"Really Naughty Limited Edition" Planned for Record of Agarest War

So, I don't remember if I've truly covered Aksys' decision to bring Compile Heart's 'Soul Breed' SRPG, Agarest Senki to North America.

For those who don't remember this slightly obscure title, the game is basically a classic Japanese SRPG, complete with gridded fields, turn-based strategizing, and anime-style still art taking the place of cutscenes. Really, nothing specular there. Where the game sets itself apart is in the 'Soul Breed' system, which allows the player to choose a wife to bear his posterity for several generations. Which girl the player chooses to (ahem) procreate with will determine certain traits of his successor.

Along with this admittedly 'mature' subject matter comes the obvious fanservice - arguably the game's true selling point.

The original title was released in Japan in 2007 on PlayStation 3, then ported to the Xbox 360 in 2008 as Agarest Senki: Reappearance, and contained different and bonus content.

Aksys games has been known for some time now as the North American publisher for the title, but it was pushed back several times to allow for the 360 version to launch simultaneously here. With that, Aksys has claimed that the PS3 and 360 versions are now identical for the NA release, though it is still unclear whether that means the extra content was added to the PS3 version, or stripped out of the 360 version.

Though Aksys claims that this prevents rampant fanboyism over the title, they have chosen to release the PS3 version exclusively through PSN, while the 360 version will receive a classic hard copy, destroying any fanboy peace they may have been striving for.

To further the gap, Aksys has recently revealed a limited print edition (yes, only for the 360 version) that will include a soundtrack disc, a mousepad with boobs wrist rest, and a saucy pillowcase (pillow not included) for, er, more private encounters (I guess?), all wrapped up in a fancy collector's art box.

If you have the choice, I would imagine most gamers will prefer the hard copy, but maybe that's just me. I admit that the special edition sounds like the best deal (and a lot of swag) for $59.99, but I would never get it past my wife. Regular box edition will have to do for me. :P

Record of Agarest War will be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (via PSN) on April 27, 2010. It is already available in Japan.

[Kotaku]