Quirky RPG with no leveling

User Rating: 7.5 | Riviera: Yakusoku no Chi PSP
I'm tossed up on this one. Riviera has some great graphics, anime style, and some heart too. It was a game I was never biting at the bullet to get back to, but once I got into a particular battle it would kindof suck me in. Basically this game is a bunch of battles, you have to pick the right weapons and other helpful items to match the weaknesses of your opponents. Scattered throughout each level are little mini-games that can gift you new items or boost your HP if you win, or lower your HP if you lose.

The really annoying part of the game was that to progress and be strong enough to take on each character, you had to use your new weapons a set amount of times to unlock their powerup moves, which in turn gives your character a boost to their stats. This consists of battling old foes, and was really boring as it did nothing to move the story forward and was never a challenge. The game would have been much better if they had come up with a leveling up system somehow related to your performance in the battles or something else besides using a stupid weapon so many time in a mock battle.

The story was pase' but the actual battles had some panache' to them. If you haven't played this one yet, it's nothing you'll miss. If you're starving for a good tactical/unique RPG, it's worth a shot.