Riviera: The Promised Land: Difference between revisions

no edit summary
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 2:
[[File:Riviera.jpg|frame| Rose (cat), Serene (blue), Cierra (red), Lina (orange), Fia (green), Ein (<s>gray-brown-purple</s>''[[The One Guy|male]]'')]]
 
[[Role-Playing Game]] produced by [[Sting Entertainment]]; Episode I of ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' and chronologically the final story in ''[[The Verse]]'' thus far. Originally for the Wonderswan Color, remade for the [[Game Boy Advance]] and then for the PSP. Both the Gameboy Advance and PSP versions were published in the US by [[Atlus]].
 
One thousand years ago, [[Gotterdammerung|the gods and the most powerful demons enacted an extremely destructive war called Ragnarok]]. The gods, who otherwise would have lost, broke the taboo that mortal creatures must not have godly powers in order to create the Grim Angels, incomplete yet extremely powerful beings who were able to turn the tide. Afterward, the gods vanished, sealing their powers within the recently liberated land of Riviera and entrusting the rule of Asgard to seven proxies called the Magi. The Grim Angels, too, were sealed away until the time would come that their powers would once again be necessary to protect Asgard from the threat of demons.
 
In the present day, Hector, one of the Seven Magi, has discovered great demonic activity within Riviera. For the sake of Asgard, a pair of Grim Angels named [[The Fool|Ein]] and [[The Stoic|Ledah]] are awakened and sent down from Asgard to Riviera to actuate the Retribution, using the power of the lost gods to destroy Riviera and take the demons with it. However, this will also wipe out the Sprites, the natural inhabitants of Riviera--... who pose no threat to Asgard at all. Ein, being [[The Hero]], is uncertain about this. When he and Ledah are almost to Riviera, a mysterious woman named Ursula appears to kidnap him and inflict him with [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]], depositing him in a Sprite village. While there, Ein befriends [[Dating Sim|several girls]], and decides to work with them to protect Riviera from demons--... and those in Asgard who [[Good Is Not Nice|still want to see the whole world destroyed for the greater good]].
 
''Riviera'' combines turn-based RPG battle systems with a [[Dating Sim]]-influenced [[Relationship Values|affection system]], minigame-influenced "[[Press X to Not Die|AT screens]]", point-and-click style exploration, and a clever [[Inventory Management Puzzle]] integral to mastering the game. It is considered both the easiest ''[[Dept. Heaven]]'' game and the best entry point to the series, as it explicitly portrays the background conflict between [[Order Versus Chaos|Asgard and Niflheim]] that subtly influences all the other episodes.
 
In addition to the original game and its remakes, there are two spin-off cellphone games available in Japan. There are also [[Audio Adaptation|two drama CDs]], both of which provide important background for the characters. Other background information on Riviera and its world can be found in the [[Dept. Heaven]] canon bible, ''Dept. Heaven Episodes World Guidance''.
----
{{tropelist}}
* [[Accidental Pervert]]: Ein, though occasionally, he's a pervert on purpose (ironic as he's an angel, albeit a wingless one).
* [[Action Commands]]
* [[Action Girl]]: Serene, although Lina also counts to some degree.
* [[Adults Are Useless]]: In fact, they will hinder you until you prove yourself.
* [[All There in the Manual]]: The dramas and ''Dept. Heaven World Guidance'' book clear up a ''lot'' of background information.
* [[Alternate Continuity]]: The Epilogue Disc provides the series with a ''[[High School AU|high-school AU,]]'', featuring Fia and Lina as nurse's assistants, Serene as a delinquent, Cierra as a teacher, and the three Grim Angels as student council members. Everyone keeps their in-game personalities, so [[Hilarity Ensues]] on a regular basis.
* [[Amazing Technicolor Battlefield]]: Riviera is actually pictured in the trope example. The entire [[The Very Definitely Final Dungeon|second half of the last dungeon]] is a pretty trippy place.
* [[Arbitrary Headcount Limit]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in that there isn't room for more than three.
* [[Arcadia]]: Elendia.
