Hello Everybody. Just here to pay a little love to Luke. This video isn't meant to be too deep or analytical. Just show some of the beats of his development for those who maybe don't fully understand what character development is or how it works. There's a lot I could get into in an analytical sense and more specific examples that can be used, but I'm just aiming to keep this light, and if it becomes a series (Doubtful) other episodes will be similar.

@teriosshadow17

Жыл бұрын

Luke is my personal favourite video game character of all time, believe it or not. As a kid, i also used to have same feelings and troubles as Luke and like Luke proved that you can always change for the better and you are worth living no matter. I found that really wholesome and inspiring :)

Luke's journey from having a place in the world that he didn't desire to finding a world he can't find a place in to the point where he decides to make his own place in the world was one of the most satisfying journeys in the series. Really solidified Abyss as one of the most emotionally charged, memorable entries in the Tales series. Plus watching Guy smack Luke in the face never gets old

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

Guy deserves to be the MC of a tales game tbh

@Gilluria

2 жыл бұрын

@@TarksGauntlet I'm down

Very good analysis. Many people are stuck with the first part of Luke's change (from brat to post-Akzeriuth selflessness) and say it's too sudden, but what they don't realize is that Luke's most important development is actually post-Akzeriuth to post-Tower of Rem. He goes from having absolutely no sense of self-worth (to the point of suicidal ideation) to having the will to live. And as a player, that was heartbreakingly beautiful to behold.

I found not only Luke's character development good but the whole cast. I deeply despised most of the cast in the beginning as they took no responsibility for the destruction of the pillar. They all knew that Luke was mentally 7 years old and held up in his manor to not gain any real life experience. They knew he had this incredible power that could cause problems if left to himself or manipulated. Yet, they gave him bare minimum tolerance, ignored and withheld important information from him especially after many of them realizing that Luke was a clone. They were all thinking of themselves and Guy is the only one who caught himself and took some responsibility instead of putting it all on Luke. That being said, they all slowly started to develop in their own and before I realized I began to warm up to them. I remember one part where some (one particularly being Anise who I despised most) confront on the message Luke got after Van's first defeat and why Luke didn't mention it. Jade quickly defended Luke explaining that he can't know something that they didn't teach him. This is a totally different and more understanding person than the Jade during the hyperressonance pillar incident. It's that subtle development that I so much enjoyed about Abyss.

@magickgeminid2944

16 күн бұрын

I felt the same way. Only tear really apologized to Luke for not recognizing how deep his ignorance ran. Guy too I'm almost in tears when I think about how painful Luke's 7 years of development must have been. He's not relearning. He's learning. Not just how to be a human, but how to be Luke fon Fabre and that's simply not who "luke" is. A baby knows it's parent by instinct. Luke didn't have that so a mother is throwing all these feelings at him and he can't do anything with them. A father's expectilations and Luke can't do anything with them. Natalia's wealth of memories that Luke had no idea about. Her feelings for him, he never expected, wanted or felt. This is more than amnesia. It's simple oblivion. How demeaning that must have been...how defeating, how isolating and frightening. He had to been the loneliest person to have existed in his prison. That why he was such an asshole. He knew he couldnt measure up to all those feeling coming from everyone hes never met. He knew he didnt belong. That he'd the problem, he's damaged irrevocably. Only Van treated him like he wasnt luke. At least ion knew he was a replica... too bad nobody had the courage to break vans trap and tell luke

Tales series are underrated compare to Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. I wish more people would play them and appreciate how a gem they all are.

@Kebin13

4 ай бұрын

Dragon quest is hells underrated too, you only ever see people talking about final fantasy, never dragon quest.

Thank you for the video ! Luke's character development is incredible

Great video Tarks. Abyss is still my favorite Tales of game. The cast, world, even the ost just clicked for me and I really liked the battle system for it's time. Looking forward to your Abyss review. 👍🏽

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

The abyss review went up back in like... August or something haha. I'd been picking away at this and a story recap since then and just kind of stockpiled a few videos so I could take a mini-vacation this month.

@jrunn1390

2 жыл бұрын

@@TarksGauntlet ha talk about late. I'll check it out thanks.

