PAL PS2 games: What issues will I have to think about?

[Edmond Dantes]

So... lately I've been playing Siren (or Forbidden Siren). So far, I love it, in a "damn I want to kick this game so hard for that one obtuse mission" kinda way.

So I've heard the sequel was released in Japan and Europe, but never the USA.

I'm going to assume the Japanese version has no option for English (and besides, I love the British accents in the first game), so assuming I want to play this in English, what kind of commitment am I looking at? How big of a headache will the PAL video format be? Is there any way I'd still be able to record footage with my DVD Recorder?

Thanks in advance.

[theclaw]

More HDTVs accept PAL in the US than SDTVs.

Luckily you shouldn't have to worry about "NTSC50" wackiness.
For games over composite/s-video, unhacked US and PAL model PS2s behave alike. PAL color at 50hz. NTSC color at 60hz.

AFAIK that isn't the case for movies. US PS2 like US PS3 won't playback 50hz encoded DVD. Regardless of disc region or owning a compatible TV.

Though even with a chipped US system I lack experience to be certain of everything. No PAL movies on hand, not much toying with video mode force cheats either.

[Edmond Dantes]

Well, I've done some reading up. Apparently, there are "NTSC to PAL" converter boxes... maybe there are ones that convert PAL to NTSC as well?

From what I can make out, what I'll need is:

A) A Euro or modded PS2
B) Either a converter box or an HDTV
C) Somewhere where I can purchase Forbidden Siren 2.

Movies aren't a concern for me, only games. And in particular THAT game.

[Gameguy]

From what I briefly read about this specific game it has some difficultly playing on modded US systems, something to do with it being a dual-layer game. It's actually easier to get an altered version to run on a modded US system, there's a hacked version of it forced to fit on a single layer disc which plays better on US systems(obviously on a burned disc).

Of course if you have a Euro PS2 then you can just play an actual Euro copy of the game. There are PAL to NTSC video converters out there, but the proper ones are somewhat expensive. The cheap ones convert 50Hz PAL to 50Hz NTSC, which is useless for North American TVs as they use 60Hz NTSC. The newer TVs might actually be PAL compatible so if you have one you might not need a converter.

This is one of the cheap adapters that are useless.
http://www.amazon.com/Video-System-Converter-NTSC-Systems/dp/B000RN2292

[Guyra]

Ah, I tried playing Forbidden Siren once, it seemed really cool, but I couldn't wrap my head around the controls. (Guess my head wasn't that bendy.)

That was years ago, though. Perhaps I should give it another go. :)

[Parodius Duh!]

Ive read if you want to play any PAL PS2 game in color instead of B&W, only an RGB connection will work.

Ive recently picked up a few European and Indian PAL exclusives and I am in the process of figuring things out as well.

[Spartacus]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?126991-What-do-I-need-to-play-PAL-games-in-the-USA

[CRTGAMER]

So... lately I've been playing Siren (or Forbidden Siren). So far, I love it, in a "damn I want to kick this game so hard for that one obtuse mission" kinda way.

So I've heard the sequel was released in Japan and Europe, but never the USA.

I'm going to assume the Japanese version has no option for English (and besides, I love the British accents in the first game), so assuming I want to play this in English, what kind of commitment am I looking at? How big of a headache will the PAL video format be? Is there any way I'd still be able to record footage with my DVD Recorder?

Thanks in advance.

PS1 and PS2 PAL games can be converted including the video footage built in the games to NTSC without resorting to converter boxes. Just use a couple of conversion tools to make it display in NTSC and burn a new disc. For the PS2 games installed in the PS2 Fat hard drive, no mod chip needed.

Playstation PAL NTSC Conversion Guide
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=52&p=388723#p388723

[theclaw]

Note a hard drive does not break the protection on PS2's optical drive.
To install imports or backups has several workarounds. PC transfer, slide card, slip top, mod chip...

Of course if your TV turns out PAL ready after all, leave video alone except for poorly optimized PAL games who benefit enough at 60hz.

[CRTGAMER]

Note a hard drive does not break the protection on PS2's optical drive.
To install imports or backups has several workarounds. PC transfer, slide card, slip top, mod chip...

Of course if your TV turns out PAL ready after all, leave video alone except for poorly optimized PAL games who benefit enough at 60hz.

The PAL to NTSC conversion is for many who do not have the PAL option on their TV.

Just to clarify, using one of the above methods works and no Mod Chip is needed. I use a Flip Top to install the converted PAL to NTSC burned games to the hard drive. In addition, the converted ISO can be direct transferred from the PC either the Ethernet method or swapping in the drive without need of a region bypass. Once the game is installed a quick menu driven hard drive load, again no mod chip needed.

[Az]

Swap Magic discs will force NTSC output from PAL games with no additional steps needed, and will work for both the original version or a copy. If you're using an original disc and it's dual layer, you may require some additional steps, but other than that you're good to go.

I've noticed when using PS1 or PS2 PAL games forced to NTSC my old as dirt CRT TV, you lose a bit of info on the top and bottom of the screen, but most games have an option to modify the screen size and orientation. I'm perfectly content with this than dropping the cash on an expensive converter box that costs more than my TV is worth.

[FFStudios]

If you can install Free McBoot to your PS2, there are many programs you can run off of it that will force NTSC output from PAL games. This, of course, won't require you to do anything to your PS2 save for installing FMCB. I personally prefer this because FreeMcBoot will only boot up if the memory card it is installed to is plugged into the console. Otherwise, your PS2 will boot up normally. I've been playing ESPGaluda (Japan only release) and it has worked just fine.

The one thing to look out for is that chances are, the tops and bottoms of your game will be cut off slightly. There's nothing that can be done about this; most PAL-to-NTSC converters can output the signal, but there's no changing the fact that the PAL format simply has more vertical lines than NTSC. Your converter will most likely try to center the image as best as possible, but if you need to see things at the very top or bottom of the screen, you might be out of luck.

[Andreas]

I've been playing ESPGaluda (Japan only release) and it has worked just fine.


This is impossible! There is no option to boot retail, region locked ps2 with a fmcb!

The video mode on ps1 and ps2 is based on the software. Not on the hardware. There are modifications to force games into different video modes, but this works partially and is not a native video mode. It's possible to force PAL games to 60hz, but it is impossible to force PAL games to a native ntsc-u/c 60hz mode.