Choro-Q HG 2 (Japanese:チョロQ HG 2) (Known as Everywhere Road Trip in North America, Road Trip Adventure in Europe, and 쵸로Q HG 2 in South Korea) is the second game in the "HG/High Grade" series of games developed exclusively for the PlayStation 2 console, first released in Japan on January 10, 2002, then October 26, 2002 in North America, and in May 2003 for Europe.
Barnhouse Effect did not develop this game. Instead, it was developed by E-Game, who also created Choro-Q Wonderful!. It has been highly-acclaimed by many gamers - hardcore and casual alike - and is arguably the most well-known entry in the Choro-Q HG series.
Gameplay[]
Choro-Q HG 2 is a racing/adventure game featuring a variety of overarching goals. Primarily, the aim is to become the president of the world, however, the player must also complete their Stamp Book in order to achieve true 100% completion.
The path towards becoming president is mainly focused on passing all of the Q's Factory races. The player will visit every city, completing races on various tracks and surfaces, while also collecting stamps as they complete tasks or make significant achievements. There are also several mini-games the player can participate in, like golf and roulette. Players may also acquire Parts to enhance the performance of their cars, though not all parts can be bought, with many locked behind stamp-related achievements, thus encouraging the player to venture beyond linear game progression.
Starting[]
At the start of the game the player is asked to enter the name of the player and the currency. A scene then plays where the President expresses his desire to retire as president to his Secretary. He says that whoever wins the World Grand Prix will get the chance to challenge him and take the presidency for him/herself.
The game then introduces the player, who has just arrived at the Peach Town Q's Factory. They are given a brief introduction/tutorial by the Q's Factory truck to the World Grand Prix. The player starts their adventure with one of six bodies; a light green 1979 Mazda RX-7, a blue 2002 Nissan Skyline GT-R, a silver Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, a red 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ, a bright yellow 1965 Fiat 500F or an orange Honda S-MX.
The player also starts with Normal parts. 1000 of the player's currency, and a C License. The player is then left to do whatever they choose.
Stamps[]
There are 100 Stamp Book in total, obtained through visiting all houses, completing the Quick-Pic Shop photo album, collecting all Choro-Q Coins, completing minigames, and much more. Players can see the stamps they have earned from the pause menu while driving around town.
After the player obtains 100 stamps, they are considered to have earned 100% completion, and are given the ultimate parts for their car from Yumyum, known as the Devil Parts.
Licenses and Races[]
There are four licenses in the game: C License, B License, A License, and Super-A License. The player starts off with a C License, granting them access to races labelled "Rank C". Once the player completes all C License races, he/she will earn a B License, which then grants the player access to "Rank B" races. This progression system continues until the player obtains the Super-A License, earned by completing all "Rank A" races. As the player climbs through the Licenses, their opponents will become faster, utilising special parts to give them an edge, such as the Jet Turbine, Propellers, and Wing Set.
Once the player completes all A License events, they earn the Super-A License, which is required in order to participate in the World Grand Prix, which is now selectable from the menu in the Q's Factory.
Land[]
There are nine cities (though some of them may be too small to be considered as cities, much more passed off as villages), Peach Town, Fuji City, My City, Sandpolis, Chestnut Canyon, Mushroom Road, White Mountain, Papaya Island and Cloud Hill. Most are linked together by mapped pathways, however some require critical thinking and use of special parts to reach, specifically Papaya Island and Cloud Hill (accessed by driving through the ocean from a secret tunnel, and by Pollepolle's house respectively).
Most cities contain staple landmarks, such as Q's Factories, Parts shops, Paint shops, Body shops, houses, and other buildings, that house potential teammates, side quests, minigames, and other valuable information.
Filling up the rest of the world, there are natural landmarks, such as waterfalls, rivers, trees, beaches, and even underwater structures such as corals and rocks, which help to add a small amount of variety to the world-encompassing Grand Ocean. The map is looped so if you continue driving away from the land you will eventually reach another part of the map.
There are also man-made (as well as alien-made) structures scattered around the map for the player to find, such as ancient ruins, a Temple Under the Sea, a windmill farm, a beautifully built Island Bridge, and more.
Other cars[]
The player can "talk" to other cars by driving into them or entering buildings, which will almost always have an inhabitant. They can sometimes give players useful information or items, or they may just be happy to talk to the player.
