Tales of Rebirth English Translation 1.0 Released by Life Bottle Productions

Tales of Rebirth, the sixth entry in Bandai Namco's acclaimed Tales series, has finally received an official English fan translation patch, thanks to the dedicated team at Life Bottle Productions.

The volunteer group—well-known for their tireless work in translating and remastering a range of Japanese-exclusive content from the Tales franchise—has announced the availability of Version 1.0 of their Tales of Rebirth English language patch for the PlayStation 2.

Originally released exclusively for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in 2004, Tales of Rebirth never received an English localization, despite the popularity of the Tales series outside its home market.

The game's PlayStation Portable port launched in 2008, offering additional story scenes and a new battle arena, but it too remained confined to Japanese-speaking audiences.

Tales of Rebirth follows Veigue Lungberg, a young orphan whose life changes dramatically after he acquires magical abilities in the aftermath of King Ladras' death—a catastrophic event known as the "Dusk of Ladras." The story delves into complex themes of social conflict and coexistence, inspired by scenario writer Masaki Hiramatu's travels in the former Yugoslavia.

Players navigate Veigue's struggle to control his powers after an accident endangers his closest friend Claire, setting off a narrative involving knights, royal intrigue, and the mysterious Four Stars generals, led by the antagonist Zilva Madigan. Life Bottle Productions first shared their translation ambitions in December 2021, marking the 17th anniversary of Tales of Rebirth's original PS2 release.

Following a successful beta (0.9) distributed in December 2024, the project has now reached the milestone of a polished 1.0 version.

The lead translator, SymphoniaLauren, and project leader and UI translator, Pegi, along with a team of committed volunteers, have worked meticulously to translate the full game into English, enhancing accessibility for international fans.

The comprehensive translator credits can be found on the project’s official channels. Key improvements in Version 1.0 include bug fixes for quest flags, memory card messages, and subtitle display issues, as well as corrections to font palettes and in-battle subtitle behavior.

Subtitles now map accurately to voice lines, several rare save and menu display bugs (some present in the original game) have been resolved, and typo and consistency refinements further polish the player experience. For those eager to explore Tales of Rebirth in English, the patch is ready for download from both the ROM Hack website and the project's GitHub repository.

This landmark release marks a significant achievement in fan-led preservation and accessibility for one of Bandai Namco’s iconic RPG titles.

Bandai Namco PS2 Namco Bandai English Rebirth RPG Tales of Rebirth Life Bottle Productions Tales series GitHub ROM Hack website SymphoniaLauren Pegi