【the inherent eroticism of】

For as long as I can the inherent eroticism ofremember, I've had the dream of becoming a mother... to a pet dragon. And there is perhaps no game designer more equipped to turn my dreams of fantastical motherhood into a reality than the creator of the beloved Harvest Moon, Yasuhiro Wada.

After playing the first thirty minutes of Wada's new upcoming game, Little Dragons Café, we spoke to the man largely credited for fathering the now popularized genre of farm and life simulation games.

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When asked to describe what set his games apart from all the others, Wada replied with a simple but powerful answer: "Heart. Soul."

That sense of warmth, home, and human relationships defined Harvest Moon. And, from what we could tell of our brief time with Little Dragons Café,is also what makes this new IP feel like a true spiritual successor to Wada other series.

Little Dragons Caféstitches together a host of different game genres together, resulting in an experience that's equally new but also familiar. For fans of Harvest Moonand its ilk, playing this feels like coming back home -- only there's a dragon in the kitchen, and a lot more emphasis on cooking rather than just harvesting.

You play as one of the twins (either brother or sister) who help their mom run a small seaside café. But tragedy strikes when one day mom won't wake up, and a wizard tells them of some dragon-sized family secrets. They'll now have to work together to both run the cafe on their own while also raising a baby dragon to full size.

Creating the perfect meals requires adventuring outside where you battle enemies to gather ingredients and collect recipes (ala Battle Chef Brigade), grow your own fresh produce (ala Harvest Moonand Stardew Valley), master a simple rhythm game to cook quality meals (ala Cooking Mama), and manage business tasks like attending to customer needs (ala Diner Dash).

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But that's just the logistics.

The heart and soul Wada described as the qualities that set his games apart come through in the characters who you build deep bonds with throughout Little Dragons Café. The twins hire three down-on-their luck misfits who, through hard work and overcoming challenges together, help one another grow.

"The concept for the game started with the traditional family: a mother and her twins," Wada said. "But in the bigger picture, it's more about making a family with other people too, and growing through human relationships."

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And it's not only about the growth of the employees, like the hooligan slacker character Ren, either. It's a story of how the young twins grow into themselves during their mother's difficult absence.

"There are a lot of unique characters who at first appear as unlikable characters. But by the time they leave you, the hope is that you'll want to hug them," said Wada.

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Of course, that's not to mention the most lovable and important character development of all: The little dragon companion who you nurture, stirring the parental instincts in yourself by becoming a mother to a fantastical beast.

The theme of emotional care-taking and child-rearing is at the core of Little Dragons Café, and its the reason why Wada chose to center the game around food.

"In many human relationships, food is what connects us," he said. "For example, it's only when you go off to college that you start missing mom's food. There's this traditional taste to family food that you can't get anywhere else. Or even in the broader aspect, if you leave your country and go abroad, the food will be one of the first things you miss. But also on the other hand, you can go to a new place and learn to love a whole new country through its food. So many emotions and relationships come back to food."

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You even influence your dragon's coloring through the kind of food you feed it.

As the story progresses, the dragon begins growing and allowing you to explore new parts of the island. Aside from developing "the indescribable bond of maternal love" (as Wada put it) with your dragon, you can even eventually ride soar through the skies with your scaly, four-legged child.

Basically, you become the mother of dragons. But instead of burning down cities like in Game of Thrones, you and your dragon-child build bridges to human relationships and growth.

When I asked Wada what inspired him to add dragons, he smiled and gave another simple but telling answer. "Just because I like dragons."

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Hard #same there. But it also goes deeper than that, too.

"I try to make games that don't already exist in the world," Wada said. "And usually, dragons in games are the enemy you have to defeat -- the final boss. So instead of that I thought: Why not make the dragon our buddy?"

Like Harvest Moon, Little Dragons Caféis a gaming experience that's not about quick satisfaction. Rather, it's about the patience and empathy to build something that's not only long-lasting, but far more rewarding.

You build a home that welcomes misunderstood creatures of all kinds, whether human or fantastical. And through the power of caring for one another, you build the most precious bond of all: a family.

Little Dragons Caféwill be out on Switch and Playstation Aug. 24.

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Topics Game Of Thrones Gaming Nintendo Switch PlayStation