Lloyd Irving

Lloyd Irving is the main character of Tales of Symphonia, the fifth major release in the Tales series. Once but a simple country boy, Lloyd Irving is thrusted out into a journey of epic proportions following a brutal attack on his village. The Chosen of Regeneration is in fact one of his dearest friends, and after an exile from his home, Lloyd Irving joins her on her Journey of Regeneration. Although the young warrior himself plays no part in the prophecy as such, he is still a strong optimist and a fair leader.

Character
Lloyd uses skill and logic to make up for what he lacks in knowledge, which is often a joke throughout the series as he fails to answer various educational questions. He is generally idealistic, and tries to do what he believes is best for the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. As the game goes on, Kratos compares Lloyd to Mithos, saying the only difference between them is that Lloyd is capable of acknowledging his own mistakes. Another character named Tiga also compares Lloyd to Mithos by saying he is idealistic and very dearly wants to save both worlds, but Lloyd denies that he is like Mithos and says he does not want to save the worlds Mithos' way, but in his own way without sacrifices.

From idiot to hero
Because he lives in an area that has a deal with the Desians, Lloyd never actually understands how people are suffering at the hands of the evil organization. This does him rather naïve and short tempered who makes very rash decisions regardless of what consequences his actions may have, saying he is doing it for Colette, who is going to regenerate the world anyway. However, when it all ends wrong, he realizes his mistakes and tries to repent them. Under the guide of Kratos, he eventually matures though the Journey of Regeneration, seeing people really suffer. When he understands that people has to be sacrifices everywhere for the sake of others, Lloyd decides to stop “clinging to the Chosen”, as Kratos describes it, and fight with his own strength and new ideals. Together with his friends, he eventually manages to save and reunite the worlds, although he is angry at himself for not finding any other way than to kill Mithos, as he wants a world without sacrifices. This shows how much he has matured, as he in the beginning in the game never had problems killing his enemies.

Family
During the beginning of the game, it is told that Lloyd is an orphan, raised by a dwarven blacksmith by the name of Dirk. Lloyd and Dirk seem to have a complicated relationship, arguing for many things, but are still close to each other.

Early, he finds out that his mother, Anna, was murdered by the Desians because she was protecting a special Exsphere they wanted. Lloyd begins to think his real father also suffered the same fate, and is not showing any hopes of him being alive throughout the rest of the game.

Later, however, after Colette has been treated for the Chronic Angelus Crystallus Inofficium, it is revealed that Kratos Aurion is his real father when Yuan threatens to take his life if Kratos does not cooperate with his plans. When Lloyd get to know this, he screams in confusion, not wanting to accept Kratos as his real father. In Flanoir, if Lloyd decides to go out alone, Kratos reveals the whole story of Anna's death, despite Lloyd's protests of not wanting to hear it. He says that Anna, after turning into a monster in the presence of Kratos and their small Lloyd, had regained consciousness for only a minute and begged Kratos to kill her, saying that she did not want to hurt them. Kratos hesitated, and Anna lost control again and began to attack Lloyd, who was guarded by Noishe. Noishe became hurt in the process, which lead to his fear of monsters. Kratos eventually mortally wounded Anna in order to protect their son. However, the Desian named Kvar used the opportunity to attack them, and sent Anna, Noishe and Lloyd over the cliff. Anna, badly injured, regained her human form at the brink of death and was found by Dirk, who she explained everything to and asked him to take care of Lloyd and Noishe. Kratos descended the cliff to find his family later on, but found no signs of them, except dead Desians half-eaten by monsters. This sight led Kratos to believe they had died in the fall and eaten by monsters. As such, he gave up looking for them and surrendered to Cruxis.

Although Lloyd does not accept Kratos as his father at first, he slowly accepts the fact, though tries to hide it. In the end, however, he finally manages to call him “Dad”, right before they part away never to see each other again.

Relationships with Other Characters
Colette Brunel - Colette is the in-game pairing for Lloyd. He views her in the beginning of the game as a good friend, although later on, there are hints that he is developing stronger feelings for her. He is striving throughout the story to protect her. Kratos describes his relationship to her as “clinging to the Chosen”, as Lloyd always excuses his rash behavior by being Colette’s guardian. During many cutscenes the two are alone, he can often tell her feelings quite accurately, and was the one who began suspecting that something was wrong with her in the middle of the Journey of Regeneration.

