Rance 02:Cut Content

This page covers changes made to Rance 2 over the series of its numerous ports, as well as dummied or otherwise excluded content found in the games.

Overview
Rance II was originally released on numerous computer systems of the day: the PC-88, PC-98, MSX2, FM TOWNS, and the X68000. The was later ported to Windows 95 via System 3.5. Finally, the game was remade as Rance 02 as the first of several Rance remakes. Unlike later remakes, Rance 02 is a very similar game to the original, and can be easily compared to preceding releases.

Original Versions
Rance II was originally released in May of 1990, which presumably included all of PC-88, PC-98, MSX2, FM TOWNS, and X68000, although this is conjecture. An entry in Alice's Mansion suggests that Alicesoft only intended to support the FM-TOWNS version of Rance 2 for two years (until July 15, 1992). No reason for this is given.

This release was followed by a Rance II Hint Disk, which began release on July 1. The disk was available only via mail order for 1000 yen using a mail order card included with the game itself. This hint disk included a walkthrough, a partial hint feature, as well as a completed CG Gallery, BGM Test, and developer commentary. The disk also included a "Mini ADV" entitled SD Ranpu (SDらんす). Distribution of the hint disk lasted only a little over one year, scheduled to end on July 15, 1991.

Rance 02
The most recent version of Rance II is Rance 02, released in 2009 as part of the limited-release Alice2010 collection. The game proved so popular that it was followed by other remakes (Rance 01, Rance 03), and was later given a public release in digital formats only.

General Changes

 * Remade art. This includes a switch-over to full portrait sprites of all characters, including Rance and Sill, who were largely unseen outside of battle or CGs, except for small portraits in the corner of the screen.
 * Remastered soundtrack.
 * CG Gallery (was originally included in Rance II Hint Disk)
 * BGM Gallery (was originally included in Rance II Hint Disk)
 * Removed the "Key" feature - details forthcoming.
 * Auto battle feature removed.

Content Changes
Rance 02 is a very strict remake of the original, typically using the same Japanese text and sometimes even the same code structure as the original (despite being based on entirely different versions of System, and so entirely different programming languages). Nevertheless, some content changes are present above and beyond the above general changes.
 * The game's opening sequence was expanded with bios for the four witches - the original game only gave their names.
 * The group shot of the four witches together as children now shows Mill Yorks as noticably shorter than the other girls (slightly disgused by putting her in the background). The original game mistakenly depicted them at around the same size in the equivalent CG, misleading the player to believe they were all the same age.

HGTP Translation
Rance 02 was translated by HGTP Translations, who chose to translate the remake instead of the original game. It is the version most commonly played by English fans today.

Windows 95 Version - Cut Content
This section concerns cut content found in the Windows 95 version of Rance II.

Alice's Mansion
Like in the previous game, there are several missing entries from the Alice's Mansion section, likely leftovers from previous versions. This includes an advertisement for the Hint Disk (likely never made available for Windows), and another for the Alicesoft's online support helpline. The cut text explains that the helpline did not accept game hint questions - the ad redirects the player back to the hint disk for such purposes.

Alice's Mansion is also missing a section where Alicesoft urges the player to make backup copies of all their software, Alicesoft or otherwise, for safety's sake. Many developers of the time would consider this to be piracy, which may have been why the message was removed, although Alicesoft may also have removed the message for the Windows release due to the switch over to slightly more reliable 3.5" floppies during the 90s.

Debug Mode
A debug mode exists in the game, activated if VAR0187 is set to any value but 0. Like with Rance 1's, is not player-accessible, so the code must be decompiled or hacked to activate it. If activated, debug mode will reveal two features.

A Debug menu available in the Camp screen. Much of the text in this menu suggests the menu was either changed at some stage or was planned to be much more ambitious than ultimately implemented. This menu has two submenus. Debug Mode also allows access to a submenu in the in-game Settings menu to adjust "Small Fry Treatment." This menu is supposed to adjust what you do when you encounter "Small Fry" monsters: automatically fight or automatically run away. Testing and examination is required to see exactly how it works in practice.
 * Character Data: Despite its name, this is an EXP cheat that gives a character of the player's choice 1000 EXP. Shizuka cannot be selected
 * Variable: Displays the status of variables the game calls A01-A20, but that the decompiled code calls VAR0040-VAR0060 (must test to see what these are, at least one is a key item). Text used in this section calls the section Variable EDIT (変数のＥＤＩＴ), but it is not possible to edit any of the variables. The editing code does exist, but it has been dummied out (if it was ever accessible). Controls exist to increase or decrease the variable by 1, or to directly edit the variable via pop-up box.