June 08, 2004 - Namco has revealed a slew of details on Tales of Rebirth, the upcoming original PlayStation 2 entry in the Tales series of RPGs. Announced a few months back alongside the PlayStation 2 port of GameCube's Tales of Symphony, this game is the first original entry in the series for the PlayStation 2 (Tales of Destiny 2 was just a remake).

New screenshots included in the media section for this story show off the game's unique look. The use of 2D sprites on 3D backdrops is intentional, apparently in order to give the game a more hand-drawn look (see Symphonia for cell shaded visuals). Apparently, even with the reliance on sprite-based graphics for the characters, the game allows you to switch from a standard quarter view of towns to a close-up side view. Outside the sprites, everything is in full polygonal 3D, although Namco claims that it has been able to retain the handdrawn look of the game even in these areas.

The hot bit of information revealed by the company in this latest update concerns Rebirth's all-new battle system. Called the "Three Line Linear Motion" system, this battle system places enemies and allies on three different planes. Characters can switch between these planes making for some interesting possibilities in battle. Of course, character positioning is now a greater element of battle strategy. You'll have to decide to position party members on different lines or place them all on the same line for fighting that more closely resembles that of other entries in the series.

Also new to the battle system is the "Force Gauge." This replaces the "Technical Points" from previous Tales games. Rebirth allows you to assign skills and techniques to the Dual Shock's D-pad buttons. While in battle, skills have a recovery time based on the strength of the skill. The force gauge, a set of four diamond-shaped marks corresponding to each button on the D-pad, shows how far the skills are from being ready for use.

Outside of battle information, Namco has revealed more details on the Tales of Rebirth cast. Here's a look at the four characters that have been revealed.

VEIGUE LUNGBERG AGE: 18 RACE: HUMA SEX: MALE HEIGHT: 183cm WEIGHT: 71kg Veigue was born and raised in the far northern village of Sulles. It was in this cold environment that his parents died, leaving him under the care of the Curea family from his youth. Some as-yet undisclosed incident from a year before left him speechless, which in turn caused those around him to view him as cold and unwelcoming, something that's not the case.

CLAIRE BENNETT AGE: 17 RACE: HUMA SEX: FEMALE HEIGHT: 163cm WEIGHT: 45kg Claire, the heroine of Tales of Rebirth, lives in Sulles as part of the family that took in Veige in his childhood. Considering her good heart, her ability to focus on peoples' qualities and the fact that she's liked by all those around her, we have a feeling she's going to end up the healer in your party. Since birth, she's rarely left Sulles, but the Rebirth storyline will change that (without changing her cheerful personality).

MAO AGE: 13 RACE: HUMA SEX: MALE HEIGHT: 153cm WEIGHT: 38kg This young, childish Huma likes to joke around. However, he has a dark side. As part of an incident from a year earlier, Mao lost his memory and came into the care of Eugene. He and Eugene arrive at Sulles as part of their travels and meet Veige. Rather than focusing on his lost memories, Mao thinks of the new encounters that he'll make from here on out.

EUGENE GALLARDO AGE: 40 RACE: GAJUMA SEX: MALE HEIGHT: 193cm WEIGHT: 108kg This big Gajuma male seems to be carrying the burden of something in his past, but he refuses to speak of it. Feeling the shadow of the Callegia Empire, he and Mio set off on travels. However, as with others, he is unable to escape fully from the shadow and will suffer.

Tales of Rebirth is currently without a Japanese release date. Considering the 800,000+ sales of the remake of Tales of Destiny 2, we expect big things from this title in Japan whenever it does arrive. A stateside rlease has, expectedly, yet to be mentioned by Namco.