Riviera: The Promised Land ( リヴィエラ ～約束の地リヴィエラ～, Riviera: Yakusoku No Chi Riviera ) is a role-playing video game originally produced in 2002 by Sting Entertainment for WonderSwan Color as the inaugural sequence of the Dept. Heaven series of games. The game was late introduced to Nintendo ‘s Game Boy Advance in 2004, which Atlus USA released in North America in 2005. An enhanced remake was released for the PlayStation Portable in November 2006, and was released in July 2007 in North America by Atlus USA. [ 1 ] The player takes the function of Ein, a Grim Angel, who must battle against demons arsenic well as antagonistic Grim Angels to seal away the four fountainheads of evil known as the Accursed. He is accompanied by four heroines—Fia, Lina, Serene and Cierra—as well as his cat-like companion Rose. Riviera besides contains dating sim elements, as the champion can achieve multiple endings with the supporting characters through decisions made throughout the crippled.
Contents
Gameplay
Riviera: The Promised Land is a turn-based role-playing television game, with some elements from scheme and dating sim games. The last view manifests itself in the conversation in the game. Ein will often have to favor either Fia, Lina, Serene or Cierra over the others in scenes in which the characters interact with each other. This affects their trust for Ein, their climate, and finally, the game ‘s consequence. For each of the seven main chapters of the bet on, the player starts in Elendia, and is given a mission. The actor then moves on to wherever that mission takes place, proceeding through nine stages, to the eighth stage which will contain the chapter knob. The ninth stagecoach is mystery, and frequently has a especial method acting of infiltration. Within each stage are multiple screens, all with events and battles of their own. When a chapter is completed, all trigger points presently accumulated are erased. The musician is taken to a results screen showing how they performed in the chapter, and gains trigger points based on that performance that can be used in the next chapter .
field
Unlike most RPGs, when not in conflict, the player does not have broad control over Ein ‘s movement. alternatively of being able to freely move with directing buttons, the actor controls Ein through triggers, in two modes. Each stage is made up of several screens, each filmdom having triggers to explore and potentially battles to engage in .
- Look Mode
In Look Mode, the player may press directional buttons corresponding to triggers shown on the screen. Some triggers will not appear until certain events have taken place, and some triggers will change based on perennial probe. however, many triggers require TP, Trigger Points, earned in battle. These triggers can cue many things, from battles, to consequence scenes and free items .
- Move Mode
In Move Mode, the player may advance or backtrack ( limit ) to former screens. In a similar fashion to Look Mode, triggers will appear on the screen and a represent directional release must be pressed to move to them, adding a plow to the count. Unlike Look Mode, however, triggers in Move Mode do not require Trigger Points, so one may move equally a lot as one likes, assuming there is no twist limit. Once the musician has exited the final screen of a phase, the player will be prompted to save and then move on to the next degree .
Battle
A typical fight setting : The OverDrive Gauge can be seen in the top-left corner. ( GBA adaptation ) Before a struggle begins, the player normally has the choice to retreat, giving them prison term to prepare. For every conflict, the player may choose lone three combatants out of a potential five, and a aligning schema for them. The player can either choose the Attack or Magic formation. The Attack formation allows Attack based moves a shorter recharge time, and there will be two characters in the front quarrel, and a single character in the back course. In Magic constitution, Magic users have a shorter recharge time and position is reversed. Following that decision the player must choose the items to bring. only sixteen items can be held at any prison term, and there are no methods of storage. The actor may merely bring four of those sixteen items into conflict for all three characters to use. however, for every item, each quality has a different attack ; where, with a staff, Cierra might do great wrong with a charming attack, Fia would heal an ally. once all the preparations are made, battle begins. Turn club is decided by a countdown based on agility, last move used and formation. A player character may select from vitamin a many as eight unlike skills : one normal skill for each item, and, if they are well trained with that item and the OverDrive Gauge is sufficiently filled, a secondary, more interest OverSkill. Using a skill, however, reduces how many more times that item can be used, as Riviera employs a Fire Emblem -styled system of detail survival allowing the detail to be used only a certain number of times before it breaks entirely. The overuse Gauge fills throughout struggle, as characters receive and deal wrong, and with certain skills. At versatile levels, characters can use different skills, because certain skills require more of the gauge be filled. There are five levels of skills for player characters : level 0 skills that may be used whenever and without train ; Levels 1 through 3 skills, which require train and deplete that amount of the OverDrive Gauge ; and Execution Level skills that may be used at any degree of OverDrive Gauge fullness, but