LogFAQs > #936746615

#1 - Luke fon Fabre (Abyss)
I don't even have a past to lose, but I've still decided that I'm me. It doesn't matter what you think. Here I am. If that's the source of the strength you're talking about, then I won't lose.

I dont imagine this is a massive surprise to anyone thats ever paid any attention to me talking about the Tales series around B8. Ive made no bones about the fact that Tales of the Abyss is my all-time favorite video game, and usually when someone loves Abyss that much, its due in large part to Luke. Im no different.

I mentioned once or twice that Symphonia was my first Tales game, and while I loved it at the time, its not like I immediately felt like a fan of the series. It was probably a year or two after I finished it before I found a used copy of Abyss at my local Gamestop. I almost didnt buy it, because it was sitting right next to a used copy of Legendia that was $10 cheaper I wonder how long it wouldve taken me to get around to the rest of the series if that one had been my second instead...

Anyway, I ultimately chose Abyss, more or less on a whim. Even now, I dont know what exactly it was that led me to that choice. Its not like Id done a whole lot of research on which entries were generally considered the best or anything. Just felt like the right one, I guess. And then I damn near dropped it 1/3 of the way in. I think the only reason I didnt is because I happened to be away from home for a weekend and I hadnt brought any other games with me.

I absolutely could not stand Luke, for reasons that are, of course, obvious in retrospect. To tell the kind of story they wanted to tell with him, they had to take a big risk and make him as unlikable as possible in the beginning. And they succeeded. Hes abrasive, ignorant, selfish, impulsive, whiny... Name a negative trait and early-game Luke probably has at least a little of it. It gets to be almost unbearable by the time the party gets to Deo Pass and hes turned up his arrogance and mistreatment of everyone to 11.

And then Akzeriuth happens, and the world literally comes crashing down around him. Hes been betrayed by the only person he actually trusted, his actions have killed many innocent people, and its revealed hes really a replica. So he responds the only way he knows how - total denial. He refuses to accept any responsibility at all, which is finally what drives the rest of the party away and, in turn, forces him to acknowledge that he has to change.

A sidebar - I think people miss this little detail when discussing the rest of the Abyss party. Their freezing out of Luke, for the most part, isnt really because they think hes totally to blame. Its more because he insists that he doesnt deserve any of the blame whatsoever for what happened, and while I agree with the prevailing opinion that it definitely wasnt actually his fault, Ive never been able to get on board with the idea that he isnt at least partly culpable. More on this in a bit.

Now, post-haircut, a lot of players like to argue that the pendulum swings too far in the other direction and Luke becomes angst incarnate. I honestly dont agree. The angst doesnt really start until the conclusion is eventually reached that his birth wasnt foretold in the Score. Remember how pervasive the Score is in the Abyss society - people trust in and follow it to an absolutely fanatical degree, and its telling him that he was never supposed to exist. And even then, the angst doesnt actually get bad until more replicas start popping up and everyone - party members, nations rulers, random people on the street - treat them as nothing but nuisances. Given everything, it wouldnt be at all realistic if he didnt have some major self-worth issues, and his mistakes weigh so heavily on him that its natural he would be prone to rushing toward drastic options out of pure desperation to atone for them. And that makes it feel all the more worth it when he finally acknowledges that his life has value and that hes his own person. Its a truly fantastic character arc from beginning to end. Plus, its easy to forget that hes technically seven years old, and Jade explicitly states at one point that replicas do start with the maturity of a child no matter how old they are physically. His thought processes, all through the game, make perfect sense for how young he actually is and for what hes gone through, what with his sheltered upbringing and so forth.

Ive even come to appreciate early-game Luke more and more as Ive played through the game so many times, because theres plenty of moments that hint at his inherent good heart. He has a bit of a soft spot for Ion, awkwardly tries to cheer Tear up when she feels guilty over his mothers illness, and of course, feels deep regret for taking human lives (which never completely goes away). His asshole behavior is more of a defense mechanism than anything. Hes a young boy thrown literally across the world into situations hes far from prepared for and cannot possibly be expected to adapt to well, and hes understandably terrified. So he mistreats everyone (Mieu especially, because hes the only thing that he has actual power and control over) just to make it appear as though he has a grip on things. His Deo Pass meltdown comes right on the heels of his first encounter with Asch (which no one else in the cast seems to think is especially strange), being told hes going to be used as an impetus to start a war and then locked up forever, finding out his father figure is being treated as a criminal, and having the enormous pressure of a goodwill ambassador position forced on him. Its little wonder he didnt cope well.

Im not gonna spend a ton of time here on the Tear romance because I talked about it plenty for her, but I think Lukes side is done really well. He finds her very attractive from day one and says so multiple times, but has a problem with her attitude. Once he fixes his own attitude, its heartwarming to see his awkward attempts to repay her for helping him in his journey, like the great lengths he goes to to get back her pendant without even really knowing what it is. And hes the star of one of the most genuinely sweet scenes in the whole series, when he simply turns around instead of leaving her side when she says she doesnt want anyone to see her cry.

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https://imgur.com/UYamul2
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