14 DAY TRIAL // Aksys Games went all out when advertising the North American release of Record of Agarest War, and while there were barely any gameplay footage or game details beyond the point that it was a JRPG for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it still managed to attract a lot of attention. With publicity gimmicks like the game's Really Naughty Limited Edition, as well as its trailer and arts, some might have believed that this is the kind of title you can really play while applauding its features, but contrary to this opinion, the game is rated T for Teen and is a classic RPG.
"Contrary to what you think you might have seen in the debut trailer, you don't get to see any naughty anime bits, much to everyone's dismay," Cherie Baker, a public relations specialist for Aksys, said. So the blurred-out parts of the above-mentioned trailer were put there just to incite and stimulate our curiosity, not because there was actually something that wasn't meant to be seen. But that doesn't mean that they've been downright lying to us either.
"To be honest, we haven't shown anything that isn't present in the game," she added. "Sure, there's some innuendo and skin, but it's nothing you haven't seen in other T-rated games like our own BlazBlue. The dating and naughty bits don't make up the entire game. It's not like you'll kill a baddie and be treated to some cheesecake. Make no mistake, Agarest is a pretty challenging and hardcore strategy RPG at its heart... It's just got a little more sex appeal than most."
But with a release date set for April, gamers really want to know what the actual title is like. The artwork is very nicely drawn and there are plenty of things to excite our curiosity, but a "challenging and hardcore strategy RPG" can't get by only with a fan service, and Aksys knows this. "We'll definitely be doing a gameplay trailer proper as well as some tutorial videos before the game is released. We're not that irresponsible," Baker assured us.
But until then, we'll just have to settle for plain text and no visual aid, as Baker took us on a brief walk through the game's mechanics. "It plays similarly to other Japanese SRPGs that have come before it. The main difference lies in the Extended Area and Extended Attacks, which give you a lot more options on the battlefield, such as being able to link slow characters to allow them to act sooner than normal or linking a character that is out of range for an attack," which actually sounds pretty enacting. "Also, this system allows you to discover special combo attacks called Arts in which the player has to use different (or the same!) characters' skills in a specific order."
But with Aksys' marketing strategy, richly promoted by the physical components of the Really Naughty Limited Edition, a lot might think, and for good reason, that the digital distribution-only on the PlayStation 3 would be a lesser experience. But while only the Xbox 360 users will get their special pillow and busty mouse pad, PSN users will get not only a slightly lower purchase price for the game, since it's a digital copy, but they'll also get "most of that version's DLC, [as it] will be free for PSN users. That's right FREE."