I’m not an RPG fan. As a whole, I find the genre a bit too slow paced and tedious for my tastes, but there are a few stand out titles that manage to rise above the role-playing game trappings and engage me. Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy V. Ys Books I & II. All three are consider genre classics, but it’s he latter that holds a special place in my nerd heart.

Ys Books I & II was the first disc-based game I ever played, and I was wowed by the anime-influenced cutscenes and beautiful symphonic music. It had an odd run-into-enemies-to-damage-them gameplay element, but it was a fun romp.

So I was more than a bit excited to learn that XSEED Games has entered into a partnership with Nihon Falcom to bring Ys I & II Chronicles to the PSP, as well as Ys Seven, and Ys: The Oath in Felghana. In addition, the deal will allow XSEED Games to release the next three chapters in Falcom’s popular The Legend of Heroes series, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky trilogy (known as the Sora no Kiseki trilogy in Japan), to the North American PSP.

Under the terms of the partnership, XSEED Games retains exclusive North American publishing and distribution rights to multiple upcoming iterations of the Ys and The Legend of Heroes series, starting with Ys Seven.