58:07 The ring around Pac-Man shows your jump distance, it's referred as the Pac-Hoop in the japanese manual.

Good lord, there's almost no learning curve or risk factor at all in the japan one. With all the changes they made, I'm surprised they didn't just make him invincible and call it a day.

I cant begin to describe how surreal it is to see a pac cub where the pac bear is supposed to be, and for the pits to be filled

Basically the Japan version is the easy mode of this game

59:18 In japan, the menus in most playstation games work the same way nintendo menus do (with O being "yes" and X being "no"), so this isn't something specific to PMW2. Most japanese localizations of western games change their button layout to match this, and vice versa.

Man the Japan voice acting was nice. Would’ve been nice if there was voice acting in English

"The cheat codes are not in the Japanese version" Me who had this game for 10+ years: THERE'S CHEAT CODES???

A solid hour of differences is insane

If Pac-Man World 2 ever gets a Re Pac, i really hope it's not based on this version.

The video description caught me off guard.

“The token sound is loud as f***” LMAO

I really admire your dedication to this stuff, I've always loved Pac-Man World so seeing such in-depth content is awesome!!

Not related, but it looks like they wanted to give PAC-MAN a super form for the final boss like Sonic, but didn’t know how to implement it.

Its so surreal to see the changes that where made to this game for it's Japanese release I wonder if Pac-Man world 3 and the original Pac-Man world had noticeable differences in their respective Japanese releases

Both Spooky and the Wormood are voiced by the late Daisuke Gori

This game gave me bad seizures even tho I grew up with the seizures I finally finished it 3 days ago

So... We played The Hard mode ..

I’ve been waiting for a vid to cover these changes I only read about them.

I really get a kick out of the tutorial showing that you can use the steel ball to walk underwater.... then that idea is *never used again*

This video was an OpenMouthAndBulgingEyesFaceInThePants

Sometimes I forget that certain people have little faith in the gaming capabilities of children.

So Japan had the baby mode of this game

Ok, this is so cool, thanks for making this video :D

I love how u did put all the missing/changed stuff from every version!

During the Spooky battle I like the lavender purple background better than the dark blue one because the lavender purple looks much more realistic representing that of a whirlwind/tornado/hurricane whereas the one in the Player's Choice version is a bit too empty and shaded

It is interesting seeing all the changes made, for sure. I actually quite like certain ones (such as the shimmy section in the volcano level) because it cuts out bullshit bits of the level design. Of course, I can see why it would be overbearing for those familiar with the game. I don't think the game being easier had anything to do with it flopping in Japan, though. From what I've heard, Japanese audiences just don't click to 3D platformers the same way as the West does (Mario being one of a few exceptions, and even then 3D Marios are more revered elsewhere). And Pac-Man World 2 was very much a Western Pac-Man game - as was many of the Pac-Man games following it that didn't make it to Japan. If anything, I think the changes were made so Japanese players could get accustomed to it better compared to other 3D plats.

If Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac was to be made, I’d imagine Namco would implement an Easy Mode (AKA: the Japanese level design edits), voiced dialogue and saved collectibles.

An hour long of content? Nice

Sucks that this game flopped in japan

I don't know why this 7:10 unsettling me so much

35:26 the one disadvantage the JP version has.

Rest of the world version: 👿😠☠️🤬😡 Japanese version: 😊🥰😇🤗 btw great video. I think the good aspect of the videogame is the high difficult especially for reaching the 100%

Some of these decisions are insane... like why would you bother moving the collectibles out from behind obstacles IF THE OBSTACLE ITSELF IS BEING REMOVED???

If pacman world 2 ever gets a repac treatment, I wonder which version they'll use as a basis.

Is anyone else scratching their head out of curiosity to know why the developers decided to exclude voice acting from the English version of Pac-Man World 2? Because I mean, it’s not like they were unable to include voice acting in the English version, right?

So this is basically easy mode

The brown water ripples appearing when you fall onto the water on Haunted Boardwalk and Ghost Bayou might a PS2 only feature, because even on my Greatest Hits copy of Pac-Man World 2 (which is the update revision 1), the water ripples were still brown

Weird having voice acting. It’s like seeing cut content.

Fun fact: Spooky was voiced by the late Daisuke Gori.

