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[sixteen-bit]

If you can track down the original release of the Japanese version of Bloody Roar 3, you can access a debug mode that lets you pose characters with extreme granularity, down to things like fingers and eyelids. I wish the web 2.0 thing happened sooner because this mode would have led to some hilarious youtube videos.

 

[KennyLinder]

I am trying to source a Japanese Slim PS2 at the moment. I really want to get back to playing my collection of import PS1 and PS2 games, so a Japanese slim makes sense. Does anyone know of anywhere that sells... new ones? Like the 90000 series, which were the last ones made?

I've asked Play Asia, and they have new ones for $699 (no joke), which is a little on the expensive side.

I could get a PAL Slim, but chipping one might be tricky these days, and my old chipped PS2 would only play imported PS2 games, not PS1.

eBay has brought up much luck yet, but maybe I am being picky looking for a 90000.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I am trying to source a Japanese Slim PS2 at the moment. I really want to get back to playing my collection of import PS1 and PS2 games, so a Japanese slim makes sense. Does anyone know of anywhere that sells... new ones? Like the 90000 series, which were the last ones made?

I've asked Play Asia, and they have new ones for $699 (no joke), which is a little on the expensive side.

I could get a PAL Slim, but chipping one might be tricky these days, and my old chipped PS2 would only play imported PS2 games, not PS1.

eBay has brought up much luck yet, but maybe I am being picky looking for a 90000.

Unfortunately PS2s were discontinued a while ago and this has driven up the cost of new in box models. Some third party sellers on Amazon Japan have 90000s slightly lower than Play-Asia, but if you factor in shipping + forwarding service you ain't saving shit.

 

[KennyLinder]

Unfortunately PS2s were discontinued a while ago and this has driven up the cost of new in box models. Some third party sellers on Amazon Japan have 90000s slightly lower than Play-Asia, but if you factor in shipping + forwarding service you ain't saving shit.

Ugh thanks. Really regret not buying one a couple of years ago now.

 

[drtomoe123]

Yeah, finding a new one right now is super expensive. I had to resort to buying a used fat one because the new ones were way more than what I wanted to spend.

I usually just rip Japanese games to my PC, transfer them to my PS2's HD, and play them with OPL since my Japanese PS2 is in storage. Doesn't really help with PS1 games though.

 

[Timu]

Getting closer to the end of the 50 PS2 exclusive collectathon now, 19 left though I'm still hoping to get Xenosaga Episode III much cheaper.

 

[Moobabe]

Just snagged the original Killzone from CEX. I got it a month or so ago but it had a DVD full of Killzone press assets in it (still pretty cool) but CEX took about 6 weeks to send me another...

 

[televator]

LOL! I hadn't realized how many shmups are on PS2. What makes it funny is I keep finding them at shops -- I don't even like shmups -- I show them to my friend and its like he MUST buy them. He loves the damned thigs. Last time he finally said "God dammit! Stop showing me these!"

 

[Timu]

Ok, make that 17 now.

 

[televator]

After doing the whole song and dance for GameCube's SD card hack, I think I'd just rather pay someone to just sell me a card with all the shit I need for PS2 Free Mcboot. I asked an ebay seller if they can install xploder or mode selector... or booth on a card for me. Hopefully, they know what I'm talking about.

 

[Rizzi]

After doing the whole song and dance for GameCube's SD card hack, I think I'd just rather pay someone to just sell me a card with all the shit I need for PS2 Free Mcboot. I asked an ebay seller if they can install xploder or mode selector... or booth on a card for me. Hopefully, they know what I'm talking about.

You don't really need anything special. A copy of 007 Agent Under Fire, a blank dvd, and a flash drive.

 

[KennyLinder]

You don't really need anything special. A copy of 007 Agent Under Fire, a blank dvd, and a flash drive.

Does it allow you to run imports? And, do you have to do swop tricks or does it change the region permanently? Might be an option for me, but I only want to play my retail Japanese PS2 games.

 

[pikablu]

You can also buy a ps3 usb memory card adapter (the one they put out for ps2 games) and connect your memory card up to your pc and put on freemcboot that way. The way freemcboot works is via that memory card. when the card is taken out the ps2 acts normal. when the card is in it goes to freemcboot. And yes you can play import games with it just fine.

