After announcing the project back in February, with little more than a name and rumors about story changes, Falcom has finally seen fit to release a batch of information about its newest addition to the Ys series. Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim will give players yet another chance to travel the lands with everyone's favorite red headed hero, Adol. During this newest escapade, Adol has heard rumors of a legendary whirlpool in Canaan, which supposedly serves as the gate to mysterious lands beyond its swirling surface. As the whirlpool is located far to the west of his home continent of Esteria, Adol sets off by ship with the accompaniment of his two thieving friends, Dogi and Terra. During their travels to the whirlpool, however, Adol's company is forced to land upon an island inhabited by a people called the Leda. Making acquaintances with two of the islanders, a young girl named Isha and her sister, who is both a priestess and an archer, Adol begins to slowly uncover the mystery of what lies beyond the whirlpool's depths.

Although these are the only story details that have been released so far, Falcom hasn't been lax in its promotion of the title. They already have a comprehensive pre-order deal set up, by which hardcore fans of the series may pick up a huge number of extras. The first 30,000 pre-orders of Ys VI will come packaged with a limited edition DVD, which contains live performances of its soundtrack, as well as a wealth of behind the scenes information about the series. In addition, those shoppers who are within the first 60,000 pre-orders will also get their hands on an "Ys Encyclopedia Collection," which is basically a super package containing all of the five prior games in PC playable form.

Currently, Ys VI is planned for release in Japan on the 27th of September. Unfortunately, no North American or European plans for release have been announced, so importing may be the only way for some Ys fans to get their fix.