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PS2 Appreciation & Celebration Thread, long live the King!

VendettaXXI said:
Hey all! Glad to be back on the PS2 train again. Grabbed an new emerald PS2 Dualshock this week online. Someone was selling it for $30. I'll post my game collection shortly for some feedback. I need to update my Backloggery unless pictures are preferred.
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Buying brand new PS2 controllers in 2016 just feels like cheating. I got one a couple years ago to supplement one I got in 2010 and they just feel so perfect; compared to my other retro stuff it's all just so pristine and perfect.
 
SheepyGuy said:
Buying brand new PS2 controllers in 2016 just feels like cheating. I got one a couple years ago to supplement one I got in 2010 and they just feel so perfect; compared to my other retro stuff it's all just so pristine and perfect.
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It was weird finding it. Thank you 2am eBay listers. They usually go for ~$70 on Amazon new, but this guy had it priced to sell immediately. I use an Ocean Blue Dualshock 2 right now, but I needed a backup just in case. I'm slightly afraid to open it because I want to keep it mint for a long time.
 
Decided to dig out my PS2 and restart Yakuza (I'd only played like an hour of the game originally).

Some things that I never realized about the PS2:

How many games are widescreen

How decent the PS2 still looks...so long as you use component cables

The fact that you can use component cables.


Back in the day on my 25 in' CRT, I usually just used rf switches in a daisy chain. For me it was good enough. On a 42 in' HDTV, though? Blurry as hell. Even Composite cables were pretty bad...looks fine with component, though.
 
Armoured Priest said:
Decided to dig out my PS2 and restart Yakuza (I'd only played like an hour of the game originally).

Some things that I never realized about the PS2:

How many games are widescreen

How decent the PS2 still looks...so long as you use component cables

The fact that you can use component cables.


Back in the day on my 25 in' CRT, I usually just used rf switches in a daisy chain. For me it was good enough. On a 42 in' HDTV, though? Blurry as hell. Even Composite cables were pretty bad...looks fine with component, though.
Click to expand...

I just finished playing this a week or so ago. Pretty fun, though the controls kind of suck compared to more modern games. I think a lot of frustration would have been relieved with some dedicated camera controls and a good lock on system. Nothing like being shot by someone off screen and struggling to find them. Also got tired of missing the first hit and comboing into the air or a wall.

Story and characters kept me interested, even when the dialogue, primarily composed of f bombs got tiring.

...seems like I'm being down on the game, but it was enjoyable more than it wasn't.
 
Yakuza might just be my favorite game on the PS2, picked it up pretty randomly after reading about it on a post about localization-worries over at Kotaku, and went on to love the series. The localization worries are still just the same though :(
 
It's worth mentioning that there is a yakuza1/2 HD collection on ps3 which has alot of improvements.

The downside being it's Japanese only.

There's a great video that goes over the entire series and recommends how to play the series. Let me find it.


Edit: here it is

https://youtu.be/xkN9oru-qCQ
 
socksfelloff said:
It's worth mentioning that there is a yakuza1/2 HD collection on ps3 which has alot of improvements.

The downside being it's Japanese only.

There's a great video that goes over the entire series and recommends how to play the series. Let me find it.


Edit: here it is

https://youtu.be/xkN9oru-qCQ
Click to expand...

This exist on the Wii U as well, still only in japanese :(

About the SNK anthologies, the Metal Slug-games removed blinking when you hit an enemy in the Wii-version, which in my opinion is pretty annoying, so i think i would go for the PS2-version on that one.
 
Armoured Priest said:
Decided to dig out my PS2 and restart Yakuza (I'd only played like an hour of the game originally).

Some things that I never realized about the PS2:

How many games are widescreen

How decent the PS2 still looks...so long as you use component cables

The fact that you can use component cables.


