Japanese DS RPG that Lets You 'Breed'

That's right, don't think anyone's pulling your leg. According to a well known gaming site (Gamers Creed to be precise) Japanese developers Idea Factory and RED have unveiled Record of Agarest War. The game is actually a strategy RPG for your Nintendo DS, in which gamers have to get females to "breed" their successors. Now tell me that's not what you wanted to hear.

Record of Agarest War uses the "Soul Breed" system, in which, according to Kotaku.com "players must capture the heart of the game's heroines so that they can create their successor. When this happens, there is a 'special' movie that's show(n), and afterwards the new successor is revealed."

So far so good, but there's more fun to be had, for the scientist in you. That's right, according to the same two websites, the final product emerging after the fun is had will carry the mother's genes. As the latter mentioned website writes, "His stats are even based on the heroine you select for breeding," referring to the successor.

I'm sure the "breeding" idea isn't all that new (even though it's not encountered very often either) but the fact that the successor will inherit some of the features from his/her mom, is so out of this world. I'm guessing that this is a Japan-only title, but if the game does eventually make it to Europe, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for dozens of different heroines within the game.

Is Nintendo's DS the most popular video games console or what? I criticize the Wii sometimes but in the end, it's still Nintendo that first touched us with its magic. Let's face it - as much as some of us like being fans of the fancy PlayStation 3 or the malfunctioning Xbox 360, Nintendo has always brought innovative stuff and if it wasn't Nintendo who brought the innovation at times, it was developers who wanted to see their title on a Nintendo platform... 'cause they sell.