 

[televator]

You can also buy a ps3 usb memory card adapter (the one they put out for ps2 games) and connect your memory card up to your pc and put on freemcboot that way. The way freemcboot works is via that memory card. when the card is taken out the ps2 acts normal. when the card is in it goes to freemcboot. And yes you can play import games with it just fine.

I've had that adapter laying around for years... BRB.

 

[Dizzy-4U]

I've had that adapter laying around for years... BRB.

Just in case you're looking for a tutorial:

http://psx-scene.com/forums/f153/[t...stallation-pc-ps3-memory-card-adaptor-120793/

 

[Ruruja]

After careful consideration, I've decided to go ahead with building up a nice PS2 game collection. Just bought 30 second-hand games to add to the 20 I own. Can't wait to remove all the pubes when they arrive.

 

[televator]

Just in case you're looking for a tutorial:

http://psx-scene.com/forums/f153/[t...stallation-pc-ps3-memory-card-adaptor-120793/

Hmmm... didn't work. All I ended up with was some corrupted data on the card. Windows XP fought me during the whole processs. It literally threw up errors while seemingly completing each proccess.

 

[Timu]

So bought another copy of ATV Offroad Fury 4 because the other one had loading issues and to see if I can do 480p, and nope, I can't on my slim.

Then I put the disc in my PC dvd drive and loaded the game with PCSX2 and I was able to do 480p with that emulator.

I now have come to the conclusion that the slim I have can't do 480p for the game, which makes no sense at all as it's a resolution change for pete's sakes. This means my slim won't be able to do 480p for games that can do it in the 1st place. Though the other games I tried that do 480p can do it on my slim so that's good.

 

[oneida]

here's my new ps2 stick, ps2gaf. i like it.

figured I should get a 6 button for when I'm not playing vf4evo. $30 shipped

 

[sixteen-bit]

me too, that blue is quite striking

 

[Timu]

I rented Soul Calibur 3 back in the day but for the 1st time I own it today, anyways I think it looks nice for the system still and best of all...480p!

And yes I love playing as Setsuka.

 

[DracoBlade]

Soul Calibur really had ( and does imo) incredible visuals. The dreamcast original still holds up.

 

[TnK]

You can also buy a ps3 usb memory card adapter (the one they put out for ps2 games) and connect your memory card up to your pc and put on freemcboot that way. The way freemcboot works is via that memory card. when the card is taken out the ps2 acts normal. when the card is in it goes to freemcboot. And yes you can play import games with it just fine.

Please tell me it also allows me to play import PS1 games. I have a brand new chipped PS2, but the chip only region locks PS2 games. The older slim that I have region locked both ps1 and 2.

 

[Englebert3rd]

Please tell me it also allows me to play import PS1 games. I have a brand new chipped PS2, but the chip only region locks PS2 games. The older slim that I have region locked both ps1 and 2.

Nah, unfortunately FreeMCBoot by itself doesn't. Can't even put them in the HDD.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Soul Calibur really had ( and does imo) incredible visuals. The dreamcast original still holds up.

Agreed, but the art style took a nosedive in 3 and hasn't really recovered since IMO.

 

[Ruruja]

Nah, unfortunately FreeMCBoot by itself doesn't. Can't even put them in the HDD.

You can play PS1 games off HDD with "POPS-00001", but it's a hassle to set up and isn't that great compatibility-wise.

 

[william_557]

i remember playing this one (Medal of Honour Frontline)

was a good one!

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Started a LoK: Defiance playthrough. On PC, so I'm cheating a bit, but eh... might as well make the most of that crappy Steam bundle I wasted money on. At least this one seems like a stable port, unlike the other LoK games, but I still had to fiddle like crazy to get proper controller bindings.

Game still looks amazingly good 11 years later (taken at 1080p so kinda cheating, but hey it stretched a bit so it evens out xD):

Good art direction can go a long way. Now imagine LoK with new-gen graphics...

Spoiler

Guess it's gonna be called Bloodborne

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Please tell me it also allows me to play import PS1 games. I have a brand new chipped PS2, but the chip only region locks PS2 games. The older slim that I have region locked both ps1 and 2.

I used FreeMCBoot + cogswap and later PSXLauncher.elf to play Japan region PS1 games on my NA PS2. It works OK, full compatibility... just annoying to do on a fat PS2 without modding the case or on a slim PS2 without modding the disc lid sensors.

