Skits

Skits are short scenes that occur either at random or by certain triggers. First, appearing in Tales of Destiny, skits have been a staple of the series. For North American localizations, voice overs were cut from skits.

Tales of Destiny Skits
Skits in this game are triggered by standing still on the world map.

Tales of Phantasia (Playstation) Skits
Simmilarly to Tales of Destiny, skits in this game are activated by pressing the Select button on the world map. When a skit is triggered, the music volume is reduced considerably and portraits of the party appear on screen. As they chat, the portraits change to reflect their emotion.

Tales of Symphonia Skits
Commonly known as Z-Skits, since on the original Gamecube version, they are activated by pressing the Z button. Certain conversations can grant character titles, or change the affection between Lloyd and his friends.

Tales of the Abyss Skits
In Tales of the Abyss, skits are activated by pressing the Select button. They are presented in a simmilar style to the skits in Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Symphonia.

Tales of the Tempest Skits
Skits in Tales of the Tempest are quite a bit different when compared to the ones in previous games. For instance, to trigger one, the player must use a "Tent" item rather than simply pressing a button. No faces appear on the screen when characters are talking, and the party is instead shown sitting around a campfire with no changes in facial expression to back up their mood. Due to the limited amount of space available on a DS card, the skits are not voiced.