PlayStation 2



"Live in y ⚪ ur w ✕ rld. Pl △ y in  ⬜ urs."

This is the best-selling game console ever, so you will find it has an absurdly vast library. It's backwards 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 the good stuff.

Any model of the PS2 will get you by. There's a few notes though. The Launch window systems (3000X) are pretty awful. The disc drives are a known point of failure. Some might still work. But the 3900X and 5000X systems are rock solid. The 3900X has the i-link port while the 5000X replaces it with a IR port for remote functions. Most slims are good too. The first models are essentially 5000X but in miniture. The later modes consoldiate chips to make everything smaller. The 9000X reduces things so much Sony was able to integrate the power supply into it. All other slims have a brick. The slims might have some issues with a tiny list of PS2, and PS1, games. But 99% of games will work A-OK.

A point of contention is the controller - unlike the Gamecube and Xbox, it gave 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, don't fret. Some third party controllers, like the Saitek PS2700 (aka Cyborg V.3) or the Radica Phoenix Revolution, let you swap them to their more usual, ergonomically correct positions. There are also adapters to use Xbox controllers on the PS2.

SOFTMOD NOTICE - FUCK YEAR PIRACY

If you're using a PS2 today, using a softmodded is easier than ever. If you're using anything other than a 9000X system, FreeMCBoot is where its at. Thanks to a new exploit, you can just burn a DVD with a file explorer and launch the FMB installer from a usb device. Cool. For a while, most 9000X systems couldn't be softmodded, but folks found a new exploit as well, Fortuna. There's also FunTuna, which does the exact same thing, just open source. Some 9000X systems can run FreeMCBoot. Check this handy chart.

Regardless, use a softmod to launch OpenPS2Loader to launch games from you USB device, HDD (if you have a fat system), or SMB (network share). It'll save your laser from wear and tear. Using OPL will allow you to run games from any region. USB loading works for a lot of games, but some that stream data off the disc won't work. Again, the PS2 community has created a handy Raspberry Pi image called PSX-Pi-SMBShare. It allows you to load games through a network share while using the Pi's faster usb ports (USB 2 / USB 3). Fat systems will need the network adapter while the slims have that shit built in. It also has XLinkKai built in so you can play LAN games over the internet. Cool Huh!

As for how to rip games, its pretty simple. Just use any software that can rip CDs or DVDs. ImgBurn on Windows works, though you'll have to convert your CD BIN/CUE to ISO. DVDs will rip as ISO always. If you're on Linux, Gnome Disks works great. Or just use the terminal to rip it. These same steps go for PS1 games as well.

As for homebrew, there really isn't a lot. Retroarch is on the system and is up to date. So if you wanna play some 8 and 16-bit era games, there's that. The software GSM selector will allow you to force games to run in a different display mode. YMMV though. The same can be done by editing ISOs. OPL does have GSM built in. Just go to the game options menu (Triangle on the game selection screen). If your game doesn't work with OPL, try HDLoader. It might run your game better or at all. But OPL is still in active devlopment, so most issues will eventually be fixed. And if you still wanna run disc based backups, for some ungodly reason, there's ESR.

For playing your games in the best image quality on a modern display, just get a good set of Component cables (Sony/Monster/HD Retrovision) and an upscaler. PS3 era component cables will work on the PS2. If you need a cheap solution, there's this one recommended by RetroRGB. The RetroTink2X Pro gets the job done, but won't display anything greater than 480i. For 480p games, the 2X Pro Multiformat will pass the signal through. The OSSC will run anything you throw at it. The Framemeister works well, but might be too expensive and hard to come by for most folks. And yes, despite rumors, PS1 games played on the PS2 will work with Component cables. Your TV just needs to be able to display 240p content. If you have a 4k TV, it most likely will.

Emulation
The PS2 is reasonably emulatable, provided you have a decent PC (recommended 3.0 GHz 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.

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. It's also worthwhile to look up any widescreen or no-interlacing patches that may be available for your games. Many PS2 games utilized interlacing as part of their render pipeline and if this is not disabled the game will look blurry on a modern display.

Because PS2 games can be read on any PC, you can just stick your game in your disc drive and run it from there. No ripping or piracy required! Ripping them will improve load times, however, and may alleviate issues with stuttering FMVs that are often present when playing from the disc.

Have you played these games? They need a description to be added onto the list:


 * Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

Recommendation copypasta
R