Sonic Thrust

Sonic Thrust as it appears in Tales of Symphonia.

Sonic Thrust (瞬迅剣, Shunjinken^?, "Blink Fast Sword"), alternatively Sonic Dog (瞬迅犬, Shunjinken^?, "Blink Fast Dog") and Flying Jab (瞬迅拳, Shunjinken^?, "Blink Fast Fist"), is a classic swordsman technique of the Tales series.

Arte Description and History

The arte is relatively new in the swordsman's standard set of artes, first added in Tales of Symphonia but appearing in many games since. When using this arte, the character thrusts his or her weapon at the target, pushing it slightly backward. It is difficult to use this arte during a combo because it might force the enemy away, breaking the combo and giving the enemy a chance to retaliate, but it is powerful for an arte that can be used early within the games in which it appears.

Sonic Thrust as it appears in Tales of Innocence.

In Tales of Symphonia, a Lightning-elemental property can be added to Lloyd Irving's attack through the use of the "Sardonyx" accessory, the T. Seal: Lightning arte, a Lightning-elemental weapon, or the "Purple Quartz" item, to replace the arte with the more powerful Lightning-based arte, Lightning Thrust, if Sonic Thrust has been used over 200 times. This elemental variant can be used only by Lloyd, since both Kratos Aurion and Zelos Wilder have the more powerful Lightning Blade, which has a similar effect but greater damage.

In the original Xbox 360 release of Tales of Vesperia, Flynn Scifo can use this arte during the battle in which he is playable, enabling him to deal three hits with a single strike. In the PlayStation 3 version of the game, Flynn's attack has been modified to do one hit, but it now spins the enemy so that he can chain into another arte easily. Both versions of the game provide Repede with his own unique variation of the arte, alternatively named in Japanese to reflect his character using the kanji character for "dog" (犬, ken^?) rather than the standard "sword" (剣, ken^?).

This is later extended in Tales of Hearts R, where the arte is now represented in an unarmed context in which the thrusting motion is executed with a fist. The Japanese name of this arte is likewise changed to reflect this weapon change, using the kanji character for "fist" (拳, ken^?). All names are phonetically identical, and the differences in naming are represented in localized releases as "Sonic Thrust" for sword-based attacks, "Sonic Dog" when affected by canine action, and "Flying Jab" when unarmed.

Appearances

• Sonic Thrust
• Sonic Dog
• Flying Jab

Mothership Titles

• Tales of Symphonia - Lloyd Irving, Kratos Aurion, Zelos Wilder (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of the Abyss - Luke fon Fabre, Asch (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of Innocence - Spada Belforma
• Tales of Innocence R - Spada Belforma
• Tales of Vesperia (X360) - Flynn Scifo, Adecor, Traitor to Heaven (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of Vesperia (PS3) - Flynn Scifo, Adecor, Leblanc, Traitor to Heaven
• Tales of Graces - Richard (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of Xillia - Alvin, Gaius (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of Xillia 2 - Alvin, Gaius (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of Zestiria - Sorey, Sergei Strelka (Sonic Thrust)

Escort Titles

• Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 - Lloyd Irving
• Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology - Swordsman class, Magic Knight class, Lloyd Irving, Kratos Aurion (Sonic Thrust)
• Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 - Swordsman class, Magic Knight, Lloyd Irving, Kratos Aurion, Zelos Wilder, Luke fon Fabre
• Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 - Swordsman class, Magic Knight, Lloyd Irving, Kratos Aurion, Zelos Wilder, Luke fon Fabre, Flynn Scifo
• Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World - Zelos Wilder, Lloyd Irving (Sonic Thrust)

Mobile Titles

• Tales of the World: Tactics Union - Lloyd Irving, Zelos Wilder, Luke fon Fabre, Flynn Scifo
• Tales of Link - Zelos Wilder, Flynn Scifo

Mothership Titles

• Tales of Vesperia - Repede (Sonic Dog)

Mobile Titles

• Tales of Link - Repede

Mothership Titles

• Tales of Hearts R - Gall Gruner (Flying Jab)

Fan-Translated Names

• Sonic Thrust

• Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 (Kajitani-Eizan): Sonic Thrust
• Tales of Innocence (Absolute Zero): Sonic Thrust

In-Game Descriptions and Battle Quotes

• Sonic Thrust
• Sonic Dog

Tales of Symphonia

Localized Description: "Lv. 1 Sp. Attack: blow the enemy away with a powerful thrust."

Tales of the Abyss

Localized Description: "Base: Powerful thrusts that down the enemy."

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology

Localized Description: "Base: A strong thrust that blows the enemy back."

Tales of Vesperia

Japanese Description: 「瞬速の突きを繰り出す特技」
Localized Description: "Base Arte: A rapid flurry of powerful thrusts."

Tales of Xillia

Localized Description: "A frighteningly quick impact forward. When charged, becomes the Sonic Barrage arte, which also fires projectiles."

Tales of Xillia 2

User: Alvin
Localized Description: "A frighteningly quick impact forward. When charged, becomes the Sonic Barrage arte, which also fires projectiles."

User: Gaius

Localized Description: "Unleash a quick thrust at your foes."

Tales of Vesperia

Localized Description: "Base Arte: Send a series of sonic waves toward the enemies."

Gallery

Sonic Thrust as it appears in Tales of Vesperia.  Sonic Dog as it appears in Tales of Vesperia.  Sonic Thrust as it appears in Tales of Xillia.