Tales of the Abyss, Last Update: June 30

Released on December 15, 2005 in Japan. December 15 marks the date in which Phantasia was released in Japan, making it a perfect 15th anniversary game. This game was annonced to be released by at least winter season for North America.

Sypnosis
Some 2000 years ago, man discovered the 7th Fonim. Properly known as Star Memory. It is said that everything of the planet Oldrant, is in Star Memory. The birth, the events, all the way to it's death. Two countries: the Kimuelasca Kingdom and the Markt Empire fought over this artifact. The war resulted in chaos across the planet Oldrant and a poison called the "Shouki" was spread over the world.

A 7th Fonimar came forth known as Yuria. She was able to read the Star Memory and looked for a way to save the world by sealing the Shouki. She became a savior and her teachings were known as Yuria's Score. Or what became the new Star Memory of Oldrant. People obediently follow the teachings as it was thought that Yuria's Score led to prosperity.

Kimuelasca and Markt come under a truce and both follow the teachings of Yuria. Yuria's church came into form as the Lorelei Church. The army division of Lorelei Church are known as the Oracle Knights. They are led by the Rokujinshou, who are led by Daishi Mose and Lorelei Commander Van Grants.


Characters

Luke Fone Fabre
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Weapon: Sword
The son of Duke Fabre from Kimuelasca. He is a rich noble who has never experienced the outside world. Long ago he was captured by the Markt Kingdom. When he got rescued, he apparently lost his memories and started to hear voices ever since. Ever since he was living in his house, never allowed to leave it. During this time, Van, his teacher, taught him the way of the sword.

Tear Grants
Gender: Female
Age: 16
Weapon: Staff
A soldier of the Lorelei Church. She uses healing magic and light magic. She can also use Tone Songs. Apparently, these songs are not normally supposed to be effective but because she is a descendant of Yuria, who made the Tone Songs, they have a strong effect. Tear tends to adore cute things.

Jade Curtiss
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Weapon: Lance
An admiral ranked officer of the Markt Empire. He is alternatively known as Emperor Peony's right hand man. This mysterious man is a secret because he smiles a lot but always keeps his cool. Foes and allies alike cannot read his mind. Jade is alternatively known as Necromancer Jade.

Anise Tatlin
Gender: Female
Age: 13
Weapon: Tokunaga (Doll)
A young energetic girl. She happens to be the Fone Master Guardian of Ion. She appreciates money a lot and ever since she found out about Luke being a rich noble, she has been trying to win his love.

Guy Cecil
Gender: Male
Age: 21
Weapon: Sword
A swordsman who works under Duke Fabre. He was hired to watch and protect Luke. Because of this, he has become a close friend of Luke and like a brother to him. For some reason, he is afraid of women.

Natalia Luzu Kimuelasca Lanvaldear
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Weapon: Bow & Arrow
She is the princess of Kimuelasca. She has a lot of pride but she also doesn't think when it comes to helping people in need. She dislikes the way Luke treats the poor and common people. She is Luke's childhood friend and fiancee.

Mieu
Gender: ?
Age: ?
An animal known as the Cheegle. Cheegles are considered to be sacred animals of the Lorelei Church. Cheegles usually live in groups in a forest, not bothering anyone or anything. Mieu is a very loyal and obedient Cheegle and is always in a good mood.

Ion
Gender: Male
Age: 14
The highest ranking monk of the Lorelei Church. Ion is a kind person who seeks peace for the world. He is the reason that Kimuelasca and Markt are not at war. Because of this, he is called the Symbol of Peace. His rank is the Doushi. A Doushi, as said before, is the highest ranking monk or person of the entire Lorelei Church. They also powers of the 7th Fonim to read scores and such. Much to Ion's dismay, the people in Oldrant are obsessed with the Score.

Van Grants
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Weapon: Sword
Commander of the Oracle Knights, he is Luke's teacher. He is also Tear's brother. Like Tear, he is calm headed and rational. He is a master swordsman and apparently, Luke's favorite person.

"Freshblood" Asch
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Weapon: Sword
One of the 6 subleaders of the Oracle Knights known as the Rokujinshou. He is alternatively known as "Freshblood" Asch for his quick skill in killing. He is an arrogant, fearless, confident person of anger. He detests p assive people but he is an excellent swordsman. He can also use magic.

"Deathgod" Dist
Gender: Male
Age: 30s
Weapon: Robots
The intelligent of the Rokujinshou. He is a man who sits on a floating chair he invented. He studies the fonim to control inanimate objects. This guy is so full of himself that he calls himself Dist of the Rose.

"Mysterious Beast" Arietta
Gender: Female
Age: 13
Weapon: Doll
A shy looking girl who looks frail. She is a one of the Rokujinshou. She specializes in dark magic and supportive magic. She also has the power of the Raiga behind her. Raigas are strong big animals. She is Ion's former Fone Master Guardian.

Sink "The Gale"
Gender: Male
Age: 14
Weapon: Hand to hand combat
A masked speedy Rokujinshou. Sink is a self concealed person who proves a major threat to the party. A martial artist who is a master of quick moves. His skill in magic is suprisingly good.

Regret "The Magic Bullet"
Gender: Female
Age: Late 20s
Weapon: Tone Guns
A cool headed women. She is Tear's teacher. Regret is one of the Rokujinshou as well. She uses Tone Guns and magic. Hence, why she is called the Magic Bullet. She is also Van's right hand woman.

Largo "The Black Lion"
Gender: Male
Age: 40s
Weapon: Scythe
A large powerful man. His great strength allows him to wield a large scythe as it was nothing. He is the strongest Rokujinshou and specializes in hand to hand combat.