Great video~ :D Abyss is probably my second favorite of this series, just behind Vesperia. I never liked Luke, myself, absolutely hated him through a good portion of the game (though I think that just gives nods to wonderful writing, making me feel big feelings whether good or bad), but that moment where Akzeriuth sank... That was a hard hitting moment, and I felt for Luke. As much as I wanted someone else to be the main character, I couldn't 100% hate Luke anymore. Time spent with him figuring himself out was just great writing. By the end of the game... I still can't say I liked Luke. But I didn't despise him like I had in the beginning~ It was a roller coaster, one where Luke was just there riding it with us for a bit before realizing he could stand up and take the controls. Mad props to everyone that worked on this game for making it feel like an actual adventure with actual consequences! There aren't that many games where a whole, plot developed city just gets wiped out, especially when it's partially due to a main character's actions, manipulated or not. Yes, there are plenty of games where lots of places get destroyed, but this felt a lot closer to home because we were there, we visited this town, and we had a hand in its destruction, and we had to pick ourselves up and find some way to at least TRY to make it right alongside Luke. I might have to replay Abyss now XD

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

Luke is a very divisive character. With the way he initially treats Mieu I wanted to hate him too. He's kind of just a dick in general upfront and whiny a lot of the game too, but a character doesn't have to be likeable to be well written haha. My feelings towards him vary depending where in the game I'm at but my feelings towards his execution and writing remain pretty consistent.

Great video! I always really liked tales of the abyss a lot because of lukes development. I even watched the anime a few times.

Tales of the Abyss is one of my fav games. I loved Luke though he does become a bit too altruistic later in the game.

@HaxeRain

Жыл бұрын

and he is reprimanded for it, Asch, Tear, Guy and Jade all let him have it, since, his guilt made him go into being so sacrificial, its just at the end when he confronts Asch for the final time, he puts in words that he learnt from that and knew what was needed or not

@ZankokuNoYami

6 ай бұрын

​@@HaxeRain this. Luke is the definition of a dynamic character. He is constantly changing and growing. Violet was the only other protagonist to do this in tales. It is probably the rarest of character types in rpgs. 99% of protagonists end the game exactly how they began, just smarter or wiser. Luke was constantly evolving. From caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly.

This was the game that sold me on the Tales franchise.

Truly amazing Tarks!!!

please keep the abyss content coming! i'm enjoying your thoughts on the game and character so much. abyss will forever be the jrpg that changed my life and just hearing how passionate and articulate you are reminds me of how much i adore this game :') love the video!

Recently watched the anime after playing this game so long ago. Love this series so much

Great video my dude, keep up the good work!

Man this takes me back ❤️ I remember hating Luke so much at first, but am SO happy I stuck with Abyss. Fantastic game, fantastic experience. Oh even the Anime was decent🤘 Thanks for the video sir!

Great video man. Really makes me want to play this. I believe I have it still sealed on 3DS.

@donovanchilton5817

2 жыл бұрын

It's worth it. 30 Fps sucks, though. Theres also a lot of lore jargon. it gets complicated, pay attention

Nice breakdown Tark

Dude, have some confidence. It was a very good study of the character.

Excellent video! Not sure if you’re planning to make “Developing a Character” a series or not, but I’d definitely like to see more videos tracing/highlighting notable character arcs in games. Also, one interesting note about Luke’s hair cutting scene in particular: In many cultures, and in a lot of media, long hair is often associated with nobility. To the point where it’s seen as a symbol of one’s noble status itself. As such, to cut it would be to shame the person, or be done to symbolize stripping them of their status. Dunno if that’s an intended reading of long hair in Abyss’ world, but viewing it with that real-world context adds even further weight to Luke’s decision, as well as offering several ways to further interpret his intentions and self-image in that moment.

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, you see that in a lot of cultures not just for nobility exactly but to signify different things like job types/training etc. I don't think abyss was using his hair for the same reason though as not every noble seems to have long hair, but, that's not to say that that lens of real world understanding doesn't create a deeper symbolism to it all.

@Sonnance

2 жыл бұрын

@@TarksGauntlet True, yeah. It’s hard to say where the line between aesthetic and intention falls, whether the writer expected the audience to go into it with some cultural understanding of its significance, or the character designer just gave him long hair because it fits the “look” of nobility. Though if I were to guess, I’d also lean more toward the latter, as (to my knowledge) the game never makes reference to its significance, despite being pretty explicit in most other aspects of its worldbuilding. I do, personally, enjoy the lens it offers to the story, either way. It provides pretty fitting subtext to a lot of the characters, (like Asch keeping his long hair despite claiming to have given up on his former identity, and possible foreshadowing with a certain someone having having short hair.) But yeah, not something I’d be confident saying was truly deliberate.

@Eltrotraw

Жыл бұрын

This reminds me of Ramza (Final Fantasy Tactics) having a similar change with his hairstyle with his fall from nobility, though characters don't really draw attention to it the same way Abyss' cast did with Luke.