* [[The Archer]]: Also subverted: Lina is whimsical and immature. Fia, who uses bows as a secondary weapon, could be considered a straight example.
* [[Art Evolution]]: From Wonderswan Color to GBA. And PSP make it even better with extra shadings.
Line 30:
* [[Bee-Bee Gun]]: The beehives, of course.
* [[Black Mage]]: Cierra.
* [[Boke and Tsukkomi Routine]]: The Red Sage and the Blue Fool in chapterChapter 4.
* [[Bokukko]]: Rose and, though she only uses it while introducing herself, Lina.
* [[Bonus Boss]]: {{spoiler|Hades.}}. It comes along with the [[Bonus Stage|BonusChapterBonus Chapter]].
* [[Bonus Stage|Bonus Chapter]]: Chapter 8, Parveeju Temple. (Itit if can even be called one...).
* [[Breakable Weapons]]: Except for the Diviners.
* [[Broken Bird]]: {{spoiler|Lulu and Malice.}}.
* [[Buxom Is Better]]: Cierra is the largest of the girls. If Ein failed to catch her from falling off the bridge in chapterChapter 3, Serene will save her instead, then subtley comments her jealousy when noticing how large Cierra's boobs are. Also when climbing the goddess statue in chapterChapter 4, once reaching the statues bust, the girls comment on how "big" the statue is. Ein will look in the "ditch" (which is actually the statue's cleavage) for some hidden items, which Serene and Lina get angry for. Oddly enough, Cierra and Fia don't berate Ein for the innocent action. The vampire girls also count, as they taunt Lina for being flat.
* [[Can't Drop the Hero]]: Nope, though Ein is rather useful, especially since he's the only one who can use Einharjar with its infinite usage. Run out of items in a fight without said Diviner, and you're screwed.
* [[Catgirl]]: {{spoiler|Rose, in her true ending}}. Elendia's resident catgirl Mursya.
* [[Celestial Bureaucracy]]: Asgard.
* [[The Chessmaster]]: As the series progresses, {{spoiler|Hector, one of the Seven Magi,}}, is revealed to be this. In fact, {{spoiler|both ''[[Yggdra Union]]'' and ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]'', which take place BEFORE this game, show Hector at the early stage of his plan manipulating events in those games to fulfill his scheme to become the true creator.}}.
* [[Clingy Jealous Girl]]: The way Fia is portrayed in the voice dramas. She shows hints of it in the game, but then all the characters' personalities are exaggerated in the dramas.
* [[Competitive Balance]]: As follows.
** [[Mighty Glacier]]: Ein.
** [[Fragile Speedster]]: Lina.
** [[The Medic]]: Fia.
** [[Glass Cannon]]: Serene (mostly due to low MDF and elemental weaknesses).
** [[Squishy Wizard]]: Cierra, as Ein had experienced firsthand on the first meeting!
** [[Crutch Character]]: Ledah, the whole point of whom is to keep Ein from dying in the [[Prolonged Prologue|Longest Tutorial Ever]]. He progresses to more of [[The Mario]] if you get him again in the [[Bonus Dungeon]].
* [[Covert Pervert]]: A common interpretation of Cierra, thanks to some unusual dialogue choices that raise her [[Relationship Values]] (answering "Don't worry, you're soft" after her [[Crash Into Hello]], for instance.).
* [[Crash Into Hello]]: Cierra does this admirably, though it's not so much a "crash into" hello as a "Fall onto" hello.
* [[Curtains Match the Window]]: On nearly ''every'' character.
* [[Cute Mute]]: Meute (who else?) if you don't cure her illness after chapterChapter 2.
* [[Cute Witch]]: Cierra and Soala.
* [[Death Is a Slap on The Wrist]]: One of the options offered at death may actually make the game easier.
* [[Defeat Means Friendship]]: You can choose to spare Sage and Fool after defeating them both in Chapter 4. Also the thief in Chapter 5 who stole Lina's backpack, who gives a thief manual in return.
* [[Detached Sleeves]]: Lina.
