Tales of Rebirth

Tales of Rebirth (テイルズ オブ リバース) is the sixth main title in the Tales series, released on the PlayStation 2 and later ported to the PlayStation Portable. The character artwork and designs of this game are designed by Mutsumi Inomata, and the music is composed by Motoi Sakuraba. The game's characteristic genre translates to "Where You Will Be Reborn RPG" (君が生まれ変わるRPG).

Story
Tales of Rebirth is set in a world where humans, called Huma, and Gajuma, beast people, coexist in relative peace. In ancient times, both races joined forces to found the Kingdom of Karegia. At the age of 60, the Gajuma king, Ladras Lindblum, who has wisely governed the kingdom for years, gradually weakens and dies a mysterious death. On the day of his death, chaos breaks out in the kingdom, and since then, people refer to this day as the "Setting Sun of Ladras". His daughter, Agarte Lindblum, the only remaining blood relative and heir to the throne, is being advised by Zilva Madigan. The latter is often referred to as the princess due to her close ties to the imperial family. Veigue Lungberg lives in a village, Sulz, located in the cold, yet beautiful northern region. While he has never thought about leaving the village, he begins pondering this option after his familiar surroundings, including his friend Claire Bennett and himself, come under attack. Force, a power of an element or something other that a person may possess, once only belonged to Gajuma, but Huma are now able to use it, sometimes resulting in the inability to control it.

Protagonists
Veigue Lungberg (ヴェイグ・リュングベル) - The 18-year-old protagonist, Veigue wields a broadsword and possesses the Force of Ice. An orphan whose parents died when he was young, Veigue was raised in the village of Sulz by Claire's family. Veigue is cold, unsociable, and withdrawn, but when he is with Claire, he softens. Throughout the story, he becomes more open to other people, especially his allies. Due to his Force going out of control in the beginning of the story, resulting in Claire being encased in ice, he concerns himself with her safety at all times.

Claire Bennett (クレア・ベネット) - Claire is the 17-year-old heroine of the story. Her family took Veigue in when he was a child. She has rarely left her village of Sulz, but she is taken forcefully from her home at the start of the story, prompting Veigue to chase after her. Her focus on the positive traits of others, good heart, and optimism have earned her respect and admiration in the local community. Prior to the events of the story, she is encased in ice by Veigue when his Force goes out of control. After being freed, she becomes a pivotal character in the story. At some points in the story, Claire's point of view is shown during scenarios collectively known as "Claire Side". During these short portions, the player can control Claire in her current setting, although there are no battles.

Mao (マオ) - Mao is a Huma boy possessing the Force of Flame, who has no memory of his childhood. Traveling with the imposing Gajuma warrior, Eugene Gallardo, who he sees as a father figure, the two encounter Veigue guarding Claire's ice prison and invite him on their journey. Wise for his age, Mao usually imparts advice and knowledge of Force-related subjects at the beginning of the story. Throughout the story, he provides a cheery and child-like manner, often using humor to lighten the mood.

Eugene Gallardo (ユージーン・ガラルド) - A powerful 40-year-old spear-wielding Gajuma warrior with the Force of Steel, Eugene travels with Mao. He is revealed early on to be the ex-commander of the royal army, although his situation behind leaving is a mystery to many. His past in revealed slowly through the story and is tied into that of Annie's. Known throughout the kingdom as a respected and strong commander, he is revered by many he comes across.

Annie Barrs (アニー・バース) - A 15-year-old girl with the Force of Rain. Annie is introduced a short way into the story as a girl who has a strong dislike of Gajuma. This hatred is explained as the story continues and is tied into Eugene's past. Her father was a doctor, and she is very knowledgeable on the practice. Starting out as an enemy of the group, she eventually joins them.

Tytree Crowe (ティトレイ・クロウ) - A 17 year-old worker in Petnadjanka with the Force of Wood. Tytree cares deeply for his big sister and has big ideals of racial equality, unable to understand those who are against either race. The group initially meets Tytree as his Force is going out of control and has overtaken the Petnadjanka factory with vines and plants. After the ensuing battle, however, he joins the party. Throughout the story, he develops a close friendship with Veigue.