Genis Sage - Genis is Lloyd's best friend. Even when it is revealed that Genis is a half-elf and not a full-blooded elf as he had led everyone to believe, Lloyd still accepts him completely. While Genis is the more logical one and weighs the consequences of his actions more, he still respects Lloyd. On Derris-Kharlan, Genis admits that he is a coward compared to Lloyd and that he has always looked up to his ability to rush in head forward and still succeed.

Raine Sage - Lloyd refers to her as "Professor Sage" and thinks very highly of her. Although he finds her lessons overbearing and unnecessary, he accepts her even when he learns that she is a half-elf. He is constantly considerate of his teacher, though she is often intolerants about his lack of studying.

Kratos Aurion - Lloyd harbors a jealous sentiment towards Kratos in the beginning due to his superior sword skills and his condescending nature. He is always striving to best Kratos, and often yells at him for being a jerk. Lloyd begins to hate Kratos when he betrays the group, but encounters with Kratos afterward hint that he bears no ill will to him. When he learns that Kratos is his father, he denies it at first and is quite shocked. As the game progresses, through, he accepts Kratos as his father.

Sheena - Lloyd is one of the first to trust Sheena when she tells the party of her mission and gladly welcomes her to join them. As the game progresses, Sheena begins to develop a crush on Lloyd. Depending on the choices the player makes, it is possible for Lloyd to return these feelings.

Presea - Lloyd often gives advices that, while not perfect or clearly thought through, help Presea to combat her dark past. Lloyd also often teases Genis for his affection for Presea. Throughout the game, Lloyd compliments Presea on their shared skill, craftsmanship, and treats her much like a younger sister, though she is actually a decade older than him.

Zelos - Lloyd's relationship with Zelos starts off on a bad foot, as Zelos is sent to keep an eye on the group, but changes slowly throughout the game. Zelos' antics annoy Lloyd sometimes, but they begin to become trusted friends. However, Zelos feels as if he is distrusted by the rest of the group, and depending on the choices the player makes, he will act on that feeling of distrust and fight the party. If this happens, Lloyd will regret having made Zelos feel the way he did. Otherwise, Zelos comes around and trusts Lloyd and the rest of the party.

Regal - When Regal joins the group, he comes as a prisoner. Lloyd allows him to fight with them, and they quickly become friends. Lloyd looks up to Regal for his level-head, and sees him as an older brother, or even a father figure in place of Kratos. Regal enjoys being around the young swordsman, who helps him to clear his mind of sadness. Lloyd even takes interest in Regal's fighting style and training regimen.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Lloyd returns in the sequel as a playable character. After he reunited the two worlds with his friends, he began to search for the remaining Exspheres: his goal was to prevent them from creating further victims. Lloyd has been showered with both praise and hatred from the people of the world, some of whom rejoice his actions, and some of whom condemn them. The Church of Martel has proclaimed that Lloyd was responsible for the Blood Purge of Palmacosta half ayear prior to the beginning of the sequel. In Dawn of the New World, Lloyd serves a role very alike the one Kratos played in the first game, as he does not join the party until later on and serves as a small antagonist before joining. His weapon in the sequel is the Gagnrad, which some fans think is the Material Blade with a new name.

World in Discord
Lloyd is first met at the Tower of Mana's underground cave, after Emil helps Richter, whom was beaten by Lloyd. Apparently, while Richter was chasing Marta to Lumen’s altar, they met up with Lloyd, who beat Richter. When Emil arrives to the altar for, he sees Lloyd fighting Marta. As Lloyd senses Emil's presence, Emil asks Lloyd why he killed his parents and the people in Palmacosta. Lloyd does not answer, and instead mumbles Palmacosta’s name. Afterward, Emil challenges him in battle, along with Marta and two monsters. After the battle, the new heroes are knocked out, and Lloyd retrives Luman's core.

