Dept. Heaven is a series of video games developed by Sting Entertainment,[1] headed by Shinichi Ito. Four main entries were released across the 2000s and early 2010s - Riviera: The Promised Land (2002), Yggdra Union (2006), Knights in the Nightmare (2008) and Gungnir (2011). While a fifth entry was briefly teased in 2008, only spinoffs and remasters have released moving into the 2020s.
Riviera: The Promised Land is the first entry to be released in the Dept. Heaven series.[2] It was originally released in Japan in 2002 for the WonderSwan Color.[2] A remake of the game was developed for the Game Boy Advance, releasing in 2004 in Japan, and debuting in English the following year.[2] In 2006, a remastered version was released for the PlayStation Portable, which saw an English release the following year.[2] An HD remaster was announced in 2023, with no platforms or release date mentioned.[3]
The game takes place on the floating continent of Riviera. The main character, Ein being a resident of Asgard, is sent by The Seven Magi to rid Riviera of demons and becomes tangled in a bid for the Gods' dormant power through The World Tree.
Riviera is played almost as a visual novel, with "triggers" on each screen that can be selected, rather than directly controlling the movement of Ein. In battle, Riviera plays out similarly to the RPG stereotype, however aiming and attacking requires much more careful control, due to the lack of an explicit ability to decide the target of an attack, and the fact that all but one item have a limited number of uses.
Riviera focused very strongly on the story and character interaction, even going so far as providing the player with the opportunity to slightly affect the ending by developing stronger relationships through his actions with particular female members of the cast.
Yggdra Union takes place on an unnamed continent. The game chronicles the Yggdra War, where the Bronquian army begins a brutal rampage throughout the world, conquering territories until Princess Yggdra Yuril Artwaltz, of one of the conquered countries, rallies against them.
The game plays differently from most Strategy RPGs, in that you have some amount of control over the battles you would typically just watch. In these battles you can activate cards and control your units' attack strategies. Another unique aspect of the game is that the on-map formation of your units is very important, creating the eponymous "Union" system that is vital to victory.
There are multiple spinoffs to this Episode: Yggdra Unison, Blaze Union, and Gloria Union. Yggdra Unison is an alternate-universe retelling of the main game with twelve possible protagonists; Blaze Union is a prequel to Yggdra Union taking place in Bronquia three years prior. Gloria Union is a newly announced game featuring a pirate drama unconnected to the other games.
No name or information has been revealed on Episode III, other than in 2008, it was being planned as a PC MMORPG.[4]
Knights in the Nightmare takes place in Aventheim, a world recently interrupted by the invasion of a demonic army. The player leads the Wisp through the story, unraveling the past through the events of the present, in order to save Aventheim.
The game plays like Chess infused with RPG ala turn-based Tactical role-playing and shoot 'em up elements. The player moves the Wisp around using the touchscreen, activating attacks on allied characters and avoiding screen-covering shots from enemy characters.
A story that takes place in the Gargandia Empire, set to a backdrop of racial strife between the noble Daltania and the peasant Leonica. A fifteen-year-old boy named Giulio Raguel, who is part of the Leonica resistance comes upon the powerful demonic weapon Gungnir, and his choice to use it for the sake of the rebellion has drastic consequences.
Gungnir was officially announced in the February 24, 2011 issue of Weekly Famitsu. It combines orthodox SRPG elements with original system features and it was released on May 19, 2011 on the PSP. It is developed by staff members from Yggdra Union.
Upon the announcement of Knights in the Nightmare, it was revealed that the worlds share a common setting through the location of Asgard.[5] In a later Dengeki Maoh article, it was revealed how each game interacted in the Universe, each initially taking place on the overworld and being connected in some way to either Asgard or the Underworld.[6] More connections were revealed when Knights was finally released, in particular with the release of the Dept. Heaven Episodes World Guide and a thinner American version, The Tome of Lost Souls. These releases explained the various connections between the games and further delineated the culture and history of the universe in which they took place.[citation needed][clarification needed]
JaJa[who?] explained in his blog that the numbering system of the "episodes" does not dictate any sort of chronological order, but rather, a gauge of originality. The higher the number, the higher the company's perception of the title's originality.[citation needed]
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