Tales of the Abyss

Tales of the Abyss is a console role-playing game for the Sony Playstation 2, developed by Namco Tales Studio, published by Namco in Japan and by Namco Bandai in North America.

Tales of the Abyss follows its predecessors gameplay format, while adding some new features.

Protagonists

 * Luke fon Fabre: A amnesic aristocrat who was confined to his family's manor following a kidnapping seven years ago. One day, he was suddenly spirited away from his home and to a far valley on the other side of the world due to an accidental hyperresonance when Tear Grants attempted to assassinate his swordmaster Van. With little experience with regards to life outside the palace and normal human relationships, Luke is suddenly forced to find his way back home, and, after he finds himself involved in a far larger struggle, results in his transformation from a spoiled child into a selfless hero.


 * Tear Grants: A Seventh Fonist who promised to bring Luke back to his manor after accidentally transporting him into Malkuth territory following her failed attempt at assassinating Van. Her parents were killed when she was very young, and ever since she has been raised as a soldier by the Order of Lorelei. She is later revealed to be the younger sister of Van Grants, her true name being Mystearica Aura Fende.


 * Guy Cecil: Luke fon Fabre's childhood friend and a servant of the Fabre household, Guy departed in search of Luke following his disappearance, eventually finding Luke cooperating with the Malkuth military after being ambushed by the Oracle Knights. It is later revealed that Guy is really the last remaining member of the House of Gardios, and is, therefore, both a Malkuth aristocrat and the rightful governor of the Isle of Hod. His original purpose in joining the Fabre household was his desire for revenge against the duke, who slaughtered his family. Guy fights in the Sigmund style, which is unique to Hod, and is an altered version of Luke's Albert style, and which emphasises speed over power.


 * Jade Curtiss: A colonel in the Malkuth Empire's military who travels the land in a dreadnought called the Tartarus, Jade first encounters Luke in the Grocer's Hamlet, Engeve, while escorting Fon Master Ion, whom he rescues, alongside Tear and Luke, from the Liger Queen. His mastery of fonic artes is renowned throughout Auldrant, and many soldiers fear his reputation as "Jade the Necromancer," a somewhat erroneous title stemming from the thought that he collected corpses after each battle to reanimate for use as his own troops. Jade is also known as the "Father of Fomicry" and, in his childhood, in addition to developing the basis of the technology, studied under Professor Gelda Nebilim Neblim before he attempted to use the Seventh Fonon. As he is not normally capable of wielding its power, it quickly escaped his control and starting a fire, badly injuring the professor and destroying her home. As she lay on the brink of death, Jade attempted to create a replica, though it became unstable for a lack of first and sixth fonons, leading it to kill several nearby fonists before being sealed away by the Malkuth military.  It is later revealed that, in addition to his sister Nephry Osborne, Jade counted both Saphir Gneiss and the future Emperor Peony among his childhood friends.


 * Anise Tatlin: A Fon Master Guardian who's family was once stricken by massive debt due to the wanton actions of her gullible father Oliver and trusting mother Pamela, Anise, alongside her parents, are effectively the indentured servants of Grand Maestro Mohs, to whom Anise is shown to be grudgingly loyal so long as he holds her parents under his power. She feels that it is her duty to marry into wealth in order to relieve the burden of her parents' debt, at first targeting Luke as her future wife, though he responds to her as though she were nothing more than a child, though she is too young, by the laws of the order, to marry.  Anise is originally portrayed as being quite greedy, although this image is somewhat-altered when the dire financial status of her parents is discovered, and which, with the removal and later death of the Grand Maestro, is effectively erased, after which her focus shifts from marrying Luke to reforming the Order of Lorelei and becoming its first female Fon Master.


 * Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear: The bow-wielding princess of the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, Natalia is engaged to Luke and the two are to be wed once he reaches the age of 20, though Luke himself does not appear to be delighted by the thought, and is often shown to be rude to his cousin, after whom he is third in the line of succession. It is later revealed that Natalia is not the true princess Natalia, who was stillborn, but is rather the daughter of Badaq and Sylvia, and was given the name Meryl by her true parents. Although his advisers originally push for Natalia to be executed for the crime of impersonating royalty, king Ingobert VI, after a great deal of uncertainty on the subject, decides that, regardless of her lineage, he will accept Natalia as his daughter and heiress.  Although she is shown to possess a genuine concern for her biological father, Natalia kills him with an arrow after he is fought in the Absorption Gate.


 * Asch the Bloody: A mysterious God-General who looks exactly like Luke. It is later revealed that Asch was the original Luke and that the person who has come to be known as Luke is his replica, thereby accounting for his supposed amnesia and possessing an entirely different personality. This invokes mixed feelings among Luke's companions, who feel that they should be loyal to the original Luke. Asch refuses to take the name "Luke," however, saying that he is no longer that person, and all of Luke's friends return to him.


