User:Kimbles/Medarot 2 Core Hacking Notes

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Medarot 2 Core is a GBA remake of Medarot 2, released as "Medabots" in NA/Europe. The Japanese version was released slightly later and has a bit of extra content.

For the original game, see Medarot 2 Hacking Notes.

Text locations[edit]

This game is organized quite differently from the original M2. In terms of text volume, the main difference is that everything on the stats screens now has a description when you press start for "help". The addresses (and pointer table locations) are also somewhat different between the Japanese and English versions, probably on account of the translated text and graphics taking up different amounts of space.

Other known data locations[edit]

These are mixed in with the text, so the addresses are different between the Japanese and English versions.

Address (JP) Address (EN) Text
3B2FC8 3B6138 Medal stats data
3B4948 3B825C Part stats data

Text table[edit]

The text tables for the English and Japanese versions of the game are different. You can download them both here:

Use these to view/edit the text in a hex editor.

Control codes[edit]

  • F7?? = Changes the text speed. Lower numbers are faster, but using 00 will make the game freeze. F7FF makes the text appear instantly.
  • F8 = In the English version this enables and disables italics. In the Japanese version it does nothing.
  • F9?? = Inserts a piece of variable text from RAM. F900 inserts the player's name, and F901 is used for other variables in battle.
  • FA?? = Unknown. FAFF is used in some messages that appear on stat screens.
  • FB?????? = This sets the dialogue portrait:
    • First byte: Decides if it appears on the right (00) or left (01) of the text box. Left is used for Ikki and flips the portrait horizontally.
    • Second byte: Decides the character. There are 97 (60 in hexidecimal) possible characters in the English version, and 98 (61) in the Japanese version since they added a face for Koishimaru. Using FF makes it not display a portrait.
    • Third byte: Decides the expression. These can range from 00 to 08, meaning 9 possible expressions for some characters. Most minor characters only have one possible expression (00).
    • Example: FB-01-00-04 displays Ikki's 04 expression (smiling) on the left side of the text box.
  • FC = Starts a new text box.
  • FD = New line character. Using this on the second text line will start a new text box.
  • FE = End character used to seperate entries in lists.
  • FF?? = Ends a string. FF00 is the most common, but FF02 and FF04 get some use as well.

Japanese-only events[edit]

The Japanese version of the game added a few extra events to the postgame:

  • Robottles with your Mom, Dad, and Salty at home.
  • A Robottle with Rintarou at Medarot Island
  • A Robottle with Koishimaru (from M5, via time travel nonsense) at Medarot Island. He uses a copy of the player's team.

The data for these encounters does not exist in the English version.

M2 Core script vs. original M2 script[edit]

Compared to the original GBC game, the dialogue script in Medarot 2 Core is almost completely unchanged. The main changes seem to be:

  • Modifying line breaks to make use of the wider text boxes
  • Removing references to GBC-only features or mechanics.
  • Removing unused text (i.e. unpointed lines).

Like the original Medarot 2, Medarot 2 Core doesn't use kanji in its script even though Medarot 3-5 and Navi did previously. (For what it's worth, Shingata doesn't either.)

In the English version, the dialogue section ends with "Obviously, this is a bathroom door." (same as the original M2 script). The Japanese version adds a bit more dialogue and ends with the Koishimaru event instead.

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