Riviera: The Promised Land

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section is missing citations and/or footnotes. This article or section contains insufficiently sourced phrases. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. You may improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since December 2006.

Riviera: The Promised Land
Developer(s)	Sting
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Release date(s)	JPN July 12, 2002 (WSC) JPN November 25, 2004 (GBA) NA June 28, 2005 (GBA) JPN November 22, 2006 (PSP) NA June, 2007 (PSP)
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T) CERO: Ages 12 and up (B)
Platform(s)	WonderSwan Color, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable

Riviera: The Promised Land (約束の地リヴィエラ, Yakusoku No Chi Riviera^?) is a console role-playing game which was originally produced in 2002 by Sting Entertainment for the WonderSwan Color and later introduced to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance in 2004 which Atlus USA released in the North America 2005. An enhanced remake was released for the PlayStation Portable in November 2006, and will be released in June 2007 in North America by Atlus USA.^[1] Riviera: The Promised Land became a sleeper hit because of its twist to the RPG standard. Its originality and well-written spin has given Riviera a strong fan-base.^{[citation needed]}

The player takes the 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 is also classified as an RPG with dating sim elements, as shown by the multiple endings the hero can achieve with the supporting characters through decisions made throughout the game.

The use of voice acting is also notable; while not extensive, Riviera goes beyond most other Game Boy Advance titles in amount. The game also features CG and hand-drawn pictures.

[edit] Plot

Riviera floats in the sky, with no visible landmass beneath it.

The map of Riviera as seen in the game

Riviera draws from diverse mythologies, most prominently Norse, incorporating concepts like Ragnarok and Yggdrasil into its story.

[edit] Setting

The game takes place in the Divine World where the land takes its form in a number of continent-sized islands floating high in the sky, with no visible landmass beneath them. Riviera is one of these continents and is the setting for much of the game. The game starts out in Heaven's Gate, at the edge of Asgard, Realm of the Gods, with our heroes leaving. Most of the game, however, is spend within Riviera, known as Utgard prior to the Ragnarok. During the game, the player visits six locations within Riviera: the village of Elendia , Lacrima Castle, the ruins of Nelde, the sinking city of Tetyth, Mireno Cemetery, Yggdrasil and, optionally, Parveeju.

• Heaven's Gate is the final resting place of all Angels who lost their lives defending Asgard during the Ragnarok, and is also the only connection between Asgard and Riviera.

• Elendia is a small village of sprites and acts as a home base for the player. Elendia is home to the Crystal Caverns, an establishment of advanced magical research. The most powerful weapon in the game, the Fanelia, lies buried near the entrance to the spring in Elendia.

• Lacrima Castle is a castle on Rosalina Island. When the demons were annihilated in the Ragnarok, the Arcs took up its jurisdiction. While it is well kept, it remains mostly deserted.

• Nelde was a large city advanced in magic; however it was abandoned and its ruins are now covered by a forest. Wyverns and Pelgas ( a large predatory bird) nest there.

• Tetyth is a city founded by seven Fallen Angels who were cast out of Asgard. It is also a city left to the Undines as it sinks, due to the arrogance and extravagance of its citizens bringing down the wrath of the Gods.

• Mireno Cemetery is located in an abandoned village where many thieves take up residence. Its large lake has an elaborate draining system.

• Yggdrasil, the World Tree, is home of Ursula and the aquariums which defend her. When intruders breach it, a race of sprites called the Cefiro will be released within the tree, attacking anything they see.

• The Maze of Shadows exists neither in Riviera nor in Asgard. It is a separate continent, and the place where Seth, Ursula's opposite, lies sealed.

• Parveeju is the underworld, the place in which Hades, enemy of the Gods, is caged. The key to his prison lies at the bottom of the lake in Mireno Cemetery.

[edit] Story

A thousand years before the game occurs, the gods of Asgard were attacked and overrun by demons from Utgard. In desperation, the gods broke an ancient covenant. They created black-winged reapers that came to be know as Grim Angels. Each was armed with a Diviner or sacred weapon with which they easily vanquished the demons. This war was called Ragnarok. After the war's conclusion the demons were locked away in Utgard, which was cleansed and became known as Riviera. Soon after this war, the gods disappeared, leaving their knowledge and authority in the stewardship of seven Magi; their power they left in the care of the Sprites, the inhabitants of a peaceful Riviera.

Ein and Ledah set foot on the sacred soil of Riviera.

