Dept. Heaven is a series of video games developed by Sting, 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.
Games Episode I: Riviera
Riviera: The Promised Land is the first entry to be released in the Dept. Heaven series. It was originally released in Japan in 2002 for the WonderSwan Color. A remake of the game was developed for the Game Boy Advance, releasing in 2004 in Japan, and debuting in English the following year. In 2006, a remastered version was released for the PlayStation Portable, which saw an English release the following year. An HD remaster was announced in 2023, with no platforms or release date mentioned.
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.
Episode II: Yggdra Union
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.
Episode III No name or information has been revealed on Episode III, other than in 2008, it was being planned as a PC MMORPG.Dengeki Online Interview with Shinichi Ito. Retrieved October 31, 2008
Episode IV: Knights in the Nightmare
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.
Episode IX: Gungnir
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.
Development Upon the announcement of Knights in the Nightmare, it was revealed that the worlds share a common setting through the location of Asgard.http://www.famitsu.com/game/coming/1213583_1407.html Retrieved February 17, 2008 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. Retrieved August 19, 2008 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.
Setting
The Dept. Heaven equivalent of heaven, a realm that idealizes pure order. It was established by the gods, all-powerful beings of pure logic which series director Shinichi Ito likens to computer programs.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. p. 120 () Following the gods' disappearance at the end of Ragnarok, Asgard has been ruled by the Seven Magi. It is home to both a humanoid species and the angels, with the humanoids serving as the dominant race. The people of Asgard monitor the surface worlds to make certain that demons are not trying to travel through them to invade Asgard itself.
While the people of Asgard possess emotion and thus the world cannot be called a strictly ordered domain, their biology has been significantly altered from that of ordinary humans; for instance, the digestive system is vestigial and has been replaced by a nutrient-replenishing dormant state called SLEEP.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. pp. 118-119 () Ordinary Asgardian humanoids, known as Servants, have appeared in both Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone and Knights in the Nightmare, and wield gunlike electrical weapons.
The Dept. Heaven equivalent of hell, a realm that idealizes pure chaos. It is inhabited by various races of demons, and expands constantly by conquering and absorbing surface worlds. The demons in general are bitter enemies with the peoples of Asgard, as their very existences are incompatible. However, as demons have a power-based hierarchy and operate under principles of Social Darwinism (e.g. the strong survive and the weak perish), it cannot be called a world with no order in it at all.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. pp. 114-115 ()
The English-language PSP version of Riviera: The Promised Land (and the Japanese Special Edition) feature a short bonus scenario in which Ein accidentally wanders through a portal to the Underworld, accompanied either by the four heroines or by Ledah and Rose, and must defeat the demon god Hades in order to escape. The latter scenario involves Ein, Ledah, and Rose discussing various elements of the universe.
According to Shinichi Ito, the Underworld's setting details are intentionally kept vague in order to preserve the gameplay integrity of the series. The people of Asgard refer to both the Underworld itself and worlds that have been dominated by demons as ; while "the Underworld" is the official translation used by Atlus, many fans refer to it as "Niflheim" in keeping with the Norse theme of the series.
The general term for all ordinary worlds inhabited by mortals. Riviera, Ancardia (the world of Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone), Aventheim (the world of Knights in the Nightmare), and Gargandia the world of Gungnir are all examples of these.
The surface worlds were originally created by the gods to serve as a buffer between Asgard and the Underworld, so that Asgard would have greater advance warning when demons attempted to invade. However, Asgard has a general noninterference policy in order to allow worlds to govern and attempt to defend themselves until there is severe danger of a world being overwhelmed.
Each surface world is connected to , and as long as these gates are intact, they are considered part of Asgard's territory. Invading demons will create a and attempt to destroy the world's link to Heaven's Gate, after which Asgard will consider that world a part of Utgard and abandon it.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. pp. 110-111 ()
There are, however, instances where demons and gods appear in surface worlds without creating a Hades Gate, such as summonings by residents of that world (as in the case of Zolgonark in Knights in the Nightmare) or magical anomalies (the way that Brongaa was drawn to Ancardia by Nessiah's sheer power in Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone). In Gungnir, Giulio Raguel, wielder of demonic spear Gungnir is able to summon various war Gods.
A world that exists in a dimensional rift unknown to the gods. There are said to be several of these in existence, but thus far Yumira is the only one named. Yumira is world of illusion that is said to be reached through a special magic circle, and its people (called the ) practice magical arts that extend their lifespans. Pamela, the series mascot, is a former resident of this world.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. pp. 130-133 ()
Thus far, Yumira has only featured in Nessiah's backstory, as they are the ones who contracted with him to allow him to use the Power of Words in response to his plea for help.Dept. Heaven World Guidance. Softbank Creative. 2008. pp. 112-113 ()
The proxies of the gods, and current de facto rulers of Asgard. Thus far, series villain Hector is the only one that has been named.
Once ordinary humanoids, the Seven Magi were granted longevity bordering on immortality by the special cloaks they wear. Because they all dress the same and hide their eyes, they give off the appearance of beings that have renounced individuality and transcended human nature, but this is merely a public front they maintain to keep their leadership strong. In truth, the seven of them constantly jockey for power, making alliances and betraying one another. Ito explains that Hector is particularly dangerous because of his brilliance, influence, hedonism, and sense of self-entitlement.
The Seven Magi were the ones responsible for changing Riviera (originally a part of the Underworld) into a surface world, and used that victory as a cornerstone for the cease-fire that ended Ragnarok. Ito has expressed interest in creating a game based on their political battles; Sting's Romanization for this term is "Goth" instead of "Magi".
One of the races of Asgard. Angels were originally artificial beings created by the gods, and because of this, they cannot be destroyed by the gods despite technically being mortals. In the eyes of Asgard, angels are a defense mechanism of the world, similar in existence to antibodies; they make up the brunt of Asgard's military force and are deployed to fight and destroy demons. In particular, such as Marietta are stationed on Heaven's Gate and considered the backbone of the defense against demons.
Because of their origin, angels are considered subhuman beings in Asgard. They have also come under suspicion during the Magi's reign because their loyalty lies with the gods rather than the humanoid race. Due to the way that they are treated, angels often display a stunted sense of self despite being capable of developing normal emotions and free will once exposed to society.