Tales of the Abyss

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Tales of the Abyss
Developer(s)	Namco Tales Studio
Publisher(s)	JPN Namco NA Namco Bandai
Designer(s)	Makoto Yoshizumi (game producer) Yoshito Higuchi (game director) Kosuke Fujishima (character designer) Motoi Sakuraba (composer) Shinji Tamura (composer) Motoo Fujiwara (composer)
Release date(s)	JPN December 15, 2005 NA October 10, 2006
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: All Ages ESRB: T (Teen) (13+)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	1 DVD

Tales of the Abyss (テイルズ オブ ジ アビス, Teiruzu obu ji Abisu^?) is a console role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco. It was released for the Playstation 2 on 15 December 2005 in Japan, celebrating the Tales series' 10th anniversary. The game is the sixth of the series to arrive in North America, and did so on October 10, 2006. It features the Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System, which most resembles Tales of Symphonia's. The character designs are by manga artist Kosuke Fujishima.

Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Story and setting 1.2 Characters 2 Gameplay 2.1 Battle system 2.2 Features 3 Audio 3.1 Voice actors 3.1.1 Japanese version 3.1.2 English version 4 Reception 4.1 Sales 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Plot

[edit] Story and setting

The game takes place on the world of Auldrant, a planet composed of Fonons: a material energy found in all things. Long ago, a new kind of Fonon was discovered, but great chaos was brought with the finding. By using this newest Seventh Fonons, one could read the future. One such Seventh Fonist, Yulia Jue, put in place a future for the world for thousands of years to come. This prophecy of the future's set path became known as the "Score" and is documented on stone tablets which were 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.

As the game commences, the year is ND 2017. Luke fon Fabre, the son of Duke Fabre of the Kimlasca Kingdom, is 17 years old. He is the Light of the Sacred Flame who is destined to bring prosperity to Kimlasca. But 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 erased all of Luke's memories prior to the event. But one fateful day, a mysterious woman breaks into the mansion and sets off a chain of events that will change the world forever...

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of characters in Tales of the Abyss

The six main playable characters are Luke fon Fabre, the son of a noble from the kingdom of Kimlasca; Tear Grants, a soldier of the Order of Lorelei; Jade Curtiss, a colonel in the military of the Malkuth Empire; Anise Tatlin, a guardian of Fon Master Ion; Guy Cecil, a servant for the House of Fabre and Luke's best friend; and Natalia Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear, Luke's fiancee and princess of the Kimlasca Kingdom. They are accompanied by Mieu, a Cheagle who holds the Sorcerer's Ring.

The primary antagonists are the six God-Generals : Asch the Bloody, Sync the Tempest, Legretta the Quick, Dist the Reaper, Largo the Black Lion, Arietta the Wild, plus in addition their leaders; Van Grants and Grand Maestro Mohs.

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Battle system

The Flex Range Linear Motion Battle System is in real-time and allows characters to run anywhere on the field a la the Star Ocean series. A new feature, "Free Run", is initiated by holding L2, allowing the player character to run in any direction in which the left analog stick is tilted. Upon releasing L2, the character will be fixed on a straight line with the targeted enemy. In this way the game manages to combine the ideas of both the Star Ocean and Tales series.

Characters can learn additional "AD Skills", which can be equipped and unequipped at will, to help them in battles. The game features a large number of these skills, and they are 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.

The game controls are very similar to other Tales games, bearing a large resemblance to Tales of Symphonia battles, 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 command an ally to perform an action. This system, unlike Tales of Legendia's, 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. Other players will still need to adjust to slightly awkward angles, but they are now always on screen.

The game features many skills and spells to unleash upon enemies. A new addition to the system in this department is the "Field of Fonons" (often abbreviated as FOF). Whenever a spell or specific skill is performed, a circle will appear on the ground corresponding to the used element. Once that element has been used enough times, the circle will light up to signify that an FOF change is available. 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 elemental version. Enemies can also use and create these FOF fields.

Tales of the Abyss also sees the return of 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. Enemy boss characters have Mystic Artes as well, such as Sync's Akashic Torment, Arietta's Evil Light, and Legretta's Prism Ballet.

As with other Tales games, characters can also engage in "Over Limit" mode when their green OVL bar is full. This can be filled by completing combos and making critical hits. The player then presses the R2 button to go into Over Limit and, during this time, can perform their Mystic Artes.

[edit] Features

• Grade : Tales of the Abyss has a "grade" system, like most Tales games. 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 you get at the end of the battle; 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, such as carrying over items and getting double the experience per battle.

• Skits : A tradition in the Tales series, skits make another appearance in Tales of the Abyss. In Abyss, a skit is triggered by pressing the select button when a skit title and prompt appears in the bottom-left corner of the screen. 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. The skits in the English version are not voiced.

• 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 into the air, useful for reaching high platforms and ladders. There is also an upgrade to Mieu Fire, dubbed Mieu Fire 2, which has longer range.

• Titles and Costumes : Abyss also features its own set of titles which each character gains through a series of tasks or events. These 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, like playing the Dragon Buster mini-game. 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.

• Cooking : As with past Tales games, 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.

• Sword Dancers : As in Tales of Symphonia, these optional bosses appear at certain parts of the game, and are only available to fight at that time. The Sword Dancers are usually fairly advanced enemies for their point in the game. To be able to fight each successive Sword Dancer, the player must first defeat the previous Sword Dancer. If the player misses the opportunity to fight a Sword Dancer, the succeeding Sword Dancers will not be available.