Back in the day on my 25 in' CRT, I usually just used rf switches in a daisy chain. For me it was good enough. On a 42 in' HDTV, though? Blurry as hell. Even Composite cables were pretty bad...looks fine with component, though.
Click to expand...
Definitely not my experience. I knew all about the need for component.

PS2 launch was totally saturated with talk of DVD, picture quality, widescreen, surround sound... I knew since day one you get a component cable and an optical audio cable, and if you didn't have a TV or surround sound system that supported that? You started saving.

PS2 was probably the first big "AV nerd" console. Maybe Dreamcast and its VGA box was a prelude.
 
Too bad 5.1 wasn't employed for games like it was for Xbox. I did make heavy use of my PS2 for DVD playback. I remeber doing some hidden menu type deal to force progressive scan on it.
 
televator said:
Too bad 5.1 wasn't employed for games like it was for Xbox. I did make heavy use of my PS2 for DVD playback. I remeber doing some hidden menu type deal to force progressive scan on it.
Click to expand...
I remember at PS2 launch, a lot of people were saying that real-time 5.1 surround sound wasn't even possible. It was impossibly taxing on software. You could do the ancient Pro Logic analog surround sound but that didn't even have discreet rear surround channels, nor a dedicated .1 subwoofer channel.

Then when Xbox was announced, it contained a custom chip that allowed the real-time creation of Dolby Digital 5.1, and this technology eventually made it back on PC sound cards, etc.

PS2 did let you play pre-recorded Dolby Digital, though. So any static cutscenes could have 5.1, such as MGS2. I believe they actually did get some kind of real-time DTS 5.1 working in software (SSX Tricky, I think?), but I don't think it was as robust as real 5.1 (I believe it may have been 4.0 or something)

GameCube (and then Wii) jumped on Pro Logic II, which I believe added rear speaker separation? Still analog though.
 
thomasos said:
Does anyone know if the various SNK anthologies are better on PS2 or Wii?
Click to expand...
I don't own a Wii, but I'm pretty sure not every SNK collection (you know, that 'NeoGeo Online' series) that came out on the PS2, was released on the Wii as well. That said, I remember the Japanese Virtual Console being literally packed with SNK games... No idea if they run at the correct resolution, though.
 
Not sure if there's a PS3 thread but I wanted an opinion. I have a friend with a CFW modded PS3 CECH 2500 Slim who wants to trade for my mpdded CFW fat 60GB PS3. I don't care at all about PS2 BC and would prefer a slim anyway. Theoretically the value of a BC PS3 is a little higher, but I don't think much higher. Am I right with that?
 
thomasos said:
Does anyone know if the various SNK anthologies are better on PS2 or Wii?
Click to expand...



Morfeo said:
About the SNK anthologies, the Metal Slug-games removed blinking when you hit an enemy in the Wii-version, which in my opinion is pretty annoying, so i think i would go for the PS2-version on that one.
Click to expand...

In addition to that, the Wii version has awful control schemes and no classic controller support. The only control configuration that doesn't require some level of waggle is the one for the Gamecube controller.
 
socksfelloff said:
It's worth mentioning that there is a yakuza1/2 HD collection on ps3 which has alot of improvements.

The downside being it's Japanese only.
Click to expand...

I bought this collection a few days ago, it should arrive tomorrow. I wonder if I'll be to play it with a guide. I don't know japanese, but love Yakuza series and I have never played Y1 & Y2.

On topic, I have recently found G-Con 2 with Time Crisis 2 for something like 4$. It's so fun! However, works only on CRT TV.
 
Drippy said:
I bought this collection a few days ago, it should arrive tomorrow. I wonder if I'll be to play it with a guide. I don't know japanese, but love Yakuza series and I have never played Y1 & Y2.

On topic, I have recently found G-Con 2 with Time Crisis 2 for something like 4$. It's so fun! However, works only on CRT TV.
Click to expand...


Try it and report back!

If you're not playing ps2 in a CRT you're doing it wrong.
 
