Hacking Translation Xenosaga I & II - English project

[Blackstar97]

Disclaimer: i don't speak japanese, I'm not a native english speaker and i don't know anyone willing to put time and effort into this. Hence, the entire translation process will be based on AI. What I've learned so far is also based on AI.

Hi all,
after a bit of trial and error, text, can be extracted and imported correcly.
The only limitation is byte length, as in the EVC files, that can't be changed.
Some text, like email, tech, and others, works between BDY, HED and BIN that allow length changes.
Because of that, some text in game may appear shortened, some dots, commas etc can be mssing.
As per disclaimer, I'm not a native speaker and my english id far from perfect, so any feedback will be appreciated.
Thanks to @blueboy92 for providing the DS script, which is far more useful than anticipated.
As I said before, if a native or high level japanese speaker wants to help, please DM me.
I'll take a break from the project but wanted to release something to get feedback and hopefully help.

What's translated so far?
1st Chapter - Ubung
Mails (One mail notification should be still in Japanese but the content it's in english)
Weapons
Techs
Items
Tutorials.

Lore elemets like Glossary, Plugins and description are missing.
Graphic content, like in-game menu, or bubble names,
can't currently be translated and it's honestly the last thing I would work on.
I'm not sure everything it's translated/working because in extraction, the script might break something because of different byte terminator/starter. So, the game might freeze, have missing translations etc.. if you see something please post it.

Download Chapter 1 patch (Sendspace)

The patch can be applied with xdelta

Spoiler: Tools used

CrystalTile2 - hex editing
ripgrep(rg) - to find specific strings and locate which file they are in
Tinke - to extract/replace specific files inside the rom
Chatgpt first, then moved to Claude for learning, scripting and translating.
DS Script (JAP - AI translated)
PS2 Script: https://www.neoseeker.com/xenosaga-ep1/faqs/60916-xenosaga-script.html
jetfuel PS2 JAP guide: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps2/519264-xenosaga-episode-i-der-wille-zur-macht/faqs/16087

On a side note, i went with the English localization for names, like
Aquagist -> Med Kit
Rosegist -> Ether Pack
Zetagist -> Revive
Which one do you think it's better?

Spoiler: Screenshots

 

[SDA]

I honestly don't think it's a good idea to translate such a text-heavy game with AI.

 

[abxylord]

IIRC, there was a project that sought to translate Xenosaga I & II (DS) years ago. Don't remember what ultimately happened to it. I'd love to see an English translation of this game.

 

[Kwyjor]

since no one seems to be willing to translate the game

If you search around I think you will find there have been many people "willing" to translate this game. You may safely assume that the lack of progress is an indication that translating this game is exceptionally difficult.

In fact, there's even a menu patch already. https://godsibb.net/index.php?threads/xenosaga-1-2-ds-menu-patch.86/

 

[Blackstar97]

If you search around I think you will find there have been many people "willing" to translate this game. You may safely assume that the lack of progress is an indication that translating this game is exceptionally difficult.

In fact, there's even a menu patch already. https://godsibb.net/index.php?threads/xenosaga-1-2-ds-menu-patch.86/

Yes i know about AleXwern's patch. It would be the next step to compare it to an original rom and see what's changed, the main menu option though is not edited so no luck on that side. I get it might be more difficult, but there must be a way, especially for seasoned hackers. I guess the demand it's not there being a niche title. I've seen several attempts of contacting AleXwern with no luck unfortunately. Honestly it just feel frustrating to see so many attempt "die" without a proper closure. That's why i'm asking for help on key points.

 

[Kwyjor]

Yes i know about AleXwern's patch.

Don't you think it would be useful to mention that instead of saying "no one seems to be willing"..?

I get it might be more difficult, but there must be a way, especially for seasoned hackers. I guess the demand it's not there being a niche title.

No, I think it quite possibly one of the most recognizable untranslated games on the system and that plenty of "seasoned hackers" have taken a look and given up.

There are plenty of considerably "niche titles" that have been translated at this point. (Nanashi no Game comes to mind.)

 

[Blackstar97]

Don't you think it would be useful to mention that instead of saying "no one seems to be willing"..?

No, I think it quite possibly one of the most recognizable untranslated games on the system and that plenty of "seasoned hackers" have taken a look and given up.

There are plenty of considerably "niche titles" that have been translated at this point. (Nanashi no Game comes to mind.)