• Planetary Fonic Arte Catalysts: Tales of the Abyss has an optional weapon-collecting sidequest. The player travels around the world to obtain the six Planetary Fonic Arte Catalysts, then brings them together and fights Gelda Nebilim. The quest is akin to the Devil Arms side quest in Tales of Symphonia.

• 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 character's Mystic Artes. Luke and Tear also received new Mystic Arte extensions. There are many minor monster statistic changes including a reduction to x3.5 in the Unknown Mode's stats multiplier.

[edit] Audio

[edit] Voice actors

[edit] Reception

Overall, reviews for the game have been mostly positive, earning an 80% average on Game Rankings as of February 2007.^[5]

The game has been notably praised for its diverse, interesting cast with IGN particularly placing attention on the game's protagonist and his ensuing character development.^[6] Others likewise praised the game's dialogue and cut-scene direction, although some questioned the overabundance of "skits" which popped up from time to time and the localization team's decision to omit the voice-acting that accompanied the skits in the Japanese version.^[7][8]

Most reviewers praised the battle system, stating that it was an improvement from earlier Tales installments while at the same time noting that it often devolved into "mindless button mashing".^[9] The graphics have received mixed attention. In particular, 1UP.com felt that they were "rough around the edges" and GameSpot pointed out a drop in frame-rate on the world map, along with a generic mix of RPG locales.

Famitsu gave the title a 9 / 9 / 9 / 9 - (36/40) and ranked it at 44. in the Famitsu´s 100 all-time favorite games list.

[edit] Sales

In its first year in Japan, Tales of the Abyss sold 440,225 copies.^[10]

[edit] Trivia

• Many of Anise's dolls are references to characters of other Tales games (Cless Alvein from Tales of Phantasia, Philia Philis from Tales of Destiny, Chat from Tales of Eternia, Reala and Harold Berselius from Tales of Destiny 2, Presea Combatir from Tales of Symphonia), as well as other games published by Namco (KOS-MOS from Xenosaga series, Heihachi Mishima from Tekken series, Valkyrie from The Legend of Valkyrie, the titular character of Wonder Momo and The Prince from Katamari Damacy).
• The S-Flag item originated in the Rally-X series of games.
• The Sephiroth and many of the towns are named after the Sephirot. The Qliphoth refers to the negative reflection or demonic aspect of the Sephirot. Examples include St. Binah (Binah), Chesedonia (Chesed), Grand Chokmah (Hokhmah), and The Isle of Feres (Tiphereth, possibly translated to Japanese into "Tiferesu").
• The cameo battle in the arena is against Reid Hershel (from Tales of Eternia), Philia Philis (from Tales of Destiny), Nanaly Fletch (from Tales of Destiny 2) and Mint Adnade (from Tales of Phantasia). This is the first appearance of Nanaly in the U.S. Additionally, Philia has the last name "Philis" which was the original Japanese name, as opposed to using the US name "Felice". Reid's technique names are also taken straight from the U.S. version of Tales of Eternia (for instance, Kogahazan or Tiger Blade is still spelled as 'Demon Hammer')
• After completing the Tower of Rem and heading to Daath, speak to the replica to the right of the chapel entrance. When spoken to twice he says, "...Zel...os...died..."; this possibly refers to Zelos Wilder from Tales of Symphonia.
• There is a town in the game titled Nam Cobanda Isle (named after Namco Bandai). There are many costumes and props in the area that are throwbacks to older Namco games (such as Pac-Man). There's also a Tales of the Abyss-themed Dragon Buster mini-game. The area was originally called Namcot Island in the Japanese version.
• In the costume room in Nam Cobanda Isle you can see the costumes of Lloyd Irving (from Tales of Symphonia), Meredy (from Tales of Eternia) and Alice. Also displayed are the foot guards of Regal Bryant (also from Tales of Symphonia). Additionally, you can see the costume of Klonoa in the same room as the Tales characters' costumes.
• Jade's belt buckle is a black Pac-Man.
• Lorelei's fonon frequency is π (Pi).
• The most expensive prize in the Keterburg Casino is the Celsius Caliber, which is the name of the hi-ougi combination used by Veigue and Hilda in Tales of Rebirth.
• The names of some Summon Spirits from previous Tales games are used in the dates.
• One of the items that can be obtained by trading items is the Swordian Dymlos, one of the weapon/characters in Tales of Destiny.
• The name Tartarus, is the name of the land of the dead in Roman Mythology. Ironically enough, Jade Curtiss, nicknamed the Necromancer, is the commander of the ship.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Tales of the Abyss website
• Tales of the Abyss at PlayStation.com
• Official Japanese Tales of the Abyss website
• A Japanese Tales of the Abyss Wiki
• The Tales of Wiki - a Wikia of the The Tales of Series

v • d • e Tales series
Main series	Phantasia — Destiny — Eternia — Destiny 2 — Symphonia — Rebirth — Legendia — Abyss — Tempest
Remakes	Phantasia (PS1) — Destiny (PS2)
Tales of the World series	Narikiri Dungeon — Narikiri Dungeon 2 — Summoner's Lineage — Narikiri Dungeon 3 — Radiant Mythology
Tales of Fandom series	Tales of Fandom Vol.1 — Tales of Fandom Vol.2
Other games	Tales of Mobile — Tales of Eternia Online
Animations	Tales of Eternia: The Animation — Tales of Phantasia — Tales of Symphonia: The Animation