Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World/Characters
Note: Any tropes refering to the returning cast goes there.
Emil Castagnier
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono (JP), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN)
An introverted, timid young boy from Palmacosta. During the Blood Purge, he came across the bodies of his parents and was severely traumatized. Afterwards, he was forced to move in with his abusive uncle in Luin, where he is universally despised for his weak personality and for accusing town hero Lloyd of being the instigator of the Blood Purge and the murderer of his parents. He wants to avenge his parents, but due to his timid personality finds himself paralyzed with doubt and fear.
At the beginning of the game, Emil signs a magical contract with Tenebrae to become a Knight of Ratatosk and protect Marta. From that moment on, whenever he enters battle he taps into a second, Badass, superpowered Anti-Hero personality. With this newfound power, he joins Marta on her quest to retrieve the Centurion Cores and awaken Ratatosk so that he can finally track down Lloyd.
Later, it is revealed that his Super-Powered Evil Side is the dormant Ratatosk, and that "Emil" is a Blank Slate personality created when Ratatosk was forced to awaken before he could fully recover from fatal injuries suffered at the hands of Richter. After Emil discovers that he- as Ratatosk- killed Richter's best friend in cold blood (thus triggering the events of the plot and all the disasters that followed), he becomes The Atoner while struggling to reconcile his new and old selves.
Emil provides examples of the following tropes:
- Amnesiac God: Played with in that neither he nor the player knows he has amnesia until The Reveal.
- Apologetic Attacker: After he seals his Super-Powered Evil Side.
- Apologises a Lot
- The Atoner: When he finds out that he killed Aster. He doesn't let anything on to the party, though.
- Bishonen
- Blood Knight: While in his "Ratatosk Mode".
- Cloning Blues "Created from Aster's body"
- The Conscience: Emil is this to Ratatosk
- Cover Identity Anomaly: Being the summon spirit Ratatosk in human form, Emil lacks a lot of information that would be expected from a resident of Palmacosta - fishing, the Desian Human Ranch nearby, etc.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: His Ratatosk persona is like this toward Marta. Especially evident after random battles.
- Dark Is Not Evil
- Dead Person Impersonation: Twice. In very bizarre (and creepy) ways.
- Detached Sleeves
- The Ditz: Has shades of this.
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Sheena: She earned the nickname "HE Bomb". |
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- Doomed Hometown: Palmacosta.
- Evil All Along
- Evil Laugh: In "Ratatosk Mode", during his Mystic Arte.
- Expy: A light-haired, light-eyed, adorable, teenaged swordsman who has connections with an ultimate Badass, starts out very meek, has interactions with a swordsman and a martial artist, and the Magic Knight, Action Girl female lead is his Love Interest. Am I talking about Emil or Ruca?
- Face Heel Turn: Ratatosk was actually a pretty nice guy until Mithos betrayed him and wrecked his World Tree, causing his Start of Darkness.
- Fake Memories: Played with in that no-one has given him Fake Memories, but rather he has no memories to begin with and is filling in the blanks as he goes along.
- God in Human Form, with Split Personality Identity Amnesia just for extra crazy!
- Good Is Not Nice: His Ratatosk form.
- Grand Theft Me
- Heel Face Turn: His Ratatosk persona never liked humans, elves or half-elves to begin with, but compare his personality from chapter 1 to chapter 8 (and especially to his flashback) and you'll see that he has changed.
- Humanity on Trial
- Hyde Plays Jekyll
- Idiot Hair
- I Want to Be a Real Man: "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality"
- Knight in Shining Armor
- Large Ham: His Super-Powered Evil Side
- Lethal Chef: Subverted. Both normal and Ratatosk Emil have great cooking skills, but while the former takes great care on presentation- doing things like cutting food into the shape of flowers- the latter's meals don't look remotely edible. Both taste just as good.
