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Riviera: The Promised Land
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 26 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 15 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Atlus USA
Developer: Sting
Genre(s): Role-Playing Game
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: RP (Rating Pending)
Release Date: June 28, 2005
Summary
(Also known as "Yakusoku no Chi Riviera" in Japan) Long ago, a war between gods and demons--Ragnarok--erupted, and the world was thrown into a state of chaos. Asgard, the realm of the gods, was overrun by demons and was on the brink of destruction. In desperation, the gods sacrificed their very lives to create fierce warriors known as Grim Angels. Each wielding a godly weapon known as a "Diviner," these angels quickly brought the war to an end. The demons were sealed away, but the gods would soon follow. However, the gods were able to leave behind their power in the heavenly isle of Riviera . A thousand years have passed since the gods' demise. Signs of the demons' return have brought fear to this peaceful land. Without the gods, Asgard cannot withstand another war. And so, fearing their own demise, the Seven Magi, proxies of the gods, have made the fateful decision to actuate the Retribution, a cataclysmic event which will destroy both Riviera and the demons. To execute the plan, the Seven Magi have again called upon the power of the Grim Angels, born anew for the first time since Ragnarok. Now, two angels shall descend to the sacred soil of Riviera ... Little do these angels know of the darkness that will follow if they should succeed... Over 30 hours of intense RPG gameplay with multiple endings! Five exciting varieties of mini-games that unlock rare items and secret paths! Unique item system that allows items to function differently depending on which characters equip them. [Atlus]
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What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
eToychest
It's not going to satisfy if you're in the market for another "Golden Sun" game or a new "Tactics Ogre" game. Despite the screen shots, it is not a tactical RPG, and it breaks a number of genre conventions associated with traditional RPGs. It could be argued, however, that this is the best reason to buy Riviera, as it certainly allows for a very interesting and unique experience with an emphasis on strategy and a wonderful story.
Read Full Review >Inside Gamer Online
The game also features some nice unlockables as well as multiple endings for every character in the party. And just in case you need another incentive, Atlus isn’t shipping too many copies either, so grab it while you can.
Read Full Review >Gaming Nexus
If you own a GBA or a DS then be sure to check out Riviera if you can find a copy, you’ll find a very fun and challenging game underneath its cutesy exterior, and clocking it at well over twenty hours for the first play through you’ll be long entertained, even into your second time around when you seek out all the stuff you missed the first time.
Read Full Review >GameCube Advanced
I was delighted to find such a different approach and concept that somehow worked so well. My only real complaint is the inventory system, and frankly that is in itself, trivial.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
The game ultimately exceeds expectations thanks to its engrossing story and superslick production values.
Read Full Review >BonusStage
The storyline is captivating, the technical presentation is superb and the unique gameplay twists make for a fresh role-playing experience that’s unlike any other currently available.
Read Full Review >Deeko
A fantastic storyline, beautiful art design and a soundtrack that will blow your mind are just a few of the factors that make Riviera one of the best RPGs on the GBA to date.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
An exceptional adventure and worth a try for any RPG enthusiast. [Aug 2005, p.109]
GameShark
The storyline ends up feeling quite fresh in the overused area. It is a refreshing storyline that will have you commit to playing it from beginning to the end, trying to unlock all aspects of the game.
Read Full Review >GamingTrend
This is a very well crafted game, and aside from the sound issues, fits perfectly into the GBA's hardware. Atlus did us all a favor by taking a chance on this and bringing it to North American shores. I can think of only one thing I want to do after playing through it and seeing one of the endings.
Read Full Review >GameZone
Simple game mechanics, wonderful visuals and a good story all give Riviera compelling elements that should delight RPG fans.
Read Full Review >VGPub
Any RPG fan owes it to themselves to check it out for its strong story and offbeat, but fun, gameplay.
Read Full Review >Weekly Famitsu
9 / 8 / 7 / 8 - 32 gold [Nov 2004]
Just RPG
A merely solid game in a crowd of giants like "Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones." But for all that, it managed to etch itself a little place in my memory, and I can’t help but recommend it to any RPGer with a little time and an open mind.
Read Full Review >My Gamer
If you are looking for an out of the ordinary RPG for your GBA, Riviera will definitely fit the bill. Atlus, once again, has continued their legacy of making entertaining but slightly different games.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
And despite the very real possibility of some people being put off by the huge amount of text to get through, I strongly feel that Riviera has quite a bit to offer—not only to people still hanging on to their GBAs, but to fans of RPG's in general.
Read Full Review >1UP
An interesting, entertaining adventure in its own right. Atlus' latest probably won't be to everyone's tastes, but anyone looking for a lengthy, engrossing and above all unique handheld quest this summer would be remiss in passing it up.
Read Full Review >IGN
The plot takes a bit to get going but it eventually does move along, even if it's a story that you've probably experienced in some fashion in nearly every other Japanese RPG game in the past two decades.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
The game works hard to achieve a balance between elements gamers are familiar with and elements to provide new experiences. For the most part, Riviera manages to keep that balance quite well.
Read Full Review >N-Insanity
This would have been a great RPG had it not used all the “uniqueness” that makes it annoying rather that a classic.
Read Full Review >NintendoWorldReport
A game that desperately tries to be different, but it just ends up making itself frustrating in areas that should be simple.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
Just don't expect the next great epic. [Aug 2005, p.83]
Nintendojo
Riviera is extremely bland. There are a lot of pleasing elements like the artwork and audio, but it cripples a sense of freedom and feels altogether too straightforward.
Read Full Review >G4 TV
For all the innovation in Riviera: The Promised Land, it still plays out like a standard RPG. Sure the developers mixed things up--and that’s a good thing--but they left in all the excruciatingly dull parts, and that’s not so good.
Read Full Review >Nintendophiles
A great experience for a niche crowd, but you'll just have to figure out for yourself whether or not you're part of that niche.
Read Full Review >netjak
They tried to cram too many unusual features into the game, and though each is interesting and has potential individually, the resulting hodgepodge is no better than the average RPG.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
N M gave it a10:
Just an absolute awesome game, the best rpg game I think there is on GBA and possibly PSP in future.
Jon L. gave it a9:
Riviera is an excellent game. Like most of the reviewers, it feels like a breath of fresh air. The game does seem to draw out and become repetetive at the end though.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
An incredible game.
Bonbon A. gave it an8:
I would simply like to say, this game is pretty good. Nice storyline, anime graphics, with voice actors and gameplay. It's really good for RPG lovers and really perfect for those who luph long stories. But, they need to make some improvements on the music. Still, it's enough to be an awesome RPG game.
Skorn2k gave it a10:
By far the best looking RPG game on the GBA!! And if you love Anime-style graphics you can't go wrong with this one.
VampiricS gave it an8:
One of the best role playing games on the gameboy advance, perfect for people that can't play for hours long. The abgility to save everywhere even during battle makes it perfect for the handheld. Graphically, the game artstyle is georgeous, and the audio fits the game really well, some o fthe overskills used in the game are really a joy to look at. The gameplay itself can seem simple at first, but there is a new kind of depth to it and some nice innovations. The leveling up system is really done differently there, and each weapon or item can have different effects depending on who's using it. All in all a really good role playing game for every GBA users.
Bas gave it a10:
Great graphics, fun story, good gameplay, but very textheavy. If you don't like reading too much in games, subtract 2 points of my score. Otherwise, fantastic game.