BocoDragon said:
I remember at PS2 launch, a lot of people were saying that real-time 5.1 surround sound wasn't even possible. It was impossibly taxing on software. You could do the ancient Pro Logic analog surround sound but that didn't even have discreet rear surround channels, nor a dedicated .1 subwoofer channel.

Then when Xbox was announced, it contained a custom chip that allowed the real-time creation of Dolby Digital 5.1, and this technology eventually made it back on PC sound cards, etc.

PS2 did let you play pre-recorded Dolby Digital, though. So any static cutscenes could have 5.1, such as MGS2. I believe they actually did get some kind of real-time DTS 5.1 working in software (SSX Tricky, I think?), but I don't think it was as robust as real 5.1 (I believe it may have been 4.0 or something)

GameCube (and then Wii) jumped on Pro Logic II, which I believe added rear speaker separation? Still analog though.
Click to expand...

Thank you based Xbox! ProLogic II while better than ProLogic is completely thrashed by discrete Dolby Digital. PLII is very weak and narrow sounding. It's also kind of laughable because the "correct" subsets like PLII game and PLII movie are useless compared to the wider sound envelop of PLII music. I use PLII music for all PL encoded material.

So glad the Xbox existed if only for bringing real surround sound into gaming.
 
thomasos said:
Does anyone know if the various SNK anthologies are better on PS2 or Wii?
Click to expand...

They are better on the Wii, generally.

SNK Arcade Classics, for example, doesn't even run at the right frame rate. It's like... 50fps or something. It looks jittery in every game. Even the front-end menu doesn't run at the right speed. Meanwhile, the Wii version is completely smooth. Of course, the Wii version also omitted the hitflashes in games and had a couple of sound glitches in various games (Samsho 1's announcer has a garbled voice, for example), but overall, it's better.

Metal Slug Anthology has garbage-ass controls on the Wii and loses the hitflashes, but the PS2 version has a ton of input lag.
 
Chacranajxy said:
They are better on the Wii, generally.
Of course, the Wii version also omitted the hitflashes in games and had a couple of sound glitches in various games (Samsho 1's announcer has a garbled voice, for example),
Click to expand...

In SNK Arcade Classics, the bad guy in Magician Lord has an half-assed reverb effect added to his voice. To this day I don't know if it's an emulation error or something they might've actually done on purpose because of how stupid he sounds.
 
Glowsquid said:
In addition to that, the Wii version has awful control schemes and no classic controller support. The only control configuration that doesn't require some level of waggle is the one for the Gamecube controller.
Click to expand...

To be fair, its only tossing grenades that needs motion, so its not really a big deal in Metal Slug. The lack of hitflashes is though, that is annoying as hell.
 
Morfeo said:
To be fair, its only tossing grenades that needs motion, so its not really a big deal in Metal Slug. The lack of hitflashes is though, that is annoying as hell.
Click to expand...

The game may be mostly playable with the wii remote played on the side, but it's still an imprecise and annoying input for an important action. Either I waste one or two more grenades than intended, or I try to throw grenades continuously but it stops throwing grenades every two or three intervals.


The lack of hit flash is bad (For some times,I thought you could only damage the final boss in the original Metal Slug by shooting at the metalic bits of the helicopter and not the guy holding the bazooka, lol) but there is a trick to tell if you're damaging the enemy: If the score counter goes up when you're shooting something, that means you're damaging it.
 
Glowsquid said:
The game may be mostly playable with the wii remote played on the side, but it's still an imprecise and annoying input for an important action. Either I waste one or two more grenades than intended, or I try to throw grenades continuously but it stops throwing grenades every two or three intervals.


The lack of hit flash is bad (For some times,I thought you could only damage the final boss in the original Metal Slug by shooting at the metalic bits of the helicopter and not the guy holding the bazooka, lol) but there is a trick to tell if you're damaging the enemy: If the score counter goes up when you're shooting something, that means you're damaging it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its not ideal for sure, but its nothing game-breaking imo. Thanks for that tips btw, never thought about that. I was also wondering if I did any damage to the final boss when I played it, so that is a nice thing to be aware of.
 
