Title: Tales of Rebirth
Sunny - January 27, 2007 04:30 PM (GMT)
Console: PS2
Release Dates
Japan: December 16, 2004
Sypnosis
Tales of Rebirth takes place in a world by the name of Karegia. Karegia is a world in which 2 races, Huma and Gajuma, live together with or without racism. In ancient times, the two races had formed an alliance and established the Kingdom of Karegia. However, the renowned King Ladras attempts to use his Force in a sickened condition. As a result, his Force uncontrollably dispersed all over Karegia. Chaos spreaded all over the continents as the Huma race were unable to control their newly obtained powers. And these powers were accidently unleashed upon other people, causing many deaths. This day is known as Day of Ladras' Fall. Ladras' daughter, Agarte, is now the only blood heir who can inherit the throne. She is advised by Zilva Madigan, who is often revered as the leader of the Kingdom.
The power that flowed into the Huma race was Force. Originally, only Gajumas could use Force. But now that force entered the Huma race, some Huma could also use Force. Force is an affinity of energy that is unique to each person.
Main Characters
Veigue Lungberg
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 18
Height: 183 cm (6' 1")
Weight: 71 Kg
Force: Water/Ice
A quiet, cool headed man whose parents died in a war when he was a child. As a result he is adopted by his childhood friend's family. Ever since Veigue and Claire have became close friends under the same roof. Veigue has a quiet nature but he's actually a kind person. On the day of Ladras' Fall, Veigue's new ice Force went out of control and froze Claire. Ever since that incident, he was overcome by depression and the guilt of his actions. Because of his, he appears cold-hearted to strangers, but he is completely different when Claire is involved.
Eugene Gallardo
Gender: Male
Race: Gajuma
Age: 40
Height: 193 Cm (6' 4")
Weight: 108 Kg
Force: Wind
A Gajuma who resembles a panther. Despite his intimidating appearance, Eugene is actually gentle and rational. He is better known as the former Commander of the Royal Shield but he later deserted the military. But because of this military experience, he is known to be wise and experienced in combat.
Mao
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 13
Height: 153 Cm (5' 1")
Weight: 38 Kg
Force: Fire
A young boy who follows under Eugene. Mao served under the King's Shield when Eugene was the commander and they both became close friends. Mao is a boy who has no memories of himself so he doesn't even know his own last name. That is why Eugene took him under his wing. He and Eugene visit Veigue to help Force users like him maintain their powers. Mao helps Veigue unfreeze Claire shortly after their confrontation.
Annie Barrs
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Age: 15
Height: 155 Cm (5' 2")
Weight: 40 Kg
A hot headed young lady. When she first meets the party, she was a woman who hated Gajumas because her father was killed by one. She meets Veigue and the party to kill the Gajuma that killed her father, Eugene. However, she loses but is spared by Veigue and the party. Despite her hostility towards Eugene, he does not retaliate. Instead, he offers her to join the party so that she can have a chance to kill her.
Tytree Crowe
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 17
Height: 178 Cm (5' 9")
Weight: 69 Kg
A roudy young fighter. Tytree is a very social youth who is always in a good mood. He's virtous, kind, and always looking to cheer up his companions. The party meet Tytree when he goes out of control because of his sister being kidnapped by the King's Shield. The party manages to subdue him, and he joins them to pay them back for his troubles, as well as to rescue his sister.
Hilda Rhambling
Gender: Female
Race: Half Human/Gajuma
Age: 21
Height: 168 (5' 6")
Weight: 48
A mysterious woman. She appears to be ambitious and cold towards others. However, she is easy to get along with when given the effort. She appears before the party asking for help, only to ambush them from behind. It is revealed that she was working for the King's Shield. But the party defeats her.
Other Characters
Claire Bennet
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Age: 17
Height: 163 Cm (5' 4")
Weight: 45 Kg
The childhood friend of Veigue. She's been looking over him closely ever since he had lost his parents. She cares deeply for him and other people, she wouldn't think twice about putting herself in harm's way just to ensure their safety. She's the type to put herself before others.