Footfalls of Tomorrow
At Iselia, Raine tells Emil and Marta what Lloyd did after the world was restored. It appears that when he came back to Iselia, he heard that a boy named Paul became fatherless after the Desians attacked the village when he and Genis broke the treaty. When he heard this, he began going to Paul's house a lot when visiting Iselia in order to cheer the little boy up, who had lost his smile after his father's death. However, Paul's mood never got up, and one day, Lloyd propose to Lilia, Paul's mother. He thought that by doing that, he could become a new father figure for Paul. When Lilia found out this, she threw a tomato at Lloyd, and short time afterward, they all threw tomatoes at each other, finally bringing up a smile to Paul and Lilia's faces. After that, Paul became Lloyd's number one fan, and now wants to be just as strong and cool as him.

It is not until the events in the Triet Ruins that Lloyd shows up again. Dependning on time used to come to the altar of Ignis, Lloyd may or may not take the core from the party. When there, Genis asks Lloyd if the rumors are true; that he attacked Palmacosta and is against them. Lloyd does not say anything, but threatens them that if they will not give him the Centurion's core, he will not hestitate to take it by force. Before a fight occurs, however, they hear a monster’s roar. Lloyd realizes that it will come and attack soon, so he turns around to leave. Emil then changes into Ratatosk Mode, and attacks him. The latter just takes up one of his sword to stop the attack, and after saying that Emil still has much to learn, he hits the boy's head and runs off.

When outside, he probably takes a Rheaird and flies off, looking for more Centutrion’s cores.

Light and Darkness
When Emil, Marta, Tenebrae and Regal arrive in Flanoir, they get shocked to see that it has been attacked. One man says that Lloyd did it before he dies, something Regal can not believe. While they go around to help the injured people, Lloyd runs out of a house. Regal tries to confront Lloyd about the attack, but again Lloyd ignores one of his closest companions. Emil once again turns into Ratatosk Mode, but Lloyd blocks his attack again before he leaves. After that, Regal changes from his fine clothes into his old prisoner clothes again to show Lloyd that he will go through the shame once again for his dear friend.

Truth Behind the Mask
The truth about Lloyd is revealed in the Vanguards headquarters, where Emil, Marta, Tenebrae and Zelos find two Lloyds fighting each other. When they see the group, the fake Lloyd tells them about his trust in them, and how justice will help them. It is revealed that the one who caused the Blood Purge in Palmacosta and attacked Flanoir was in fact Decus, who uses Solum's core's abilities to shapeshift into Lloyd and give him the blame for all the chaos.

Upon leaving the headquarters after saving Seles, Lloyd turns and commands Emil to give him the Centurions' cores they have collected so far. However, after hearing his old friends, Lloyd leaves on his Rheaird.

Reawakened Memories
Lloyd appears in at the Temple of Lightning seeking the Centurion’s core there. After seeing the party, he runs to the top of the tower. Based if the player was hit by lightning more than ten times Lloyd could up with the core, if the player gets the core before Lloyd he will not appear. If the player is to late and Lloyd gets the core Ratatosk will try to attack Lloyd, but Lloyd will tell him not to and this will cause Emil to get attacked by all the lightning in the tower, then causes Lloyd to leave while the party faces the boss battle.

Eternal Bond
It is not until the invasion in Altamira that Lloyd reappears to save Regal from the Vanguard. After the battle against Brute, Alice helps Decus to escape, but Lloyd follows them, though is confronted by Richter. The latter manages to weaken Lloyd and knock out some others in the party by using the power from the demonic realm. However, when Richter tries to kill Marta and Emil, Lloyd fights him again, and since Richter can not use the demon power for long, he is almost defeated by Lloyd before he manages to escape with Alice.

After this, Lloyd is met at the Lezareno Company's headquarter and apologizes for his weird behavior, and tells Emil to go to the World Tree to talk to the tree's guardian. At the World Tree, Lloyd and Yuan tell the group that all along, Lloyd has been searching for the Centurions' cores by the order of Martel, the spirit of the new World Tree. They explain that they had to stop the Centurions’ cores and Ratatosk from awakening, untill Lloyd decided to try to trust Ratatosk instead. After a long talk about Emil being Ratatosk and who he really is, Lloyd finally joins the team.

After the defeat of Richter and the berserker Emil, both Lloyd and Marta must fight him and either loose or win against him. During the Bad Ending, Lloyd realizes that Emil is not possessed by Ratatosk through the battle, but during the Normal Ending and the Perfect Ending, it is Marta. When the party says goodbye to Emil, Lloyd believes Emil will someday return, so he chooses not to bid Emil farewell and leaves.

