Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (PlayStation)

Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense
Also known as: Vigilante 8: 2nd Battle (JP) Developer: Luxoflux Publishers: Activision (US/EU) Syscom (JP) Platform: PlayStation Released in JP: February 24, 2000 Released in US: November 18, 1999 Released in EU: December 31, 1999 This game has unused music. This game has regional differences.

The critically acclaimed sequel to Vigilante 8. 2nd Offense introduces new characters, new tracks, a new weapon, and new gameplay mechanics. One of which is tires depending on the terrain of the level; skis for ice levels, hovercrafts for roads, and water skis for levels with water. Some of the weapons also have new secondary attacks. A new group of characters were added called the Drifters (Wanderers in the Japanese version) who don't align either with the Vigilantes or Coyotes, and have their own personal agenda. There are also 3 unlockable characters for each of the three groups, though one of each group is not playable in Quest, unless played by the second player.

Unfortunately, it was the last official game in the franchise, and seeing how 20 years later there hasn't been another game in the series, it has been declared unofficially dead.

Unused Music

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

The game contains Redbook Audio for music, and can be played on most CD players. The CD contains a track titled V8 Stage Theme, which is a variation of the song V8 Theme. However, it is never used in the game, and V8 Theme is the only version that comes up in the song selection menu.

Regional Differences

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

Note: Pretty much all these regional differences also apply to the Japanese Dreamcast version.

• The Japanese version's title changes the word Offense to Battle.
• Arcade mode has been renamed to Free Mission.
• The Drifters group have been renamed to the Wanderers.
• Hitting an enemy with more than one weapon (excluding the machine gun) in the international versions is called a Whammy. In the Japanese version, it is called a Combo Hit (コンボヒット).
• When an enemy's vehicle has run out of health, their car starts to smoke. The international versions allow the player to perform a whammy on said vehicle to "Total" it. In the Japanese version, it is called a Super Finish (スーパーフィニッシュ).
• Everything, even including the voice acting was done entirely in Japanese. As a result, some of the characters' dialogue are not direct translations from the English version.
• Some of the ending cutscenes have added Japanese text to explain things on the screen. Also, some of the Japanese version's cutscenes have character dialogue, where in the international versions, the game is left silent.
• The game's staff roll in the options menu contains credits for all the staff who worked on localizing the game for Japan, as well as the North American staff.
• The songs have been renamed in the Japanese version.

Character Names

Most of the character names remain the same between the North American and Japanese versions, but there were a few differences.

English Name	Japanese Name	Translation
Sheila	シーラ	Sheila
John Torque	ジョン・トルク	John Torque
Flying All Star Trio	チーム ファスト	Team Fast
Houston	ヒューストン	Houston
Convoy	コンボイ	Convoy
Dave's Cultsmen	カルトメン	Cultmen
Dallas 13	ダラス１３	Dallas 13
Nina Loco	ニナ・ロコ	Nina Loco
Molo	モロ	Molo
Lord Clyde	ロード・クライド	Lord Clyde
Obake	ゴースト	Ghost
Boogie	ブーギー	Boogie
Astronaut Bob O.	ボブ・Ｏ	Bob-O
Garbage Man	ゴミオ	Gomio
Agent R. Chase	エージェント・チェイス	Agent Chase
Chassey Blue	チャシー・ブルー	Chassey Blue
Padre Destino	パドレ・デスティーノ	Padre Destino
Dusty 'Earth'	ダスティー・アース	Dusty Earth

• 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 North American 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

English Name	Japanese Name	Translation
Wonderwagon	ワンダーワゴン	Wonderwagon
Thunderbolt	サンダーボルト	Thunderbolt
Dakota Stunt Cycle	スタント バイク	Stunt Bike
Samson Tow Truck	サムソン レッカー	Samson Wrecker
Livingston Truck	リビンストン トラック	Livingston Truck
Xanadu RV	ザナドゥＲＶ	Xanadu RV
Palomino XIII	パロミノ ＸＩＩＩ	Palomino XIII
El Guerrero	ヱル ゲレオ	El Guerreo
Blue Burrow Bus	ブルー ブロー バス	Blue Burrow Bus
Excelsior Stretch	エクセルシオ リムジン	Excelsior Limousine
Tsunami	ツナミ	Tsunami
Marathon	マラソン	Marathon
Moon Trekker	ムーン・トレッカー	Moon Trekker
Grubb Dual Loader	グラブ デュアル ローダー	Grubb Dual Loader
Chrono Stinger	クロノ スティンガー	Chrono Stinger
Vertigo	バーディゴ	Vertigo
Goliath Halftrack	ゴリアテ ハーフトラック	Gloiath Halftrack
Wapiti 4WD	ワピチ４ＷＤ	Wapiti 4WD

• 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.

English Name	Japanese Name	Translation
V8 Theme	ヴィジランテ８ テーマ	Vigilante 8 Theme
Boogie Fever	ブーギー フィーバー	Boogie Fever
Return of Houston	ヒューマン レディー	Human Lady
OK to be Loco	ガンバレ ロコ	Good Luck Loco
Rock My Bus	ロック マイ バス	Rock My Bus
Rollerqueen	ローラー クイーン	Roller Queen
Road to Madness	ロード マッドネス	Road Madness
Convoy Country	コンボイ カントリー	Convoy Country
Dave's Theme	デーブ ヲ オッテ	Ode To Dave
Gimme Mo' Torque	ブラック サンダーボルト	Black Thunderbolt
Chassey's Chase	チャシー ノ ツイセキ	The Chase of Chassey
Go Team F.A.S.T.	チームファースト ノ テーマ	The Theme of Team FAST
Obsession in D-	プログラム ダラス	Program Dallas
Stargazers	タイム ガーディアン	Time Guardian
Future Two	サイレント トラベラー	Silent Traveler

• 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.