And finally - after the seller took his good chunk of time, before shipping it out - this little fellow jumped off the mail box today...

Klonoa2_zpspofirmve.png


Bit off-topic, but - especially since my Game Boy Player went Super Saiyan, thanks to the GB Interface - I'm now wondering if keeping up with the series on the GBA could be a good idea.
 
sixteen-bit said:
great compilation there a steal at that price really, considering what the saturn ports of stuff like Elevator Action Returns and Gekirindan go for
Click to expand...

I picked that up for $3 years ago for Darius and RayStorm, and found quite a few more surprises in the bargain. I still can't believe there's never been another Elevator Action in the style of Returns.
 
Galdelico said:
And finally - after the seller took his good chunk of time, before shipping it out - this little fellow jumped off the mail box today...

Klonoa2_zpspofirmve.png


Bit off-topic, but - especially since my Game Boy Player went Super Saiyan, thanks to the GB Interface - I'm now wondering if keeping up with the series on the GBA could be a good idea.
Click to expand...

I need to get my GBP's power level up.
 
Ibara is so expensive help

Also wasn't dragon blaze released without that other psikyo game at some point? I can't find it anywhere. Just a matter of scarcity or is the internet lying to me again?
 
NormalFish said:
Ibara is so expensive help

Also wasn't dragon blaze released without that other psikyo game at some point? I can't find it anywhere. Just a matter of scarcity or is the internet lying to me again?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure Ibara is worth the crazy price, nowadays. I've always been warned against buying it, as it's apparently not a very good port (I'm reporting what I've been told, never played the game myself).
Dragon Blaze is stand-alone for EU only I believe - we got Dragon Blaze and Sol Divide on separate releases - and yeah, it's mentally overpriced over here as well (even more than Raiden III). Unfortunately, some PS2 games just went nuts over the years... I still need to get ADK Tamashii, for instance, and I cry a bit every time I see it online.
 
Honestly the PS2 isn't that bad as far as pricing goes. The shmups market as a whole is nutty, though. It baffles me that these games can have the demand they do and yet the genre is so dead. Weird.
 
NormalFish said:
Honestly the PS2 isn't that bad as far as pricing goes. The shmups market as a whole is nutty, though. It baffles me that these games can have the demand they do and yet the genre is so dead. Weird.
Click to expand...

Yeah, same with survival horror too. I guess because it was the last big hurrah for those types of games before they became ignored by the industry.

Makes me wonder if platformer/adventure games will ever be valuable but I doubt it since they were produced in such high numbers. You never know though, Mario 3 is the best selling NES game of all time and it holds its value well today.
 
Galdelico said:
And finally - after the seller took his good chunk of time, before shipping it out - this little fellow jumped off the mail box today...

Klonoa2_zpspofirmve.png
Click to expand...

I've finished Klonoa 2 last Saturday. Awesome game! Got myself Mr Moskeeto a week ago for £0.50, in very good condition too.
Glad PS2 gaming is still cheap if you have unaware sellers.
 
Got my copy of Taito Legends 2. This game has the weirdest screen-wide dithering ever. It's hideous. Bummer it's interlaced, too, but c'est la vie. I'll probably pick up the PSX verison of Darius Gaiden at some point, anyway, and I'm too shit to play GDarius without slowdown lol.
 
NormalFish said:
Got my copy of Taito Legends 2. This game has the weirdest screen-wide dithering ever. It's hideous. Bummer it's interlaced, too, but c'est la vie. I'll probably pick up the PSX verison of Darius Gaiden at some point, anyway, and I'm too shit to play GDarius without slowdown lol.
Click to expand...

