Riviera: The Promised Land

Sting first told Ein's story on the Wonderswan, and Atlus published the English Game Boy Advance release of Riviera: The Promised Land in 2005. Ein is a grimangel sent into the land with companions who join along the way. Items shatter after a limited number of uses, so a strong tool is also a countdown.

Before battle you choose the small set of things worth carrying in. Each swing or cast spends a use, and a count of zero destroys that item for the rest of the journey. A companion changes conversations and the texture of a fight, which keeps the party from being a row of identical attack values.

Much of the travel is a decision about where to go next and what to bring, rather than a long walk across an empty field. Gods and demons frame the grimangel's assignment, with Riviera the place in dispute. Sting's breakable inventory forces a real choice every time a rare object looks useful.

Atlus's English script is an official translation of a game that already existed on the Wonderswan. The Advance edition and that earlier handheld release are the proper editions of Ein's assignment. Companions, a thinning pack, and a grimangel who cannot treat his gear as infinite are what you actually manage.