Agarte Lindblum
Gender: Female
Race: Gajuma
Age: 20
Height: 165 Cm (5' 5")
Weight: 43 Kg
The Gajuma Princess of Galgaia. Her father recently died, so she has to take the throne at a young age. She is being advised by Zilva, Agarte seems to be inexperienced in ruling a Kingdom.
Milhaust Selkirk
Race: Human
Age: 28
Height: 185 (6' 2")
Weight: 72
A loyal knight of Karegia. Milhaust is the commander of the King's Shield, taking Eugene's former position. He shares the same ideal as the party; he opposes the racism that exists between Gajumas and Huma. He is a well-respected and known knight for his complete mastery of the sword. His loyalty to his Kingdom and Agarte means a lot to him.
Sunny - February 20, 2007 04:36 AM (GMT)
Battle System
Tales of Rebirth has one of the most sophisticated but neat battle systems. And therefore, this sections' purpose is to explain the battle specifics of Tales of Rebirth. It will include Force, Cubes, Rush Gauge, and using Ougis. If anyone would like to contribute, please PM an administrator.
Table of Contents
- Need-To-Know Basics
- Basic Controls
- Force Cubes
- Smash Points!! Rush Gauge!! Ougis!! High Tier Spells!!
Need-To-Know Basics
Character Portrait: It's the portrait of the Tales of Rebirth character that is in battle. It does not change facial expressions when attacking or being hit, but it does turn red when in danger of being KO'd.
HP & HP Gauge: The number on your character battle stat shows how much HP your character has. The red bar right beneath the character portrait. It shows an estimate of how much HP your character has.
Force: Basically, the term used for skills and spells in Tales of Rebirth.
Force Cube: The diamond shape object that is divided into 4 cubes. Each cube represents a spell or skill that is set by the player. It also shows whether or not it's empty, recharging, or filled up.
Rush Gauge: This is the bent gauge that directly left of the Force Cube. It shows the ammount of energy in your character's Rush Gauge. If it's blue, then the character has taken a defensive stance. If it's red, the character has taken an offensive stance.
Tokugis: First tier melee skills used by Eugene, Veigue and Tytree.
Ougis: Second tier melee skills used by Veigue, Eugene and Tytree.
Spells: Magical attacks casted by Annie, Hilda and Mao.
Basic Controls
Move: To walk forward or backround, just hold left or right in one direction. To run, tap left or right twice and hold it. To stop running, press the other direction.
Change Lines: Without holding anything, double-tap up or down to go between the 3 lines in the battlefield. You can also change lines while running.
Attack: In battle, just press Circle to do a basic attack. Eugene, Tytree and Veigue can do 3 at most. Hilda, Annie and Mao have only 1 hit. You can also change the attack style by pressing Circle with a Direction. For example, Circle + Down for small enemies, Circle + Up for airborne enemies, or Circle + Back for an alternate different attack. However you want to combo an enemy is up to you.
Force: Force is what we call a special attack in this game. In other games, you may realize them as skills, techniques or moves. Anyways, to use a Force, press X with a directional button. Make sure you set the Force on the ForceCube first before you try it out. If you just press X without a direction, then it will just use a random Force on your cube. You can combine basic attacks with Force while you're at it.
Jump: A jump is well...a jump! To do a jump, press R2. Most people forget to jump in battle because of the 3 line battle system that Tales of Rebirth uses. But jumping is very useful in this game to go over enemies instead of going around. You can also press Circle in the air to do an aerial jump attack.
Guard: Nobody wins every match by using brute force. In this game, press Square to block your opponent's attacks. Guarding significantly reduces the amount of damage you recieve from an attack. It is important to know that most spells can also be blocked. Also, your enemies can also block, so stick with a strategy.