I thought Taito Legends 2 was complete trash, myself. I had been looking forward to it for a while, but was pretty thoroughly disappointed.
 
Chacranajxy said:
I thought Taito Legends 2 was complete trash, myself. I had been looking forward to it for a while, but was pretty thoroughly disappointed.
Click to expand...

well, it certainly has its issues, but for less than 20$, it's a pretty good package, I'd say. Especially for someone not as concerned with arcade-perfect ports or perfect IQ.
 
Been toying more with my ps2 lately, and now I am almost certain something is faulty here, as there is some nasty flickering on the screen, very noticeable at black colours. By using the elemination method, I can say that it is not the ac adapter, not the framemeister, not the hdmi-cables going from the framemeister to the tv, and not the ps2 itself. So, two things left. The component cables, or the d-link to component adapter. The component cables are brand new, opened a few days ago, monster component cables (recommended here and many other places). However, they are made for the ps3, but i read tons of places that they should be the same. Could that be the issue? Next, the d-link adapter is also brand new.

But yeah, two questions, have anybody else had issues by using ps3 component cables on a ps2, and are the quality of these cables generally considered good?
 
Morfeo said:
Been toying more with my ps2 lately, and now I am almost certain something is faulty here, as there is some nasty flickering on the screen, very noticeable at black colours. By using the elemination method, I can say that it is not the ac adapter, not the framemeister, not the hdmi-cables going from the framemeister to the tv, and not the ps2 itself. So, two things left. The component cables, or the d-link to component adapter. The component cables are brand new, opened a few days ago, monster component cables (recommended here and many other places). However, they are made for the ps3, but i read tons of places that they should be the same. Could that be the issue? Next, the d-link adapter is also brand new.

But yeah, two questions, have anybody else had issues by using ps3 component cables on a ps2, and are the quality of these cables generally considered good?
Click to expand...

Did you wiggle the AV cable in really tight?

Yeah they should be the same cable for PS2/PS3.
 
Does anyone know which vertical PS2 shmups have a Tate mode with modified controls such that you can essentially play it like a horizontal shmup? I know the PS1 DoDonPachi has this, at least, but I don't think I've seen it anywhere else. Probably due to lack of interaction with a ton of console shooters.
Morfeo said:
Been toying more with my ps2 lately, and now I am almost certain something is faulty here, as there is some nasty flickering on the screen, very noticeable at black colours. By using the elemination method, I can say that it is not the ac adapter, not the framemeister, not the hdmi-cables going from the framemeister to the tv, and not the ps2 itself. So, two things left. The component cables, or the d-link to component adapter. The component cables are brand new, opened a few days ago, monster component cables (recommended here and many other places). However, they are made for the ps3, but i read tons of places that they should be the same. Could that be the issue? Next, the d-link adapter is also brand new.

But yeah, two questions, have anybody else had issues by using ps3 component cables on a ps2, and are the quality of these cables generally considered good?
Click to expand...
Component on the PS2 (and the Mini on the whole) can get some nasty noise. Try raising your A/D Level up to 132 or so, and upping your black level by 1 and see if it persists.

If it's not that issue but something else, it seems very possible that your cable has an issue, and I've never heard of Sync issues with the PS2.
 
SheepyGuy said:
Did you wiggle the AV cable in really tight?

Yeah they should be the same cable for PS2/PS3.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did - and double checked it now. Was also able to test the d-link adapter with some old wii-component cables I had lying around, and yeah, the problem has to be with those monster cables. Sucks, thought they were considered to be pretty great?
 
NormalFish said:
Does anyone know which vertical PS2 shmups have a Tate mode with modified controls such that you can essentially play it like a horizontal shmup? I know the PS1 DoDonPachi has this, at least, but I don't think I've seen it anywhere else. Probably due to lack of interaction with a ton of console shooters.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure Castle Shikigami 2 has tate with non-rotated control option. NA Raiden Project on PS1has this too, in absence of real tate mode.
 
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