PSX games on PS2...

[Markimus of K.]

Ok Guys, Just one more...

 

I've got a crap-load of PSX games I've yet to get into and play properly. Should I just spin them on my PS2 or keep my PSX or PSone hooked up for these? I heard that the PS2 hardware is finicky and don't want to kill it (I paid $400CDN for the bloody thing). Oh and any advice on the whole Vertical Vs. Horizontal thing would be good. I can't believe this is even an issue.

 

Mine doesn't play DVD's worth a damn, which is another issue that I have with Sony releasing this thing as is. Does anyone have any info on the DVD thing, I heard there was an updated DVD driver. Does that mean I can get a disc from Sony that will make it more reliable? Do I load it everytime I want to play a DVD?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice...

 

Markimus of Many Questions.

 

PS: I know, I know, the guy lurks for years and only posts in bulk every six months, but hey really I don't usually say anything unless I have something to say as it were.

[MegaManFan]

First of all, horizontal is the way to go. Not only is it easier to load that way, but it's much easier to put into most of today's horizontally oriented entertainment centers and or store away on shelves when not in use. In my opinion that's the true way it was designed to be aligned anyway, since the controllers and memory cards are also parallel to the horizon.

 

Second of all, don't worry about using PS1 games in a PS2. I flip back and forth all the time on mine and I've had one since about three months after they came out - still works fine. The DVD however is another story. I don't recommend hardcore DVD use on a PS2 because (with apologies to Jerry and everyone at SCEA) it stinks - mine stopped playing movies right several months after I had it. At that point I bought a Toshiba 5-disc DVD player and have used it exclusively ever since; and every movie I had a problem playing on PS2 works perfectly now. The way I figured it was $199 for another PS2, or $199 for a really nice 5-disc that would last me years. I feel it was the right choice, and it's so nice to load up those extra discs that come with most movies nowadays and not have to get up and take out and put in and wait over and over again just to see the extra shit. If you have a multi-disc set like the Godfather Trilogy or The Sopranos, then it's REALLY sweet.

 

Last but not least, if you have an old PSX and it hasn't already kicked the bucket, it probably will soon. I had one of the original style models (even has the I/O port) and mine bit the dust on Final Fantasy 9. Fortunately the reduced price PSOne had just come out and I picked up one for $100 so I could keep playing my games until the PS2 came out. Now that they're down to $50 I actually plan to pick up a spare and store it away just in case the second one ever dies (wish I'd done that with Dreamcast).

[Scooterb23]

Should I just spin them on my PS2 or keep my PSX or PSone hooked up for these?

 

I bought my PS2 on day one, and there is only one game I have needed the original PSX for, Point Blank 3 (because the original Guncon doesn't work with the PS2). So unless you have that situation, my experience leads me to say shelve the PSX...there may be a small (read less than a dozen or so) games that do not work on the PS2...I have not found one yet.

 

Vertical Vs. Horizontal  

 

Leave it flat...I've heard that playing the thing vertically can cause some problems...if you don't want to chance the hardware...leave it flat...

 

Does anyone have any info on the DVD thing, I heard there was an updated DVD driver.

 

There is a DVD driver disc...it is included with the official PS2 DVD remote control ($20-30, probably more Canadian). Although the fact your unit cannot play DVDs already, concerns me. Mine played them fine right out of the box...perhaps you have a defective unit?? There are also some movies that apparently can't work on the PS2 (for some reason I remember a lot of people having difficulty with the Tron re-release). Again, I have not seen any of these problems. If you plan to use the PS2 as a DVD player, invest in the remote anyway, it gives you a lot of functionality that you cannot get with the controller...you will probably also need an extra memory card because the DVD driver software eat up 1/4 of a card by itself...

 

Hope some of this helps...

[MegaManFan]

(for some reason I remember a lot of people having difficulty with the Tron re-release).  Again, I have not seen any of these problems. If you plan to use the PS2 as a DVD player, invest in the remote anyway, it gives you a lot of functionality that you cannot get with the controller...you will probably also need an extra memory card because the DVD driver software eat up 1/4 of a card by itself...  

 

Incidentally, Tron was one of the ones I was having problems with. I bought the remote hoping that the updated drivers would fix the problem; and while it gave me a lot more video control options it didn't do SHIT to fix the playback. At that point I gave up on DVD's in a PS2 period, because Tron was the straw that broke the camel's back.

[Scooterb23]

I remember a lot of people complaining that Tron didn't work in the PS2...I haven't had any troubles with any of my movies (of course, I don't have Tron)...but now that I have an XBox, I hear that thing does DVDs better...may have to try that out.

[Gabriel]

Scooterb23 wrote:

(because the original Guncon doesn't work with the PS2)

 

Damn. That's news to me, because I use my Guncon 1 with my PS2 all the time. The only PS1 Guncon game I have is Time Crisis 1, but it works fine on my PS2 with the old model gun. Time Crisis 2 even instructs you to use the Guncon 1 with the game.

 

I think my friend used my Guncon 1 to play Elemental Gearbolt (is that it? the Working Designs RPG/gun game) on his PS2.

 

 

there may be a small (read less than a dozen or so) games that do not work on the PS2

 

So far, I've found one, and only one. Mortal Kombat Trilogy seems to always lock up if you've played a two player game and then try to let the timer run out in order to play a single player game or to let the game go to the demonstration screens. Other than that, it plays fine.

[Gabriel]

I haven't had much problem with my PS2 as a DVD player. However, I have had a few little hiccups with it. But I've had far more problems with my X-Box DVD player.

 

I have seen problems with Tron. The problems occurred on a PS2 with the older DVD driver AND a newer PS2 with the updated driver. I don't own the DVD, so I've never been able to try it out on my X-Box.

 

My PS2 has only ever absolutely refused to play a disc once, that was with a Pioneer anime title. Incidentally, I also have some problems with the only other Pioneer anime DVD that I own, and I have those problems on any DVD player I try it on.

 

On the other hand, I have 2 DVDs that my X-Box refuses to recognize at all. And I have 5 others that will only play with severe skipping problems. Every single one of these DVDs plays perfectly on my PS2.

 

Incidentally, if anyone is keeping score on the issue of "PS2 - vertical or horizonal?", I have always had my PS2 used in a horizonal mode.

[RJ]

I'm not much for tech specs but I've had my PS2 since Launch Day (waited 3 1/2 hrs!) & I've never had any trouble. I've had it flat, sideways, played games for hours on end & DVDs/CDs flawlessly. Certain PSX games don't run on the PS2- the only one I have is Paperboy on Arcade Classics: Atari Collection 2. There's a list of 10-12 PSX games that don't work (I posted it once myself) so keep your PSX handy for playing those!

[Vic George 2K3]

I haven't had a problem with the PS2 playing my collection of Cloud Ten Pictures films (Apocalypse, Revelation, Tribulation, Left Behind, et al.)...at least not yet.

[Gabriel]

OOOPS!

 

Yeah, I can confirm that Paperboy on the Atari disc 2 is screwed. It's somewhat playable, but only if you enjoy constant screenwide flicker and redraw.

 

I didn't know about that one. Mainly cuz Paperboy is one of my least favorite games of all time. I don't think I played that particular game since I first got the disc (and back then I was using a PS1).

 

But all the other games on the disc work fine. Yes, even Roadblasters works; the control issues disappear when you have a steering wheel controller.