Dash-Guard: Dash Guard is a unique type of guarding where the character can advance forward while guarding, but is vunerable for a second after dashing. To do a Dash-Guard, press Square and the direction your character is facing. (Left or Right) This is useful for blocking ranged attacks and advancing toward your target at the same time. It's useful against spell-casters. A neat thing I found out is that after every attack, if not, most; you can use the Dash-Guard so that you are barely open for an attack after your OWN attack. You can also Dash-Guard after using an Ougi so that your opponent can't hit you fast enough.
Backstep: Ah, another staple of Tales along with the many other things unique to Tales such as Dash-Guard. Backstep is when a character, as the name implies, jumps backward. To do a backstep, press Square and back. (The direction your character is turning away from) This is meant for avoiding attacks to take no damage instead of some damage. Very easy to use, and simple; but also useful.
Power Charge: A power charge is when you charge your Rush Gauge upward. To do a Power Charge, Guard by pressing square and then tap up twice and HOLD it! Your character will continue to charge until you stop. When powered up, your character changes to an aggressive stance. Their attacks become more powerful, and they can use high level Force, or Ougis.
Defense Charge: The opposite of the Power Charge. But it takes less time. Likewise, to do a Defense Charge, Guard and then tap down twice, holding both buttons. Once the bar is fully blue, your character takes a passive stance. Their defense is higher and they take less damage. They also restore HP periodically. However, one attack will cause the bar to become normal again, and your defensive state is removed.
Battle Menu: Basically...the menu in battle. To access the menu in battle, press Triangle. There are four selections; Force, Set Up, Item and Strategy. Force is basically setting your Force in battle. Set Up is for changing equipment, Items is for...using items! And strategy is obviously again, setting strategy in battle. When accessing this menu, you can also switch characters (L2) and change camera views (R2).
Force Cube
In this game, you can set four skills for each character. It is set on their Force Cube. You MUST know that whatever skill you set for computer controlled characters is used in battle. If you set NO skills for the computer, they will NOT use any skills, only basic combat attacks. Now on to the main point. Take note that each cube is facing a direction: Up, Forward, Back and Down. The directions, when combined with X; unleashes the move in which the skill was set. For example, if you set Veigue's Zehhyoujin to the Up Cube, then he will use Zehhyoujin when you press X + Up in battle.
You can set only ONE skill for each Force Cube. So therefore, you can set up to a maximum of four Tokugis (1st Tier Moves). You can also set the same skill on one or more cubes. Now another thing to know is that when Force (skills) is used in battle, it consumes a cube. Each cube has 3 conditions. If it's blue-green, then it's filled up. If it's dark blue and moving, then it's recharging. If it's empty, then it is not recharging. When it is in it's charged state, you can unleash a Force at it's full potential. Full Force Cubes are required to use Ougis, which will be explained later in this topic. When it is recharging, the skill is still usable. However, the damage it inflicts will be significantly lower. When it is completely empty, it is still usable. Force Cubes regenerate on their own.
There are some things that need to be noted. First of all, if you set NO Force, then the cube will be unused and grey. However, say you removed a Force from your Force Cube and put another Force. The Cube will go grey until the next battle starts. So here is some advice that you should follow: 1) If you are beginning the game, it is recommended that you use the same Force skills for all slots so that they are at full potential. 2) Instead of removing a skill (Triangle), try swapping instead (Circle).
Smash Points!! Rush Gauge!! Ougis!! High Tier Spells!!
These four topics all go together, so it's essential that they are in one section. Smash Points are the root of all of this, so it goes first. Smash Point replaces the Tech Usage system in the Tales. Instead of using a technique to gain an ougi, getting a Smash Point requires a character to kill an enemy with a technique. Each Force has their own Smash Point usage. Plus, only first tier Force have Smash Points. What a Smash Point does basically, is that they unlock Ougis for melee characters and high level spells for spell-casters. Again, you MUST kill an enemy with a Force to get a Smash Point for it. On a normal occassion, you get 2 Smash Points per kill.