After a thousand years of peace, rumors of the demons’ return surfaced. Hector, one of the Magi, sends the Grim Angels Ein and Ledah to investigate, accompanied by Ein's familiar, Rose. They are ordered to activate the "Retribution", a hidden power of the gods which would eliminate the demons but destroy Riviera in the process. At the end of Heaven's Gate, they meet Ursula, the guardian of Riviera. Ein falls in battle and is taken to Yggdrasil, the heart of Riviera, by Ursula. Discovering that he has a good heart, she entrusts him with the protection 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 rebirth of the four "Accursed" - the "progenitors of evil" - reaches them and they set out to investigate. Eventually, they defeat all four and meet Serene, Cierra and even Rose along the way. 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 power in an attempt 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 Malice, Hector's pawn, who deals a 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 chase Malice, but are unable to prevent her from destroying the last Aquarium. They fight with Malice, but it is Ledah who deals the killing blow. Ledah soon dies, asking Ein to take revenge on Hector. The company then race to the "Maze of Shadows" where Seth, the Sealed One, is imprisoned. There they discover that Hector has unleashed 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 is able to defeat Seth-Rah and is teleported back to Yggdrasil by Ursula just before the entire Maze collapses.

Upon their return, Ursula reveals that, with the death of her counterpart Seth, she too will cease to exist. Before disappearing, she charges Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene, Cierra and Rose with the continued 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 special scene together. The ending with Rose is a hidden ending, as it was not in the original WSC game, and Rose doesn't have a trust stat in the game. The last frame also tells (no matter what the ending) that Rose becomes a historian in later life and records their adventures.

[edit] Characters

The five main characters (from left to right) : Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene and Cierra

Ein (エクセル, Ekuseru^?, Ecthel in the Japanese version) is a Grim Angel, who sacrificed his black wings in order to receive his Diviner, Einherjar. He wears shorts, a vest, gloves, a cape and a scarf; he has grey-black hair and deep blue eyes. He appears to be an average teenage boy and is quite naïve, an attribute that annoys both his partners Ledah and Rose. He is a kind, caring person and noble at heart. Ein is a skilled swordsman, and can also use rapiers, spears and staves effectively.

Fia (フィア, Fia^?, Fiaa in the Japanese version) is a teenage girl with a caring personality. She wears a long green skirt, a black vest over a long-sleeved white blouse. She has long green hair tied with a matching ribbon and green eyes. Originally, she shared a house with Lina, but later made room for Ein, Cierra and Serene. She is, like Ein, kind and noble, sometimes stern and serious and she can cook and mix herbs well. She is extremely mature, despite being the youngest of Ein's four female companions. Sometimes Fia shows signs of shyness towards others, especially Ein, for whom she nurses a soft spot. Fia has astonishing skill with the rapier; she is also a skilled healer and archer.

Lina (ルゥリ, Rūri^?, Lyuri in the Japanese version) is a sweet, childlike and energetic teen girl. Surprisingly, she is older than her roommate Fia^[2] though still younger than Ein. She wears a flamboyant yellow short-skirt and overcoat. She has orange hair and brown eyes. Lina enjoys eating, going on adventurous treasure hunts and playing lively games with her friends; she is ignorant about household chores. At times she can also be a very serene and thoughtful girl—her fascination for beautiful landscapes is undeniable. She constantly gets into situations in which she embarrasses herself, especially around Ein, for whom she hosts a secret infatuation. Lina is an excellent archer, while also competent with claws and grenades.

Serene (セレネ, Serene^?) is an outgoing, tomboy-ish teenage girl, the same age 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 large, batlike wings, a trait shared by Arcs. She wears a helmet adorned with a pair of fake cat ears on her shoulder-length dark blue/indigo hair and has blue eyes. She wears a long pale blue vest over a black body-suit and a dark blue shawl. Serene's preferred weapon is the scythe, but can also use spears and claws effectively.

Cierra (シエラ, Shiera^?) is a kind, thoughtful witch in late adolescence or early adulthood. She is the eldest of the group and possesses amazing magical powers. She is always optimistic but sometimes clumsy. She rescued Rose after she and Ein were separated, although she accidentally fed her a potion that removed Rose's ability to talk. For enjoyment, she studies and plays with magic. Cierra wears a typical witch's conical hat, red boots, and a revealing, serrated red dress. Cierra's talent lies in magic wands, but can also fight well with whips and magic tomes.

Ledah (レダ, Reda^?) is an experienced warrior and one of three Grim Angels shown in the game. He is a strong, loyal, and very solitary teenager. He follows the order of the seven Magi without question. This is because he traded his emotions for his Diviner, Lorelei, preventing him from reconsidering the orders given to him. Except just before dying, Ledah is shown as aloof, cynical and pragmatic.

The above characters are the only playable characters in the game. Riviera has several dozen supporting characters, notably Rose (Ein's familiar); Hector (the game's villain); Malice (a Grim Angel and Hector's hench-woman); Ursula, guardian spirit of Riviera; and the Four Accursed, who act as Stage bosses. There are also numerous Elendian citizens, fairies and undines who help Ein along the way.

[edit] Gameplay

A typical combat scene: The overdrive bar can be seen in the top-left corner.

Riviera is a turn-based RPG games, with some elements of strategy and dating sim games. The last aspect manifests itself in the conversation in the game. Often, Ein will have to favor either Fia, Lina, Serene or Cierra over the others. This affects their affection for Ein, and eventually the game's outcome.