Many cars also ask the player if they can join their team for races and specific minigames, provided the player has completed the necessary recruitment requirements for the character. At minimum, the player must have finished ahead of the character in a race, however, there are often other requirements, such as the completion of various Stamp Book.
The player can have up to two teammates at once. If they already have two teammates when another car asks to join the team, the player can choose to replace an existing teammate, or decline their offer. All parts from the old teammate are automatically equipped by the new teammate.
Conversations with other cars will appear as text in a pop-up box near the bottom of the screen.
Two Player[]
Choro-Q HG 2 also features a two-player mode. Once two controllers are inserted into the console, a Two Player option is available at the main menu. From here, players can play from a variety of split-screen races and minigames. There are three modes: Race Right-Away, Random Race, and Custom Race.
- Race Right-Away does not require a memory card with saved data, meaning players can access this from the start. Player 1 is the Red Team, and Player 2 is the Blue Team. Scores from each game are added up via the amount of wins, and the highest amount of points upon finishing wins. All of the AI teammates have equal skill levels. Results from these races will not be saved.
- Random Race requires two memory cards, as each player will be represented by the Adventure mode save file on their respective memory cards. Each player will have the car body from the Adventure mode file but will not have the specific parts on the car; instead, the parts equipped will be determined by the track selected. If both players have two teammates, the teammates will join the players during races; if not, then races will be 1-on-1 between the two players. Game data can be saved and the results will be saved if each player saves their game file.
- Custom Race is similar to Random Race, but each player's car (as well as their teammates) will use the parts currently equipped from their Adventure mode cars. If both players have two teammates, the teammates will join the players during races; if not, then races will be 1-on-1 between the two players. Players can change parts on their cars and their teammates' cars between races if they choose.
- In Custom Race, players can also trade parts. If the players save their game data, not only will the results be saved but also any parts changes will be transferred over to the player's Adventure mode file. This is the only way to obtain multiple Devil Parts sets on one save file. This is done by duplicating save files via the PS2 BIOS Browse menu, and selling the Devil Parts from one save file to the other (this must be done twice in order to obtain a full set).
Mini Games[]
There are many mini games in Choro-Q HG 2, most of them based on human activities and sports. These minigames make up a large number of the Stamp Book available throughout the game, and are often found within the various cities and towns throughout the Choro-Q HG 2 World.
The player may use his or her car directly in a mini-game or use it to manipulate other objects (e.g. hit a ball in football, or collect items like fish, flags, and treasure chests).
Reception[]
Choro-Q HG 2 has been praised for its game world and depth despite the very low budget and early development date of 2001. However, Choro-Q HG 2 has often been criticised for its problematic physics. These sometimes allow the car to "float" in the air for an unrealistic amount of time and/or go through fences at high speeds. One of the main other criticisms is the lack of graphical detail, with broad areas having plain textures. It is also criticised for it's sound. The game currently holds a score of 80 on Metacritic.
The game was re-released on PS3 via the PlayStation Store on 15 February 2012, although was only made available on the European store.
Trivia[]
- It is often believed that the game is set in September 2012, according to the date on the license plate seen on the front cover of the NTSC-U/PAL version of the game. Additionally, the cover mentions Las Vegas, which doesn't exist in the game's world, since Sandpolis is based on Las Vegas.
- In the non-American versions, the top speed is 349 and it is measured in kilometers per hour. In the US Version, the top speed is 217 but it is measured in miles per hour, where 217 mph is the equivalent of 349 km/h. It is possible to break this limit by going in reverse using the Devil Parts.
- In the Japanese version, there is a talk show found on the equivalent radio of Peach FM. However, in the European, South Korean, and North American releases of the game, it is replaced with tracks from indie groups, the Push Kings and The Waking Hours. It can still be selected as a third station with the use of cheat engines.
- There are 151 bodies in the Japanese version of the game (one body was removed for overseas releases). 151 is the same number of original Pokémon that were released in Generation 1. This may be a reference to TakaraTomy's relationship with the production of Pokémon merchandise.
- Locations of all the race courses and most of the mini-game locations are not in Adventure Mode, so their locations are an unsolved mystery.
- Unlike Choro-Q HG, Choro-Q HG 2 (as well as Choro-Q HG 3) was released on a CD format PS2 disc rather than a DVD format PS2 disc. CD format PS2 discs have less storage than the DVD format PS2 discs, which may explain the lack of graphical detail and criticism with the ingame sound.
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