* [[Disc One Nuke]]: If you've ever [[Rank Inflation|S-ranked]] the final battle, {{spoiler|a Longinus x01}} will be sitting where the Rosier x01 formerly was in Chapter One1. This is the second most powerful item in the game (only [[Infinity+1 Sword|Fanelia]] is stronger), and is capable of one-hit-killing just about everything but the final two bosses of the game.
* [[Disney Death]]: {{spoiler|Hector sacrifices the girl who likes Ein most to achieve his ambitions. After Hector is defeated, [[Unexplained Recovery|she comes back.]]}}.
** It helps that [[All There in the Manual|technically]], {{spoiler|she isn't dead;: [[Knights in The Nightmare|separating the soul and body]] and actually dying are two different things}}.
* [[Dub Name Change]]: "Ecthel" to "Ein" and "Lyuri" to "Lina" are the best-known ones, but there were others--: the Magi were originally known as the Goth, for instance, and the Retribution was originally called the Ark of Ruin. Cleaning up the rather Engrishy "Death-Bring Angelix" into "Grim Angels" was a rather unambiguous good move out of [[Atlus]], though.
* [[Emergency Weapon]]: Einherjar, for the girls. Ein, on the other hand, can use it to devastating effect.
* [[Even the Guys Want Him]]: Ein. Reiche not-so-subtly hits on him throughout the game.
* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: There are many points in the game where you ''have'' to lower your [[Relationship Values]] for one of the party members, although the game gives you a choice which one.
* [[Fan Service]]: Hellooo, secret [[Furo Scene|FuroScenesFuro Scenes]].
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Just... do a little research on how Grim Angels live during times of peace. It's practically [[Player Punch]] material.
* [[Five-Man Band]]: Okay, four girls and [[The One Guy]].
Line 72:
** [[The Big Guy]]: Serene (damage-wise, she's the strongest of the girls).
** [[The Chick]]: Lina.
* [[Fusion Dance]]: {{spoiler|Hector and Seth; Seth-Rah, the result, seems sexless--... which solves the opposite-gender problem.}}.
* [[Gay Option]]: Played with using Ledah and Reiche.
* [[Gender Flip]]: Ekukko and Malisuke are somewhat popular fanart subjects.
* [[A God Am I]]: {{spoiler|Hector}}.
* [[Godiva Hair]]
* [[Gosh Hornet]]: The team disturbs a Kredna Beehive early in the story and somehow manages to forget the incident in time to anger some killer bees later in the game. Failing the quicktime sequence results in stings and HP reductions for the whole party, but humorous dialogue makes up for it.
* [[Guide Dang It]]: (While the game itself is not difficult, finding some bonuses can be pretty hard).
* [[Hand in the Hole]]: In chapterChapter 4, Ein and the girls come across a lion statue that was supposedly used by warriors to test their courage. Ein has the option of doing so by sticking his hand in its mouth; if the player hasn't run away from any battles, he's blessed with a stat boost. If not, he's "cursed"--. ThisBased Troperon arenthe dialogue that occurs before Ein puts his hand in, the most likely theory is that running away from battles will cause the lion to chomp down on Ein'ts hand. Because the battles are generally quite sureeasy whatbefore thatthis does;point save for a few in Chapter 2, most people Idon'vet neverget hadto itsee happenthe 'curse'.
** Based on the dialogue that occurs before Ein puts his hand in, the most likely theory is that running away from battles will cause the lion to chomp down on Ein's hand. Because the battles are generally quite easy before this point save for a few in Chapter 2, most people don't get to see the 'curse'.
** This could also be turned into "cat in the hole" if Ein tries to put ROSE into the lion's mouth instead, resulting in a scratchy retaliation.
* [[Harem Genre]]: Many girls in Elendia, and even Reiche, are implied to have feelings for Ein--... not just the girls in the party.
* [[Have You Seen My God?]]: Asgard, after Ragnarok.
