Riviera: The Promised Land has come a long way from WonderSwan Color, to the Game Boy Advance, and now to the PlayStation Portable. The newest port boasts of new CG sequences, audio, and more. Today we've got some eye candy for the RPG lovers who've been waiting for the popular title.

For those who aren't familiar with the title, Atlus' Riviera: The Promised Land's story centers around five main characters: Ein, Fia, Lina, Serene, and Sierra. They are tasked to stop the demons from overrunning their world once again. The role-playing aspect of the game has a unique twist that makes it all the more fun: players can choose different actions or replies. In the screenshots, we see some of the interaction and then some.

Riviera: The Promised Land is set for a North American release on July, so here's to hoping the screenshots can tide you over until then. Enjoy!

More screenshots await after the jump!

Here's something to spice up your day. We don't know if it's a boo-boo or a premature announcement, but retail store EB Games seems to have listed Riviera: The Promised Land for release here in North America courtesy of Atlus USA. Of course we don't have to remind you how great Riviera was and how the game always never finds its way here.

According to EB Games' listing, The Promised Land will be available this coming April 9 for US$ 39.99. Needless to say, the new version will have enhanced soundtrack and music as well as in-battle graphics. We also heard that it comes with full voice acting, 48 new CGs, and a higher resolution artwork.

Remember, this is just from EB Games. We heard that GameStop also had the game up listed, but unfortunately, we can't find the link (did they remove it or something?). Anyway, we will update you as more concrete details about this surface.

Riviera: The Promised Land is a role playing game originally designed by Sting Entertainment for the WonderSwan.

 

Perhaps Square Enix is intent on making 2007 the Year of the RPG PSP... or the Year of the Square-Enix PSP. Either way, when word broke out that Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls would be coming to the PSP to celebrate 20 years of Final Fantasy, let's say people wanted to know what's new with this version, after having appeared on the GBA and PSOne (and the WonderSwan Color). Anyway, we've got four direct screencaps of FFI & II: Dawn of Souls from Famitsu, of which they proclaim as "becoming beautiful with PSP," but no (easily translated) additional details to satisfy our curiosity.

So we did a bit of digging, went over to the official Squeenix.jp site for FFI & 2, and went through their promotional stuff. Here's what we found... presuming what very limited Japanese skills we have in the room right now hasn't failed us (It's under the "New Information" hotlink bubble). If you want, head on over via the link and give your own linguistic skills a shot.

• "2D dot graphics"? Well, the graphics are certainly hotter than usual, especially compared to the GBA version (let alone the NES), but no comparisons to the PSOne port (itself developed from the WonderSwan port). We detect a subtle improvement there, if any.
• "High-end" renditions of the PSOne cinematics. Also two scenarios from the GBA port, including Souls of Chaos and Rebirth... and something about a music player (but the GBA had that, too. Perhaps the PSOne-quality OST?).
• Artwork gallery, presumably accessible from the game - which was on the PSOne release as well.
  

From the info gleaned, what we can make of this so far is that the PSP remake will contain all that is in the PSOne Final Fantasy Origins and GBA Dawn of Souls remakes in one package, probably/maybe spruced up or given an extra polish for that "20th anniversary" feel (higher graphics and audio quality, etc.?). If there are more bonuses to the game, we've yet to see them, and Squeenix hasn't let slip on them yet. Hey, if it's 20th anniversary, the least Squeenix could do is celebrate it with a bang.

  

e's e[mulator] takes another step forward in its development with the release of v0.82f. It still packs the same NES, Game Boy, WonderSwan, GameGear/Master System, NEOGEO Pocket, and Lynx goodness as its predecessors, but includes the following updates (that was the updates section, right?) so poorly translated into Engrish by the weblator:

• the number of scan lines from 159 was modified in 160 and compatibility improved. It is thought that speed has decreased with this correction.
• drawing acceleration processing it is in the midst of mounting.
• volume of sound was adjusted the beefsteak toe.

"Beefstake toe..." Help, we need somebody, help, not just anybody, help, someone who can read the original page and translate it for us...

At least the bug file in the Readme is in English...

• not support NES disksystem
• not support GB SRAM save
• NEOGEO Pocket not support PCM.
• NGP is very slow, not support STATE SAVE.
• SMS Plus not support PCM play (depend on SMSPlus)
• CDROM2 support under construction

Download: [e[mulator] v0.82f for the PSP]

Q Entertainment really does seem to have a thing for psychedelic, trance-y stuff. As if Lumines wasn't enough of a groovy thing for the PSP, they just have to push it a little bit more and develop Gunpey-R. Then again, not that we mind. After all, we do need more of that fun stuff going around nowadays.

Anyways, what we have here for you are two more gameplays for Gunpey-R. While watching it, this writer can't help but think, man, that's warped. And it really is. For a while back there, I was paying more attention to the swooping birds on the background of the Puzzling video more than the actual game itself. And when I turned to watch the Addictive vid, I had my eyes glued to the background yet again. Is it just me, or does that thing actually look like the devil?