Difficulty selection: Easy - Japanese PS2 version Medium - GameCube (Xbox maybe?) and PS2 (Greatest hits) Hard - PS2 Version

I've seen localizations making a game easier before, but this is insane. Some of the changes are fine and honestly would've been nice to have as some of the later levels (particularly the Volcano ones) get really challenging, but they removed most of the challenge and it feels like a rushed job based off the type of changes made. So many rooms were made pointless that I wonder how Japanese players felt while playing because without a comparison it's obvious that the level was meant to be harder. Confused on the removed Ghost variants, I thought it was because they had projectiles but then the devil ones were still there...maybe someone forgot to change them? Filling the holes in Canyon Chaos must've been a late decision because there's no point in moving stuff if you could just walk up to them. It would also explain why it looks so bad compared to other map changes, honestly surprised that Clyde's Boss Arena wasn't edited although the Volcano levels in general do still have a decent challenge despite the changes so I guess it fits. Side Note: it's weird not seeing the game lag when Clyde does the triple shots, the magic of emulators. lol With the recent World 1 Remake I've been hoping for a World 2 Remake however now I'm having second thoughts. While I don't know anything about World 1's Regional differences I know the Remake was made in Japan, and if they based it off the Japanese version then a World 2 Remake could be based off the Japanese version. Considering the poor sales (as well as insulting obvious changes like Canyon Chaos' non-holes) I hope that such a Remake would incorporate from/just use a different Regional version.

I like how they got rid of the thorny plants in the battle with Spooky but not in The Bear Basics despite them not hurting you in this version

Thanks for going so in-depth, this makes other comparisons I've seen look like they just scraped the surface. 25:32 Can't tell if I'm misinterpreting this or if you left the statement in parentheses in by accident. 52:23 Unlike the others, I like the addition of this sign, because this is a place you can reasonably get stuck. I (and probably others) got kinda stuck here. 55:08: The border is the same color as the ring around the timer, I think they forgot the alpha channel. 58:00 Baller song choice for the outro

Conclusion: The Japanese version is the Easy Mode of Pac-man World 2!

I think one difference between the Player's Choice and this version is not only the sound effects(examples butt-bounce,steel ball butt bounce,rev roll charge etc)but also the sound quality(examples torches in Night Crawling,the pond in Pac-Dot Pond,lava sounds in the lava levels,swirling whirlwind during the Spooky battle etc) Another thing I should point out is there's one sound effect that you hear in Haunted Boardwalk and Ghost Bayou but never Night Crawling in the Player's Choice version

So basically the game was made easier in the Japanese version

So much work put into such weird changes, did they just feel like they needed to justify their paycheck or something by doing all sorts of wacky dumb little changes? I guess that’s assuming the NTSC version was made first though, I don’t know myself but I’m sure someone will nerd emoji me to tell me which came first.

"bats absolutely flip their shit when you kill them" -Crazy Otto 2021

wow usually its the international version thats been softened up but here its the opposite

They could have add a difficulty setting!!

yeah definetly speedrunning the japanese version..

Looks like everything in the English version is completely fixed everything from the Japanese version

Such a strange game....

Its funny that JP’s version is easier; its usually the opposite, but wow.

They chopped off the game's, er, "power-pellets" in Japan. Yikes.

3:01: JonTron: They pull fall damage in their platform game?!? (JonTron quits!)

59:22 this happens to all Japanese games, probably because snes controls

As someone who played this as a small child, I would have very much appreciated thee changes! LOL. Some notes: OMG no fireballs in the lava levels would be great, those things were so obnoxious... 52:41 in my PS2 Greatest Hits version, I would have loved that sign. Not only was there no sign and no ramp to indicate you need to rev-roll, the fog was so intense you could barely even tell if there was any platform to land on down there. 55:00 On the PS2 Greatest Hits version, I think I had the orange square like in JP version 59:20 You comment on the button layout being reversed... OH, it's a PS2 version! This explains a lot of the oddities, PS2 was the inferior port in the US. On PS2 games, it was normal for X and O to be reversed in menus between JP and US. In USA, X is the primary button and Triangle means back in most games, but in JP O is literally a cultural symbol for "Yes" and X means "No," so you need to use O to advance through menus and select things in most japanese games. It confused the hell out of me as a kid when I had a game that didn't make that change for the US market, literally the button I normally used to select options (X) was the back button.

The directional B-Doings have been removed in Pinky's Revenge when meanwhile you can still hear the sound of the propeller at the bottom of them are they still there just covered inside the ice arena?

this is so cool thank you for posting this

I'm surprised they didn't add Spider Man PS1's *Kid Mode* to the JP version

So they sealed the bottomless pits of both Canyon Chaos & Pac-Dot Pond but not The Bear Basics

I loved PMW2! It was one of my favorite games, but i didn't play it as much because of how focused i would have to be. I always wanted a version where i could casually play and not have to bust my balls every time i put the game in. Now it looks like i found it.... Thanks!

Speaking of the World trilogy, did you know Re-Pac was developed by a Japanese company (which is Now Production)

I don't like the fact that they removed the bats entirely from Night Crawling it doesn't really set the mood considering it's a Halloween themed level

I love how we played the hard mode of this game because yes.

Japan version looks way too easy to be honest, Where's the challenge!?

It's too bad that Clyde in the Caldera didn't get the Inky's Blade O Matic & Pinky's Revenge treatment it would've been nice

Pac-Ranger sounds like Gamagori from Kill La Kill

Bizarre! It's so wierd that some things (like the shade of the metal power up) are more similar to the Revision 0, but other things (the net at the beginning of B-Doing woods) are more in line with Greatest Hits. Makes my head spin trying to figure out whether they made the JP version before or after the rest! Is there a Rev 0 and Greatest Hits in Japan, or just the one version?

to quoth keio flying squadron 2: "For baby gamers. Can't get any easier."