- Light Is Not Good: Ain Soph Aur, Ratatosk's signature move
- Memory Gambit
- Non-Action Guy: Lets Ratatosk Mode do all the fighting for him until the second half of Chapter 8.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He has this dynamic with himself. Emil's the Sensitive Guy to Ratatosk Mode's Manly Man.
- Shrinking Violet
- Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes: Type 1, except during Ratatosk Mode, where he becomes type 3/4.
- Split Personality Merge: At the end of the game. However, later retconned as Ratatosk basically makes him and Emil two separate people in the good ending.
- Super-Powered Evil Side: To be truthful, it's more of an "Underpowered Good Side"
- Tsundere: His Ratatosk form shows some shades of type A, especially toward Marta.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Healing the Tree is one thing. Eradicating humanity so that they can't hurt it again... is another.
- You Killed My Parents
Marta Lualdi
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (JP), Laura Bailey (EN)
A former member of the Vanguard, and daughter of its leader, Brute. She believes that Emil saved her life during the Blood Purge, and from that point idolized him as a Knight in Shining Armor. When she meets up with her hero six months later- and he becomes a Knight of Ratatosk- she drags him into a quest to retrieve the Centurion Cores before Lloyd does. She absolutely idolizes Emil and can't seem to get it through her head that he's not the person she believes him to be.
Marta lived in Palmacosta during the events of the first game until it was destroyed during the disastrous revival of the World Tree at the end of disc one. She blames the Chosen One, Colette for the destruction of her home and the resulting death of her mother.
Marta provides examples of the following tropes.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Ratatosk Mode Emil is exactly the kind of man that Marta imagined Emil to be. Later she finds out the hard way just what an absolute Jerkass he is.
- Bodyguard Crush: Of the "guarded has a crush on the bodyguard" variety.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Her defining personality trait.
- Covert Pervert: She says Regal looks kinda sexy in his prison uniform in one of her journal entries. She then embarrassingly retorts this statement.
- Cute Little Fangs One fang, actually.
- Defector From Decadence: Marta was a member of the Vanguard, whose top leader was her own father Commander Brute. She left the organization after learning her father was planning to use the Centurions' Cores to gain power.
- Detached Sleeves
- Doomed Hometown: Palmacosta.
- Faux Action Girl: A very, very mild one, actually. She is never a Damsel in Distress, and she's a competent fighter; she just doesn't get that many good cutscenes. Honestly, it was probably the only way to make Emil seem like less of a wuss.
- Flower in Her Hair
- Girlish Pigtails
- Glass Cannon
- Improbable Weapon User: Attacks by spinning in circles, with disks attached to her wrists.
- Lethal Chef: Mainly because she never bothered to taste her cooking, and her father said that it was delicious. In a subversion from the norm, once she realizes how bad she is she vows to get better and eventually becomes a decent cook.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Played with if not outright deconstructed.
- The Medic
- Pettanko
- Rebellious Princess
- You Killed My Mother: Toward Colette.
- Zettai Ryouiki
Tenebrae
Voiced by: Hochu Otsuka (JP), Christopher Corey Smith (EN) The Centurion of Darkness, and Emil and Marta's guide. As a Centurion, he is the servant of Ratatosk and helps both Emil and Marta so that his master can be reawakened. He can control Darkness-elemental monsters, and sends them to fight in his place.
Tenebrae is extremely snarky and has a dark (no pun intended) sense of humor. He takes delight in teasing fellow Centurion Aqua and injecting conversations with mischievous comments that serve only to make bad situations worse. Despite this, he is often forced to act as the Straight Man to the insanity of the other party members, and has a minor complex over being regarded as "too old".
Tenebrae provides examples of the following tropes:
- Butt Monkey: Especially if Collete is around, which prompts him to say that his reputation is done for.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Although he does take delight in playing harmless pranks.
- Deadpan Snarker: There's a reason he's called "Spiteful Tenebrae".
- Grumpy Old Man: Dog, actually.
- Invisible to Normals: Actually invisible to everyone, if he so chooses- comes with the territory of being in charge of Dark mana. Lampshaded in an early skit.