Next up, is the Rush Gauge. As said before, you need to be in an aggressive form when using high level Force. For this, charge the Rush Gauge up. It must be very high OR full to unleash a high level Force. Plus, the cube in which you are using the Ougi from must be filled up at a full state. For Ougis, use a Tokugi and chain it with the Ougi cube. During your Tokugi, the available cubes that Ougis can be used from should be flashing a goldish color. For spell casters, charge the Rush Gauge all the way up, use a basic spell. And without getting hit, cast the high level spell from a fully charged cube. The time before you cast the high level spell and during the casting, your character MUST not be hit. Otherwise, the spell will not work.
To set an Ougi, you will need Smash Points. Suppose you killed 50 enemies with Zesshouzan, that should get you around 100 Smash Points. Next, go to the menu outside of battle, and then go to the Force Cube menu. Place the cursor on Zesshouzan or the Tokugi you have Smash Points for, and press right. It should automatically go to an Ougi list for that Tokugi. To be precise, it displays the Smash Points for all your Tokugis, and shows the available Ougis that your Tokugi can upgrade to. Press right again to go to the Ougi list, from here, you can examine how much Smash Points each Ougi costs. That's right, each Tokugi can be converted to various Ougis. Each Tokugi should be able to convert to 6 different Ougis. ALSO, each Ougi requires Smash Points from 2 Tokugis because it is a combo/mixture of both of the respective Tokugis. Now back on track, once you have decided on an Ougi, press Circle on it to set it. Now you can use an Ougi!! Okay, but that's not all; first of all, the Tokugi that you set it on is STILL usable. And secondly, Ougis can only be used after using a Tokugi in battle while at the same time, the Rush Gauge is full and again, while the Cube for the Ougi is fully charged. So basically, first you use a Tokugi, and then the Tokugi that has the Ougi set on it; this would change the Tokugi into the Ougi that you selected.
And for High Level spells, that's a slightly different matter. First of all, the method of setting high level spells is basically the same as setting Ougis on top of Tokugis. But the method of using high level spells is different. First of all, in battle; charge the Rush Gauge all the way up. And then, use any spell. After that, cast a spell in which the Ougi was set on, make sure that the cube it is using is fully charged! Otherwise, it will not work. Also, make sure that when you are doing all of this, make sure that you ARE NOT ATTACKED BY AN ENEMY after you have used the first spell. To know that if you are casting an Ougi, there should be a different flash at the beginning of the incantation than a basic spell. Also, the character should be chanting a different incantation while at the same time, take longer to cast a spell. Because of the 3 line battle system, enemies tend to go through the melee characters and stagger the spell-casters; which makes it a hassle to cast high level spells.
Tales of Rebirth has one of the most sophisticated but neat battle systems. And therefore, this sections' purpose is to explain the battle specifics of Tales of Rebirth. It will include Force, Cubes, Rush Gauge, and using Ougis. If anyone would like to contribute, please PM an administrator.
Table of Contents
- Need-To-Know Basics
- Basic Controls
- Force Cubes
- Smash Points!! Rush Gauge!! Ougis!! High Tier Spells!!
Need-To-Know Basics
Character Portrait: It's the portrait of the Tales of Rebirth character that is in battle. It does not change facial expressions when attacking or being hit, but it does turn red when in danger of being KO'd.
HP & HP Gauge: The number on your character battle stat shows how much HP your character has. The red bar right beneath the character portrait. It shows an estimate of how much HP your character has.
Force: Basically, the term used for skills and spells in Tales of Rebirth.
Force Cube: The diamond shape object that is divided into 4 cubes. Each cube represents a spell or skill that is set by the player. It also shows whether or not it's empty, recharging, or filled up.
Rush Gauge: This is the bent gauge that directly left of the Force Cube. It shows the ammount of energy in your character's Rush Gauge. If it's blue, then the character has taken a defensive stance. If it's red, the character has taken an offensive stance.
Tokugis: First tier melee skills used by Eugene, Veigue and Tytree.
Ougis: Second tier melee skills used by Veigue, Eugene and Tytree.
Spells: Magical attacks casted by Annie, Hilda and Mao.
Basic Controls
Move: To walk forward or backround, just hold left or right in one direction. To run, tap left or right twice and hold it. To stop running, press the other direction.