* [[He Knows About Timed Hits]]: Rose and Ledah spend a chunk of the tutorial level teaching Ein how to attack, drink potions, and [[You Have Researched Breathing|use his eyes.]]. "Press the A button to enter Look Mode!"
* [[Heroic Resolve]]: Ein, {{spoiler|after Hector sacrifices the girl who likes him most to revive Seth. Counts as his [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], and his ascent into classically heroic [[Hot Blood]].}}.
* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|At the end of Chapter 6, when Malice attacks Ein, the already-injured Ledah throws himself in the way and takes the hit.}}.
* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Fia and Lina.
* [[Hopeless Boss Fight]]: the first encounter with the Black Dragon in Chapter 2.
** And the first fight with {{spoiler|Malice}} in the same chapter. And round one against Isher.
* [[Hot Springs Episode]]: Twice, with the second largely topping the first.
* [[Idiot Ball]]: Several occurences, all of them lampshaded in Didja Redo's [[Let's Play]] (Linklink below). Most blatantly, there is a scene triggered in the Mireno Cemetery in which the party is ambushed by two Vampire foes who try to trick the party into thinking Serene is one of them, when it's been said lots of time until this point that she's an Arc, and the party seems to be falling for it...
* [[I Found You Like This]]: Fia and Lina find the temporarily amnesiac Ein on the outskirts of town and take him to their home to recover. ...And then strip him so they can wash his clothes.
** [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|Fia didn't peek. She swears.]].
* [[Infinity+1 Sword]]: '''Fanelia, bitch!'''
** Elaborating, it's easy enough to find if you know where it is. If not... tough luck. Some people save it for the second-to-last boss battle.
Line 109 ⟶ 108:
* [[Demoted to Extra|Isn't It Sad?]]: Ledah and Malice (and even Rose, to some degree) are often noticeably absent in the extras (the drama CD ''The Precious Chapter'' in particular is guilty of this).
* [[Japanese Pronouns]]: How Ledah shows his opinion of other characters, primarily Ein. Sadly, a lot of the connotations (and thus an important part of Ledah's character) are lost in the English script.
** Also a large part of Ein's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] {{spoiler|during his final confrontation with Hector/Seth-Rah. He starts out calling Hector ''anata'' (Hector is the only person Ein uses this pronoun with), and works his way through increasingly impressive pronoun drops until he hits ''kisama''.}}.
* [[Kawaiiko]]: Lina.
* [[Keigo]]: Fia.
* [[Killed Off for Real]]: {{spoiler|Ledah and Malice.}}.
* [[Lady of War]]: Fia.
* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: In order to convince Ein that the Sprites need protecting, Ursula seals his memories and powers and dumps him in the middle of Elendia; until she removes the seal, the only thing Ein remembers about himself is his name. (Interestinglyinterestingly, the game avoids the usual drama associated with this trope as A) the amnesia doesn't last very long, and B) that the player is already aware of who and what Ein is).
* [[Last of His Kind|Last Of Her Kind]]: Serene, after {{spoiler|Malice wipes out all of the other Arcs.}}.
* [[Lazy Backup]]
* [[Let's Play]]: A particularly funny one by Didja Redo that can be found [http://lparchive.org/Riviera-The-Promised-Land/ Here:here].
* [[Light Is Not Good]]
* [[Limit Break]]: Almost every weapon has one.
* [[Loads and Loads of Loading]]: PSP version.
* [[Magikarp Power]]: Fia has to use a Rosary over fifteen times in order to master them--... the highest use-count in the game. The reward is a Level 3 Overdrive that [[One Hit KO|instantly kills all enemy monsters]], at the cost of destroying the Rosary, too. The Unleash text for this skill differs from Fia's other Level 3 Overdrives, too.
* [[Moral Dissonance]]: {{spoiler|Serene's ending where she and Ein decide to kill all the monsters in the world. Its shown at several points that the monsters aren't [[Exclusively Evil]], so its quite unnecessary cruel.}}
* [[More Dakka]]: Certain monsters--and Lina, when she has her most powerful weapons--are capable of projectile attacks that count as the medieval version.
* [[Multiple Endings]]