Monster Rancher 2 port's 50 differences from original PS1 release listed

by Kite Stenbuck on 16 September, 2020

The new port of Monster Rancher 2 for Nintendo Switch and mobile devices will be available very soon in Japan, and Koei Tecmo has finished filling a list of 50 changes made to this port from the original PlayStation release.

Although Monster Rancher 2 is widely known to be the most popular title in the series. the PlayStation 1 game was also laden with infamous bugs and glitches that changed the gameplay from the intended design. Many of the changes listed here involved fixes to these bugs.

Similar updates were also implemented on the earlier port of the first game. Some of the changes are made to make the ports more balanced; more new features are also added here to let players upload their frozen monsters to compete in online battles and tournaments.

You can read our translations (and explanations) of the 50 changes made to the Monster Rancher 2 port right after the jump. The enhanced port of Monster Rancher 2 launches in Japan for Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android this week on September 17. An English localization of the port has still yet to be announced.

Swim Training affinity fix
The Swim training is supposed to give a major raise on Defense and a minor raise on Life. However, there was an infamous bug that reversed the stat affinity check between the two stats. As a result, monsters with high Life base stat like Plant could benefit from easy Defense raise, while monsters that are supposedly Defense-oriented like Monol suffered from this bug.
Reduced lifespan reduction for doing Errantries, making it more enticing to have a monster learn new techniques without worrying too much about its lifespan.
Fairy Hare's Guts speed fix
The Hare X Pixie breed had an unusually quick Guts recovery speed, making it overpoweredly broken in the original release.
Wracky's name change
Wracky used to be known as Chucky in the original Japanese PS1 release, but the new Japanese port changes its name to Wracky as well.
Gali becomes able to learn Heavy Blow
Wracky becomes able to learn Air Shot
Bajarl becomes able to learn multiple techniques it couldn't due to bugs
An evil-natured Phoenix becomes able to learn Flame Cannon
King Ape's encounter fix
A glitch in the original release caused the errantry boss King Ape to have a limited timeframe to encounter.
Bajarl's body fix
Addition of Proto Messiah
A Henger X Gali breed that was available in Monster Rancher 1; known in the English release as Proto. Although it was also slated to appear in MR2, its data was not actually included so it couldn't be produced in the original release.
Hall of Fame bug fix
If all 3 Hall of Fame slots were already filled, trying to get a new monster into the list would freeze the game.
Year 1625 bug fix
An event check glitch caused playing from the 30,001st week (2nd week of April 1625) to be very problematic. The worst case from this bug was reducing a monster's lifespan by a week whenever one loads a save data made in the Ranch.
Mysterious Seeds event fix
The original release had a bug that prevented you from obtaining Mysterious Seeds if you proceeded so late that all items were already lined up at the shop.
Desire Self-Denial fix
A monster may occasionally have a desire which, if rejected or unfulfilled, will result in its stress going up. There was an infamous bug in the original Japanese release where a monster occasionally gain stress on its own due to the desire event kicking in but automatically ended with a refusal without any dialogues.
Colt's advice changes
In the original release, Colt would only inform you of the first monster's peak period or end of lifespan. With this port, she will continue to offer the same advice on all subsequent monsters.
Jelly item effect fix
Eating a Jelly item will now actually change the monster's nature as well.
Gemini Pot item effect fix
Although the item description hinted at relieving stress, it didn't have any stress-reduction effects applied in the original version. With this fix, having the item(s) in the inventory will now properly reduce stress.
Strong Glue will become purchasable in the Shop
Magic Banana effect change
In the original release, the Magic Banana used to have lifespan addition as one of its possible effects. This is getting replaced with reduction of fatigue or stress.
Auto Battle AI adjustment
Your monster will now fight more proactively even when you opt to not control it in battles.
CPU status change fix
Opponent monsters used to be unable to activate status like Power and Anger; they will be able to do so now.
Ease status effect fix
This status has a drawback of doubling damage taken, which wasn't properly implemented in the original release.
Unity status effect fix
Color Pandora breeds will recover Guts faster when this status is activated.
Enables purchases of multiple items at once
Monster body size change
Some monsters will actually become fat or skinny depending on their weight. However, not all monsters will have this effect.
Becomes able to raise Boss Monsters fought at Errantries, such as the Blue Phoenix
Becomes able to raise White Suezo and White Mocchi, which used to only appear as opponents in the Legend Cup.
Monster stat fix
Alters statistics not visible to the player, such as the monster's full lifespan.
Parameter fix for FIMBA monsters appearing at the IMa-FIMBA Meet
Lucky's stat fix
The Elder's Cup, which is available on the 2nd week of June for monsters that are at least 6y & 3m old, had a monster named Lucky that had unusual stats; it has now been implemented as its official stats.
Improved quality for message fonts and images including tournament logos
Monster movements are also fixed so that they shouldn't do any weird movements
Graphical bug fixes
Stat values are now subdivided when calculating damage, so even a small gap in stats will mean a lot in battles now.
Display total stat amount, accumulated from all six stats
Added option to speed up monster-raising scenes
Sound data remastered
BGMs and sound effects are re-recorded, and the menu will also actually have a title BGM
Auto-save feature implemented
Save & Load speed improved
Guide Button added
You can now go back directly to title screen through the Menu button.
Online Versus feature addition
You can download a friend's monster data for your own monster to fight against.
Random Versus feature addition
Monsters you've uploaded can be matched against other breeders' monsters with roughly the same strength levels.
ID carryover feature (on the mobile version)
If you're getting a new mobile phone, this feature will be essential for you to not lose the game's save data.
SNS linkage feature (on the mobile version)
You can take a screenshot from the game and share it right away on the social media of your choice.
Part-Time Job implemented in-game
The mini-game used to be accessible in the Japanese PS1 release by using the PocketStation.
Generate Monsters using the Music Database
This is the alternative used to generate monsters from CDs, as neither the Switch or mobile phones have disc drives.
Digital Manual is available
The My Page webpage is available to check the latest news about the game, as well as results of random battles and tournaments.
Tournament Mode implemented
Players can enter their frozen monsters to be placed on online tournament brackets.

Monster Rancher 2 port screenshots