History YMMV / TalesoftheAbyss

** The ThemeNaming doubles as this - Many locations that are held up by the sephiroth are actually named after the Hebrew Kabbalah.

* EvilIsSexy:
** Nebilim and [[GoldfishPoopGang Noir]]. [[spoiler:Subverted in Noir's case, since she and her posse turn out to be [[GoodIsNotNice noble thieves]] [[JustLikeRobinHood who steal in order to help fund Nam Cobanda Isle]] - a refuge they set up for Kimlascans and Malkuthians who were neglected by their countries in favor of the Score. They're also hired by Asch for most of the game, and thus on the side of the heroes.]]
** Downplayed with Arietta. Her first outfit includes a pair of garters, but isn't overtly sexualized otherwise ([[OlderThanTheyLook and nor is she herself, for that matter]]). However, they completely disappear with her second outfit - which is noteworthy because her first outfit is an obvious case of DarkIsEvil, while the second is a definite example of LightIsNotGood.

** On a related note; Anise being seemingly EasilyForgiven for betraying the party and helping Mohs. In Japan, because Anise is younger than Luke([[spoiler:at least, was believed so before him being a replica is revealed]]), the fact that Anise owns up to her mistake, apologizes, and feels guilty for it right away is supposed to be a sign of how mature she is for her age, making her more sympathetic. In the West though, it comes across as her being EasilyForgiven compared to Luke; while both were not fully at fault for the situations that lead to a terrible incident, Luke comes across as being scapegoated by the others despite it being a mistake he made without knowing better, while Anise knew what she was doing and still went along with it and only seemed remorseful because Ion died.

* UnintentionallySympathetic: Though Luke is an incredible ass about it, he's not exactly wrong when he says "[[NeverMyFault It's not my fault!]]" in regards to [[spoiler: Akzeriuth.]] One can blame him for being an arrogant ass about things [[spoiler: but as Van tricked him and then forced him into destroying Akzeriuth, there's only so much a [[YoungerThanTheyLook seven year old]] can do in regards to his ParentalSubstitute turning out to be the BigBad. While plenty of the rest of the party (Tear, Guy, and Jade in particular) possessed information that would have had a good chance of adverting events if they had brought it up. Luke, on the other hand, was handicapped from the start and that's without bringing in the fact he was sent ''knowing'' he would, according to the Score, destroy Akzeriuth and himself so they could kick off a war. The BrokenAesop on the main page also points out no one gave Luke a ''good'' reason to distrust Van aside from saying he should think more critically.]]

* DesignatedVillain: Though Luke is an incredible ass about it, he's not exactly wrong when he says "[[NeverMyFault It's not my fault!]]" in regards to [[spoiler: Akzeriuth.]] One can blame him for being an arrogant ass about things [[spoiler: but as Van tricked him and then forced him into destroying Akzeriuth, there's only so much a [[YoungerThanTheyLook seven year old]] can do in regards to his ParentalSubstitute turning out to be the BigBad. While plenty of the rest of the party (Tear, Guy, and Jade in particular) possessed information that would have had a good chance of adverting events if they had brought it up. Luke, on the other hand, was handicapped from the start and that's without bringing in the fact he was sent ''knowing'' he would, according to the Score, destroy Akzeriuth and himself so they could kick off a war. The BrokenAesop on the main page also points out no one gave Luke a ''good'' reason to distrust Van aside from saying he should think more critically.]]

** The final boss isn't particularly challenging in any of his forms, and in his final form you have infinite HP and TP. Note: the infinite HP and TP phase only occurs when you have Luke and Tear in the party, and besides...what could be more satisfying than whaling on ''[[spoiler:Van]]'' with impunity?

** Near the end, Jade offers Luke his left hand in a handshake. In Japan, this is seen as respectful (as it's done with the shield arm, showing that one is willing to let their guard down in front of someone else). Westerners might find this odd, as it's not as respectful in western territories (since, in Medieval times, people apparently wiped their butts with their left hands).

