User:Hwd45/Tamagotchi Connection Template/Tamagotchi Connection V2

This is a sub-page of User:Hwd45/Tamagotchi Connection Template.

The western successor to the Tamagotchi Connection - the Tamagotchi Connection Version 2, or more simply the V2 - was first released in Europe in late March 2005, followed later by an American release in June 2005. Building upon the groundwork laid out by the Tamagotchi Connection, the V2 featured a wider range of characters, new games, updated IR connection functionality and an all-new shop feature, allowing the player to purchase a great range of items and food.

Developer Functions

To do: Images, and investigate debugging European models - it seems to be the case that there is a debug region on these versions but it's covered by epoxy resin.

ROM Test

To access ROM testing features, the player must hold down the A, B and C buttons and press the reset button. The test is identical to the one on the V1, except for the version numbers that are displayed.

Performing a ROM Test counts as a hard reset - all save data will be lost.

Debug Mode

The debug mode functions identically to how it does on the V1:

• When the character is idle, the C button can be used to toggle "hyperspeed", a mode where in-game time moves much more rapidly.
• The user can select any playable character, including unused ones, by scrolling with the A button immediately after the egg hatches. A few of the characters that can be obtained this way are unused and can be seen in #Unused_Characters.

For hardware reasons, debug mode cannot be accessed on standard European model V2s, as they miss the necessary region of the circuit board to allow for this functionality.

Region Change

The region change feature, exclusive to the American models, has the effect of switching the ROM version to one of the European versions. For example, an American A.4 ROM version may switch to the European A.5 version.

Regional and Revisional Differences

Version A.2 (USA)

While the initial wave of V2s were intended to release in March 2005 in both the USA and in Europe, the USA version was delayed for unknown reasons, and much of the supply that was intended to be released there was instead redirected to Europe. Low stocks of V2s in comparison to the demand in Europe is often blamed for redirecting this supply. As a result, the initial wave of V2s was replaced with a new set of shells and slightly altered packaging before making its official US release in June of that year. It is unknown in what quantities - if at all - the initial wave was released in the US, though it's known that some of this supply made its way to Canada in the summer of 2005. Some later US model V2s were also released in Europe too, throughout 2005.

These early V2s are only known to be differentiated from later releases in that some of the item names are different. The date format in the clock is Month / Day.

Version A.3 (Europe)

The initial batch of European V2s featured ROM version A.3 - this version is similar to what was intended to be the initial US release in that the item names differ from later releases, but the date format is Day / Month and debugging and region change functionality has been disabled.

Version A.4 (USA)

Later American releases used ROM version A.4. This version uses the Month / Day date format, and as mentioned number of items had their names changed:

A.1 - A.3	A.4 - A2 H
HAIR POTION	HAIR GEL
COSTUME	STUFFED ANIMAL
LOVE POTION	HONEY
DIET SODA	SODA
BUBBLES	TOOLS
PC	COMPUTER
ROLLER BLADES	ROLLER SKATES
POT PLANT	PLANT
MARACAS	RACQUETS
WHOLE CAKE	CAKE
SUNDAE	PARFAIT

Additionally, the Soda item had its sprite changed:

A.1 - A.3	A.4 - A2 H

Version A.5 (Europe)

Later European releases used ROM version A.5. This version uses the later item naming convention and the Day / Month date format.

Version A.8 (South America)

A Spanish language version of the V2 was also released, exclusive to South America.

Version A2 H - PUMA Edition (Europe)

There exists a unique variant of the V2 with a limited edition shell designed by Yashuhiro Mihara of PUMA. While mostly functioning like an ordinary V2, it differs from other versions of the V2 in that it has a different animation when starting up. It also features a different egg sprite. The egg matches the colour scheme of the Tamagotchi model.

Original Egg	PUMA Edition

The ROM version numbering does not align with the "A.[number]" scheme used by the other V2 versions, but rather more closely with the "A[number] [number]" scheme used by the V3, where the first number is the retail version of the Tamagotchi. The meaning of the "H" in the version number is unknown.

Unused Characters

The V2 also contained a multitude of unused characters, like many of the early connection models. The only way to access these characters is via the debug mode.

Image	Name	Description
	Nazotchi	This character appears during normal gameplay as a placeholder when connecting to a different version that has a character not present in the Version 2.
	Burgertchi	Characters from the Deka Tamagotchi, a promotional toy featured in a number of Japanese stores during 2004 which could connect to the V1 allowing for a unique character to appear in the friends list.
	Capsuletchi
	Maikutchi
	Omuratchi
	Tamagotchi
	Unknown	Informally known as "Three Blocks", it was probably planned to be one of the Deka Tamagotchi mascots, given by how other Tamagotchis interact with it when connecting with the V1.
	Tsutayatchi	Although this character cannot be selected directly from the debug menu in this version, its sprites can be seen by having a Deka character use an item which it lacks the animation sprites for. The character slot it took up in the Japanese version of the V1 was replaced with a duplicate of Nazotchi. Once again, it was probably planned to be one of the Deka Tamagotchi mascots, given by how other Tamagotchis interact with it when connecting with the V1.
	Butterflytchi	Although these characters are normally playable, they appear twice during the debug mode character select screen, with the first versions listed being unused and having a large number of missing animations.
	Flowertchi

Unused Graphics

To do: Find out more information on unused sprites and data, preferably with a more consistent method than through the use of glitches.

With the use of glitches - particularly those that arise from the device having low battery - one can encounter sprites for data that was not made accessible to the player. Most notably, at least one of the ticket sprites from the V3 as well as some frames of the "flag" game from the V3.

(Source: YouTube)