A cult classic JRPG first released in the west on the Game Boy Advance is being remastered in HD, makingRiviera: The Promised Landavailable to a new generation of potential fans. TheGame Boy AdvanceRPG was first released in 2005, followed by a PlayStation Portable launch in 2008. That means thatRiviera: The Promised Landhas largely been unavailable to play on modern platforms for years. NowRiviera: The Promised Land’s original developer, Sting Entertainment, is bringing it back – though there could be a catch.Riviera: The Promised Landis not only a classic fantasy RPG with turn-based combat, it also mixes in somedating sim gameplay, too. The main character, Ein, will be able to develop relationships with other characters in the game, which can also changeRiviera: The Promised Land’s ending.Riviera: The Promised Landis part of a series of fantasy RPGs from Sting Entertainment namedDept. Heaven.Riviera: The Promised Landis the first game in that series.RELATED:Gamer Makes Game Boy Advance SP Out of LEGO Bricks, Actually WorksIn a message shared on Twitter, Sting Entertainment confirmed that an HD remaster ofRiviera: The Promised Landis currently being made. Today is the 21st anniversary of whenRiviera: The Promised Landwasfirst released in Japan for the WonderSwan Color handheld console. Further details regarding the remaster have yet to be confirmed, includingRiviera: The Promised Land’s release window or supported platforms.
The catch, at least for now, is that the announcement ofRiviera: The Promised Landwas made solely in Japanese and doesn’t make mention of a worldwide release. As such, it can’t be confirmed at this moment whether there will be a localization or not. The good news is that a previousSting Entertainment remaster for the secondDept. Heavengame,Yggdra Union, was released worldwide in early access earlier this year. That localization has only been released for PC, however, with the Switch version exclusive to Japan.
The hope is thatRiviera: The Promised Landwill, at the very least, also be released with an English localization on PC. Broader hopes include a release on Switch down the line, or perhaps PlayStation as well. There’s no indication of that at this time, however. Sting Entertainment is simply working its hardest to release theseDept. Heavenremasters as it’s able.
At the very least, today’sRiviera: The Promised Landannouncement should instill hope that a classic JRPG game that’s now largely unavailable will soon be put out on a modern platform. Even if it’s not localized, fans could make their own translations on PC. And if the cult classicGame Boy Advance JRPGbuilds up enough of a modern following, it could encourage Sting Entertainment to bring the entirety of theDept. Heavenseries to multiple modern platforms down the line.