** On a related note; Anise being seemingly EasilyForgiven for betraying the party and helping Mohs. In Japan, because Anise is younger than Luke([[spoiler:at least, was believed so before him being a replica is revealed]]), the fact that Anise owns up to her mistake, apologizes, and feels guilty for it right away is supposed to be a sign of how mature she is for her age, making her more sympathetic. In the west though, it comes across as her being EasilyForgiven compared to Luke; while both were not fully at fault for the situations that lead to a terrible incident, Luke comes across as being scapegoated by the others despite it being a mistake he made without knowing better, while Anise knew what she was doing and still went along with it and only seemed remorseful because Ion died.

** The fallout of Akzeriuth, and the party seemingly blaming Luke for it, can come across as strange to a Western player compared to someone from Japan. The party all seem to call out Luke for how he isn't taking responsibility for the events that unfolded, making it seem like they are saying Luke is solely at fault for it, but in truth the party are upset Luke is claiming he isn't at fault for any part of it, and get fed up with how he is avoiding accepting any role he played in it. This is because Japan takes responsibility very seriously, and Luke refusing to accept he had a role in it at all is a sign of immaturity on his part. In the West though, while Luke played a part in it, it was the BigBad who manipulated him and made him do it, so Luke would be seen by many Westerns are being a victim of a manipulator who, while tragically made a mistake, shouldn't be treated as being responsible for the event. The fact Luke is actually ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook seven years old]]'' doesn't help with how Western audiences see it, for the same reasons mentioned.

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: Abyss' story is still considered one of the best, if not ''the'' best, in the series. Its gameplay is standard ''Tales'' fare, with its most unique aspect, the [=FoF=]/Altered Artes mechanic, being too unreliable and gimmicky to affect the strategy of battles much, so it doesn't offer anything new to those who played ''Symphonia'' or later entries.

* TierInducedScrappy: Natalia is often seen as the worst of the playable cast. The main reason is she is a CombatMedic who focuses on single target support artes and healing, which is very useful yes, but lacks the very useful healing and buffing Tear has at higher levels, and is outdone combat wise by Luke, Guy, and Anise. At later levels, Tear's healing is more important because of Mystic Artes, and other powerful spells that hit most of the arena, while Natalia will be stuck having to heal one person at a time and risking a party member being killed during the process. She still is useful, and is flexible in what she can do for optional content, but Tear is more useful compared to her.

* CantUnhearIt:
** Creator/KirkThornton and Creator/TakehitoKoyasu as Jade Curtiss. It's hard to imagine anyone else playing him. Both of them also happen to be the most prolific male voice actors in the industry.

!![[center: [- [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/TalesSeries Alternative Character Interpretation]] | [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/TalesSeries And The Fandom Rejoiced]] | [[AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries Awesome Bosses]] | [[BrokenBase/TalesSeries Broken Base]] | [[Monster/TalesSeries Complete Monster]] | [[DieForOurShip/TalesSeries Die For Our Ship]] | [[GameBreaker/TalesSeries Game Breaker]] | [[Narm/TalesSeries Narm]] | [[PlayerPunch/TalesSeries Player Punch]] | [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap/TalesSeries Rescued From The Scrappy Heap]] | [[ScrappyMechanic/TalesSeries Scrappy Mechanic]] | [[ThatOneAchievement/TalesSeries That One Achievement]] | [[ThatOneAttack/TalesSeries That One Attack]] | [[ThatOneBoss/TalesSeries That One Boss]] | [[ThatOneLevel/TalesSeries That One Level]] | [[ThatOneSidequest/TalesSeries That One Sidequest]] | [[TheScrappy/TalesSeries The Scrappy]] | [[Woobie/TalesSeries The Woobie]]]]-]