Luckily I now have a fancy white JPN region fat PS2 for those games.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

I have one of those memory card adapters so I gave the FMCB thing a try and got it installed with no issue. Apparently just installing it on the memory card isn't enough to play games from a different region though? I put in an import and the same old "Please insert a PS or PS2 format disc" screen comes up. I'm totally new to this sort of thing. Can anyone shed some light on what else has to be done to allow imports to be played? I'm using an original fat PS2, if that matters.

 

[DracoBlade]

Agreed, but the art style took a nosedive in 3 and hasn't really recovered since IMO.

Yeah they moved towards total photorealism with little concern for what made the original's appealing from an art design standpoint. Its becoming more and more genric imo.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

I have one of those memory card adapters so I gave the FMCB thing a try and got it installed with no issue. Apparently just installing it on the memory card isn't enough to play games from a different region though? I put in an import and the same old "Please insert a PS or PS2 format disc" screen comes up. I'm totally new to this sort of thing. Can anyone shed some light on what else has to be done to allow imports to be played? I'm using an original fat PS2, if that matters.

I don't believe there's a dedicated program that you can install on your memory card to bypass the region issue. However, If you install an IDE hard drive in the PS2's hard drive bay, you can install any region's games you want and they will load just fine using Open PS2 Loader.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Yeah they moved towards total photorealism with little concern for what made the original's appealing from an art design standpoint. Its becoming more and more genric imo.

They're not going for photorealism. The character design got more outlandish if anything.

 

[Morfeo]

Started a LoK: Defiance playthrough. On PC, so I'm cheating a bit, but eh... might as well make the most of that crappy Steam bundle I wasted money on. At least this one seems like a stable port, unlike the other LoK games, but I still had to fiddle like crazy to get proper controller bindings.

Game still looks amazingly good 11 years later (taken at 1080p so kinda cheating, but hey it stretched a bit so it evens out xD):



Good art direction can go a long way. Now imagine LoK with new-gen graphics...

Spoiler

Guess it's gonna be called Bloodborne

This game looks amazing for being so old. And with that spoiler, it makes me want to check out the series.

 

[televator]

Okay, I got a memory card from ebay preloaded with hdtv player. After playing with it and reading up on what these programs actually do to force high res modes out of the PS2, I'm fairly disappointed. It turns out even starting at 480p what you are actually getting is 480i upscaled/deinterlaced. There really is no way currently to get the PS2 to force native 480p or higher in games that don't support high res modes.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

I don't believe there's a dedicated program that you can install on your memory card to bypass the region issue. However, If you install an IDE hard drive in the PS2's hard drive bay, you can install any region's games you want and they will load just fine using Open PS2 Loader.

Ah, okay. I actually have the PS2 HDD but I dropped the console a while ago and the HD no longer seems to work (the system doesn't even recognize anything is there). If any IDE hard drive will work, I'm hoping that it is the HDD that doesn't work and not something with the console itself.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Ah, okay. I actually have the PS2 HDD but I dropped the console a while ago and the HD no longer seems to work (the system doesn't even recognize anything is there). If any IDE hard drive will work, I'm hoping that it is the HDD that doesn't work and not something with the console itself.

Yes, quite a few IDE hard drives will work as long as the power/data ports align with the PS2's network adapter.

There's a program called Winhiip for Windows that you can use to format the drive and rip your games. Then install the drive and use Open PS2 Loader.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

Yes, quite a few IDE hard drives will work as long as the power/data ports align with the PS2's network adapter.

There's a program called Winhiip for Windows that you can use to format the drive and rip your games. Then install the drive and use Open PS2 Loader.

Awesome, thank you for your help, greatly appreciated.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

I have one of those memory card adapters so I gave the FMCB thing a try and got it installed with no issue. Apparently just installing it on the memory card isn't enough to play games from a different region though? I put in an import and the same old "Please insert a PS or PS2 format disc" screen comes up. I'm totally new to this sort of thing. Can anyone shed some light on what else has to be done to allow imports to be played? I'm using an original fat PS2, if that matters.

My approach for this for PS2 games for the longest time was to either use cogswap to disc swap or (since most of the games were JPN region anyway) make a backup, apply translation patch, apply ESR boot patch, burn to DVD-R and run direct from the backup with no disc swapping.

