History VideoGame / Suzerain

** Pales is a minuscule, German-speaking and very wealthy monarchy like Liechtenstein or Luxembourg. Its geography and seafaring nature is inspired by Monaco. Its status as a (former) overseas empire's outpost is reminiscent of Gibraltar.

** Rizia takes its culture, language and rough geographic composition from Spain (and to a lesser extent Italy). Its status as an autocratic petro-monarchy, on the other hand, has more in common with pre-revolution Persia and Saudi Arabia.

* ResourcesManagementGameplay: Since King Toras is a monarch who counts the state as a personal possession, personal wealth isn't a resource in this campaign. Alongside the state budget, there are two other resources: Authority (representing the political capital and time needed to enact policies) and Energy (representing Rizia's export economy).

** Sordland broadly mirrors the politics and ethnic composition of mid-20th century Turkey, but their names are mostly Western, Southern and even Northern European. Most of their trademark food is rather Mediterranean-inspired (wine, pasta and bean stew), but Erlory is also famed for its whiskey distilleries. Greiser‘s police uniform looks American, Lancea‘s army uniform resembles that of the Soviet Air Force, and Valken Kruger‘s army uniform is clearly inspired by the British Army. The Supreme Court justices‘ dress strongly resembles that of the Norwegian Supreme Court.

** Sordland broadly mirrors the politics and ethnic composition of mid-20th century Turkey, but their names are mostly Western, Southern and even Northern European. Most of their trademark food is rather Mediterranean-inspired (wine and pasta). Greiser‘s police uniform looks American, Lancea‘s army uniform resembles that of the Soviet Air Force, and Valken Kruger‘s army uniform is clearly inspired by the British Army. The Supreme Court justices‘ dress strongly resembles that of the Norwegian Supreme Court.

** Sordland broadly mirrors the politics and ethnic composition of mid-20th century Turkey, but their names are mostly Western, Southern and even Northern European. Most of their trademark food is rather Mediterranean-inspired (wine and pasta). Greiser‘s police uniform looks American, Lancea‘s army uniform resembles that of the Soviet Air Force, and Valken Kruger‘s army uniform is clearly inspired by the British Army. The Supreme Court justices‘ strongly resemble those of the Norwegian Supreme Court.

* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: The island of Heljiland’s name is reminiscent of the tiny German island of Heligoland (which too has historically been subject to foreign occupation, though that’s where the similarities end).

* NoCekebritiesWereHarmed: King Romus Toras is a dead ringer another autocratic mid-20th century monarch, a young [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Shah]].

** Chessmaster: [[spoiler:Lose a chess match against Lucian, don't pick him as VP, and get betrayed at the Party Congress or Supreme Court

* CommieLand: United Contana is basically a in-game version of the Soviet Union, and is engaged in a Cold War with Arcasia, while spreading Malenyevism in Eastern Merkopa.

** Article 5 states that an amendment with at the support of a minimum of 150 signatures may be proposed to the Grand National Assembly.

** Article 18 and 51 defines the President's ability to enact decrees.

** Article 77 and 82 deals with the President's power of legislative veto.

** Rumburg is the only nation without an obvious real-world parallel. As a 19th century colonial power with vast territory across tundra that is currently a de-facto absolute monarchy with an aggressive and expansionist foreign policy, 19th century Tsarist Russia mixed with early 20th century Tsarist Bulgaria under [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_Bulgaria Tsar Ferdinand I]] are the closest parallels, [[spoiler: down to the fact that Rumburg BADLY botches diplomacy]] but this does make it a slight anachronism for the game's general mid-20th century inspiration, as Tsarist Russia did not survive WWI and Bulgaria's defeat in that war saw Ferdinand (and his hyperbellicose, Beatrice-like posturing) be removed in favor of his much more level-headed son before the monarchy was crushed by the Soviets in WWII.

** Article 82 deals with the President's power of legislative veto.

* StayInTheKitchen: Very prevalent in Sordish society. Girls are educated in homemaking curriculum. Gloria Tory, the speaker of the Assembly is noted for having her high ranking position because of her conservative values. Ciara Walda, the Minister of Education, and even Monica Rayne, Anton's wife work hard to change this attitude.

