding her stomach as if hungry, captioned, "As a child she may have been starving...". Another drawing shows her in a barmaid's dress, labeled, "When she worked in a tavern." Another drawing is labeled, "As a mother," and shows her pregnant while Benedict is visible at a desk behind her. A caption reads, "Benedict in his youth, caring for her in secret." A last label reads, "As a mother and lady of region A," where she's pregnant but wearing much finer clothing with a mantle reminiscent of Serenoa's own. A note toward the bottom reads, "This is reference material concerning the protagonist's mother, even in her younger days. It explores the question of 'To what extent is it useful to focus on her appearance?'" The last illustrator's note reads, "When designing Serenoa, I first drew his mother and then tried to figure out what characteristics he would have based on his genetics. (Naoki Ikushima)" /end id]
Man, after seeing Conclave (excellent film) - the film's narrative framework is how would a live-action Triangle Strategy TV show should be like: uncovering secrets, conversations and plotting in discreet spaces.
Plus, how Cardinal Lawrence is burdened with responsibilities and goes out of his way to make hard choices is masterfully portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, IMO, his performance is close to how Benedict would be depicted in live-action.
Ooooooh I haven't watched Conclave yet but that DOES sound like a great film. I would kill for a Triangle Strategy TV show in any case lol, but I do really like the idea of it being centered around the political intrigue in the game vs. it being a more standard action/fantasy genre, that would be super fun
Giovanna's concept art! Translation notes and image ids below the cut.
Translation Notes:
"Mineral Maniac" could also have been "Mineral Mania".
"Pre-game, fatigued" was a little ambiguous because the kanji at the end wasn't really a word, but the character had a potential meaning of "to become fatigued", so I just went with that.
"100% bedhead" was literally "all bedhead" or "complete bedhead."
All the sound effects were swapped out for more English-sounding ones. The "YAAAWN" was "Fwahh", the "SHING" was "PAAA", and the "Mnn" was "Naa".
"For the sake of research, the chosen dyes were applied..." was a little hard to parse and I feel like I might have missed some of the meaning. Literally it seemed something more like "for the good of research, the right/right-hand dyes were used on..."
"Boots from school for ease of mining" was also kind of weird, might have been saying something more like "cheap school mining boots [to be used for mining]"
The "Gal Who Studies the Playing Field" heading was literally something like "Game-Board Studying Guy [gender neutral]".
The "Gal Who Studies the Playing Field" heading and the same heading but with "Alternate" attached seem to kind of be swapped, but that was how it was on the original page, so I left it.
Image Id:
[id: Two pages of concept art from the Triangle Strategy artbook centered around Giovanna. The first page has a colored and uncolored version of her canon portrait, as well as a designer's note that reads, "The contrast between Giovanna's soft, fluffy design and the sharpness of the rock is really an appealing point of contrast, isn't it? (Rina Yoshiura)".
The second page has several drawings of Giovanna, most of which highlight her sleepiness or her messy outfit. She's labeled "Mineral Maniac", and her necklace has a note that reads, "The stone around her neck is the first one she ever found." She holds a shining gem with a "SHING…" sound effect. One sleepy drawing is labeled "Pre-game, fatigued". By her hair on another drawing is a note that says, "True color is blonde, messy parts are dyed sections." A note pointing to her lab coat reads, "For the sake of research, the chosen dyes are applied to the clothes and hair". She is noted to have large gloves and large boots as well as a pair of magnifying glasses with lenses that can be lifted and lowered. Another note explains that she "wears a lab coat over her underclothes". Next to a sleepy and disgruntled drawing there is some dialogue that reads, "Mnn… What a hassle… I'll just put off whatever I don't want to do". Another drawing of her yawning has the caption "Always sleeping" and "100% bedhead".
The second half of the page is labeled "Gal Who Studies the Playing Field (Geologist?)" and "Gal Who Studies the Playing Field (Geologist) Alternate". There is a drawing of a much more severe version of Giovanna with dark hair and a scholar's outfit. Some details are pointed out, including some suspenders on the back of the outfit and a small ice axe and case of mining accessories that she wears on her hip. There is also a caption that reads, "Uses the first gemstone she
found on her own as a brooch." Another note points to her boots and reads, "Boots from school for ease of mining". An illustrator's note at the bottom of the page reads, "Using the uptight-looking young woman on the lower half as a springboard, she eventually became an eccentric character who's completely absorbed in researching stones and wears a lab coat over her underthings. The colorful paints on her clothes are pigments extracted from the stones. (Urushihara Tatsuaki) /end id]
So it took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize Elegy of Battle is the game over theme. I thought it was just for cutscenes. I wasn't sure about it at first but I really like that tristrat uses its tracks flexibly because even realizing things like this feels like finding a hidden secret. I also noticed that the track plays several times during ch7-9 in scenes where Symon is shown ill, and that in hindsight feels like such an evident foreshadowing. It also plays right when Symon is about to die in ch15 so... I mean, I think it's not a surprise that Symon eventually passes, but the fact that the song of death played as early as chapter 7 hurts. Symon's death always felt impactful in the way the war finally took someone closest to Serenoa and this just makes it even more painful.
Another fun thing about Elegy of Battle is that it also plays in Morality final chapter when Frederica and others are searching for Serenoa. Or more exactly when she finds her pendant. So... like father, like son, I guess....
Addendum: I was going to post this but I just remembered that the track also plays in the scene after the Morality duel when Benedict is leaving. In this scene I feel like it could both be a reference to Symon's death or a foreshadowing of Serenoa's. I think that's neat. Man I love this game.