Change Lines: Without holding anything, double-tap up or down to go between the 3 lines in the battlefield. You can also change lines while running.
Attack: In battle, just press Circle to do a basic attack. Eugene, Tytree and Veigue can do 3 at most. Hilda, Annie and Mao have only 1 hit. You can also change the attack style by pressing Circle with a Direction. For example, Circle + Down for small enemies, Circle + Up for airborne enemies, or Circle + Back for an alternate different attack. However you want to combo an enemy is up to you.
Force: Force is what we call a special attack in this game. In other games, you may realize them as skills, techniques or moves. Anyways, to use a Force, press X with a directional button. Make sure you set the Force on the ForceCube first before you try it out. If you just press X without a direction, then it will just use a random Force on your cube. You can combine basic attacks with Force while you're at it.
Jump: A jump is well...a jump! To do a jump, press R2. Most people forget to jump in battle because of the 3 line battle system that Tales of Rebirth uses. But jumping is very useful in this game to go over enemies instead of going around. You can also press Circle in the air to do an aerial jump attack.
Guard: Nobody wins every match by using brute force. In this game, press Square to block your opponent's attacks. Guarding significantly reduces the amount of damage you recieve from an attack. It is important to know that most spells can also be blocked. Also, your enemies can also block, so stick with a strategy.
Dash-Guard: Dash Guard is a unique type of guarding where the character can advance forward while guarding, but is vunerable for a second after dashing. To do a Dash-Guard, press Square and the direction your character is facing. (Left or Right) This is useful for blocking ranged attacks and advancing toward your target at the same time. It's useful against spell-casters. A neat thing I found out is that after every attack, if not, most; you can use the Dash-Guard so that you are barely open for an attack after your OWN attack. You can also Dash-Guard after using an Ougi so that your opponent can't hit you fast enough.
Backstep: Ah, another staple of Tales along with the many other things unique to Tales such as Dash-Guard. Backstep is when a character, as the name implies, jumps backward. To do a backstep, press Square and back. (The direction your character is turning away from) This is meant for avoiding attacks to take no damage instead of some damage. Very easy to use, and simple; but also useful.
Power Charge: A power charge is when you charge your Rush Gauge upward. To do a Power Charge, Guard by pressing square and then tap up twice and HOLD it! Your character will continue to charge until you stop. When powered up, your character changes to an aggressive stance. Their attacks become more powerful, and they can use high level Force, or Ougis.
Defense Charge: The opposite of the Power Charge. But it takes less time. Likewise, to do a Defense Charge, Guard and then tap down twice, holding both buttons. Once the bar is fully blue, your character takes a passive stance. Their defense is higher and they take less damage. They also restore HP periodically. However, one attack will cause the bar to become normal again, and your defensive state is removed.
Battle Menu: Basically...the menu in battle. To access the menu in battle, press Triangle. There are four selections; Force, Set Up, Item and Strategy. Force is basically setting your Force in battle. Set Up is for changing equipment, Items is for...using items! And strategy is obviously again, setting strategy in battle. When accessing this menu, you can also switch characters (L2) and change camera views (R2).
Force Cube
In this game, you can set four skills for each character. It is set on their Force Cube. You MUST know that whatever skill you set for computer controlled characters is used in battle. If you set NO skills for the computer, they will NOT use any skills, only basic combat attacks. Now on to the main point. Take note that each cube is facing a direction: Up, Forward, Back and Down. The directions, when combined with X; unleashes the move in which the skill was set. For example, if you set Veigue's Zehhyoujin to the Up Cube, then he will use Zehhyoujin when you press X + Up in battle.
You can set only ONE skill for each Force Cube. So therefore, you can set up to a maximum of four Tokugis (1st Tier Moves). You can also set the same skill on one or more cubes. Now another thing to know is that when Force (skills) is used in battle, it consumes a cube. Each cube has 3 conditions. If it's blue-green, then it's filled up. If it's dark blue and moving, then it's recharging. If it's empty, then it is not recharging. When it is in it's charged state, you can unleash a Force at it's full potential. Full Force Cubes are required to use Ougis, which will be explained later in this topic. When it is recharging, the skill is still usable. However, the damage it inflicts will be significantly lower. When it is completely empty, it is still usable. Force Cubes regenerate on their own.
