What's the best way to play PS1 games today?

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bomblord1

Banned
I still have an old copy of Lunar 2 Eternal Blue on my shelf and I hate to admit it but I never finished it. I'm hoping to rip the discs and play through it in some fashion but I'm wondering what is the best way to do that?

All the emulators I've looked at require a bios to get good performance and ripping a bios from a PS1 is so far from impossible today it's not even an option.

Is there an emulator I've missed that doesn't?

Perhaps an emulator on something like android or another console?

I do own a PSTV is it possible to do something like the ROM injection used on modded Nintendo systems to play PS1 games on it?

I don't own a PS2 or PS3 and I'm not willing to pay much just for 1 game if there is a good deal though I would consider it

Any points in the right direction would be appreciated.
 
PS3 on a CRT TV for discs.

Vita for PSN.
 
I'll finish my playthrough of Lunar Eternal Blue within the next day or two actually
on the superior Sega CD
.

That said, the best way to play is on a PVM through RGB. The most convenient way to play is on a PS3.
 
A PS3 is the best option for disc-based games, outside of an actual PS1 (any model PS3, they all play via emulation). Quite convenient for digital titles as well, though many swear by Vita for that purpose.

Personally, I've found PS2 (fat and slim) much too unreliable for that purpose.
 
For emulation, see:
http://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/PlayStation_emulators

For native hardware, I would try to seek out the original PSX models (and play from that, use a converter to hook the display cable up to a HDMi monitor if you use one. If not, buy a PS2 slim and play PS1 games from there, again using a converter for HDMi. You should buy an analogue stick controller too.

For mobile or handheld, you can always buy from the PSN store, I think cross-play is supported? There's always the options to play on iOS and Android too by reading this.

So, from best to worst:
PC emulation > native hardware PSX > PS2 (slim preferably) > Vita (for handheld) > iOS/Android
I recommend emulation over native because there's more options incl. native play anyway, plus you don't have the problem of memory card and disc switching, plus potentially faster loading and again more customisation.
 
Since my PS2, PS2 Slim, and OG PS3 are all dead, and Sony still seems to have issues with me playing my PSN bought PS1 games on PS4, I'm seriously thinking of buying a Vita for my PS1 games as they look wonderful on the smaller screen.
 
I started a game of Xenogears on disc on PS2 yesterday, my TV is an LCD, holy moly it sure is ugly! Not even sure if I can tolerate it. It's a pretty ugly game as it is...
 
My preference is the Vita, but I also have had only positive experiences on the PS3. Over the past month or so, the most played game on my PS3 has been Cyber Tiger for the PS1.
 
Madame M said:
I started a game of Xenogears on disc on PS2 yesterday, my TV is an LCD, holy moly it sure is ugly! Not even sure if I can tolerate it. It's a pretty ugly game as it is...
Click to expand...
Xenogears runs terribly on PS2. Lots of sound errors, along with freezing during battles.
 
PS1 on a Sony Trinitron flat panel.

realistic answer is PS2 or PS3
 
Korigama said:
Xenogears runs terribly on PS2. Lots of sound errors, along with freezing during battles.
Click to expand...

Ooh thanks for the warning, maybe I will try again on a PSOne. I think my PSOne with LCD screen might still work? Those things were tite. I think I had two but one broke, or maybe they're both broken now lol. They weren't very high quality but looked damn good when they worked.
 
Basileus777 said:
Well yeah the display matters. But people have been recommending the PS2 over it and I thought perhaps there was some other issue.
Click to expand...

Personally I think the PS2 "emulation" looks better than the PS3 emulation, just based on what I've played. Could be something to do with how the PS3 handles upscaling, not sure.
 
It depends a lot on the art style, but a handful of games do look great when rendered at higher resolution on emulators.

Spyro the Dragon is one example, because it has lots of solid blocks of colour and fairly simple cartoony models.

Anything with more emphasis on detailed textures or with lots of sprites isn't going to hold up great when viewed at higher resolution though.
 
I was always under the impression that a PS3 (even hooked up to a CRT) isn't optimal because it doesn't have a 240p mode.

Edit:missed the part about you not having a PS3, I just saw everyone else mention it lol.
 
Vita. The games look good on the screen, and the ability to pause and resume anywhere is super convenient especially for games with few savepoints.
 