My bad, but it's been 6 years from that patch, so i guess it's unfortunately a dead project. Actually, lately, Nanashi no Game has become more popular in my country lol
Anyway, if that's really the case i guess there's nothing i can do. i'll tinker with the menu patch a bit and see what AleXwern did. Thanks for the info

 

[blueboy92]

i remember when the files from the zohar server was alive in discord, that there was a group that said that they were working on it. to bad that server is gone. most translation efforts are likely going to pied piper though, since that's the latest "hot" thing with the xenosaga series

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

i remember when the files from the zohar server was alive in discord, that there was a group that said that they were working on it. to bad that server is gone. most translation efforts are likely going to pied piper though, since that's the latest "hot" thing with the xenosaga series

yes everything seems to be a dead end and the patch for a translation exist but it's not even close to being finished from what i played

 

[Nikokaro]

The abandoned project you mentioned was the one started on Romhacking Aerie by Kingcom and Deets years ago. If, despite their talent, they were unable to continue, there must be a valid reason, right? Anyway, I hope you manage to achieve some useful results, although it will be difficult on your own, without any help, I fear.

 

[Egoistamamono]

i remember when the files from the zohar server was alive in discord, that there was a group that said that they were working on it. to bad that server is gone. most translation efforts are likely going to pied piper though, since that's the latest "hot" thing with the xenosaga series

Wait, Zohar is gone?

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

Wait, Zohar is gone?

Yep, YT channel is still up, but the discord and Twitter is gone

 

[The Catboy]

the entire translation process would be based on AI

Don’t do that, that’s a terrible idea

 

[ChronoCrossfangirl2002]

Disclaimer: i don't speak japanese, I'm not a native english speaker and i don't know anyone willing to put time and effort into this. Hence, the entire translation process would be based on AI. What I've learned so far is also based on AI.

I probably should've said this in my other reply but alot of the dialogue to my knowledge is based on the PS2 version of the game, there's no reason to use AI when the template for this is right there.

 

[Blackstar97]

I probably should've said this in my other reply but alot of the dialogue to my knowledge is based on the PS2 version of the game, there's no reason to use AI when the template for this is right there.

I'm also using the script of Xenosaga EP1 found on neoseeker. The main issue is, you work on bytes and you can't add more than what's in there, also AI can't translate huge chunks of text so it's quite slow. But it's fine, as the AI translates without context i need to doublecheck. I don't even know who is talking, or to whom, so the script it's a key factor. I fear that what stopped everyone is the fact that japanese can be more condensed, so less bytes than what we would need; if that's the case, we will at the very least know why it can't be done: too much text too little bytes to work on.

 

[Blackstar97]

Update:
After a few days of trial and error, i can (for now) input text without the game crashing. I'll take a break, but it seems to be doable, speaking japanese would make things way easier.

 

[SDA]

Update:
After a few days of trial and error, i can (for now) input text without the game crashing. I'll take a break, but it seems to be doable, speaking japanese would make things way easier.

Yeah, definitely so. And I hope a competent group finally translates this game the way it should be translated.

 

[blueboy92]

if you're having trouble with the script for the game, someone actually extracted and uploaded the script for the game, hopefully it can help with translation or something

Disclaimer: i don't speak japanese, I'm not a native english speaker and i don't know anyone willing to put time and effort into this. Hence, the entire translation process would be based on AI. What I've learned so far is also based on AI.
Hi all,
since no one seems to be willing to translate the game, i decided to give it a try.
First thing to do as a test, was translating the main options menu (the one with the blue background).
Tools used:
CrystalTile2 - hex editing
ripgrep(rg) - to find specific strings and locate which file they are in
Tinke - to extract/replace specific files inside the rom

So, i first started searching for オプション which returned what i initially thought was the correct option menu, located in "overlay9_0". Edited strings like BGM演奏禁止 but after reinserting the file i realized it was probably the in-game options menu, or something else.
I then started searching for "初期状態に戻す" which is the "reset to default" option at the bottom of the main options menu.
I could not find this string anywhere, so I concluded that it is probably a graphic object, not text.
And that's where i'm currently stuck, i have downloaded YYCHR, TileMolester, and other tools trying to understand how to correctly view 0/option/op000.pcg which I'm sure is the main menu bottom screen background, since changing a few bytes to FF makes it appear corrupted in game.
If anyone has any useful information, suggestion or time to waste into this project: thank you.

Update 02/25/2026:
If someone who can speak japanese, and did complete the game (even the ps2 version) want to help in translation, would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 558931

 

[Blackstar97]

if you're having trouble with the script for the game, someone actually extracted and uploaded the script for the game, hopefully it can help with translation or something

Thank you, it's actually quite helpful to understand who is talking, as the game take the names from somewhere else

 

[AzureVeyle]

oh,someone is finally doing it, hopefullly the script is helpful