* DirtyCommies: A Malenyevist President Rayne can be a hardcore communist, crushing people's freedoms in the name of the communist revolution and even allying with the ultranationalists to support the Sordish state in oppression of minorities.

** Tarquin Soll can appear in parliament personally in order to stop the player from becoming a tyrant and, if they are not sufficiently prepared, will succeed. Granted, he will also do this to block a benevolent dictatorship or a democratic constitution.
** [[spoiler: If Rumburg invades and Rayne is on good terms with Soll, Soll will appear during the war planning meeting and use his military expertise to personally advise Rayne on what to do.]]
* BreatherEpisode: ''Amendment'' adds a small subplot if you choose to take ownership of FC Anrica involving their attempt to qualify for the Merkopan Cup. Though still having some relevance for the political simulation, it's also a chance for many of the game's characters to be seen in a much lighter mood than usual.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: The game's narrative frequently points out how Presidential duty is grueling, tiresome, stressful and at times downright unpleasant. Anton Rayne himself can admit as much and even retire immediately after his first term.

** The Worker's Party of Bludia and the Communist Party of Sordland are democratic socialist parties that fight to protect the rights of workers, minorities and women. A reformist, socialist Rayne will pursue policies close to these parties'.
** Chancellor Hegel is an ill-tempered shoe-banger and aggressive diplomatically, but consistently fights for his worker-driven Valgslandian Socialism and a better life for his people. He'll also be extremely friendly and supportive of Rayne if he agrees with him compared to the other neighboring leaders.

* VestigialEmpire: Valgsland was once the Empire of Valgos, the largest empire in the region with its influence spanning across the Central Ocean. After a socialist revolution it underwent a policy of decolonisation, during which an opportunist Agnolia seized Helji Island in a landgrab. During the events of the game, a now democratised Valgsland is seeking a return of The Helji to them, and is making military overtures to do so.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: The game requires players to have a fairly solid grasp on politics, economics, law and sociology. Some concepts are simplified for the sake of entertainment, but still, good luck getting re-elected without knowing what "legislative powers" means.
* WeHaveReserves: In contrast of Iosef's idea, that consist of making the Sordish Armed Forces into a smaller and professional force, General Valken's idea consist of a massive army of well-enough soldiers, opposing the idea brought by Iosef of removing conscription.
* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: ''Amendment'' reveals that airships are a common mode of transport in this universe, alongside airplanes.

* ColorCodedCharacters: Rizia's three royal houses are helpfully differentiated by their primary colours, being red (House Toras), blue (House Azaro) and yellow (House Sazon).

** While Sordland in 1953 is in a state of economic malaise, Rizia in 1950 is economically stable, albeit with headwinds on the horizon. Sordland's economy had the context of it having just gone through a wave of privatisation, with a number of oligarchs and major companies gaining political prominence. In contrast, while Rizia is also a market economy, it also has vast state wealth from its nationalised resource extraction and trade industries.

* VestigialEmpire: The Kingdom of Rizia has taken two significant blows to its territorial integrity. The peninsula of Pales was conquered by the Empire of Valgos many years ago, and upon its independence Rizia waged a war of reclamation over it, which was drawn-out and ultimately a failure. To stabilize the front, Rizia took a deal from Wehlen, who in-turn got the port city of Zelle and its surroundings on a 25-year lease, which is due to expire in King Romus Toras' term.

** The Grand Duchy of Pales, a small fortress nation on a peninsula bordering Rizia that became separated from its parent nation due to historical colonialism, is something of a bigger Gibraltar. Its political history, a small monarchy descended from the aristocracy of a now-dead empire, is a parallel to Liechtenstein.

** [[spoiler:The Day of Descension Ceremony suddenly tasks you with a simple memory puzzle, in which you must memorise (or write down) the steps to a ritual to avoid embarrassing yourself during a televised broadcast of a significant religious event]].

** The Grand Duchy of Pales, a small fortress nation on a peninsula bordering Rizia that became separated from its parent nation due to historical colonialism, is likely a mix of Gibraltar and Singapore.

** ''The Holdsord Post'' is a conservative outlet, even Sollist at some points, supporting nationalization of companies, and generally against progressive minded reforms.