Hot Shots Golf 2

To do: There is likely a debug menu, much like the other games in the series Many regional differences. See if any leftover Japanese content still exists in the US/EU versions.

Hot Shots Golf 2 is the first game in the series to be developed by Clap Hanz. It is also the first in the series to have a completely different roster between the Japanese and international versions, and the first to have guest characters from other game franchises.

Dummy File#

The US and European versions have a DUMMY.BIN file which is a 27,000 KB file with empty data.

Oddities#

Cut characters#

Within the "Secret characters and strategy" sections of the tutorial in the US and European versions, an early version of the character select screen can be seen. This shows the hard mode VS characters which shows some interesting oddities:

• In Sam's place is Maryann, the character who was originally going to take Kumi's slot before Sam was added.
• The hard mode opponents are the international roster rather than the Japanese roster.
• In the European version, the game is still referred to as "Hot Shots Golf 2" on the second page, being the only instance in the European version where the game’s American name is used.

Regional Differences#

To do: There are a lot more undocumented changes (different rosters, gameplay changes and more).

This page or section needs more images. There's a whole lotta words here, but not enough pictures. Please fix this.

Title Screen#

Japan	US	Europe

The Japanese version had a very different title screen, simply being a screenshot of a golf course. The US/European title screens are very similar to each other although they have different logos, different copyright information and the actual image is in a different aspect ratio.

Menus#

Japan	US/Europe

• In the menus in the Japanese version, there is a bubble which floats across the screen. This bubble was removed in international versions.
• The menu options have a different design in each version. Menu options in the US/European versions use pale borders with green text. In the Japanese version however, menu borders take a darker wood grain effect while the text is larger and a lot more colorful.
• Certain menus are closer to the left of the screen in the Japanese version while in the US/European versions, they are shifted to the middle.
• Music is set to on by default in the Japanese version, but it is oddly set to off by default in the international versions.
• The menu background can be set to random in the Japanese version. This was oddly removed in the international versions.
• In the Japanese version, the player can set a menu character who shows up during numerous menus. This was removed in the international versions.
  • Additionally, there is also a chick (known as "Birdie-Chan") who wanders around in the menus in the Japanese version whenever a female character is set as the menu character.

Profiles#

Japan	US/Europe

• In the Japanese version, characters use 3D models on the profile. When a character profile is selected, the character will spin around automatically. The player can manually rotate the character with the L1 and R1 buttons. In the US/European versions however, characters use static images which do not rotate.

Items#

Japan	US/Europe

• The item placements on the menu were rearranged in the international versions.
• The unlockable PocketStation games in the Japanese version were replaced with another set of wallpapers and another caddie.
  • The player does not unlock as many wallpapers in the International version when gaining a set due to the same amount of wallpapers being split into four sets instead of three.
  • The player starts off with three caddies unlocked in the Japanese version and two in the International versions.
• The unlockable caddies have a different design in the Japanese version compared to the international versions.
• The Pinch Hitter Coupon is green in the Japanese version and yellow in the international versions.

Character Select#

Japan	US/Europe

• The character select in the "Stroke", "Match Play" and "9-Hole Par 3" modes was rearranged. In the Japanese version, there are two question mark slots on the top row which select a random character. In the US/European version, these random slots were removed with the second row to the top now only having one slot.
• In all modes except "VS.", highlighted characters are in a pink background in the Japanese version and a green background in the US/European versions.

Home Page#

• The US/European versions have a tutorial section in the menu where the game teaches the player about golf and the game. While the tutorial is present in the Japanese version, it is part of the far more elaborate "Home Page" section. The Home Page section mimics an online webpage with the home page having three main sections:
  • Q&A is the tutorial section found in other versions. The tutorial menus have a different design and the tutorials themselves have different screenshots.
    • The Intermediate tutorial section has an extra section on the unlockables you can gain by leveling up.
  • User is a mockup blog page filled with pages on each of the characters, courses and numerous other things.
  • Download allows the player to download PocketStation games. The player starts off with Minna no DoraKon (Everybody's Driver Contest) although later on, the player unlocks Minna no Near Pin (Everybody's Near Pin) and Shin Peria Dentaku (New Peoria Calculator). The international versions naturally removed PocketStation support due to the PocketStation only being released in Japan.

Backgrounds#

The Japanese version has 70 backgrounds while the North American and European versions only have 52 backgrounds. Many backgrounds also have swapped slots depending on the version.

Japan	US	Europe

• Background 8 (10 in the Japanese version) shows the game's logo. Because of this, the background was changed in each version.

Swapped background slots#

The following backgrounds are in all versions but they have a different slot depending on the version. The different slots also mean that some backgrounds are unlocked at different times.

