Luke fon Fabre

Luke fon Fabre
Tales character
Luke as seen in Tales of the Abyss
First game	Tales of the Abyss (2005)
Designed by	Kōsuke Fujishima
Voiced by (English)	Yuri Lowenthal
Voiced by (Japanese)	Chihiro Suzuki

Luke fon Fabre (Japanese: ルーク・フォン・ファブレ, Hepburn: Rūku fon Fabure, Luke fone Fabre) is a fictional character introduced in the 2005 role-playing video game Tales of the Abyss by Namco Tales Studio. Luke is a young swordsman who has been living in a mansion in the Kimlasca Kingdom for seven years after being kidnapped and suffering from amnesia. His pampered life turns upside down when he unwittingly becomes the target of a military-religious organization known as the Order of Lorelei, who believe him to be the key to an ancient prophecy. Across his journey, Luke fights to stop an impending war and matures as a person. He has also appeared in the anime and manga versions of the game as well other games within the Tales series.

Namco's staff created Luke to be a flawed person who, despite being unlikable because of his personality, would mature across the game. He was designed by Kōsuke Fujishima who wanted his appearance to show his laziness, a sense of fashion, as well as the fact he practises martial arts. He has been voiced in Japanese by Chihiro Suzuki and in English by Yuri Lowenthal.

Critical reception to Luke's character has ranged from negative to positive based on his development in Tales of the Abyss. While initially seen as an unlikable person, his growth into a respectable hero across the story arc received praise from critics. He has also appeared in multiple Tales polls where he has been voted as one of the series' most popular characters.

Makoto Yoshizumi, the producer of Tales of the Abyss explained that studio staff made the protagonist, Luke, unlikable by being "selfish" and "annoying" at the outset of the game. These negative personality traits were designed to cause gamers to dislike him but over the course of the game, he would mature into someone so likable that the other main characters would comment, "Huh, Luke's not that bad". While such a character could turn off many players, Yoshizumi preferred a cast of "flawed characters" rather than a story in which "the fated protagonist had a perfect life and a perfect upbringing, and he grew up to defeat the demon king". During early promotions of the games, one of the staff members, Yasuhiro Fukaya, noted multiple fans disliked the character. However, upon ending the game which developed him, fans started liking him. Fukuya shared the same feelings to the point of calling Luke his favorite Tales character.