Chester Burklight

Chester Burklight (チェスター・バークライト, Chesutā Bākuraito) is one of the main (and playable) characters in Tales of Phantasia, the first game in the Tales series.

Chester is 17 years old, an archer, and best friend to Cress Albane, the main character of the game.

His name literally translates as "Chester Barklight" but for reasons unknown was localized as Chester Burklight in the US version of the Gameboy Advance remake: Tales of Phantasia.

Role in Tales of Phantasia
When Toltus was attacked, Chester’s sister Ami was killed. Like Cress, he vowed to get revenge on the people responsible. Upon their confrontation with Dhaos, Chester attacked him, giving Trinicus more time to transport Cress and Mint back in time. Though he dies in the original timeline when Dhaos destroys the temple in which he was sealed, Chester and Trinicus are spared when Mint and Cress, having gone back to the past, find their way back to the present at the precise moment precisely when they left, at which time, Cless and Mint, with Claus and Arche in tow, engage Dhaos in combat, and, defeating him, prevent him from destroying the Catacombs and escape as the cavern in ripped apart by the magic set loose when Dhaos was released.

Present and Future
Chester asks the party if he can join, despite being severely unexperienced when paired next to Cless and the group. Despite rejection from Arche, Chester joins the party eager to uphold his resolve noted at the beginning of the game: To take revenge on Dhaos for the murder of his sister. In the SNES version, Chester is severely underleveled, and the game continues as is, similar to the acquisition of Chelsea in Tales of Destiny. In all sub-sequent versions of the game, Chester is given a small sidequest to level up, in an attempt to bridge the gap. Though he plays a small part in the story, at this point, his dialogue is similar to that of the other characters, at most junctions of the game, almost as if Chester had been with the party from day one. His ability to comprehend the rather complex situation before them is notable, although never mentioned. By the end of the game, the seemingly bitter relationship between he and Arche is noted, and explored in a sequence in Ary, when the two characters remark on their mutual dislike of each other, despite Chester's initial reaction to Arche's good looks, when first meeting her. While the relationship is not strongly mentioned later on in the game, it should be noted that after this point in the game, they are much closer than they were prior. By the end of the game, Chester is undoubtedly as strong as the rest of the party, and clearly a true member of the other Heroes of Time.

Chester's Preformance
Despite his initial shortcomings, Chester is a strong addition to the team: His attack with the latter bows of the game (Soul Eater, Berserker Bow) is the strongest out of all the characters. In the SNES version, this is notable as he lacks TP, and thus skills. Because of this, his attack is higher. In the later versions, Chester is given a skill set, while his physical attack is weakened to balance his overall worth. He is still capable of dealing more damage than Cless, with the latter bows.

Chester takes on a role similar to that of Garr or Chelsea in Tales of Destiny, or Natalia in Tales of the Abyss (except without healing powers), acting as a second warrior obtained later on in the game, using a bow. In the SNES version, Chester is without skills, relying solely on his attack to deal damage. In the later versions, he is given a medley of skills: elemental shots, multiple shots, super shots and the like. By the time of his acquisition, it is quite easy in any version of the game to level him up quickly. In the SNES version of the game, it is recommended to give him the Demon Seal (+50% more exp per battle, disables techs) so as to double the already ridiculous amount of experience he will gain. Moreover, level raising on the latter floors of the future Moria Gallery is recommended, for an extremely quick boost. In the latter versions, he is given a specific sidequest after acquisition to allow for his balancing out of levels, compared to the rest of the party. Unlike most other Tales games, wherein the characters acquired later in the game have less worth than already constructed parties, Chester is a valuable member to a party, for players who want to focus on physical fighting, or conserving MP, and items.

Seiyuu/Voice Actors

 * Ryusei Nakao: Provided Chester's voice in the Super Famicom version of Tales of Phantasia.
 * Kentarou Itou: Provided Chester's voice in the PlayStation and PSP remakes of the game, as well as the Japanese version of Tales of Phantasia: The Animation.
 * Peter Von Gomm: Provided Chester's voice in the western version of Tales of Phantasia on the GBA.
 * David Vincent: Provided Chester's voice in the U.S. version of Tales of Phantasia: The Animation

Tales of Eternia
Chester appears in Tales of Eternia as an audience member in the coliseum.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Chester appears as one of the playable characters in Radiant Mythology, along with Arche. He is considered a Hunter whose title is also "Hunter". Chester is shown to be very protective of the heroine of this game, Kanonno, and insists her to think of him as an older brother. He sees his late little sister Ami in her, and tries to justify his past regrets of not being able to protect her by protecting Kanonno. Kanonno, on the other hand, appreciate his kindness, but also thinks he has to move on and stop trying to use her as a replacement for Ami. The player is able to fight Chester together with Arche and/or Reid Hershel from Tales of Eternia in Trial Quests later on.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Chester and most of the Phantasia characters appear as playable characters, although his exact role has not been revealed.

Tales of VS.
Chester will appear as a playable character in the Escort Title Tales of VS.

Trivia

 * Chester, along with Arche, is one of only two characters to appear in every Tales of the World title.