Background	Japanese slot	International slot
	1	21
	8	15
	9	16
	10*	8*
	11	9
	12	10
	13	11
	14	12
	15	13
	16	14
	19	25
	20	24
	21	33
	22	34
	23	35
	24	36
	25	37
	26	38
	27	39
	28	26
	29	1
	30	27
	31	28
	32	29
	33	30
	34	22
	35	31
	36	19
	37	20
	38	23
	39	32
	43	40
	44	41
	45	42
	46	43
	47	44
	48	45
	49	46
	50	47
	51	48
	52	49
	53	50
	54	51
	55	52
	58	18

• The background is altered depending on the version.

Japan exclusive backgrounds#

The Japanese version has a total of 18 backgrounds which did not make it into the international versions.

• Background 18 shows "Takuya" looking at the Northern lights. This was removed in the international versions in favor for a background originally designed for "Ryo".

• Background 40 is a wallpaper for "Birdie Chan", the Japanese version's mascot. This background is unlocked by beating the tour mode. As "Birdie-Chan" was removed in the International versions, this background was subsequently removed.

• Background 41 is an ensemble of the Japanese cast. This is unlocked by beating "Vader" in VS. mode. This was likely removed in the international versions as the Japanese cast play a smaller role, with the international versions having a new main cast.

• Background 42 and 56 are wallpapers for "Maya", a character exclusive to the Japanese version. These backgrounds are unlocked by playing as "Maya".

• Background 70 shows Suzuki and an alien on the golf course. This is unlocked by beating hard mode "Vader" in VS. mode.

When beating the hard mode opponents in VS. mode, you unlock a background for that character. In the international versions, you only unlock one background but in the Japanese version, you unlock two backgrounds. These backgrounds can also be seen on the "Home Page" character overviews and the backgrounds take up slots 57-69. Ryo's second background is present in the international versions although it is apart of the second set of unlockable wallpapers.

Background	Character
	Kumi
	Suzuki
	Hitomi
	Takuya
	Silvia
	Charles
	Ben
	Leon
	Hawk
	Leila
	Cougar
	Vader

Characters#

The Japanese version has a completely different playable roster compared to the international versions. The Japanese roster is still present in the international versions as the hard mode opponents in the VS. mode and they can be unlocked as secret characters by beating them in hard mode. The international roster does not appear at all in the Japanese version. With the shifted roster, this resulted in numerous differences:

• The profiles in the Japanese version naturally cover the Japanese characters while in the international versions, they cover the international characters.
• In the Japanese version in VS. mode, the player faces off against harder versions of the cast in hard mode with the characters wearing their player 4 color. In the international versions, the player faces off against the Japanese cast in hard mode although the characters wear their default costumes.
• In the Japanese version, the player only has 3 colors unlocked for each character by default and in order to unlock the 4th color for a character, the player has to beat that character on hard mode. In the international versions, all 4 colors are unlocked by default and beating a hard mode CPU instead unlocks the character as a secret character.
  • The Japanese characters only have their default costume in the international versions. The Japanese characters are accessed by selecting a character's 4th costume and then holding triangle when selecting the character.
  • Beating a hard mode CPU unlocks one wallpaper for the character in the international versions but in the Japanese version, the player unlocks two wallpapers for the character.
• After beating Mason, the game naturally plays a different cutscene compared to beating Hawk in the Japanese version. The game still plays the Hawk cutscene in the international version after beating him in hard mode.

• After beating Gex, the game plays a completely different cutscene compared to beating Vader in the Japanese version. The game still plays the Vader cutscene in the international version after beating him in hard mode.

• After beating the tour mode, the game plays a completely different cutscene in the international versions compared to the Japanese version. The game also has a different credits sequence with different music.

While most of the Japanese roster is still present in the international versions, the Japanese version does have one completely exclusive character with Maya. Maya is the default menu character who could be unlocked as an alternate costume for Kumi by beating Kumi in hard mode. Maya is accessed by selecting Kumi's 4th costume and then holding triangle when selecting Kumi (the same way the Japanese characters are accessed in the international versions). Maya is completely absent in the international versions and she received no replacement.

Caddies#

The Japanese version has a different set of caddies compared to the international versions.

Courses#

• The Japanese version has different icons for the seasons compared to the US/European versions.
• All of the courses were renamed in the English translation.

• The 9 hole course has three backgrounds per season in the US/European versions but in the Japanese version, the course only has one background per season.

Other changes#

• Circle and X have swapped functionality in the North American/European versions compared to the Japanese version both in the menus and during gameplay.
• The Japanese version uses metres for putting while the North American/European versions use feet/inches.
• The Japanese version measures wind in Metres per Second while the North American/European versions measure wind in Miles Per Hour.
• In the North American and European versions, the player is given an online code after completing various events. The Japanese version does not have online codes.
• Music loads faster when loading into a hole in the Japanese version.
• The North American and European versions have a cheat to unlock everything by inputting a specific name when setting up a save file. The code is "2GSH" in the North American version and "2GE" in the European version. The Japanese version has no cheat code to achieve this.