Richter Abend

From Aselia, the Tales wiki

Richter Abend
Information
Game	Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Japanese Name	Richter Abend (リヒター・アーベント, Rihitaa Aabento?)
Hometown	Sybak
Age	20
Weight	165 lbs / 75 kg
Height	5'11" / 180 cm
Race	Half-elf
Occupation	Vanguard Former Sybak-researcher
Weapon	Sword and axe
Japanese Voice Actor	Kenji Hamada
English Voice Actor	Kyle Hebert

Richter Abend is a new character introduced in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World and serves the role as the main antagonist. During the game his partner is Aqua, the Centurion of Water.

Despite being the third playable character in the game, he only joins the party very briefly at the beginning of the story and during three special side-quests that involve him and Emil.

Contents 1 Personality 2 Fighting Style 3 History 3.1 Early Life 3.2 Meeting Emil 3.3 The End 4 Relationships 4.1 Allies 4.2 Friends 4.3 Enemies 5 Other Appearances 5.1 Tales of VS. 5.2 Tales of Vesperia (PS3) 6 Trivia

[edit] Personality

At the beginning of the game, Richter starts out as a cold and cynical person, and criticizes Emil for not being able to stand up for himself. When Emil goes to thank him for scaring off some bullies, Richter reveals his hatred for cowards, but also gives Emil a mantra of inspiration to Emil, "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality". While Richter is tutoring Emil, he also admits that he is very short on people, but that it does not mean he has something against them. He also tells that he has no intentions of changing his ways of doing things.

[edit] Fighting Style

Richter fights using both of his hands holding a sword and an axe in each. Most of his artes are elemental and often share a similar name. As a half-elf, he can use magic, most of them being Water-elemental, possibly to show his connection with Aqua, who is the Centurion of Water.

Most likely because of Richter's background as a scientist, he was able to figure a way to stop Emil's Ain Soph Aur after its first use, and thus was able to backfire it with stronger power.

[edit] History

[edit] Early Life

Even before the events of the original Tales of Symphonia, Richter lived in Tethe'alla as a researcher at the Sybak University, where he and his friend Aster were researching Ratatosk. Together they were in charge of looking into Ratatosk's mana; however, due to a previous betrayal by Mithos' group, the spirit's trust had disappeared. Ratatosk grew angry and killed Aster in rage, and a vengeful Richter cut down Ratatosk and reduced him to his core form, which was taken away by Tenebrae before Ritcher could finish him off. Since then, Richter has held resentment towards Ratatosk and began the Vanguard to search for the Centurion's cores.

[edit] Meeting Emil

He first meets Emil at the beginning of the game while searching to find the Ratatosk Core when he notices that Emil is being picked on by bullies. He took Emil with him because he reminded Richter of his past when he was bullied around for being a half-elf. Richter acts as the tutorial in this game, as he teaches Emil the basics of fighting. After traveling to cave next to the former Tower of Mana with Emil, he finds Marta and tries to kill her for the Ratatosk's core implanted on her head; this is where Emil considers Richter to be his new enemy. Richter is also a member of the Vanguard and has been said to be the founder of the Vanguard combat group along with Brute.

[edit] The End

Richter travels to the Ginnungagap to settle things with Ratatosk. When Emil and co. confront him, he uses the powers of the Sacred Stone to transform the mana in his body into flames, granting him extra power. He then attacks the party, but loses. As the demons try to force their way out of the door, Richter tells the party to use the Sacred Stone. Since mana is toxic to demons, it could be used to seal the door for a while. Lloyd then realizes he actually wanted to turn himself into a human sacrifice to seal the Ginnungagap. Richter adds that as an added bonus, Aster would come back to life as well. Richter also bought Emil faking to be possessed by Ratatosk again after the door was sealed and saved Marta and Lloyd when Emil attacked them. Richter does nothing but watch for the rest of the ending, again surprised to hear Aster's words being said to Emil from Marta.

Normal Ending - Since Richter forced open the door, the old seal ceased to function. He then decides to go ahead with his original plan to use himself as a seal. Ratatosk agrees to help, saying that he will change the law of nature so that the world's mana can be used to guard the door. After the ritual is prepared, Richter remarks how his fate is fitting for his crimes. Ratatosk says that once the world is separated from its dependancy on mana, Richter will be released.

Perfect Ending - The ending plays the same as the normal ending up to the point that Richter then asks Ratatosk to allow Emil to live his full life as a human, saying that 'Emil' has already suffered enough, trying to atone for a crime 'Ratatosk' committed. His wish is backed up by the words of Tenebrae and Aqua, along with the surprising sound of Verius' voice.

[edit] Relationships

[edit] Allies

Aqua - Aqua and Richter were partners throughout most of the game. Though Aqua was in love with the half-elf Richter, it is unsure if Richter ever returned her feelings. In the end, he did nothing to prevent Aqua from reverting to core form after her defeat and did not seem phased that she sacrificed herself in order to buy him more time when Emil confronts him in the Ginnungagap.

Alice and Decus - Members of the Vanguard that remained loyal to Richter when Brute was defeated. It is not really sure if Richter appreciated their help or just saw them as tools to help him reach his goal.

[edit] Friends

Aster - Richter's best friend while a half-elf scientist. Though different by race, they showed how humans and half-elves can work together for a better future. However, Ratatosk's actions provoked Richter into slaying him when he attacked and killed Aster in a single strike. That fueled Richter's goals of bringing Aster back until Emil was able to set him straight.

[edit] Enemies

Emil Castagnier - The two met in Luin as Emil was being bullied by two other boys. Richter stood up for Emil and helped teach him how to show courage. Later, he also becomes Emil's mentor for how to battle. Though he is constantly hunting Marta throughout the game, Emil cannot forget Richter's kindness and attack him without hesitation. However, Richter would easily attack Emil due to his ties with Ratatosk. In the end, Emil learns about what his exact ties to Ratatosk are and the "visions" of Richter attacking him are really Ratatosk's memories. They face off in the Ginnungagap, completely ignoring the events of their previous encounters, and Emil wins. He is able to help Richter see the error of his acts and finally, Richter befriends Emil and Ratatosk in the end.

Marta Lualdi - A former member of the Vanguard, it is not sure how Marta and Richter got along together while both in the Vanguard. But when Marta left, Richter began hunting her down for Ratatosk's core on her forehead. Due to this, Marta has a hard time siding with Emil about Richter's kindness. But she was willing to help Emil show Richter what he was doing was wrong and helps Emil defeat him.

Lloyd Irving - It is clear that from the start, Richter and Lloyd were bitter enemies, but it is unsure how their relationship is after Richter reveals his true intentions of being a human sacrifice to revive Aster, as this goes against Lloyd's ideals with no sacrifices.

[edit] Other Appearances

[edit] Tales of VS.

Richter appears in Tales of VS. as a playable character, though to unlock him, the player needs to trigger extra events involving him in both Lloyd and Colette's, and Cless and Kratos' stories. He is one of the smartest in the tournament and very knowledgeable on matters such as battles and the world. However, beneath his intellectual demeanor is his strong desire for revenge; he joined the Yggdrasill Battle in pursuit of his enemy. He allies himself to no particular nation.

[edit] Tales of Vesperia (PS3)

As of November 25th, 2009, it is possible to buy a cameo costume for Judith which consist of Richter's clothes.

[edit] Trivia

• Richter Abend means "judge evening" in German.
• During the times Richter allies with Emil as a party member, it is only when Emil does not have Marta or any of the others with him.