* MoralEventHorizon:
** [[spoiler:Mohs kidnapping Anise's parents, forcing her to act as TheMole, and then ''personally'' murdering Ion and ''making Anise watch''.]]
*** [[spoiler: He also tries to stop you from preventing the war between Kimlasca and Malkuth BecauseDestinySaysSo, even going so far as to try to have Luke and Natalia forced to commit suicide.]]
** [[spoiler:Van]] loses any right to call himself a WellIntentionedExtremist [[spoiler: when he causes half of the world to fall into poison mist, killing millions.]] He also could have crossed that even before [[spoiler: in Akzeriuth]] as he basically recreates the incident that made ''him'' the BigBad with, to all intents and purposes, [[spoiler: his ''[[ParentalSubstitute own child]]'']].
** The [[spoiler: massacre at Sheridan for Van and his minions. Especially for Major Legretta.]]

* ValuesDissonance:
** Luke [[spoiler: (Well, Asch... ItMakesSenseInContext)]] and Natalia's betrothal, as first cousins. Due to their status as nobles, no one even so much as bats an eye. This is because Auldrant seems to use a world-wide [[FantasyCounterpartCulture medieval-like setting.]] In Medieval times as well as other periods, nobles were anything but unknown for marrying within the close family. [[spoiler:It later turns out that Natalia is not biologically related to Luke]].
** Near the end, Jade offers Luke his left hand in a handshake. In Japan, this is seen as respectful (as it's done with the shield arm, showing that one is willing to let their guard down in front of someone else). Westerners might find this odd, as it's not as respectful in western territories (since, in Medieval times, people apparently wiped their butts with their left hands).
** The fallout of Akzeriuth runs on this trope as well. When the party all seem to call out Luke for how he isn't taking responsibility for the events that unfolded, it can come across as unfair from a Western perspective. This is because in Japan, personal responsibility is SeriousBusiness; Luke not taking responsibility for his role in the event is considered a sign of immaturity and that he needs to grow up, which is why the party all are upset with him saying it was not his fault. Thus when Luke cuts his hair shortly after this, it is a sign of development on his part as he does take up responsibility for it. For the West however, this makes the party seem UnintentionallyUnsympathetic because while Luke played a part in it, it was the BigBad who manipulated him and made him do it, so Luke would be seen by many Westerns are being a victim of a manipulator who, while tragically made a mistake, shouldn't be as guilt tripped by the party the way they do. [[spoiler: The fact Luke is actually ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook seven years old]]'' doesn't help with how Western audiences see it.]]
** On a related note; Anise being seemingly EasilyForgiven for betraying the party and helping Mohs. In Japan, because Anise is younger than Luke([[spoiler:at least, was believed so before him being a replica is revealed]]), the fact that Anise owns up to her mistake, apologizes, and feels guilty for it right away is supposed to be a sign of how mature she is for her age, making her more sympathetic. In the west though, it comes across as her being EasilyForgiven compared to Luke; while both were not fully at fault for the situations that lead to a terrible incident, Luke comes across as being scapegoated by the others despite it being a mistake he made without knowing better, while Anise knew what she was doing and still went along with it and only seemed remorseful because Ion died.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** Guy's gynophobia becomes much less funny when you realize that it was because [[spoiler:he was buried under the corpses of many women of his house who died to protect him]].
** Similarly, the part when you realize that Anise's attempts to get a rich husband are not out of greed, but to free her family from their debt, [[spoiler:as well as how far she's willing to go for their sake]].
** Luke's bratty, entitled behavior in the first arc and how everyone [[TheFriendNobodyLikes treats him]] take on a darker edge when [[spoiler: it's revealed he's ''actually a seven year old'' forced into acting at least twice his age his whole life.]]

* TastesLikeDiabetes: Mieu is a cute and cuddly creature with a high pitched voice and constant cheer.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Luke, big time. For some people, he's a mess of [[TheScrappy an unlikable and obnoxious character]], either because of his {{Jerkass}} attitude in the whole first act or for his {{Wangst}} during a big chunk of the third... [[UpToEleven or both]]. For others, he's one of the [[CharacterDevelopment best developed]], [[HiddenDepths most deep]] and (eventually) [[IronWoobie sympathetic]] main characters in video game and anime history.