 

[CrovaxPSO]

My approach for this for PS2 games for the longest time was to either use cogswap to disc swap or (since most of the games were JPN region anyway) make a backup, apply translation patch, apply ESR boot patch, burn to DVD-R and run direct from the backup with no disc swapping.

Creating an ISO and applying the ESR patch sounds like the easiest way to do it without having to mess with swapping disks or getting a new hard drive. Unfortunately I don't think I have any DVD-R's so I'll have to order some. Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and help.

 

[Timu]

Okay, I got a memory card from ebay preloaded with hdtv player. After playing with it and reading up on what these programs actually do to force high res modes out of the PS2, I'm fairly disappointed. It turns out even starting at 480p what you are actually getting is 480i upscaled/deinterlaced. There really is no way currently to get the PS2 to force native 480p or higher in games that don't support high res modes.

Wow, that's crazy, I thought it would work well.

 

[DracoBlade]

They're not going for photorealism. The character design got more outlandish if anything.

Unfortunately, you are indeed all to correct, wow did not remember the charas being that gaudy.

 

[Timu]

I still need to play Soul Calibur V even though my main(Taki) isn't in it.

 

[DracoBlade]

I still need to play Soul Calibur V even though my main(Taki) isn't in it.

Kilik spam highs and low jabs everyday.

 

[Englebert3rd]

Wow, that's crazy, I thought it would work well.

I've noticed that on my Xploder HDTV, you can actually select progressive scan? I'll need too have a look again, but I didn't remember any interlacing using it.
On that note, I was surprised that Primal has progressive scan already enabled and that was back in 2003.

 

[dark10x]

Okay, I got a memory card from ebay preloaded with hdtv player. After playing with it and reading up on what these programs actually do to force high res modes out of the PS2, I'm fairly disappointed. It turns out even starting at 480p what you are actually getting is 480i upscaled/deinterlaced. There really is no way currently to get the PS2 to force native 480p or higher in games that don't support high res modes.

You sure about that?

I was under the impression that it worked with games that used a full size frame-buffer internally. That is, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 were interlaced but rendered a full 448 lines. Field rendered games would never work with this method (and there are many on PS2).

Is that not the case?

 

[televator]

You sure about that?

I was under the impression that it worked with games that used a full size frame-buffer internally. That is, Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 were interlaced but rendered a full 448 lines. Field rendered games would never work with this method (and there are many on PS2).

Is that not the case?

Pardon me, my grasp on some technical lingo is superficial at times. Terms such as "frame buffer" are vague to me at best.

Anyway, here's some info from the GSM thread that pretty much spelled it out for me:

Well, GSM just makes a simple upscaling. It doesn't making interpolation (i.e. it doesn't add extra pixels / lines). So it doesn't increase the internal(=original=source) resolution, only the output (=forced=target) one.

So, there is no miracle here... The greater the quality of source (original) resolution of the game, the better will be the results that will be displayed on target (forced) resolutions - specially on the higher ones, where the images naturally tend to be pixelized. BTW, see "List of games using your PS2 to the maximum" topic below.

Perhaps there are exeptions to that and maybe the hdtv player works differently with the sort of case you mentioned.

 

[Timu]

Kilik spam highs and low jabs everyday.

That's what makes him so awesome!

I've noticed that on my Xploder HDTV, you can actually select progressive scan? I'll need too have a look again, but I didn't remember any interlacing using it.
On that note, I was surprised that Primal has progressive scan already enabled and that was back in 2003.

Primal is a game I need to get into more, but yeah, that's nuts!

 

[televator]

Primal does indeed run in prog mode and in 16:9. It sorta looks like a GC or Wii game with how crispy it looks. Too bad the game was not my style. I mean I like gothic style, but I'm more the Soul Reaver brand of goth fan.

 

[drtomoe123]

Picked up some stuff over the past week or so. Never tried any of the post-PS1 Spyro/Crash games, but I'm gonna try to go ahead and pick them up if I find them cheap. Same with the PS2 Castlevanias. Really happy with the RotTK, just need the longbox of IV and IX to finish the PS set. Been looking out for copies of Colosseum, Fight for NY, and Obscure for a LONG time now, so I'm happy to have those out of the way. Kuon is just icing on the cake.