Before a battle begins, the player usually has the choice to retreat, giving them him time to prepare. For every battle, the player may choose only three combatants out of a possible five, and any four battle items out of a maximum possible list of fifteen. One may also view the statistics of his characters and those of the enemy. A battle formation is also mandatory, whereby the player chooses which character stands in the front line and which ones stay in the back. Battles are turn-based, with more nimble characters attacking first. As the player attacks and is attacked, a meter called the "Overdrive Bar" starts filling. This bar diminishes when combatants use "Over-skills", which are extra-powerful attacks. Over-skills are of 4 types: Levels 1, 2 and 3, and Execution Level. The last level of attack shatters the Overdrive bar for the period of the battle. Battle ends when the HP of the enemy (or those of the player) becomes nil. If the player wins the battle, he is rewarded with "trigger points" that are used up when the player interacts with the game environment and also often receives items that may be used in future battles. The number of trigger points earned depends on how well the battle was fought.

Riviera is sub-divided into seven chapters, each containing a single stage, itself divided into numerous areas. Once a stage is completed, all trigger points earned are erased and replenished. The number of TP earned depends on three factors: number of turns taken (negative correlation), items left behind (negative correlation), and, from the second chapter onwards, how pleased Ein's companions are with him (positive correlation).

Ein has just finished a stage. He has received an "A" rank (2^nd highest) for the number of turns taken. However he has left 15 items and managed to please only one of his four lady companions, earning him a "B" grade in each category. He will start the next stage with 4 trigger points (bottom-right).

Diviners are the sacred weapons of the Grim Angels. They are made from Orihalcon and possess immense power. These sacred weapons grow in strength with their masters, and can only be used effectively by angels. There are only four such weapons in the game—Einherjar (named after the Norse concept of Einherjar), Lorelei (named after Lorelei, a rock on the Rhine), Skadi (named after the snow-giantess Skaði) and Longinus (named after Longinus, the Roman soldier who pierced Jesus' side). Einherjar is Ein's diviner, Lorelei is Ledah's while Malice uses Skadi. Longinus is a divine spear after which all Diviners are modeled. Some other types of weapons used in the game are swords, rapiers, bows, scythes, staves and magic books. There are also various amulets, orbs, bracelets and food items received during the game. Like in the Dark Cloud and Fire Emblem series of games, weapons break after being used a specified number of time (a notable exception being the Diviners, which may be used indefinitely).

Riviera does not have a standard level up system. Instead, characters train with items to earn new skills, and each learned skill gives a set stat gain, plus an HP gain based on the current chapter number. The game also removes the traditional RPG staple of random battles, opting instead for an optional Practice Battle mode, accessed between story battles, where players can gain experience and a limited range of items without penalty.

Unlike most RPGs, Riviera does not give complete control of the characters. While going through a stage, the player will move from room to room in Move Mode. In this mode, a limited number of command prompts will be given and the player will decide which of the accessible areas the characters will go next.

In order to receive items and progress through the stage, players need to enter Look Mode. While in Look Mode, command prompts will appear that, normally, will not move the characters to another location. Options such as opening a treasure chest or examining the area are provided. Trigger points are often necessary for these actions.

[edit] Development

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Riviera: The Promised Land was originally developed in 2002 for the WonderSwan Color and only saw a Japanese release. It was later ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2004, and released by Atlus in North America in 2005. The Game Boy Advance remake sported a new graphical style, more CG sequences, limited voice acting and even a new ending. Yet another port was created for the PlayStation Portable and was recently released in Japan. It features 50 new CG images, and has improved graphics and full voice acting. A translation of the PSP port is currently in development by Atlus USA^[1]

[edit] Audio

Riviera: The Promised Land features a large amount of voice acting for a Game Boy Advance title. While the PSP version is fully voiced, the GBA version still contains nearly two-hundred voice clips, something very few other GBA titles can claim.

The seiyu for the Japanese GBA version were Rie Kugimiya as Ein, Masakazu Morita as Ledah, Rika Komatsu as Rose, Hiromi Konno as Lina, Natsumi Yanase as Fia, Ai Nonaka as Serene, and Yuko Goto as Cierra.^[3] The voice actors for the English version are largely unknown owing to Atlus' tendency to not release cast lists with their games.

The soundtrack for Riviera was co-composed by Shigeki Hayashi and Minako Adachi, and spanned less than forty tracks. Until February 2007, the only official publishing of a soundtrack was the Riviera Full Arrange Soundtrack, with arranged versions of all songs, as well as the GBA versions of the songs that deviated most from the game's sound. On February 9th, 2007, however, Sting released the Riviera Perfect Audio Collection Plus, a three disc collection containing the original music from the WSC, GBA and PSP versions of the game.^[4]

[edit] Reception

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

Reviews for Riviera were generally positive.

Riviera kept a place at the number 1 spot on 1UP.com's top 10 GBA games list throughout the majority of summer 2005.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) Official Japanese Riviera sites: WSC GBA PSP
• Official English Riviera site at atlus.com
• Lacrima Castle, an English Riviera fansite
• Riviera at RPGamer.com
• Reviews at Metacritic