Brr...gotta shake that Halloween left-over chill off. Nonetheless, gameplay's riveting, and it's nothing short of cool. You can download them right here. Enjoy!

Download: [Gunpey-R Puzzling gameplay vid]
Download: [Gunpey-R Addictive gameplay vid]

While Gunpey-R was based on an old game for the WonderSwan handheld by Bandai, some of you might not be familiar with this PSP game by Q Entertainment. It's sort of like your "indie" game that's working in the background.

The game is played by connecting lines from one side of the grid, to the other. And as puzzler games go, of course, it's not as simple as it gets. The blocks rise higher and higher, Tetris-style, and you're press for time. Once the lines reach the top of the grid, it's game over for you, pal.

Gunpey-R will also have Ad Hoc wireless play so you could connect to your friends and compete against each other. There's even going to be a "change-able skin" feature that allows you to interchange the visuals and music with every game that you play. In fact, one of the things that the game boasts is its musical score of techno beats and jazzy sounds - one trademark of executive producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi.

Now just so you get a feel for this game, you might want to check the screens below. PLUS! You can download two very small vids (2-7MB) below and see how hectic the game gets. Have fun, and better practice those fast thumbs!

   
   

Download: [Gunpey-R "So Many Lines" gameplay]
Download: [Gunpey-R "DJ Furry McRoo" gameplay]

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UPDATE: Q Entertainment's just released a bundle of joys for all you fans! You can now download some music track from Gunpey-R below! There's three tracks now available, including "Bird", "Blast", and "Rain Drop". Tetsuya Mizuguchi's exceeded our expectations once again. Great tracks!

Download: [Gunpey-R music bundle pack]

The wonderful e[mulator] has been updated to v0.82e today by developer e. If you've missed this one before or are a newcomer to the homebrew scene, e[mulator] is a multi-platform emulator supporting Gameboy, PCEngine, WonderSwan, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, and NES.

It also currently supports Atari Lynx but e has noted that this feature is still quite buggy; although a fix added since the last version should fix it. It is also supposed to support NeoGeo Pocket, but e has pointed out in his readme that it's still very slow and doesn't have savestate support.

Here is the changelog for this version:

• Bug fix to characters that weren't displaying correctly
  
• WS : SRAM retention, state retention and operation verification being completed
• Lynx: Operation of the Lynx part of this emulator should work correctly.
  

Thanks for the tip Byte!

Download: [e[mulator] v0.82e]

E, the homebrew developer who's the brains behind the multi system emulator for PSP called e[mulator], has once again updated his homebrew emulator to version 0.82c. In case this is the first time you're hearing this, the e[mulator] supports Gameboy, PCEngine, Wonderswan, Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear, and Nes.

This is one of the more underrated emulators around, basing solely on how many people actually download it. Slowly but surely, it would be a perfected emulator and E's hardwork will definitely pay off. So with that, let's go over the changelog:

(1) WS : SRAM Bank change bugfix ¡¡¡¡SRAM Bank
(2) Sprite Table update timing fix

Download: [e[mulator] for PSP 0.82c]

Some of you homebrew emulator followers have been wondering whatever happened to homebrew developer E and his emulator aptly named e[mulator] for PSP. Well, about two weeks ago, we featured the fix 2 for e[mulator] v0.81. Now, the good developer unleashed fix 3, and he shows no sign of stopping to perfect this emulator.

If you have forgotten all about this one, well allow us to refresh your memories. [e]mulator is a multi console emulator that supports E's own WonderSwan emulator (eSwan) and PC Engine emulator (HuE) plus Famicom and Gameboy emulators for the PSP.

Amidst all the fixes, the app is still not without any flaws. E considers them issues as a homebrew developer's work hazards, so he tirelessly corrects them. Now, he has taken care of the problems that has bogged the earlier versions. If there are still problems with this one, just make sure to let us and E know, through your comments.

Download: [e[mulator] 0.81 fix 3]

Heads up! The official site for Riviera: the Promised Land is now up and running! Get the lowdown on the characters Ecthel, Ledah, Rothe, Lyuri, Fiaa, Serene and Cierra, immerse yourself in the game's story, and get your hands on other game info and downloads.

Riviera is originally a GBA game done by Sting, and is now being developed for the PSP. This RPG looks quite promising (check out the graphics), and we're positive that it will cater both to Riviera fans and curious PSP users alike.

It's supposed to be out this year, but as of now, a specific date hasn't been released yet. For more updates, just stay tuned here at QJ. Meanwhile, check out their home page for a heavy dose of Riviera eye-candy.

Update: Our readers mentioned that Riviera is orginally a WonderSwan Color-game, which was ported to the GBA in 2005. Thanks a lot sushi and Niels for mentioning that.