Very good analysis

I played abyss, berseria, and arise. Abyss by far has the best overall character, the friend, the neutral, and the enemy somehow have their own goal, objective and way of doing things. And the way they interact with each other is just great. Really made the world more vibrant with variety.

@amechismallwood7242

Жыл бұрын

How did you feel about berseria?

@ansem3463

2 ай бұрын

​@@amechismallwood7242 pretty good, i just dont like velvet screaming every time, the ending isnt my cup of tea but overall pretty good experience. The battle's great, story, characters and dialogues are good. Eleanor best character for me.

@amechismallwood7242

2 ай бұрын

@@ansem3463 Okay, okay. What didn't you like about the ending? 😁

@ansem3463

2 ай бұрын

@@amechismallwood7242 been so long so i might forgot but i think *SPOILER* how i wasnt sure hes still her brother yet velvet still consider the boy=her brother like he did with laphicet. So velvet's decision was to suffer so he can survive for a bit. Which i thought doesnt fix the problem, its just a temporary patch? Correct me if iam wrong. My memories are a bit fuzzy

Man at first I didn't think I could play abyss cause of Luke but his arc literally made me cry. I remember playing the ending and my heart was pounding. When Jade finally says he doesn't want Luke to go after hating him most of the game my heart shattered.

Tear is my favorite character.

I think Tales of the Abyss has the best character development in the entire series.

This is another reminder that I need to go back and finally finish this game. (Don't worry, you didn't spoil all this for me, I had it spoiled years ago) I just wish Abyss was more widely available. I want to recommend this to more people, but it's hard to say "Go buy a PS2/3DS" especially in Europe... where the 3DS version is the only option

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

So long as it's not in print I feel no shame in just saying "Go emulate it" lol. I get though if emulating or playing games on your PC is something you're just not all that into.

@HybridAngelZero

2 жыл бұрын

@@TarksGauntlet Thankfully, I have the game on both platforms, but I generally don't like recommending emulation to people who aren't already into that scene. But if they are, I will demand them to load it up on their PS2 emulator immediately xD

@TarksGauntlet

2 жыл бұрын

@@HybridAngelZero I'm not quick to recommend emulating either unless a game is way over priced like Rule of Rose or something. For the most part I like playing on original hardware just for the comfort of knowing its all playing how it did originally.

@HybridAngelZero

2 жыл бұрын

@@TarksGauntlet 100% agree!

Luke is the reason I played the other tales games

I think you forgot something, Luke didn't listen to those around him at first was they were hiding things from him treating like a fool, an idiot, couldn't understand something and the like. So he only listened to Van, as he was the only one who treated him fairly. So, he would listen to Van over the others. Why would he listen to those who belittle and hide things from him? Van on the otehr hand seemed to tell him everything he could and treats him well? Sure, he partly to blame, but the full blame can be put on the others. As someone who has a mind of a seven year old, which he is, it is understandable that he tries to deny what happened.

I love this game on the 3DS

@pedrobeckup456

9 ай бұрын

Me too, it is the best rpg i played on 3ds until now

There should be a Tales of the Abyss 2. Tear and Luke have a son who is different than his father

@pedrobeckup456

9 ай бұрын

But... How long Luke survived after the game end? His fonons were been separating after free the World of the Miasma...

6:31 you can actually win this fight and Asch will be pissed off that you beat him, that's if you're good enough at the combat

According to the director, making Luke unlikable at first was a huge risk, as they didn't know how people would react, especially with him being a huge contrast to Lloyd, the last Team Symphonia hero. I think it paid off, as Tales of the Abyss is my favorite in the series and Luke is one reason why. (Also Jade because... well, it's Jade, do you need a reason?)

I remember everybody hate luke being a whiny character and annoying, maybe back then doesn't know what a character developing is yet

Ad a child and now an adult, abyss changed my world when it came to dynamic characters and story telling. I didn't realize how bored I was with all the tales characters being one dimensional. Sure. They had some growth. But by the end they were skill exactly the same, just wiser. But Luke completely changes. Comete with a mid season Finale and time skip sort of feeling. Dude grows up and becomes something completely different. When I first played this back in high-school my mind was blown. Tales had already become a staple in rpgs for me... but abyss became the single entry that I compared every title too after. Every tales game getting further and further away from it. Getting worst. Bad. Awful. The best entry to come after was beseria and only because violet had a simular character arc. Good meaning big sister to vengeful demon to broken mentally from finding out the truth to slowly finding her old self. It was brilliant. But the combat sucked. I just want an HD remaster of this.

Oh, boy. Luke is a rough character.

My favorite part of this video was the ad break when I didn't have to hear your voice