Hilda Rhambling (ヒルダ・ランブリング) - A beautiful but cold 21-year-old fortune teller, Hilda possesses the Force of Lightning. Initially encountering the party as an enemy, a member of the Royal Shield in fact, she fights them twice. After being abandoned by the army, however, she joins the party. Revealed to be a Half, with both Huma and Gajuma blood, she has developed a strong hatred for both the societies that have shunned her, as well as her own heritage, going so far as to cut off half of her own horns. She hides her horns and ears with a hat. Cold and logical, she provides a keen insight as the group continues their journey. She had a close friendship with fellow Half Militsa of the Royal Shield.

Agarte Lindblum (アガーテ・リンドブロム) - Daughter of Ladras, she is the heir to the throne by blood. She is in love with her general, Milhaust Selkirk, but due to their racial difference, she sought a Huma body to be finally on an equal terms to love him. She possesses the Force of Moon, which can be used to swap bodies.

Milhaust Selkirk (ミルハウスト・セルカーク) - The main general of the Karegia army and formerly a good friend of Eugene. Milhaust loyally serves the Karegia Kingdom, and although antagonistic, he is a man of honor and cares for the future of the country, thus encounters with Veigue rarely go confrontational.

Antagonists
Zilva Madigan (ジルバ・マヂィガン) - Agarte's adviser who also possesses the Force of Moon. She harbors an extreme dislike toward Huma and would like nothing but their extermination. For this, she manipulates Agarte and controls many things, such as Eugene's fall from grace.

Saleh (サレ) - One of the Four Stars, Saleh is a twisted Huma who takes delight in the suffering of other people, especially Veigue and the rest of the group. He possesses the Force of Storm.

Tohma (トーマ) - One of the Four Stars, Tohma is a Gajuma who possesses the Force of Magnet. Tohma is Saleh's partner and has an extreme prejudice on Huma in general. Physically powerful, he is also an expert manipulator, as he is mostly responsible in manipulating Hilda. He is very loyal to Zilva and her views on a world without Huma.

Walto (ワルトゥ) - One of the Four Stars, Walto is a Gajuma who possesses the Force of Sound, which is used to control the waves of a person's brain, enabling him to control people. Despite his potentially evil power, Walto is a good friend of Eugene and is a honorable man who only fights for the good of Karegia Kingdom.

Militsa (ミリッツァ) - One of the Four Stars, Militsa is a Half and quite possibly Hilda's only friend, Militsa takes pride in her Half heritage, but believes that the Four Stars is the only place where Halves can be accepted, thanks to Tohma's manipulation. She possesses the Force of Rainbow, which allows her create copies of herself.

Yuris (ユリス) - A being of negative emotions created by the negative emotions of both the Huma and Gajuma. When left unchecked, it is capable of destroying the world.

Battle System
Tales of Rebirth breaks slightly from the series with a new take on the Linear Motion Battle System, the so-called "Three-Line Linear Motion" system. The player's characters and enemies are placed on three different planes, and the player has the ability to switch between these planes during battle. This system makes pre-battle positioning of party members on the three different planes critical to success. Two possible options are to place party members on different lines or to stack all characters on the same line, which makes battles more closely resemble those of previous Tales games that, in effect, only had one line or plane. Also, a new "Force Gauge" replaces the Technical Points, or TP, of the previous games. Tales of Rebirth allows the player to assign four skills to the four buttons on the directional pad. In battle, skills have a recovery time that is directly related to the strength of the skill. The Force Gauge is a set of four diamond-shaped marks near the character's portrait in battle, where each diamond corresponds to the recovery time remaining on each of the skills assigned to the four-way directional pad.

The new "Rush Gauge", which measures a character's emotional levels during battle, is located in the lower left corner of the screen during combat. As the gauge fills up during battle, a character's offensive power will increase at the cost of decreased defense. The battle system also includes unique "Secret Justice" moves, extremely powerful combination attacks triggered by an attacking character and a supporting character. Due to the power of these techniques, they can only be performed under very specific conditions.