Lloyd's soulmate
Before going to the Otherworldly Gate, one sidequest mainly focuses on Lloyd clearing his name. First the party must return to Iselia and listen to Lloyd tell his story of what he did during the past two years. Upon listening, Emil must pick any of the seven party members from the Tales of Symphonia, and that member will be the soulmate Lloyd chose in the original game. Afterward, the party goes to Flainor and triggers a scene where a man who witnessed a Lloyd-looking Decus kill his sister punches Lloyd for revenge. After the scene, Lloyd says that it is his fault for not telling anybody his side of the story, and goes to the balcony to think. When the party goes to the balcony, the person Emil picked will come and talk to Lloyd.

Relationship with Dawn of the New World characters
Emil Castagnier - Although Lloyd views Emil as a threat in the beginning, and Emil hates him for the Blood Purge, he eventually decides to trust that Emil is not like Ratatosk, and protects and supports him just like his other friends. In the end, Lloyd is the only one who does not bid Emil farewell.

Marta Lualdi - Marta is very hostile and distrusting toward Lloyd in the beginning, but eventually trusts him when his reasons for being after her are revealed. In skits, they are seen discussing romance stuff, although Marta is the one misunderstanding Lloyd and thinking they are.

Tenebrae - Tenebrae sometimes makes fun of what people have told about Lloyd; that he is an idiot. But in the last chapter, they seem like they respect each other, and discuss things such as Mithos and the Kharlan War.

Tales of Fandom Vol 2
Lloyd appears in the second volume of Tales of Fandom with the other Tales of Symphonia-characters. He and the rest of the cast find items that make them remember certain things. He tries to talk to Kratos as if they are family, but fails. However, he is curious to hear Kratos’ story, and also defends him when Zelos insults him.

When they meet the other characters from Tales of Phantasia and Tales of the Abyss, he struggles to find out what family name he is going to use when naming his fighting style, since his father's surname is Aurion, while the surname he uses is Irving. When he is separated with Cress Albane from Tales of Phantasia and Luke fon Fabre from Tales of the Abyss, he first sees them as enemies, but when they become friends, they come with some kind of joke which Lloyd does not understand. Later on, they together defeat Efreet, the Summon Spirit of Fire.

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3
Lloyd appears Narikiri Dungeon 3 as a playable character along with the other Tales of Symphonia characters.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Lloyd appears in this game as a playable character. In order to get Lloyd, the player must do a mission that involves looking for him in Hallowed Bastion. When the player and Mormo eventually find him Lloyd accuses them for being spies from Ganser, and fights them in a middle-boss battle. After the battle, Kratos will appear, revealing that it was a test both for the Descenders and for Lloyd. As the heroes succeeded the test, they become official members of Ad Libitum, but Lloyd is furious that Kratos was testing him without telling. He will also report to Kratos that he heard a couple of guards speak about a place called Orphic Maze, and they return to discuss it further.

Lloyd is the only character that has the two-swords ability, and his weapon in this game is the Material Blade, which was a set of weapons given to him by Kratos and Dirk in the original game. The interesting topic is that it does not seem like anybody in the game knows the relationship between Lloyd and Kratos, except Kratos himself. He is most of the times seen talking to Reid from Tales of Eternia since they have things in common, as both their fighting styles are self-made. He is also often talking or arguing with Kratos, and talks about him with the player and Mormo.

Through a Trial Quest, the player can fight Lloyd either alone, with Genis, with Genis and Raine or with Kratos.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Lloyd makes his reappearance in the second Radiant Mythology-game, and is still playable.

Tales of Hearts
Lloyd will make a cameo appearance in Tales of Hearts as a Support Arte the Tales of Hearts-characters can perform, where he will appear and attack enemies, similar to a Summon Spirit when summoned.

Soulcalibur Legends
Lloyd appears in the Nintendo Wii game Soulcalibur Legends as a guest character. His role in the story is significant, as he obtains information on the location of certain pieces of a map that reveals the location of Cervantes' ship. He claims to have traveled to this world because he is searching for Exspheres, and that Soul Edge may be this world's Exsphere. His battle skills include many artes from Tales of Symphonia, such as Grave Blade, Lightning Thrust, and Falcon's Crest.