Tales of Rebirth – The Most Divisive Tales Game

Tales of Rebirth finally has a complete English fan translation, and after nearly 20 years, I can finally play and review it. In this video, I share my honest thoughts on the story, characters, battle system, music, and overall experience of Tales of Rebirth in 2025 — including what worked for me, and what didn’t. I’ve been a longtime fan of the Tales series, going all the way back to Tales of Eternia on the PS1, so returning to a classic 2D sprite-based Tales game felt nostalgic in all the right ways. However, Tales of Rebirth is also a complicated game — especially in how it handles themes of racism between the Huma and Gajuma races, and in how its unique 3-Line Linear Motion Battle System affects the pacing and feel of combat. This review covers: Story & Themes (Veigue, Claire, Mao, Eugene, Tytree, Hilda, Annie) The racism narrative and why it didn’t always work for me The 3-Line LMBS combat system (and why it frustrated me) The Force Cube, Ougis, Smash Points, and Mystic Artes explained The soundtrack by Motoi Sakuraba & Shinji Tamura The presentation, art direction, and early PS2-era charm My personal overall thoughts after finishing the game Huge thank you to Life Bottle Productions for making Tales of Rebirth playable in English for fans around the world. Fan translation work preserves gaming history. It matters. What did you think of Tales of Rebirth? • Did the story themes resonate with you? • How do you feel about the 3-Line battle system? • Where does this game rank for you in the Tales series? Let’s talk. I love hearing what everyone else brings to these games. If you enjoy JRPG reviews, retrospectives & discussions, consider subscribing. It helps more than you know — and it lets me keep making videos like this. 💙 Check me out on Twitter: Twitter.com/Shinky_Plays Check me out on Twitch: Twitch.tv/shinky Join my discord:   / discord