There are some things that need to be noted. First of all, if you set NO Force, then the cube will be unused and grey. However, say you removed a Force from your Force Cube and put another Force. The Cube will go grey until the next battle starts. So here is some advice that you should follow: 1) If you are beginning the game, it is recommended that you use the same Force skills for all slots so that they are at full potential. 2) Instead of removing a skill (Triangle), try swapping instead (Circle).
Smash Points!! Rush Gauge!! Ougis!! High Tier Spells!!
These four topics all go together, so it's essential that they are in one section. Smash Points are the root of all of this, so it goes first. Smash Point replaces the Tech Usage system in the Tales. Instead of using a technique to gain an ougi, getting a Smash Point requires a character to kill an enemy with a technique. Each Force has their own Smash Point usage. Plus, only first tier Force have Smash Points. What a Smash Point does basically, is that they unlock Ougis for melee characters and high level spells for spell-casters. Again, you MUST kill an enemy with a Force to get a Smash Point for it. On a normal occassion, you get 2 Smash Points per kill.
Next up, is the Rush Gauge. As said before, you need to be in an aggressive form when using high level Force. For this, charge the Rush Gauge up. It must be very high OR full to unleash a high level Force. Plus, the cube in which you are using the Ougi from must be filled up at a full state. For Ougis, use a Tokugi and chain it with the Ougi cube. During your Tokugi, the available cubes that Ougis can be used from should be flashing a goldish color. For spell casters, charge the Rush Gauge all the way up, use a basic spell. And without getting hit, cast the high level spell from a fully charged cube. The time before you cast the high level spell and during the casting, your character MUST not be hit. Otherwise, the spell will not work.
To set an Ougi, you will need Smash Points. Suppose you killed 50 enemies with Zesshouzan, that should get you around 100 Smash Points. Next, go to the menu outside of battle, and then go to the Force Cube menu. Place the cursor on Zesshouzan or the Tokugi you have Smash Points for, and press right. It should automatically go to an Ougi list for that Tokugi. To be precise, it displays the Smash Points for all your Tokugis, and shows the available Ougis that your Tokugi can upgrade to. Press right again to go to the Ougi list, from here, you can examine how much Smash Points each Ougi costs. That's right, each Tokugi can be converted to various Ougis. Each Tokugi should be able to convert to 6 different Ougis. ALSO, each Ougi requires Smash Points from 2 Tokugis because it is a combo/mixture of both of the respective Tokugis. Now back on track, once you have decided on an Ougi, press Circle on it to set it. Now you can use an Ougi!! Okay, but that's not all; first of all, the Tokugi that you set it on is STILL usable. And secondly, Ougis can only be used after using a Tokugi in battle while at the same time, the Rush Gauge is full and again, while the Cube for the Ougi is fully charged. So basically, first you use a Tokugi, and then the Tokugi that has the Ougi set on it; this would change the Tokugi into the Ougi that you selected.
And for High Level spells, that's a slightly different matter. First of all, the method of setting high level spells is basically the same as setting Ougis on top of Tokugis. But the method of using high level spells is different. First of all, in battle; charge the Rush Gauge all the way up. And then, use any spell. After that, cast a spell in which the Ougi was set on, make sure that the cube it is using is fully charged! Otherwise, it will not work. Also, make sure that when you are doing all of this, make sure that you ARE NOT ATTACKED BY AN ENEMY after you have used the first spell. To know that if you are casting an Ougi, there should be a different flash at the beginning of the incantation than a basic spell. Also, the character should be chanting a different incantation while at the same time, take longer to cast a spell. Because of the 3 line battle system, enemies tend to go through the melee characters and stagger the spell-casters; which makes it a hassle to cast high level spells.