Bruiser Khang

Bruiser Khang is one of the main characters in Tales of Destiny. He is a powerful arena-fighter and a reigning champion within there, although he is more recognized on his bald head. In the original Tales of Destiny for the PlayStation, he is an optional character and thus missable. However, in the PlayStation 2 remake, he will join the party no matter what.

Personality
Due to his lack of character development, or rather dialogue, in the original version, Khang is seen as a rather simple character. He is hot tempered, has a strong sense of rivalry (specially against Stahn, since he defended Ilene, whome Khang was challenging at the time, to only follow it up with a challenge AND an insult to his baldiness). He holds his title of Champion with extreme pride, and his catch-phrase is literally "I´m the champion!".

In the remake for the PlayStation 2, his character has been fleshed out and developed a lot more. He inmediatly develops a crush for Philia and follows the party wherever just to be around her. Due to being a mandatory character this time around (along with Chelsea and the other non-swordian masters) he actually develops relationships with the party. Rutee uses to call him "Khangy (コング)" and tends to tease him quite a lot. At first he and Stahn start being rivals, but Khang quickly forms a "buddy buddy" relationship with him, being the only male support for the most part of the game that listens to him and understands him and stops his hot temperedness, as Garr is much more mature and treats Stahn more as a War Partner rather than a friend. Khang treats Chelsea as a kid, while Chelsea treats him as a muscular weirdo, kind of a mutual love-hate relationship, though they actually understand each other really well. Even though Khang loves Philia, she doesn´t love him back, but instead of getting angry at him or rejecting him she gets embarrased (which in turn makes him love her more...).

Fighting Style
Khang is known for his devastating fighting style. He prefers to use his muscles rather than weapons, being a martial artist that would be natural for him. Except that unlike every other martial artist in the Tales games (like Farah, Regal, Senel, Hermana or Sophie) he has an unique arte-set, being slower and with heavier damage.

History
Bruiser Khang is called a living legend in the town of Neuestadt. This is due to the fact that he is the champion to the arena and for many years, he has yet to lose the title. He has no discriminations in choosing an opponent and thus, when a woman stands up to fight him, he will not hold back. However, if the woman does not come with fighting intentions, he can be friendly to her.

While life seems like unchanging, one day Khang receives a 'visit' in the arena right after he defeats a random challenger. This visitor is the Oberon Branch Manager of Neuestadt, Ilene Rembrandt. Khang mistakes her as his next challenger, but Ilene passes. Khang then points out to her guest, Stahn Aileron and asks if he is the next challenger, but Stahn acted as if he is uninterested. This irritates Khang to the point that he begins throwing insults and even verbally harrasses Ilene. This, in turn, angers Stahn, and in the end he opts to fight Khang. The outcome varies depending on Stahn's performance. If Stahn wins, he will eventually leave, but the head director decides that the match becomes a non-title match and thus Khang retains his title. If Stahn loses, he will be treated in the waiting room and when he wakes up, Khang apologizes for his rude behavior. He also points out Stahn's potential in strength and hopes that he will fight him again someday. However, he promises that he will win again.

When Stahn and the others leaves Neuestadt via port, Khang heads there and bid farewell to him. Eventually, the usual life in the arena resumes for Khang again. However, at a point, the player may opt Stahn to return to the arena again and challenge Khang once more. If he wins, Khang will join Stahn in his entourage and becomes involved within a quest that stakes the safety of the world. However, even if he is not included in the party, Khang is still considered a friend by Stahn and is invited in Stahn's yearly reunion after he saves the world.

In the Remake he joins the party in the monster attack to Neuestadt and helps Stahn and the others to capture Batista. Then he bids a sad farewell to Philia, to later rejoin when Stahn and Philia are about to take a ship in Neustadt after they heard the Eye of Atamoni was captured (yet again) where he becomes a permanent party member throughout the game. Though, sadly, he doesn´t have a major role in the story (as he was merely optional originally) and rather supports the party in every way he can, even as comic relief.

Tales of Eternia
Khang makes a cameo in Tales of Eternia, holding the Sushi-eating contest. His name there is a mistranslation to his original Japanese name, Kong The Man.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2
Khang appears in the second installament of Narikiri Dungeon as a playable character.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3
Khang appears in the third installament of Narikiri Dungeon as a playable character.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Khang appears in the second installament of Radiant Mythology as a playable character with his Mystic Arte Tres Bien Hip.

Tales of VS.
Bruiser Khang appears as a playable character in Tales of VS. Through most of the game he is traveling with Philia Felice.

Trivia

 * In the remake, when you participate in the Arena in higher ranks, as the last enemy you always fight Khang. Yet when you participate as Khang you fight an affeminate version of Khang, complete with heart tatoos and high pitched voice.
 * While he is mostly referred as 'Khang', his name in the menu screen is listed as 'Bruiser'.