 * Mieu: A young Cheagle who was exiled from his tribe after almost bringing destruction to the forest in which they live after accidentally setting the part fo the forest inhabited by ligers ablaze, after which the cheagles were forced to gather food for the displaced monsters, turning toward Engeve as the nearest source of food. As his punishment, he is to go travel with Luke and to act as his servant, after which he is often abused by Luke, by whom he is addressed as "Thing" even after his great shift in disposition, even going so far as to say "you are a thing" after apologising for calling him so. Around his stomach, he wears the Sorcerer's Ring, an item given to the Cheagles by Yulia Jue, which both allows him to speak human language and to shoot fire from his mouth initially, and later to break various items such as rocks, and even fly for a brief span of time.


 * Fon Master Ion: The young leader of the Order of Lorelei, Ion appears to be a rather sickly boy who is capable of unleashing immense power in short bursts, after which he is often shown to be entirely drained. He is one of few people alive capable of using Daathic fonic artes, though his weak constitution is later revealed to have been caused by the fact that he is not the true Ion, but rather a replica of the original Fon Master who died of an unnamed illness years ago.  Although seven replicas were made in total, only three -- Ion, Sync and Florian are known to have survived -- with "Ion" himself possessing the powers nearest to the original fon master, Sync being able to use Daathic fonic arts but lacking the power to read the score and Florian able to read the score, but not apparently able to do anything else.

Antagonist

 * Van Grants: The commandant of the Oracle Knights and Luke's mentor who plans to destroy Auldrant along with it's inhabitants and create a replica of the planet. Van is a powerful swordsman who also uses fonic artes in battle. His real name is Vandesdelca Musto Fende and he is the elder brother to Tear Grants.


 * Dist the Reaper: One of the six God Generals that serve the Order of Lorelei. An effeminate fon tech expert, Dist uses machines to fight in his stead. He is the one who made Anise's Tokunaga in return for being nice to him once. He also studied with Jade under Professor Neblim. even though Jade's replica failed, Dist still strives to bring back Professor Neblim.


 * Largo the Black Lion: One of the six God Generals that serve the Order of Lorelei. Largo is a massive man with incredible strength who wears heavy armor and wields a scythe.Later in the game it is realized that he is Natalia's father Badaq.


 * Arietta the Wild: One of the six God Generals that serve the Order of Lorelei. Arietta is a young girl who was orphaned at a young age and adopted by a family of ligers. The party's first boss battle, Liger Queen, is the Liger that adopted her. After the Queen's defeat, Arietta swears vengence on the party. She also has a grudge against Anise for the fact that, when Anise joined as a Fon Master Guardian, she was replaced. Arietta was fired, not because of Anise, but because she had guarded the real Ion and, following his replacement, she would recognize the imposter. She fights with magic and can understand animal languages. Ballet is what Tony does.


 * Legretta the Quick: One of the six God Generals that serve the Order of Lorelei. Legretta is a sharpshooter who wields two small handguns. When Tear was still in training, she was taught directly by Legretta, whom she admired. Legretta believes that too many people's lives are ruled by the Score, and that each person should have free will.


 * Sync the Tempest: One of the six God Generals that serve the Order of Lorelei. Sync is fast-footed martial artist who wears a distinctive mask to cover his face so that people will not recognize him as a replica of Ion. He hates the score because it predicted his own birth as a replica

Story
Tales of the Abyss takes place on Auldrant, a planet composed of elementary particles called Fonons. For much of Auldrant's history, only six fonons were known to exist, representing the elements of Shadow, Earth, Wind, Water, Fire and Light; but eventually a seventh fonon, controlling Sound, is discovered. Its discovery brings great chaos: using this newest Seventh Fonon allows one to read the future. One such Seventh Fonist, Yulia Jue, puts in place a future for the world for thousands of years to come, with the promise of unlimited prosperity at its end. This prophecy of the future's set path becomes known as the "Score" and is documented on "Fonstones" scattered throughout the world. The nations of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and Malkuth have fought over the fragments of these tablets for generations, each uncovering them and hoping to discover the future before the other. Meanwhile, a holy order emerges dedicated to the reading of the Score and the keeping of the peace. This "Order of Lorelei" is headed by a Fon Master and maintains both religious/political and military branches. Finally, the Score and its promise of prosperity lead to a dangerous complacency within the general population of Auldrant; the slaughter of an entire people living on the island of Hod and the destruction of that landmass are countenanced because it was predicted in the Score.

Luke Fon Fabre, the young son of Duke Fabre of the Kimlasca Kingdom is the Light of the Sacred Flame, the scion of Lorelei's power, destined to bring prosperity to Kimlasca. Since being kidnapped seven years ago by the Malkuth Empire, he has been kept confined to the Fabre family mansion. The shock of the kidnapping has erased all of Luke's memories prior to the event. One fateful day, a mysterious woman breaks into the mansion and sets off a chain of events that drag Luke into the center of a massive conflict between those who would do anything to see the Score carried out, and those who would see it broken forever.