Canyon chaos is so freaking weird. So much sand man

59:00 I think it's because u didn't got really on the platform.this happens to both ps2 versions

What's the cheat for all levels btw? Are there other cheats in the game, too?

Any chance I can get a download of the Japanese version?

Absolutely insane how baby-step easy they made the Japanese version... especially considering that several of the hardest games ever created were made by Japanese devs. Like, what the hell were they thinking? Seems like the devs for this version thought the Japanese couldn't handle a challenge. Nevertheless, still an interesting game to dive into. Great video!

Treasel? I thought that blue weasel was called sneaker?

#JusticeForPookaPlant

Pac-Man world 2

If the North American version is the normal mode and the Japanese version is easy mode is the European version hard mode

Just coming from a full 100% playthrough (minus the underwater and Ghost Island time trials cuz I already got 100%) of Revision 0. As much as I don't like specific versions of games making a game easier, and as much as the majority of these changes where for the worse, I gotta say there are a few changes I would have actually enjoyed in the western releases: 1) The switched position of the steel ball power switch in Butane Pain (makes for a more fluid and generally better level design) 2) The signs that tell you: - Where to go at the end of Ice River Run (without the sign it's not that obvious to see where you have to go, tbh I would've put another sign on the platform where you stand on right before that section, cuz it's not obvious you have to rev-roll there, especially in Revision 0 where you ALWAYS slip on contact with ice; This whole final section of Ice River Run is slightly confusing and doesn't flow well with the level in terms of level design) - To rev-roll leap of faith in Volcanic Panic (might not be immediately obvious to the least experienced (in platformers), less risk-taking and/or hasty players) - To do a rev-roll leap of faith in Night Crawling (I've actually spent quite a few minutes just to RANDOMLY understand what I had to do there, they should've put a ramp there cuz it's anything BUT obvious you have to rev-roll there, even more considering there's a B-Doing platform below that makes you think you can make the jump from there) 3) The underwater and Ghost Island levels being generally easier, cuz they're too unfairly hard in the original releases: - Way too many mines, barrels, and missiles thrown at you AT THE SAME TIME in Scuba Duba and Shark Attack - Way too enemies, hazards and obstacles in Yellow Pac-Machine - The boardwalks falling too fast and realistically in Haunter Boardwalk, quite a few times I've fell into the water in those levels without being able to do anything, ESPECIALLY since you have to get Pac-Dots and fruit on some of the boardwalks (and sometimes even break a box AND THEN getting the fruit inside it), all items that have an extremely small hitbox for a section like this - The last apple being inside a bat. ON TOP OF A MOVING PLATFORM. Like, seriously? For the whole level you would never think there'd be ANYTHING inside a bat, first because that one's the ONLY bat that contains something, and second, because the game doesn't encourage you to hit the bats, due to how hard they are to hit. Apart from these changes, they should've just left the game like it was originally, in Revision 0. 'Cuz even some changes in Player's Choice were to make the game too easy, like the net that prevents you from falling down at the beginning of B-Doing Woods, for example. Like I said in the revisional differences video (great one too): Great game, but also pretty flawed, in some sections.

Not sure of you still reply to comments but in the level at 6:11 theres a hole behind the bush. I was never sure if it was possible to enter though.

It's funny how the ghosts actually used to scare me as a child

In my opinion, the Japanese localizers could've just added an easy mode instead of changing the difficulty

Why is there an easy version of the game? I mean sure on a first playthrough it can be frustrating, and 100% can feel like living hell but aside from them you can finish a casual playthrough of this game in like 3 hours if that

Is it Pac-Man World 2, or is it Weenie Hut Jr World 2?

nah this is nothing. Have you seen the changes in japanese pacman world 1?

So... japanese version is basically baby mode?

This video is pretty painful to watch. Why the hell did they nerf the difficulty in the Japanese port?

I have tried googling for Pac-Man World 2 cheat codes and I can't find any results. What are these?

so pacman japan is just easy version of the game

0:38 Pac-Man after visiting jamaica

Wasn't the Japanese version only released on ps2?

YOU MANIAC

Que chiste tiene jugar un juego que no tiene dificultad

so u telling me japanese game is like easy mode lol :D everyone was probably complaining that the game is too hard so they made it easier for the kids in japanese version even tho i want to play japanese version cuz its easier i will play english version cuz i want to understand the story and yes i never played this game i only played like 2 pacman games when i was a kid ms pacman maze madness on ps1 and pacman world 3 on ps2

Look how they massacred my boy

アメリカバージョンがこんなに難しいとは思わなかった。 あと声はないんだね…

Random comment Play Treewood Forest in night for the best experience

25:31 haha