Get a cheap PS2 slim, and snag some component cables from eBay. It will work pretty well on any modern TV. Won't look nearly as good as a CRT but it'll be good enough. This is the best combination of cost outlay and image quality for a disc game that is not available digitally on PSN.
 
Oh would help if I read the OP.

ePSXe emulator is a pretty good way to play a PS1 disc game, if you have a reasonable PC.

PSX2PSP will apparently let you convert a PSX game to PSP, provided you have a rooted PSP.
 
For Lunar 2, your best bet is ripping the iso and using a cfw PSP. PS3 is a good option too, but depends on your display
 
I rock a PS2 slim, CRT, and component cables (just recently got this setup) and have been very happy with it. I have a fairly large PS2 and PS1, and while it "probably" would be better to have PS1 hardware, I find the setup is definitely good, and have access to two libraries on one system.
 
ElCidTmax said:
Oh would help if I read the OP.

ePSXe emulator is a pretty good way to play a PS1 disc game, if you have a reasonable PC.

PSX2PSP will apparently let you convert a PSX game to PSP, provided you have a rooted PSP.
Click to expand...

"Hacked" or "CFW-Loaded"

Rooting is something specific to Android phones.

And it is extremely easy to put CFW on a PSP. Even on the last update, 6.61. All it requires is knowledge of dragging and dropping files.

And yeah, the PSP is pretty great for playing PS1 games.
 
For what it's worth, I should also mention that reports of compatibility issues with Lunar 2: EBC on the PS2 slim weren't uncommon in the past (seemed specific to slim models in that case, either way I ran out of patience using PS2s for PS1 BC many years ago).
 
Wasn't this thread JUST made like 4 days ago.

Anyway, the answer is in this order:

1. On original PS1 or PS2 natively, if you can with Component output to a CRT, or if not available to a HDTV

2. If you can figure out how to use Mednafen, it's fantastic and the closest thing available to the original hardware available anywhere

T3. Play the originals or re-releases on PS3, PSP, Vita -- these are all via emulation and are actually sometimes worse than the originals on OG hardware or with a good emulator

T3. Use PCSXR with PGXP perspective correction OGL2 mod, it's great, and the best way to emulate the games today

5. All the other emulators like ePSXe, pSX, etc.
 
potatohead said:
Wasn't this thread JUST made like 4 days ago.

Anyway, the answer is in this order:

1. On original PS1 or PS2 natively, if you can with Component output to a CRT, or if not available to a HDTV

2. If you can figure out how to use Mednafen, it's fantastic and the closest thing available to the original hardware available anywhere

T3. Play the originals or re-releases on PS3, PSP, Vita -- these are all via emulation and are actually sometimes worse than the originals on OG hardware or with a good emulator

T3. Use PCSXR with PGXP perspective correction OGL2 mod, it's great, and the best way to emulate the games today

5. All the other emulators like ePSXe, pSX, etc.
Click to expand...

The PS2 slim does it via emulation too.
 
Korigama said:
For what it's worth, I should also mention that reports of compatibility issues with Lunar 2: EBC on the PS2 slim weren't uncommon in the past (seemed specific to slim models specifically, either way I ran out of patience using PS2s for PS1 BC many years ago).
Click to expand...

The last revision of the PS2 slim dropped the PS1 chips from the board and emulated them instead. Earlier models have much better compatibility.
 
SheepyGuy said:
The last revision of the PS2 slim dropped the PS1 chips from the board and emulated them instead. Earlier models have much better compatibility.
Click to expand...

It uses emulation? I thought they just altered the hardware slightly. How do PS2 games that required the PS1 hardware for certain aspects function?'

I think it is the audio chip that integrates PS1 hardware into the design.
 
Persona7 said:
It uses emulation? I thought they just altered the hardware slightly. How do PS2 games that required the PS1 hardware for certain aspects function?'

I think it is the audio chip that integrates PS1 hardware into the design.
Click to expand...

I tried but failed to find a good source but what I read was that the later models increased the clock of the main CPU and emulated the PS1 chip on that. In some cases a few PS2 games run weirdly too, mostly audio issues.

edit: I did a bit more research. The PS1 CPU is emulated in late models but not by the main CPU.

Korigama said:
As in the later slim revision that dropped the glossy strip along the top of the system?
Click to expand...

I'm not actually sure which model. Wikipedia seems to indicate it's SCPH-75001 onward.
 
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