PlayStation 2



This is the best-selling game console ever, so you will find it has an absurdly vast library. And it is retro-compatible with the original PlayStation, which was the best-selling game console ever before that, so... say what you will about the PS2, but a lack of games is never a problem. As a downside, it also got a ton of shovelware, so let us help you get only the good stuff.

When buying the console, there are certain points to consider. Only the older, "fat" consoles can take the hard disk expansion, which is required to play Final Fantasy XI; but the earliest versions are notorious for their fragile lasers. The newer, "slim" consoles come with built-in ethernet, and are usually regarded as more reliable machines. A point of contention is the controller: unlike most other consoles, it gives the "sweet spot" to the d-pad, not the left analog stick. While most people are okay with that, some find this design aggravating; if you do, get the Saitek PS2700 (aka Cyborg V.3) or the Radica Phoenix Revolution, which let you swap them to their more usual, ergonomically correct positions.

SOFTMOD NOTICE - FUCK YEAR PIRACY

Not many people realize this, but the PS2 actually supports sticking an IDE HDD into the ethernet bay. Coupled with some nifty softmod software, you get to pirate for the PS2 without having to mess with chips.

Great guide for softmodding your PS2 here


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Emulation
The PS2 is reasonably emulatable, provided you have a decent PC (recommended 3.0GHz dual-core). Some games work flawlessly, better than the hardware, others work well, and some don't work at all. It's highly recommended that you don't go farming downloads for ISOs or ripping games to your PC en-masse without checking whether they will work or not.

The best (and most actively developed) emulator is PCSX2. However, you will need to find your own BIOS file for it.

Also, although many of the PS2 classics were, or are going to be remade\re-released in next-gen consoles, emulating with PCSX2 might be a great way to improve the visual experience of some titles. Tried to play something with your ol' PS2 on a HDTV and the graphics looked awful? Hardware Mode allows you to increase the native resolution of the game in order to fix that. Still not happy? Enable the visual hacks and add some MSAA to the mix.

STILL not happy? Paste this on the emulator folder and configure the .EXE in order to add even more AA, Bloom, Sharpen and a bunch of other cool effects to the emulation (Use a guide here, since things might get tricky). However, keep in mind that those "forced improvements" are going to demand even more of your gear, and FPS drops might occur.

ALSO, note that emulating isn't magic, and the "core material" will be in 480p at best, which means that 3D\polygon-heavy games will benefit much more from those changes than 2D\sprite-based games: You better off sticking closer to the native resolution with titles like Disgaea, Soul Nomad, Tales of Series, etc. For every game you decide to emulate, check with the PCSX2 Wiki for compatibility info and contribute your own if possible.

Homebrew
The PS2 homebrew scene is tiny and undedicated. But with modding comes backups and "unofficial demos" so you may be interested. FreeMcBoot is the tool of the day, though installing it can be a hassle. You'll need ESR to boot disc backups, you can run games from an HDD with HDL, and USB Advance to load from a USB. You can also use Open PS2 Loader (OPL) to launch from usb, hdd or network, if you have an ethernet adapter.