Frequently Asked Questions

Will it come out in the U.S?
Yes! Sheesh, this news should be world famous by now with all the Symphonian fans. We do not know the release date so don't go pestering anybody about it. And if you're looking at 1UP, that's not a reliable game site. Please be aware that some gamesites will make up false release dates just to 'estimate' the real one. This game should be released by Fall.

Will this be multiplayer?
Yes. It is in fact, 4 players. You will need a multi-tap to play up to 4 players. Without it, you can only get 2 players into the game. And yes, you can get 2 human controlled players in at the beginning of the game without the Technical Ring. You'll be playing in Semi-Auto though until after you defeat the Raiga Queen.

Will this have T or S?
No. Only Symphonia had the T and S branching system where you only learn half of the character's whole skills/spells list. In this game, you learn them all.

What system is this for?
It's for the PS2.

What!? Why the PS2!? ToS was on the Gamecube!
If you're asking this question, then you're a newbie who only played Tales of Symphonia. We don't blame you for that. Please be aware that most Tales games have been released on the Sony system. When Symphonia came out in Japan on the Gamecube, Tales fans were disapointed because most of them have a PS2. That is why Namco remade Symphonia on the PS2, making the fans happy with extra additional stuff on the PS2 version. Yes, we know Phantasia was released on the SNES and GBA but the SNES was the first. The GBA was a remake. And Phantasia was made on the PSX after Tales of Destiny. And plus, the rest of the major Tales games were made on Sony systems. If you don't like Abyss being on the PS2 then too bad, get a PS2.

I hear there's going to be exclusive stuff on the ENG version. Is that true?
Yes, it was announced that the english version will have exclusive addons. I theoriize that the addons will mainly be new Hi Ougis. Why? There were many Hi Ougis that didn't make it to the JPN version because of the due date of December 15. That is the anniversary date of the first ever Tales game. They wanted to meet that date to make it symbolic. That is why some pictures and what-not were cut off and we only get to see pictures of the unused Hi Ougis. So, it is a high chance we will get new Hi Ougis, costumes and other stuff.

How do I get Manual? Switch between characters in battle and choose who I want to use in the overworld map?
To be able to use Manual you will need the Technical Ring. Do not worry, you will get this automatically shortly after defeating your first boss in the game in Cheegle Forest. To choose who your onscreen character is, you will need an S Flag. This is found in Cheegle Forest, just search the whole place. It isn't that hard to find. As for switching between characters between battle you need a Moon Selector. You get this when Natalia joins your party supposedly.

Is Tales of the Abyss related to any Tales games?
No. Abyss is set in a different timeline, world and universe than all the rest of the Tales games. Most Tales games have no connection to each other at all. The only ones that to is Phantasia - Symphonia and Destiny - Destiny 2. Abyss is not related to anything. The only connection there is the Boss known as Nebilim. You may hear of her when during the Abyssion sidequest from Symphonia, but please note that this is a reference, not a connection.

Is [character] the same as [character] from Symphonia?
Most or all characters are different than the ones from Symphonia. Luke uses hand to hand combat and sword skills. Tear is a hybrid of Colette's Angelic Songs and Raine's healing magic as well as her own skills. Jade is decent in hand to hand combat backed up with great magic that surpasses Genis. Anise has both unfamiliar moves from Symphonia as well as dark magic from past Tales series. Guy has more traditional skills and high speed while Natalia is an archer and a healer.

Can multiple spells be casted on the battlefield at the same time unlike ToS?
Yes. Unlike Symphonia, if you casted a Mid or Advanced Spell in Symphonia you can't cast another Mid or Advanced Spell until the animation of the casted spell is completed. In Abyss, there is no limit. You can even cast three FoF spells at the same time if you wanted. Or 4! Same goes for enemies though.

Anymore questions? I'll leave this open for more questions. I may even add them to this post if it is needed.

Why isn't there a Unison Gauge?!
The U. Gauge only appeared in Tales of Symphonia. The climax gauge also appeared in Legendia which resembled the Unison Gauge. This isn't enough to make it a staple to Tales. Anyways, Abyss already has an FoF system. That alone is more variety than the U.Gauge system itself. There was no need for the U.Gauge as there is a better system in Abyss.

AD Skills, Capacity Cores, Fone Slot Chambers...I'm confused. Too much vocab!
Think of AD Skills as EX Skills from Symphonia. Except this time, the list of AD Skills is entirebly obtainable provided the character can use the AD Skill in battle. There are no EX Gems to learn AD Skills either. You learn them by status points you gain from Capacity Cores.

Capacity Cores are like titles in Symphonia. In Symphonia, titles give you stats, but becase costume titles give no stats, it made players hesitant to use the flashy costumes. In Abyss, the stat growths are determined by C.Cores. So you can equip a costume AND still get good stats if you have a good C.Core. Also, the stats you gain from C.Cores determine the AD Skills you learn.

Fone Slot Chambers are items that are equipped to a Tech. They can only be equipped to 1 Tech at a time per Fone Slot Chamber. FSC add an additional ability to Techs such as + Damage, Steal or TP reductio and many other various effects. There are 4 chambers, red, blue, green and yellow. They each have a different effect. Some colors effect certain Techs. For example, Red Fone Slot Chambers increases damage on Skills but increases the healed amount of HP for healing spells.

Very nice and intresting. I haven't had it summed up like this before. I'm pinning.

No problem. People should know a great deal about Abyss before they buy the ENG version. I forgot the height and weight but I suppose nobody makes a big deal about those now do they? :x

By the way, those bolded names are links to pictures incase some haven't noticed.

I didnt know a thing about abyss before i read this

That would be me.

I do own a PS2 as well though.

Sounds like shoki from tales of phantasia. Any connection there?