I am finally getting a Playstation 4 this week, so I hope to play some more games and able to write more as time goes on. One of the games I’m looking forward to get my hands on is Tales of Zesteria. If you don’t know about it, the Tales Of series is similar to Final Fantasy, in that each game is different from the other but the mechanics are similar. Each game is an anime and RPG fans dream come true, bringing together Japanese voice overs, animated cut scenes, fast paced battles and a dramatic story. They have been releasing titles since the SNES, and the last one played was Tales of Xillia. 
Another entry in the series, titled Tales Of The Abyss, has a character named Luke fon Fabre. His story impacted me because of the change you see him undergo from start to finish. He’s a young boy who is stuck in a mansion after being kidnapped by the MalKuth Empire (aka the bad guys). He starts off as the typical spoiled brat who hasn’t seen the outside world, but that quickly changes when Tear Grants enters his life. She tries to assassinate his mentor and trainer Van, but is instead transported out of the area by Luke’s power to save his master.
After meeting up with several other party members, figuring out that they need to help Fon Master Ion restore balance to the war that is at hand and fighting against the leaders of the Malkuth Empire, Luke is tricked. The main enemy of the game, his own master Van, activates a hidden power inside Luke that destroys an entire city and many lives are lost Not only that, but his own friends don’t trust him nor can they deal with his selfish attitude anymore.
Willing To Change
He then discovers that one of the God-Generals (six baddies of the Malkuth army) named Asch, is actually the real Luke! He’s actually a clone, and only created to activate something that may destroy all life. Not being able to handle this turn of events, he begins to lose his mind but after seeing that Tear and his best friend, Guy, still care about him he makes a decision.
2 Corinthians 5:17
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Not only does he cut his hair as a symbol of wanting to change who he is, you actually slowly see him doing it. What I personally don’t like about many heroes in games is that they are perfect. There’s nothing wrong with them, and they don’t grow as the game progresses. It’s as if all the events that happen don’t phase them at all, which of course in real life isn’t true. We all go through new seasons in life, and they do alter our thinking, actions and even relationships.
More adventures continue until the conclusion of the game where Asch and Luke have a showdown to see who is the best. Luke, being the replica (clone) of Asch, decides that he should sacrifice himself to end the battle between him and Van. Asch loses to Luke, and dies while fighting enemy soldiers who were after his clone. The final battle ends with Luke and his friends being the victors, but a huge light engulfs him while they all escape and he is presumed dead.
A year later, he returns to his coming of age ceremony (20 years old) and tells Tear that he had a promise to keep her. It’s not known if it’s Luke, Asch or a combination of the two but either way, he’s alive!
I see a lot of myself in Luke, going through life thinking it’s one way when it’s really another. Living how we “think” it should be, when many times it’s tough, not easy, and full of decisions to make. I never wanted to be responsible for so much, I was happy playing my video games and not having to get a job or pay bills. Luke is the same, as he could have stayed locked up in his manor after the disaster in Akzeriuth that killed many, or step out and make a difference. I’m glad he chose the second option, because it gives me courage to know that I’m not the only one who feels like I would rather not face my fears and challenges.
Courage comes when you make that next step that your scared to make. What we all need to remember is that God is with us when we go forward, so long as we ask Him for direction.
3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
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Luke more than any other protagonist I’ve seen in the Tales series reminds me of what it’s like to grow up, as a person and otherwise. As we age, we’re afraid that we will lose the passion and strength of character and beliefs that made us who we are. But what we find out, if we become open to change instead of going against the grain…Is that we aren’t victims of circumstance, and that the things that really matter to us remain with us. The Luke at the end of the game is both a completely different, better person…and the same person with his priorities straight.
This might be an inviting way for Christians to explain what accepting Jesus is like. I think that God puts us on the Earth expecting to purify and sanctify us, and there’s a “death” involved in that…But I’m not so sure that involves the changing of what we’re afraid it would change. The parts of us that truly are unique, and good…the reason God created us….I think those remain. I’ve seen it happen. My sister is Christian as heck, but her weird habit of dressing up in ridiculous Renaissance outfits…her snark, her character…It’s still there.
Exactly how I relate to all that is complicated, but that’s my comment. :3
Great comment, and thanks for reading my post 🙂
Yes, I love how Luke changed so much, so much more than most Tales series characters. And yes, God wants to change us, when we allow Him, but we keep owho we are. He purifies us, removes the filth, the impurities, and leaves us better than when we started.
His will is greater than ours, His thoughts higher than our thoughts….He loves us, like a true parent would. He wants us to grow up and become who He sees inside of us.
I also really loved this series for what they did with the main character. I was thinking of dropping the series until around episode seven, when Luke has his epiphany. It’s really hard to create a spoiled character having such a realistic change of heart and then having to win back the trust of his companions!
Ah you played this one? I didn’t know you were into gaming Medieval Otaku, thats cool.
Yeah, I couldn’t stand his character until he started changing. They tried to do that in Tales of Xilloa with Jude but it didn’t have the same impact as Luke. Abyss is such a great game, I enjoyed the characters and their world so much I want to play it again.
No, I’m not that cool. 🙂 They animated the story around 2008, and I watched it as an anime. I used to play video games more often, but less so nowadays. The last ones I really enjoyed were Banner Saga and War Thunder, but I’ve stopped gaming at present in favor of other things–there’s only so much free time!
I saw the anime as well, it was really good. Several of the Tales series have been animated, which is neat.
Yes, theres only so much free time…for example, I want to get into reading fantasy and Sci Fi fiction, and play some other video games but theres only so many hours in the day.
Oddly enough the coolest person in Tales of Xillia (And the person who ultimately does change the most) is….wait for it…Gaius. And this is mainly because the game is at its best points an argument about free will and choice. One of the most intense moments in the entire game is actually a philosophical argument between Gaius and Milla about ruling people and power. I get the impression sometimes that Jude wasn’t the initial ‘main character’ of the game, but they needed a teenage boy to be a proxy for the average player. Kinda like FFXII in that respect.
The final fight in the game ISN’T Gaius losing his mind and becoming a giant monster, even though he is very much the villain. It’s him losing sight of what’s moral and true, and Jude having to remind him that he’s talking about people and not pawns. And Gaius…backs down, and lets Jude try things his way, when he wins. This whole sequence warmed my heart, a lot.
Perhaps because in a world without the sinful kind of Pride, where Satan is prosecutor and officer instead of demon, this is how confrontations should work, and not how they actually do. :/
That is a very good thought on what happened between those two.
Yeah, Jude kind of just goes along for the ride, but doesn’t feel like the main character. Milia feels more like the main character. Gaius was an interesting character as well, I love how Xillia really shows the two sides of good and evil, and its almost like you have to decide for yourself who is right even though Gaius has a twisted mind.
With all that said, my favorite characters of the main cast are Ilbert/Rowan and Milla. Ilbert because he’s an awesome old man trying to let go of the feelings he has for his completely evil friend and do the right thing without letting go of what made those feelings matter…And Milla because she, too, realizes that humankind isn’t simple, and that she must trust and rely others more than she does.
*Tales fanatic* 8D I really love these games. The characters are actually…layered, and more than two-dimensional cardboard cutouts.
Yup, I am a big tales fan too for the same reasons 🙂 Which is why I enjoy writing about these games so much
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