Equipment Enhancement
Another innovative feature added to Tales of Rebirth to improve the Linear Motion Battle System is styled "Enhance". After victory in battle, the player will receive "Enhance Points" (EP) that can be used to improve weapons and armor. EP can be used to improve basic parameters of equipment, such as attack and defense, and unlock latent added effects. Some of these added effects include double damage and protection against status effects. Finally, enhanced features from one piece of equipment, such as a weapon, can be transferred to another weapon.

Tales of Rebirth (PlayStation Portable)
Like Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Destiny 2, Tales of Rebirth was ported February 15, 2007 for the PlayStation Portable.

Changes

 * Once the player reaches a certain point in the game, an arena is added to the gymnasium in Minal.
 * An Illustration Book was added.
 * Additional cut-ins for Fusionic Force Finalities (秘奥義) were added.
 * More events were added.
 * An additional difficulty level called "GOD", which is higher than the "UNKNOWN" level, which is the highest in the PlayStation 2 version) of the game, was added.
 * Apple Gummies can be purchased at stores.
 * The walking speed in dungeons and towns was increased.
 * Suspend data is retained even after loading it.
 * New items were added to the Grade Shop.
 * The BGM that plays while riding on Shaorune was shortened.

Pre-order Bonuses
A drama DVD entitled Dramatic DVD: Peach Pie Chapter (ドラマチックDVD ピーチパイ篇) was the pre-order bonus for the port. It contained the chat drama Tales of Rebirth: Re-Birthday Celebration Chapter (〜テイルズ オブ リバース再誕記念篇〜); interviews with voice actors of Veigue, Mao, Eugene, Tytree, Milhaust, and Saleh; and the actual recipe and ingredients for Aunt Popura's peach pie, among other things.

The chat drama is a conversation between the characters themed after the PlayStation Portable port of the game. It begins three years after the original release of Tales of Rebirth. Mao, Eugene, and Tytree go to find Veigue, who has, for some reason, put himself into a cold sleep with his Force powers, to tell him about the PlayStation Portable port of Tales of Rebirth. Since he has been in a cryogenic state for the last three years, Veigue does not know what the world is like now, and the main topic moves on to him learning about the additional features added in the PlayStation Portable version.

Original Soundtrack
Tales of Rebirth Original Soundtrack
 * Four discs.
 * Catalog: KICA-1353~6.
 * All songs composed by Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura.

Novelization

 * Tales of Rebirth - Written by Shou Yuuki, illustrated by Mutsumi Inomata and Tokuyuki Matsutake. Three volumes total, published by Super Dash Bunko. This novelization generally follows the story from the game, but certain events are re-imagined, which causes certain plot points to be changed. In addition, in following with the publisher's word usage guidelines, the term used for children of a Huma and a Gajuma is not "Half", but rather, "mixed blood".
 * Tales of Rebirth 1: The World of the Setting Sun (ISBN 4-08-630228-4)
 * Tales of Rebirth 2: The Holy King and the Two Souls (ISBN 4-08-630229-2)
 * Tales of Rebirth 3: Rebirth (ISBN 4-08-630233-0)


 * Tales of Rebirth - Written by Sara Yajima, illustrated by Mutsumi Inomata. 5 volumes total, published by Famitsu Bunko.
 * Tales of Rebirth Chapter 1: The Moment of the Setting Sun, Part 1 (ISBN 4-7577-2172-2)
 * Tales of Rebirth Chapter 1: The Moment of the Setting Sun, Part 2 (ISBN 4-7577-2253-2)
 * Tales of Rebirth Chapter 2: False Rebirth, Part 1 (ISBN 4-7577-2360-1)
 * Tales of Rebirth Chapter 2: False Rebirth, Part 2 (ISBN 4-7577-2434-9)
 * Tales of Rebirth Chapter 3: A New Age (ISBN 4-7577-2511-6)

Drama CDs

 * Tales of Rebirth Volume 1: Agarte and Claire
 * Tales of Rebirth Volume 2: Searching for Holy Power
 * Tales of Rebirth Volume 3: Chain of Hatred
 * Tales of Rebirth Volume 4: The Reborn World

Trivia

 * The story of Tales of Rebirth dives into issues of racism, which was the result of the work of Masaki Hiramatsu, who wrote most of the main scenario. He cites his trip to Yugoslavia, where ethnic strife is prominent, as an inspiration for the story.