Riviera: The Promised Land

Did You Know?

• Famitsu gave the WonderSwan Color version a score of 31 out of 40, the GBA version 32 out of 40, and the PSP version 30 out of 40.
• The HD remaster was announced in July 2023 and released for Windows in July 2024.

Gameplay

Riviera: The Promised Land is a turn-based role-playing game that incorporates elements from strategy and dating sim genres. The dating sim aspect appears in conversations where Ein must favor one of the four heroines—Fia, Lina, Serene, or Cierra—over the others, affecting their trust, mood, and the game's outcome. Each of the seven main chapters begins in Elendia with a mission, then proceeds through nine stages, with the eighth containing the chapter boss and the ninth being secret. Stages consist of multiple screens with events and battles. When a chapter is completed, accumulated trigger points are erased, and the player sees a results screen and gains trigger points for the next chapter. Unlike most RPGs, the player does not freely control Ein's movement outside battle. Instead, the player uses two modes: Look Mode and Move Mode. In Look Mode, the player presses directional buttons corresponding to triggers on the screen, some of which require Trigger Points earned in battle to access battles, events, or items. In Move Mode, the player advances or backtracks to previous screens by pressing directional buttons for triggers, which do not require Trigger Points, though moving adds a turn to the count. Once the player exits the final screen of a stage, they are prompted to save and proceed.

Plot

Riviera: The Promised Land weaves together elements from various mythologies, with Norse traditions like Ragnarök and Yggdrasil playing a major role. The story unfolds across the continent of Riviera, where characters travel to places such as a sinking city, a forest, and an abandoned cemetery. There are six characters the player can control. Ein is a Grim Angel who gave up his black wings to obtain his Diviner, Einherjar. He dresses in shorts, a vest, gloves, a cape, and a scarf, and has grey-black hair and deep blue eyes. He looks like an ordinary teenage boy and is very naive, a trait that frustrates his partners Ledah and Rose. In combat, he relies on swords. Fia is a caring teenage girl who wears a long green skirt and a black vest over a long-sleeved white blouse, with long green hair tied by a matching ribbon and green eyes. She originally lived with Lina but later made room for Ein, Cierra, and Serene. Like Ein, she is kind and noble, though she can be stern and serious. She knows how to cook and mix herbs, and she is the only character with healing spells. Despite being the youngest of Ein’s four female companions, she is very mature. She sometimes acts shy around Ein, for whom she has a soft spot. Her main weapons are rapiers and swords. Lina is a sweet, energetic teenage girl who wears a bright yellow short skirt and overcoat, with orange hair in pigtails and brown eyes. She loves eating, going on treasure hunts, and playing games with friends, but she knows nothing about household chores. She often embarrasses herself, especially around Ein, toward whom she has a secret crush. She fights with bows and other long-range weapons. Serene is an outgoing, tomboyish teenage girl the same age as Ein. She is an Arc, unlike most Riviera residents who are Sprites. Her entire tribe on Rosalina Island was killed by the Grim Angel Malice, and she alone survived. She joins Ein and develops an infatuation with him. Serene has large batlike wings, a trait of the Arcs, and wears a helmet with fake cat ears over her shoulder-length dark blue hair. She has blue eyes and wears a long pale blue vest over a black bodysuit and a dark blue shawl. In battle, she uses scythes and other pole-arms.

Development

Development of Riviera: The Promised Land began in November 2000 for the WonderSwan Color, with a Japan-only release in 2002. In 2004, a Game Boy Advance remake featured a completely new art style by Sunaho Tobe, new CGs, events, and limited voice acting; this version was translated and released in North America by Atlus USA in 2005. A PSP remake in 2006 added more CGs, events, and complete voice acting, but used upscaled sprites from earlier versions. Atlus USA released it in North America with an extra chapter not in the Japanese version. In October 2007, a Special Edition in Japan was the US PSP version with Japanese text. An HD remaster was announced in July 2023, with a Japanese release date of February 29, 2024.

Audio

The Game Boy Advance release of Riviera featured nearly two hundred voice clips, a large amount for the system. The PSP release is fully voiced, with Japanese voice actors largely the same as the GBA version; Atlus USA kept the Japanese voices and added English voice work, with English actors also largely the same as the GBA version. The soundtrack was composed mostly by Minako Adachi, with a few tracks by Shigeki Hayashi, spanning less than forty tracks. Music has been rearranged and rerecorded for each release but has remained mostly static. The soundtrack was released twice: the Riviera Full Arrange Soundtrack after the GBA version featured arranged versions only, and the Riviera Intro Disc included the WonderSwan Color music and a drama track. In February 2007, Sting released the Riviera Perfect Audio Collection Plus, a three-disc set with original music from all three versions. Sting also released drama tracks: one on the Riviera Intro Disc, four on the Riviera Epilogue Disc, and a full drama CD called The Precious Chapter with seven tracks spanning two discs, following weekly airings promoting the PSP version.