Namco has updated the official website for its PlayStation 2 RPG Tales of Rebirth. In addition to protagonist Veigue Lungberg and female lead Claire Bennett, two more characters have been revealed: 13-year old Mao and 40-year old Eugene Gallardo. The former is still an innocent and lively boy, who likes joking, despite having lost his memory and living without a single relative. Eugene, a member of the Gajima race, is looking after the boy. Eugene is not only an excellent warrior, but is also very calm. And while his past seems to burden him, he does not talk about it at all and lives to fulfill his self-imposed mission. Just like other people however, Eugene can't escape from the new threatening shadow which will cause him great pain.

Tales of Rebirth's overworld map will consist of polygons, while towns and other locations will feature the well-known 2D visuals which resemble hand-drawn pictures. The quarter view of previous installments will be replaced by an angle that is close to a side view, and the camera will automatically zoom in or out depending on the character's current position and movements.

The development team at Tales will also implement a new battle system, without Technical Points. The game's Three Line Linear Motion battles will be fought in 2D. The positions of party members and enemies will be arranged through three lines. This new system will allow players more freedom as to how to line up their characters. The Technical Point system has been replaced by the so-called Force Gauge, a square-shaped gauge at the bottom of the screen. The gauge shows the force level of pre-selected skills and techniques. Once it is filled up, players are free to unleash a skill or technique. As the battle progresses, the gauge will fill up. Depending on the level of difficulty of the respective skill, this progress will take more or less time. Hence, the key to victory is setting the right pre-selection of skills.

Tales of Rebirth will be released sometime during the current fiscal year in Japan.

• Official Tales of Rebirth Website