Theme Song
The game's Japanese theme song is Karma, performed by BUMP OF CHICKEN and played during the game's opening sequence. Its lyrics/vocals were removed for the American release however, and the voice was replaced by electric guitars. A few background musics such as "Mirrors" and "Meaning of Birth" are based on this melody.

Battle System
The game's "Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System" (FR-LMBS) is real-time. The game controls are very similar to other Tales games, especially Tales of Symphonia, except with increased maneuverability. The player can attack, defend, perform a skill or call up a menu with multiple functions, such as using items or commanding an ally to perform an action. This system offers multiplayer co-op battles, and the camera for this mode is improved over the one found in Tales of Symphonia, zooming out as characters move away from each other so that other players are now always on screen. A new feature, "Free Run," allows the player character to run in any direction, unlike previous Tales games. The game features many skills and spells to unleash upon enemies. Characters can learn "AD Skills," which can be equipped and unequipped at will, to help them in battles. The game features a large number of these skills, acquired through the use of "Capacity Cores" — items that give stat bonuses when a character levels up. Once a certain statistic has a large enough bonus, the AD skill is learned automatically. A new addition to the system is the "Field of Fonons" (often abbreviated as FOF). Whenever a character uses a spell or battle technique that features an elemental alignment, a circle will appear on the ground, corresponding to that element. After being reinforced with more techniques of the same element, the circle will light up in that element's color to signify that an FOF change is available. Finally, if a character stands in the circle and performs a specific skill that corresponds with the FOF circle, the skill will be upgraded into a more powerful version. Enemies can also use and create FOF fields. As with other Tales games, characters can engage in "Over Limit" mode when their green OVL bar is full. This can be filled by completing combos and making critical hits. During Over Limit, characters can use their Mystic Artes (Hi-Ougis), powerful skills that can only be performed when certain conditions are fulfilled. Every character has one standard Mystic Arte, along with an additional hidden one unlockable only on repeat plays. Enemy boss characters have Mystic Artes as well.

Recurring features
Many recurring features in the Tales series return, such as skits, grade, cooking, and titles. Skits are short conversations that may be viewed when prompted. During a skit, anime-style faces of the characters taking part in the skit appear and interact with each other. The characters in skits are animated, sometimes shaking, growing larger, or moving across the screen to accentuate what is happening in the skit. Skits can range from dramatic to comedic, and address a wide range of subjects. Some skits are related to the main plot, and some can only be obtained through optional side events. Unlike the Japanese version, the skits in the English version are not voiced. "Grade" is awarded after each battle, either raising or lowering the player's total number of points depending on how the battle was played. For example, defeating the enemies within a short period or time or getting a large combo will increase the grade awarded; characters being killed or having negative status effects on them will lower the grade acquired. At the end of the game, players can purchase bonuses for the next playthrough. Abyss also features a cooking system. The player collects recipes and ingredients throughout the game, and can use them to cook. Different recipes require different items and have different effects. The player can increase characters' cooking stats for each recipe by having them cook the recipe frequently. Abyss features titles which each character gains through a series of tasks or events. Titles have various effects, some of which are stat-related. In the tradition of newer Tales games, some of these titles also change costumes. Each character has unique costumes; to acquire additional costumes, the player must accomplish certain tasks. Unlike other Tales games, every title in Tales of the Abyss carries a special effect, varying from discounts in shops to recovering small amounts of HP periodically.

Sorcerer's ring
The sorcerer's ring in Tales of the Abyss is a magical item that Mieu wears around his waist, and can be upgraded by the power of concentrated Fonons in certain dungeons to perform different helpful actions. These include Mieu Fire, where Mieu blows a ball of fire straight forward, used to activate switches and solve various puzzles; Mieu Attack, where Mieu is propelled forward to break objects and hit switches; and Mieu Wings, where Mieu flaps his ears and lifts the player characters into the air, useful for reaching high platforms and ladders.

Game economy
Various plot events alter the game's economy, changing prices and item availability in shops; for instance, a shortage in the farming town of Engeve causes food prices to skyrocket, while the outbreak of war leads to a high variety equipment being sold at premium rates—though, conversely, higher profits when selling old gear. Furthermore, the player's actions may alter the prices or even the availability of items available for sale.

North America Exclusives
Most Tales games have been mere localizations, but the North American version of Tales of the Abyss received extra features that are not present in the Japanese version. Guy, Natalia, Van and others gained new Mystic Artes; in addition to receiving a new Mystic Arte herself, Nebilim also gained the use of some of the playable characters' Mystic Artes. Luke and Tear also received new Mystic Arte extensions. There are many minor monster statistic changes as well.

Anime
Tales of the Abyss: The Animation is a 26 episode-long anime inspired by the game. The opening theme is Karma by BUMP OF CHICKEN and its ending theme is Bouken Suisei by Kurumi Enomoto. Unlike the U.S. localization of the game, the opening for the anime is not just instrumental.