** Luke's FanNickname is Ambassador Asshat, for when he cranks up his {{Jerkass}} nature UpToEleven as an ambassador to Akzeriuth. That's what happens when you give a spoiled rich kid authority and tell him that his freedom and the opportunity to work alongside his beloved father figure ride entirely on him doing an impressive job.

!![[center: [- [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/TalesSeries Alternative Character Interpretation]] | [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/TalesSeries And The Fandom Rejoiced]] | [[AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries Awesome Bosses]] | [[BrokenBase/TalesSeries Broken Base]] | [[Monster/TalesSeries Complete Monster]] | [[DieForOurShip/TalesSeries Die For Our Ship]] | [[FanPreferredCouple/TalesSeries Fan Preferred Couple]] | [[GameBreaker/TalesSeries Game Breaker]] | [[Narm/TalesSeries Narm]] | [[PlayerPunch/TalesSeries Player Punch]] | [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap/TalesSeries Rescued From The Scrappy Heap]] | [[ScrappyMechanic/TalesSeries Scrappy Mechanic]] | [[ThatOneAchievement/TalesSeries That One Achievement]] | [[ThatOneAttack/TalesSeries That One Attack]] | [[ThatOneBoss/TalesSeries That One Boss]] | [[ThatOneLevel/TalesSeries That One Level]] | [[ThatOneSidequest/TalesSeries That One Sidequest]] | [[TheScrappy/TalesSeries The Scrappy]] | [[Woobie/TalesSeries The Woobie]]]]-]

* FanPreferredCouple: OneTruePairing notwithstanding (see below), given the amounts of HoYay in the game, Luke tends to get shipped with [[LauncherOfAThousandShips several people]]. The biggest ships being [[HoYay Luke-Guy]], [[FoeYayShipping Luke-]][[MentorShip Van]], [[ScrewYourself Luke-Asch]]. On the female side, Luke also gets shipped with Anise and [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise Natalia]].

* FanPreferredCouple: OneTruePairing notwithstanding (see below), given the amounts of HoYay and FoeYay in the game, Luke tends to get shipped with [[LauncherOfAThousandShips several people]]. The biggest ships being [[HoYay Luke-Guy]], [[FoeYay Luke-]][[MentorShip Van]], [[ScrewYourself Luke-Asch]]. On the female side, Luke also gets shipped with Anise and [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise Natalia]].

* HarsherInHindsight: One of the lines of the Score reads is "[=ND2020=], A mountain of corpses shall bury the fortress capital. Death and diseases shall envelope the city." While it's a fate averted in the game, the same can't be said for the real-world COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, making this prophecy hit a little ''too'' close to home.

!![[center: [- [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/TalesSeries Alternative Character Interpretation]] | [[AndTheFandomRejoiced/TalesSeries And The Fandom Rejoiced]] | [[AwesomeBosses/TalesSeries Awesome Bosses]] | [[BrokenBase/TalesSeries Broken Base]] | [[Monster/TalesSeries Complete Monster]] | [[DieForOurShip/TalesSeries Die For Our Ship]] | [[FanPreferredCouple/TalesSeries Fan Preferred Couple]] | [[GameBreaker/TalesSeries Game Breaker]] | [[Narm/TalesSeries Narm]] | [[PlayerPunch/TalesSeries Player Punch]] | [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap/TalesSeries Rescued From The Scrappy Heap]] | [[ScrappyMechanic/TalesSeries Scrappy Mechanic]] | [[ThatOneAchievement/TalesSeries That One Achievement]] | [[ThatOneAttack/TalesSeries That One Attack]] | [[ThatOneBoss/TalesSeries That One Boss]] | [[ThatOneLevel/TalesSeries That One Level]] | [[ThatOneSidequest/TalesSeries That One Sidequest]] | [[TheScrappy/TalesSeries The Scrappy]] | [[WhatAnIdiot/TalesSeries What An Idiot]] | [[Woobie/TalesSeries The Woobie]]]]-]