will shatter the gauge for the battle, and are entirely obtained through the narrative. Enemies have a like gauge with three levels : Normal, Rage and Max. At Normal they may alone use normal attacks. At Rage they may use Rage and Normal attacks, but the latter depletes the estimate. At Max, they may use all three, but alone Max skills will deplete the gauge, and will deplete it fully. Enemies besides have Etc. attacks, ranging from healing to transformation, that may be used at any time. once all allies have had their HP depleted to zero, the struggle will end triggering a game Over, which will give the player the option to retry the battle with the enemies ‘ stats lowered and the OverDrive Gauge filled. If all enemies have had their HP consume to zero, rather, the player will achieve victory and receive a membership based on their performance in conflict. The absolute is based both on time spent in battle and the finisher, but the rank and file will besides be lowered if the actor retried. Trigger Points and items are distributed based on the rank the player obtained in the conflict. besides, if a quality used an detail enough times, that character will be rewarded with a stat up and the unlock of an OverSkill that can be used in later battles .
plot
Riviera: The Promised Land pull from diverse mythologies, most prominently Norse, incorporating concepts such as Ragnarok and Yggdrasil into its floor. The bet on takes set by and large on the continent of Riviera, with the characters visiting assorted locales such as a slump city, a forest, and an abandoned cemetery .
Characters
Riviera offers a vomit of six playable characters. Ein ( エクセル, Ekuseru, Ecthel in the japanese version ) is a Grim Angel, who sacrificed his black wings in rate to receive his Diviner, Einherjar. He wears shorts, a vest, gloves, a cape and a scarf joint ; he has grey-black haircloth and deep amobarbital sodium eyes. He appears to be an average adolescent boy and is quite primitive, an property that annoys both his partners Ledah and Rose. In struggle, his primary weapons are swords. Fia ( フィア, Fia ) is a adolescent girlfriend with a caring personality. She wears a long green skirt, and a black vest over a long-sleeved white blouse. She has long park hair tied with a match ribbon and green eyes. originally, she shared a house with Lina, but late made room for Ein, Cierra and Serene. She is, like Ein, kind and noble, sometimes buttocks and unplayful, and she can cook and mix herbs well, along with being the only character with healing spells. She is extremely mature, despite being the youngest of Ein ‘s four female companions. [ 2 ] Sometimes Fia shows signs of shyness toward others, specially Ein, for whom she nurses a soft point. In battle, her primary coil weapons are rapiers and swords. Lina ( ルゥリ, Rūri, Lyuri in the japanese adaptation ) is a fresh, childlike and energetic adolescent female child. She wears a flamboyant chicken short-skirt and overcoat. She has brown eyes and orange hair tied into pigtails. Lina enjoys feed, going on adventurous gem hunts and playing lively games with her friends ; she is ignorant about family chores. She constantly gets into situations in which she embarrasses herself, specially around Ein, for whom she hosts a secret puppy love. Her elementary weapon in conflict are bows and other long roll weapons. Serene ( セレネ, Serene ) is an extroverted, tomboy-ish adolescent girlfriend, the same historic period as Ein. She is an Arc, unlike the majority of the inhabitants of Riviera, who are Sprites. She used to live on Rosalina Island with other Arcs until her entire tribe was killed by the Grim Angel Malice. She alone survives and joins Ein, for whom she develops an infatuation. Serene has big, batlike wings, a trait shared by Arcs. She wears a helmet adorned with a pair of fake vomit ears on her shoulder-length darkness blue/indigo hair and has blue eyes. She wears a long pale blue vest over a bootleg body-suit and a dark gloomy shawl. In struggle, her primary weapons are scythes and other pole-arms. Cierra ( シエラ, Shiera ) is a kind, thoughtful enchantress. She is the older baby figure of the group [ 3 ] and possesses amazing charming powers. She is always affirmative but sometimes awkward. She rescued Rose after she and Ein were separated, although she by chance fed her a potion that removed Rose ‘s ability to talk. For enjoyment, she studies and plays with charming. Cierra wears a typical enchantress ‘s conic hat, bolshevik boots, and a unwrap, serrated loss dress. Her primary weapons in battle are staves and other charming weapons. Ledah ( レダ, Reda ) is an experience warrior and one of three Grim Angels shown in the bet on. He is a firm, firm, and very nongregarious man. It is suggested that he is much older than Ein and his companions, given his know, and the choice of voice actors for him in the GBA and PSP remakes, but this is debatable. He follows the club of the seven Magi without motion. This is because he traded his emotions for his Diviner, Lorelei, preventing him from reconsidering the orders given to him. Ledah is shown as aloof, cynical, and matter-of-fact. The above characters are the only playable characters in the bet on. Riviera has respective twelve supporting characters, notably Rose ( Ein ‘s companion ) ; Hector ( the game ‘s main villain ) ; Malice ( dour saint and Hector ‘s henchwoman ) ; Ursula, defender liveliness of Riviera ; and the Four Accursed, who act as degree bosses. There are besides numerous Elendian citizens, fairies and undines who help Ein along the way .
