Falcom has released brand-new information about its upcoming action RPG sequel Ys X: Nordics (via Gematsu).

Apart from the game starring troublemaker Adol Christin, we now know the name of his female partner-in-crime: Carja Varta.

“The only daughter of Grimmson, leader of the Varta Navy. She is feared by the residents of Karnack as the “Pirate Princess,” who see her as she proudly leads a gang of maritime miscreants in pirate activities. While she has elegant features, she wields a hatchet and round shield in battle, and showcases a rough, brutal fighting style typical of the Norman people.”

Ys X takes place just before part 4 (Ys: Memories of Celceta) where Adol travels to a new island with his best buddy Dogi. That’s all well and good narrative-wise, but what about the combat? We’ve been given screenshots of the new boy-and-girl duo running around, so how does that work? Well, the game’s new combat system is the Cross Action mode, where players can switch between “Solo Mode” and “Combination Mode”.

Solo Mode is for speed and consecutive attacks, while Combination Mode has you controlling Adol and Carja at the same time to deal more damage at the cost of reduced movement; no stepdashing and dodging when in Combination Mode, basically. However, in Combination Mode, you gain access to Guard and can build up a Revenge Gauge via blocking to unleash powerful attacks when it’s full. Like Street Fighter IV’s Ultra meter. Also, if you “just Guard” (block at the last possible frame), you can repel power attacks from enemies and stagger them, opening them up for future powerful attacks.

Ys X: Nordics will be out for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch in 2023 in Japan. No English release has been announced yet.