* VindicatedByHistory: When it was released, it was considered... well, not ''bad'', but just sort of a ho-hum entry. Likely not helped by it following on the heels of ToughActToFollow ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia''. Give or take ten years and its status has grown to be one of the most respected titles by the fanbase for its intriguing and realized ConstructedWorld, a complex plot and especially deep characterizations, its stellar soundtrack, and for improving on ''Symphonia'''s gameplay by introducing free-run, which set the standard for later 3D titles in the series. It's now regarded as having aged the best of all the 2000s-era ''Tales'' games. It also held the title as the [[DarkerAndEdgier darkest]] ''Tales'' game for ten years until ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' came along.

** ''The entire party'' (minus Ion) post [[spoiler:Akzeriuth]] as explained [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic below]]. Their treatment of Luke falls flat [[spoiler: when it turns out a good chunk of them ''knew'' something in regards to the entire incident (Guy knew about Van's plans, Tear had all the reason to see Van as the BigBad, Jade had figured out key information, and Anise was [[TheMole working for Mohs]] plus Natalia heard enough of Luke's conversation with Van pre mission to be ''somewhat'' suspicious) and most of them also know at this point that Luke is truly seven.]]

** Luke's [[ManChild actions]] in the first arc and how everyone [[TheFriendNobodyLikes treats him]] take on a darker edge when [[spoiler: it's revealed he's ''actually a seven year old'' forced into acting at least twice his age his whole life.]]

** Luke pre ImportantHaircut. He's a spoiled ShelteredAristocrat who can be a massive Jerkass. At the same time, he's woefully unequipped to deal with various things, has the life experiences of a seven year old [[spoiler: and later turns out to actually be one]], and is utterly [[HeroicBSOD horrified]] when he kills [[WhatMeasureIsAMook a person]]. He also has no experience with normal relationships (or friends for that matter) and is desperate to prove himself while also dealing with ''everyone'' basically wanting him to remember everything before his kidnapping ie they basically are all saying they '''hate''' this Luke and don't see him as the "real" one.

** Tear/Luke can be this in general depending on how you view Luke's [[YoungerThanTheyLook age]] when put together with his CharacterDevelopment. [[spoiler: Since Luke is, in fact, seven and it's known well that by the whole party, Tear can come off unintentionally creepy and give the impression of someone who takes advantage of a child's PrecociousCrush.]] This leads into ''any'' pairing with Luke in it being {{Squick}} to some extent.

* {{Squick}}: Luke is the MrFanservice of the game, what with his belly baring outfit that shows off his impressive abs and various other costumes that even do away with shirts all together. Why is this under squick? [[spoiler: Because he's actually ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook seven years old]]'' and yet he's being put into a more "adult" appearance.]] This also makes the Tear/Luke pairing cringeworthy as well.

** The fallout of Akzeriuth runs on this trope as well. When the party all seem to call out Luke for how he isn't taking responsibility for the events that unfolded, it can come across as unfair from a Western perspective. This is because in Japan, personal responsibility is SeriousBusiness; Luke not taking responsibility for his role in the event is considered a sign of immaturity and that he needs to grow up, which is why the party all are upset with him saying it was not his fault. Thus when Luke cuts his hair shortly after this, it is a sign of development on his part as he does take up responsibility for it. For the West however, this makes the party seem UnintentionallyUnsympathetic because while Luke played a part in it, it was the BigBad who manipulated him and made him do it, so Luke would be seen by many Westerns are being a victim of a manipulator who, while tragically made a mistake, shouldn't be as guilt tripped by the party the way they do. [[spoiler: The fact Luke is actually ''[[YoungerThanTheyLook seven]]'' doesn't help with how Western audiences see it.]]