- Meaningful Name: Tenebrae is Latin for "darkness", and he's the Centurion of Darkness, in charge of the resource distribution system for Dark mana.
- Moment Killer: And darn proud of it, too.
- My Name Is Not Doggie, Tenebie, Mr. Doggy, Tenby, Tenny, Brae-Brae, Trae, Mr. Fairy or Paw Pad!
- Pungeon Master: Sheena even lampshades this in one skit.
- And then there was one that was so bad, Genis and Raine punishes him by using their Unison Attack from the first game on him. And this is not Disproportionate Retribution either, it really was that bad a pun.
- Trickster Mentor
Richter Abend
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (JP), Kyle Hebert (EN) A mysterious traveler, Richter is a member of the Vanguard whose goal is to kill Marta and claim the Core of Ratatosk on her forehead. His partner on this quest is the Centurion of Water, Aqua. He first meets Emil in Luin and inspires the young boy to be more courageous; eventually, he becomes a mentor and friend to Emil despite technically being his enemy.
Richter is an incredibly strong-willed individual, to the extent that he is unaffected by the power of the unhatched Centurion Cores and can even unconsciously influence the Centurions themselves (as shown by Aqua falling in love with him). He is quiet and keeps to himself, believing that one should say no more than is necessary and that once an emotion is explicitly expressed it loses its meaning. He loathes Ratatosk, calling him a "Demon King".
It turns out that Richter is gambling everything on a crazy Xanatos Roulette to resurrect his deceased best friend, Aster. To this end, he manipulates the Vanguard using the Centurion Cores and makes a Deal with the Devil to unleash the demons of Niflheim on the world in exchange for Aster's life... a deal that he also plans on double-crossing.
Richter provides examples of the following tropes:
- Anti-Villain: If he had a different opinion of what Ratatosk is, he'd be a party member.
- Badass
- Badass Long Hair: That he frequently flips.
- Big Bad: A very unwilling one.
- Bishonen
- Broken Pedestal
- The Comically Serious: He laughs at one of Emil's jokes. And then wonders why everyone is so shocked. And every time he tries to make a joke it falls flat, because no-one can work out if he's actually joking.
- Cool Sword and Sinister Scythe (or) An Axe to Grind
- Evil Genius: Vanguard.
- Genius Bruiser: As his spectacles suggest, he's actually a scientist.
- Good All Along
- Guest Star Party Member
- Half-Human Hybrid
- Heroic Sacrifice: His Xanatos Roulette was supposed to end this way so that Aster could be revived without letting the demons of Niflheim into the world.
- Infernal Retaliation / Playing with Fire: His final boss/Lord of Flames form. It's also a Shout-Out to Abyssion, Symphonia's Bonus Boss and the last person who tried to tap into the power of Niflheim.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold
- Lethal Chef: Mainly because he's never cooked before.
- Making a Splash
- The Man Behind the Man
- Megane
- Noble Demon: Much of his criticism of the people around him is followed by an apology for his rudeness. Also, despite helping to set up The Vanguard's combat unit, he's not as bad a guy as its current members.
- Sort-Of-Bad-But-Not-Really Mentor
- Ubermensch: He even references Nietzsche in the name of his trademark Mystic Arte Eternal Recurrence. Turns out he wasn't like this at all...
- Well-Intentioned Extremist
Aqua
Voiced by: Youko Honda (JP), Wendee Lee (EN) The Centurion of Water, she is Richter's constant partner and ally. She is utterly infatuated with Richter and has actually renounced her loyalty to Ratatosk in favor of following Richter everywhere he goes. As the Centurion of Water, she can make pacts with Water-elemental monsters, using them to fight in her place. She tends to be highly emotional, and shares a love-hate relationship with Tenebrae.
- Anti-Villain: She's actually quite nice and sociable to Emil. She's just devoted to Richter. And she has good reason for abandoning Ratatosk.
- Bodyguard Crush
- The Dragon: To Richter.
