Tales of Faithful Subtitles - JP

I started this project for my own playthrough of Tales of Arise. Playing with Japanese voices, I wanted English subtitles that stayed closer to what the characters were actually saying—their meaning, personality, emotional tone and relationships. Ever since I started to study Japanese myself, this became even more unbearable to ignore, so I fix it.

I’m sharing it for anyone looking for that same experience. Please be advised that this is a work in progress.

What does this mod change?

This mod overhauls the English dialogue subtitles with the Japanese script as the source of meaning, while keeping, at the moment, the established English names and terminology for consistency with the interface (that means also not-dubbed dialogue).

The goal is faithful, natural English that reads comfortably during gameplay and reflects the Japanese dialogue more closely.

The main-game translation pass covers 17,048 dialogue entries/lines. This includes revised translations, newly supplied English text where needed, and official English retained after review.

Translation examples:

Japanese: …Sō ka. Sō da na.

Original English: “That bad, huh? Better safe than sorry, I suppose.”

Modded/Faithful English: “... I see. You're right.”The Japanese is a brief acknowledgment and agreement. The mod preserves that understated response, removing the additional question and “better safe than sorry” expression.

Japanese: Itami o kanjinai to itte mo, kizu wa shikkari ou shi, hone datte oreru.

Original English: “You may not be able to feel pain, but that doesn't mean you can't be wounded just like everyone else.”

Modded/Faithful English: “Even if you can't feel pain, you still get wounded, and your bones still break.”The Japanese specifically mentions both wounds and broken bones. The mod restores the reference to that, preserving Doc’s concrete warning.

Japanese: Dare ni wakaru mono ka.

Original English: “If only it were so simple, my friend.”

Modded/Faithful English: “Who could know?”The Japanese expresses that nobody can know the answer. The mod preserves that rhetorical question rather than changing it into a statement about simplicity.

Translation approach

Each line is considered in its available scene and conversation context, with particular attention to:

• []Preserving the meaning and emotional intent of the Japanese.[/]

  []Keeping character voices, relationships and levels of politeness.[/]

  []Correcting additions, omissions or changes in emphasis.[/]

  []Preserving ambiguity when the Japanese leaves something unsaid.[/]

  []Using established English character names, locations and terminology.[/]

  []Keeping subtitles clear and natural to read.[/]

  Official English is treated as a translation to evaluate. Where it fits the Japanese well, it can remain; where a closer or clearer rendering is needed, it is revised.

  I am also checking individual Translation results myself if possible.

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  Current coverage

  • []Main game: Translation and multi-review pass complete and playable.[/]

    []DLC: Work in progress.[/]

    I have not yet started playing the game myself except the Introduction for testing. A completed translation pass does not mean every scene has already been checked in-game, as well as AI being involved which doesn't replace professional Human translators. So player reports are welcome.

    I am working on another critical review pass of the retained English.

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    How it was made