Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (PlayStation)

Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense is the sequel to Vigilante 8, bringing new weapons, new levels, new weapons (with secondary attacks) and new gameplay mechanics. Such mechanics include terrain-dependent tires, skis, hovercrafts and water skis. The Quest mode introduces a new group, the Drifters, who are against the Vigilantes and the Coyotes, and each group has an unlockable character as well.

Unfortunately, it was the last game in the series, as Luxoflux moved on to Star Wars car combat, true crimes, and Transformers. There was a 2008 reimagining for Xbox 360 from a new team formed by the original creators, but that was pretty much it for the series.

Unused Music#

To do: Check if the Dreamcast version has the same song, as its songs cannot be ripped directly.

The game uses Red Book Audio for its music, which can be played on just about any CD player. There is a track, "V8 Stage Theme", which is variation of the "V8 Theme", but it is never used in-game. "V8 Theme" is the only version that appears in the song selection menu.

Regional Differences#

To do: Translate the dialogue, vehicles, music, and character names. Regional differences might require a sub-page.

2nd Offense received a load of changes when it was released in Japan. Note: Pretty much all these changes also apply to the Japanese Dreamcast version.

• The game was renamed Vigilante 8: 2nd Battle.
• Arcade mode was changed to Free Mission.
• The Drifters are now called the Wanderers.
• The Whammy, where you hit an enemy with more than one weapon (excluding the machine gun) was renamed Combo Hit (コンボヒット).
• Totaling a car, which happens when the player performs a whammy when an enemy's vehicle is out of health and starts to smoke, is now called a Super Finish (スーパーフィニッシュ)
• The text and voice acting were redone in Japanese, though some of the character dialogue is not directly translated from the English version.
• Additionally, some of the ending movies have extra Japanese text to explain what's happening, as well as voiced dialogue in scenes that were originally without dialogue.
• The credits add the Japanese localization staff in addition to the credits for the North American staff.
• The songs have been renamed.

Character Names#

Most of the character names remain the same between the English and Japanese versions, but there are a few differences.

• Flying All-Star Trio was changed to Team Fast, as an abbreviation of their name.
• Dave's Cultsmen were renamed to simply Cultmen. A more appropriate translation would have been Karutsumen (カルツメン).
• While Obake has a Japanese name in the English version, it is curiously translated to English in the Japanese version, as the word Obake is Japanese for Ghost, albeit written in katakana.
• Astronaut isn't included in Bob O's name in the Japanese version.
• Garbage Man is now named Gomio. "Gomi" is Japanese for "garbage", so the 'o' was probably added to make it sound more like a name.
• Agent Chase is missing the letter R. in his name in the Japanese version.
• Dusty 'Earth' is missing the hyphens in the Earth part of his name in the Japanese version.

Vehicle Names#

• Dakota Stunt Cycle was changed to just Stunt Bike. The correct translation would have been ダコタ スタント サイクル.
• Samson Tow Truck was renamed to Samson Wrecker, as a wrecker is the Japanese name for a tow truck. The correct translation would have been サムソン トウ トラック.
• Livingston Truck is missing the "gu" (グ) character from its translation, so technically, it would be "Livinston Truck".
• El Guerrero is missing the "ro" (ロ) symbol and is replaced with the "o" (オ) character. The correct translation would have been エル ゲレーロ.
• Excelsior Stretch was renamed to Excelsior Limousine. The correct translation would have been エクセルシオ ストレッチ.

Song Names#

Most of the names of the songs are different in the Japanese version.

• V8 Theme was changed to Vigilante 8 Theme, probably so it is more understandable to Japanese audiences.
• Return of Houston was changed to Human Lady. This is to signify Houston being half woman/half machine in the first game, while in this game, she is no longer under the control of OMAR, and is now a complete human woman as a result.
• OK to be Loco was changed to Ganbare Loco (Good Luck Loco), in reference to the character Nina Loco.
• Rollerqueen has a space between Roller and Queen.
• Road to Madness is now just Road Madness. Poor to.
• Dave's Theme was changed to Dave wo Otte (Ode to Dave). This is in reference to the character Dave from the first game. He does not make an appearance in this game, but the characters Dave's Cultsmen (or just Cultmen in the Japanese version) are followers of Dave, and even use the same exact special weapon that Dave used in the first game.
• Gimme Mo' Torque was changed to Black Thunderbolt. These refer to the character John Torque and his vehicle, the Thunderbolt (based on a Ford Mustang). Also, he is black, one of his quotes in the English version being "Always bet on black!", which is why the word was included in the Japanese title, since his Thunderbolt is actually blue and gold colored.
• Chassey's Chase uses a direct translation of the title, being Chassey no Tsuiseki. Tsuiseki is Japanese for a chase, pursuit, etc.
• Go Team F.A.S.T. is translated to Team Faast no Teema. The ー character shouldn't be present, as it would incorrectly translate their name to Team First.
• Obsession in D- is translated to Program Dallas, revealing the song is the theme of the character Dallas 13, at least in the Japanese version.
• Stargazers was translated to Time Guardian. The game centers around time travel, but could also possibly be the theme of the character Agent Chase, as he is a part of the Chrono Patrol, which are police from the future.
• Future Two was changed to Silent Traveler. It is unknown who this song is intended for, but it could be for any of the Drifters.