history
A thousand years before the game takes put, a war known as Ragnarok took identify. The gods of Asgard were attacked and overrun by demons from Utgard. In desperation, the gods broke an ancient covenant ; they sacrificed their lives to create black-winged reapers that came to be known as Grim Angels. Each was armed with a “ Diviner ”, a sacred weapon with which they well vanquished the demons. After the war ended, Utgard was renamed Riviera and turned into a beautiful paradise. The gods left their cognition and authority in the stewardship of seven Magi and their power in the care of the Sprites, the inhabitants of a passive Riviera.
After a thousand years of peace, rumors of the demons ’ return surfaced. Hector, one of the Seven Magi, sends the Grim Angels Ein and Ledah to Riviera, accompanied by Ein ‘s familiar, Rose. They are ordered to activate the “ Retribution ”, a hide exponent of the gods which would eliminate the demons but destroy Riviera in the summons. At the end of Heaven ‘s Gate, they meet Ursula, the defender of Riviera. Ein falls in struggle and is taken to Yggdrasil, the affection of Riviera, by Ursula. Discovering that he has a good heart, she entrusts him with the protective covering of Riviera. Ein wakes up suffering from amnesia and able to recall neither his purpose nor his origin. He is nursed by Fia and Lina, residents of Elendia, which is a village near Yggdrasil. News about the conversion of the “ accursed ” – the “ progenitors of evil ” – reaches them and they set out to investigate. finally, they defeat all four and meet Serene, Cierra and even Rose along the manner. meanwhile, Ledah searches for Yggdrasil, so that he may activate the “ Retribution ”. Ein now expects to live peacefully in Elendia with his new-found friends, but Ursula informs them that Ledah has breached Yggdrasil and intends to destroy the three “ Aquariums ”, the sources of Yggdrasil ‘s ability, in an attack to activate the Retribution. The six companions ( Ein, Lina, Fia, Serene, Cierra and Rose ) head out to Yggdrasil. Although they manage to subdue Ledah in battle, it is the Grim Angel Malice, Hector ‘s pawn, who deals the fatal blow. A dying Ledah warns them that Hector has tricked them all this time : he does not fulfill the will of the gods, but seeks ultimate power for himself. They pursue Malice, but are ineffective to prevent her from destroying the last Aquarium. They battle her, and finally Ledah appears to intercept one of Malice ‘s attacks. Ledah dies soon after, telling Ein to stop Hector. The companions then subspecies to the “ Maze of Shadows ” where Seth, the Sealed One, is imprisoned. There, Hector takes the life of Malice and the daughter that Ein has become closest to ; the last two souls required to unleash Seth. Hector intends to become the one True God, and to this end he fuses his body with that of Seth to become Seth-Rah. however, Ein and his companions are able to defeat Seth-Rah, and afterwards they are teleported binding to Yggdrasil by Ursula just before the entire Maze collapses. Upon their return, Ursula reveals that, with the death of her counterpart Seth, she excessively will cease to exist. Before disappear, she resurrects the girl that Hector killed, and besides charges Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene, Cierra and Rose with the continue protection of Riviera. Since Riviera is a renai, the player can achieve multiple endings depending on his responses to his companions. Depending upon them, an ending may be achieved with Ein and the girl of choice having a limited setting together. The ending with Rose is a hide ending, as it was not in the original WSC game, and Rose does n’t have a believe stat in the game. The concluding skeleton besides tells ( no topic what the ending ) that Rose becomes a historian in late life and records their adventures .