- Love Makes You Evil
- Making a Splash
- Meaningful Name: Like Tenebrae, her name is in Latin. Hers means "water".
- Summon Magic
- Wendee Lee
- With Friends Like These...: Her relationship with Tenebrae. He loves winding her up, and she lets her buttons get pushed far too easily.
Lord Brute
Voiced by: Rintauro Nishi (JP), JB Blanc (EN) The leader of the Vanguard and Marta's father.
Tropes associated with Brute:
- The Atoner
- Bald of Evil
- Big Bad
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Thanks to Solum's core
- Catch Phrase: "Means and methods are insignificant in the eyes of justice!"
- Dishing Out Dirt
- Large Ham
- Luke, I Am Your Father
- Well-Intentioned Extremist
Alice
Voiced by: Mami Kingetsu (JP), Janice Kawaye (EN) A commander in the Vanguard, one of the primary antagonists of the game. Despite looking like a little girl, she is a sadist and obsessed with gaining power.
Tropes associated with Alice:
- Alice Allusion
- An Ice Person: Her mystic arte is even Fimbulvetr.
- Creepy Child
- The Cutie: A more villainous version.
- Dark Chick
- Despair Event Horizon: When Decus takes Emil's sword for her, she finally can't take it anymore and admits she loves him back, and then goes into a rage to avenge him.
- Dying Declaration of Love
- Half-Human Hybrid: She's a half-elf.
- Jerkass
- Love Is a Weakness: She refuses to fall in love because she feels that caring about another will make her weaker. She gets proven right when her love for Decus gets her killed.
- No Cure for Evil: Inverted; she'll regularly spam First Aid when you fight her.
- Older Than They Look: She's at least 18.
- Pet the Dog: In her sidequest.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She gives one to Marta.
- Unstoppable Rage: She goes apeshit after Decus died in her arms confessing his love to her and realized she loved him too, and picks Decus' BFS to trying exacting revenge. It doesn't last long as she's quickly killed off.
- Villainous Breakdown: When Decus dies.
Decus
Voiced by: Akio Suyama (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN) A commander in the Vanguard. He's obsessed with Alice.
Tropes associated with Decus:
- BFS
- Bishonen
- The Dragon
- Dying Declaration of Love
- Even the Guys Want Him: He thinks that his cologne has this effect.
- Friendly Enemy: On the few occasions in which the party speaks to him when he isn't around Alice or under the effects of Solum's core.
- Gratuitous German: "Ausbruch!" "Strahl!" "Stein Hagel!" "Trombe!" "Lawine!" "Sturmwind!"
- Heroic Sacrifice: He loves Alice so much, he jumps in the way and takes Emil's sword for her, which causes her to go through the Despair Event Horizon.
- Large Ham: While under the influence of Solum's core.
- Not So Harmless: He committed the Blood Purge by using Solum's core to shapeshift into Lloyd
- Playing with Fire
- The Power of Love: Used in his Mystic Arte.
- Rescue Romance: He fell in love with Alice after she saved him from a lynch mob.
- Sanity Slippage: Thanks to prolonged exposure to Solum's core.
- Say My Name: ALICE!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Stalker with a Crush: His obsession with Alice, although they're both villains.
- Taking the Bullet
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Until Brute takes Solum's core away from him.
Hawk
Voiced by: Yuuji Kishi (JP), Patrick Seitz (EN) A soldier in the Vanguard. He works for Alice, and is often treated as her personal whipping boy. He has a particularly unfriendly rivalry with Magnar.
Tropes associated with Hawk:
- Butt Monkey
- A Father to His Men: The few times he's shown in command of his troops, as opposed to being commanded by Alice, he's shown to care for them a lot.
- Lean and Mean
- Looks Like Cesare
Magnar
A soldier in the Vanguard. The first time you meet him, he will claim to be following orders from the Church of Martel.
Tropes associated with Magnar:
- The Brute
- False-Flag Operation
- I Lied: After Marta gives herself up in order to save the village of Luin, he orders it to be burned down anyway.