Riviera : The Promised Land is a console role-playing game originally produced in 2002 by Sting Entertainment for WonderSwan Color as the first episode of the Dept. Heaven series of games. The game was later 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. Riviera : The Promised Land became a sleeper hit because of its twist to the RPG standard.
The player takes role of Ein, a Grim Angel, who must battle against demons as 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 familiar Rose. Riviera also contains dating sim elements, as the hero can achieve multiple endings with the supporting characters through the decisions made throughout the game.
Gameplay
Riviera : The Promised Land is a turned-based RPG game, with some elements from strategy and dating sim games. The last aspect 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 which the characters interact with each other. This affects their trust for Ein, their mood, and eventually, the game's outcome.
For each of the seven main chapters of the game, the player starts in Elendia, and is given a mission. The player then moves on to wherever that mission takes place, proceeding through nine stages, to the eighth stage which will contain the chapter boss. The ninth stage is secret, and often has a particular method of infiltration. Within each stage are multiple screens, all with events and battles of their own. When a chapter is completed, all trigger points currently accumulated are erased. The player is taken to a result 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 battle, the player does not have full control over Ein's movement. Instead being capable to freely move with directional buttons, the player controls Ein through triggers, in two modes. Each stage is made up of several screens, each screen having triggers to explore and potentially battles to engage 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 repeated investigation. However, many triggers require TP, Trigger Points, earned in battle. These triggers can cue many things, from battles, to event scenes, and free items.
- Move Mode : The player may advance or backtrack (limited) to previous screens. In a similiar fashion to Look Mode, triggers will appear on the screen and a corresponding directional button must be pressed to move them, adding a turn to the count. Unlike Look Mode, however, triggers in Move Mode do not require Trigger Points, so one move as much as one likes, assuming there is no turn limit. Once the player has exited the final screen of a stage, the player will prompted to save and then move on to the next stage.
Battle
Before a battle begins, the player usually has the choice to retreat, giving them time to prepare. For every battle, the player may choose only three combatants out of a possible five, and a positioning scheme 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 row, and a single character in the back row. In Magic formation, Magic users have a shorter recharge time and positioning is reversed. Following that decision the player must choose the items to bring. Only sixteen items can be held at any time, and there are no methods of storage. The player may only bring four to those sixteen items into battle for all three characters to use. However, for every item, each character has a different attack; where, with a staff, Cierra might do great damage with a magical attack, Fia would heal an ally.
Once all the preparations are made, battle begins. Turn order is decided by a countdown based on agility, last move used and formation. A player character may select from as many as eight different skills : one normal skill for each item, and, if they are well trained with that item and OverDrive Gauge is sufficiently filled, a secondary, more interesting OverSkill. Using a skill, however, reduces how many more times that can be used, as Riviera employs to a Fire Emblem-styled system of item endurance allowing the item to be used only a certain amount of time before it breaks entirely. The OverDrive Gauge fills throughout the battle, as characters receive and deal damage, and with certain skills. At various levels, characters can use different skills, because certain skills require more of the gauge filled. There are five level of skills for player characters : Level 0 skills that may be used wherever and without training; Level 1 through 3 skills, which require training and deplete that amount of OverDrive Gauge; and Execution Level skills that may be used at any level of OverDrive Gauge fullness, but will shatter the gauge for battle, and are only obtained through the story. Enemies have a similar gauge with three levels : Normal, Rage, and Max. At Normal they may only use normal attacks. At Rage they may use Rage and Normal attacks, but the latter depletes the gauge. At Max, they may use all three, but only Max skills will deplete the gauge, and will deplete it fully. Enemies also have Etc. attacks, ranging from healing to transformation, that may be used anytime.
Once all allies have had their HP depleted to zero, the battle 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 deplete to zero, instead, the player will achieve victory and receive a rank based on their performance battle and the finisher, but the rank will also be lowered if the player retired. Trigger Points and items are distributed based on the rank the player obtained in the battle. Also, if a character used an item enough times, that character will be rewarded with a stat up and the unlocking of an OverSkill that can be used in later battles.
Riviera
1000 years ago...
Asgard, the realm of the gods.
Utgard, home of the demons.
Long ago, a war between gods
and demons - Ragnarok - erupted...
...and the world was thrown
into a state of chaos.
Asgard, overrun by demons,
was on the brink of destruction.
In desperation, the gods broke the ancient
taboo. Sacrificing their very lives...
...they created black-winged reapers that
came to be known as Grim Angels.
Each wielding a godly weapon known as
a "Diviner", the angels entered battle...
Through their fierce resistance,
the angels brought the war to an end.
The demons were sealed away,
but the gods would soon follow.
The gods left their power and knowledge
in the heavenly isle of Riviera,
the promised land, entrusting it to
the Sprites until their return.
1000 years have passed since
the god's demise...
Sighs of the demon's return have
brought fear to this peaceful land.
Without the gods, Asgard cannot
withstand another war.
And so, The 7 Magi, proxies of the gods,
made a decision...
They will actuate the Retribution
unleashing the power within Riviera.
The Magi selected the most powerful
agents to carry out their plan,
black-winged angels of death
wielding Diviners : the Grim Angels...
...born anew for the first time in 1000 years.
Now, two angels shall descend...
to the sacred soil of Riviera...