Development
Riviera was remade from its WonderSwan Color version (top) to its Game Boy Advance counterpart (bottom). The PSP remake reuses the artwork from the GBA version at a higher resolution. All of the CG artwork was redrawn whenwas remake from its WonderSwan Color adaptation ( top ) to its Game Boy Advance counterpart ( bottom ). The PSP remake reuses the artwork from the GBA version at a higher resolution. Riviera: The Promised Land was primitively developed for the WonderSwan Color. Development started in November 2000, with a Japan-only release in 2002. In 2004, Riviera was remade for the Game Boy Advance, featuring a wholly modern artwork style owed to Sunaho Tobe ‘s participation in the project, and besides had respective new CGs, events and express spokesperson acting. This version saw an eventual translation and north american english let go of courtesy of Atlus USA, in 2005. In 2006, Sting announced and released a PSP remake of the game, with more CGs, events, and complete voice act, but the sprites were merely upscaled versions of those used in the WSC and GBA versions. After several retailers leaked the news program, Atlus USA officially announced they would be releasing it in North America, [ 1 ] along with an excess chapter not appearing in the japanese version. [ 4 ] In October 2007, a special edition was released by Sting in Japan, and was basically the US PSP interpretation with japanese text replacing English text. Another Dept. Heaven style, Yggdra Union had an consequence on the watch PSP remake of Riviera. Artist Sunaho Tobe is quoted as saying that in the CG image for the Archangel, she drew divine guidance from the designs of Yggdra Union. [ 5 ]
audio
The Game Boy Advance turn of Riviera featured a boastfully amount of voice employment for a Game Boy Advance title boasting closely two-hundred voice clips, far more than majority of games for the system. [ citation needed ] The PSP release is in full voiced. The japanese voice actors for the japanese PSP adaptation are largely the same as the GBA version. [ 6 ] Atlus USA chose to keep the japanese voices in its localization of function of the game, and besides added english voice function. The english voice actors for the game are besides largely the same as the GBA interpretation ‘s english voice actors. [ citation needed ] The soundtrack for Riviera was composed by and large by Minako Adachi, with a few tracks by Shigeki Hayashi, and spanned less than forty tracks. [ citation needed ] This music has been rearranged and rerecorded for each release of the game, but has for the most part remained inactive. The soundtrack has been released twice, with the first following the GBA translation ‘s release, the Riviera Full Arrange Soundtrack, which featured arranged versions of all the songs, but not the original GBA or WSC versions. [ citation needed ] Soon after came the Riviera Intro Disc which featured the WSC music, equally well as a play track introducing all the characters. In February 2007, following the publish of the PSP version of the game, Sting released the Riviera Perfect Audio Collection Plus, a three magnetic disk solicitation containing the master music from all three versions of the game. [ 7 ] Sting has besides released respective drama tracks for Riviera, the first appearing on the Riviera Intro Disc, followed by four on the Riviera Epilogue Disc, and then a full moon play certificate of deposit following weekly airings on Internet Radio Station Onsen ( インターネットラジオステーション＜音泉＞ ) [ 8 ] used to promote the PSP interpretation. This drama compact disk was called The Precious Chapter and contained seven drama tracks spanning two disk. [ citation needed ]
reception
The Game Boy Advance translation of Riviera: The Promised Land received “ by and large favorable reviews ”, while the PSP adaptation received “ average ” review, according to the review collection web site Metacritic. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] In Japan, Famitsu gave the WonderSwan Color translation a score of 31 out of 40 ; [ 26 ] in 2004 the same magazine gave the GBA translation a grade of one nine, one eight, one seven, and one eight for a total of 32 out of 40 ; [ 12 ] and in 2006 it gave the PSP version a score of two eights and two sevens for a sum of 30 out of 40. [ 13 ]
References
official websites :
