Riviera - The Promised Land Review by: Kuksos5 - 7.3/10
Promises, promises...Hello! I've just finished Riviera, the Promised Land. As Ein, one of the Grim Angels, you come to Riviera to bring justice and execute the will of the gods. But what is the will, what is just? You will have to figure it out.
It doesn't seem to be a popular game (probably a few people have ever heard of it), so I hope this review may help you considering if it's worth playing or not.
Graphics - 8.
It looks really nice. During the game, you can see some good, comic-like cutscenes. Everything in the Riviera world looks cute. (Un)fortunately, even enemies (well, maybe there are some exceptions). The main monster in the game (Seth/Seth-Rah) looks better and more innocent than the good protagonists in some series.
I have a feeling that the graphic designers were a bit lazy making the game, as the areas on the particular chapters look nearly the same... It's disappointing for me.
Sound - 6
I don't have much to say about the sound. For me, music was average. It didn't impress me, so I muted the sound and listened to my own :P
At the beginning of battle and during "combos", the protagonists issue a battle cry. For me, it doesn't create a good fighting atmosphere.
Addictiveness - 6
Game offers alternative endings, depending on which girls loves you the most (lucky Ein!) ;) Unfortunately, the characters don't have alternative ways to develop, so you would have to come through almost the same things to see these alternative endings.
Furthermore, I don't have the slightest idea how this affection systems work. I thought I am the nicest to one girl, but in the end, the other one was with me. You can see the affection status on menu, but on each chapter they had different affection, I don't know why.
What is good, the game is fast-paced, so you won't feel the time flowing if you decide to repeat it.
Story - 7
Well, the story is quite interesting. It has few plot turns that make it more attractive. At the end everything is clear, no mysteries are left unsolved.
The game has quite typical scheme - go-there-and-beat-a-boss. The authors may have made it more attractive with the story, but they missed that chance.
Depth - 7
The game is divided on chapters (where you explore a dungeon and beat a boss). In the meantime, you visit a village, when you can exchange some of the items you got during the chapters for some weapons.
For exploring dungeons you use trigger points to discover some hidden items and weapons. There a quite a lot things to trigger, but you gain trigger points only during fights (which aren't so often), so you have to choose wisely, what to trigger (or fight your enemies really quick, that way you gain more points).
After beating a game, in the extra contents you may watch unlocked cutscenes, facial expression of the protagonists, and event items.
Playing for the first time, it's impossible (methinks) to unlock them all (like cutscenes with alternative endings, for sure!)
Difficulty - 4
The game is pretty easy, if you take your time and master your weapons in the practice mode. Train, use right elemental weapons on your enemies and you've won even with the main boss.
Agility tests (pressing the buttons in the right time) may be sometimes more difficult.
Overall - 7.3
The game has some really good ideas (like agility tests or exploration using trigger points). However, it lacks the proper music and story design to fully enjoy this.
For playing once, I think that this is nice game to spend some time.
Second try? On your own risk ;)
Graphics
8 Sound
6 Addictive
6 Depth
6 Story
7 Difficulty
4