It's been five months since I started Record of Agarest War, a Japanese strategy RPG. Even after 20 hours of gameplay, I'm still on the first part of the game.

In spite of the extremely long journey, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a strategy game as much as Record of Agarest War.

In many respects, this game looks very unimpressive. The bland 3D dungeons are generic and dull. Some of the trees on the battlefield block my view when I'm trying to plan my moves. The boring intro sequence consists of cheap Playstation 1 backgrounds, 2D anime drawings and a cheesy J-pop song.

However, Record of Agarest War makes up for its flaws with a clever fighting system and a beautifully-written story. In fact, the game's time span takes up over three generations of a man's bloodline. The strategy RPG gives the main character the freedom to choose whichever woman he would like for his bride. The statistic and skills of both characters then pass on to the next generation.

The video advertisements didn't really show off this game mechanic very well. The YouTube trailer for Agarest makes the epic adventure seem more like a adult sex game. Even though Record of Agarest War has its share of fan service scenes, these moments only take up one percent of the entire game.

In fact, Agarest has some of the most memorable characters I've ever had to take control of. In the opening of the campaign, the brave soldier Leonhardt fights against his fellow army captain in order to save a young elven girl's life. Although the army kills Leonhardt, a goddess grants him a second chance. He devotes his entire bloodline to protect this young girl from the mysterious forces of darkness.

Agarest has a very well-written script in comparison to many other games. The first section of the game intrigued me with a story of cursed artifacts that can turn honorable soldiers into demons. Although the dating simulation choices are silly, they play a significant part in determining the visual novel cutscenes that people see throughout the game.