Dark Blade

Dark Blade as it appears in Tales of Phantasia (iOS).

Dark Blade (冥空斬翔剣, Meikuu Zanshouken^?, "Dark Empty Slash Soar Sword") is Cress Albane's signature mystic arte, which he obtains in the remakes of Tales of Phantasia.

Arte Description and History

Described as the "ultimate secret of the Albane style," this arte involves two wide slashes along the ground, followed by a final upward slash, leaving a trail of temporal energy behind as the character lifts himself and the enemy high into the air. After being inducted into the Miguel School of Swordfighting, Cress dreams of his father, Miguel Albane, as he is training to perfect this arte, and then Cress inherits the title "Master of Secrets" (おうぎでんしょう, Ougi Denshou^?), which enables him to use the arte in battle.

This attack is available for use only if Cress is in critical health after losing a certain amount of HP, and it can be used repeatedly in the same battle by healing and receiving damage as needed. This is also the first arte in the series that requires a specific button input to activate it, requiring the "Attack", "Artes", and "Guard" buttons (default: O, X, SQUARE) to be pressed at the same time. In the iOS version, however, Cress's portrait must be double tapped if his HP is below 15%.

This arte first appears in the PlayStation version of Tales of Phantasia, and it continues as part of Cress's movelist throughout all of his other appearances in every game. In Tales of Eternia, Cress uses this attack in the Inferia coliseum after reaching a certain amount of HP, similar to its use in its playable form. In this game, it is preceded by the phrase "Albain Finality" (アルベイン流最終奥義, Alvein-ryuu Saishuu Ougi^?, "Alvein Style Last Inner Skill"), to acknowledge its status as the Albane family's strongest attack. This attack cannot defeat Reid Hershel, only bringing him down to 1 HP once it is used.

In Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon, Cress gains a similar arte, Zanshouken, which replaces this attack due to limitations in arte name length and graphics. Zanshouken is considered to be only a reference to Meikuu Zanshouken due to the naming differences.

In Tales of Xillia 2, Cress uses this arte, localized as "Final Justice", in the arena cameo ending alongside his fellow cameo characters' mystic artes.

Although this arte is Cress Albane's signature attack, it became the mystic arte of the Swordsman class in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology and its sequels.

Appearances

Mothership Titles

Tales of Phantasia (PSX) + Full Voice Edition - Cress Albane
Tales of Eternia - Cress (Final Justice)
Tales of Phantasia (GBA) - Cress Albane (Dark Blade)
Tales of Phantasia: Cross Edition - Cress Albane
Tales of Phantasia (iOS) - Cress Albane (Dark Blade)

Escort Titles

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 - Cress Albane
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology - Swordsman class (Dark Blade)
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 - Swordsman class, Cress Albane
Tales of VS. - Cress Albane
Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X - Cress Albane
Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 - Swordsman class, Cress Albane

Fan-Translated Names

Tales of Phantasia (PSX) (Absolute Zero): Blade of Ascension, Meikū Zanshōken
Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 (Kajitani-Eizan): Dark Blade

In-Game Descriptions and Battle Quotes

Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3

Japanese Description: ピンチになった時のみ使える究極技
Romanization: Pinchi ni natte toki no mi tsukaeru kyuukyokugi
Translated Description (Kajitani-Eizan): "Ultimate desperation arte."