Question about Playstation RPG PAL conversions (square /enix)?

[Swaain]

Hey all, I have a few questions about the quality of the PAL conversion of the following psx rps :

Star Ocean 2
Final Fantasy 7
Grandia

I have PAL versions of these games already, but I'm currently away from my collection (meaning, I cannot playtest them myself) and I have seen good NTSC copies on the shelves of a shop. I wouldn't mind replacing my PAL copies with NTSC games, provided these are actually superior (e.g., black borders). Can someone here help me out?

Thanks!

[sj33]

All 3 are slower and boardered in their PAL versions.

In fact, SquareEnix didn't start optimising for PAL until Kingdom Hearts 2 I think.

[gossi the dog]

None of them were released in Europe by Squaresoft (as they would have been known in those days). However, all three have sizeable black borders, which tbh was pretty much the norm for most games at the time.

[sj33]

None of them were released in Europe by Squaresoft (as they would have been known in those days).

It's very rare the publisher does the PAL conversions though, so it'd be the respective developers at fault.

[Swaain]

OK - many thanks for your (impressively quick) responses. I love this forum!

[saturn-gamer]

Squaresoft is the most notorious company regarding PAL conversions. They took ages to bring over, and were always poorly converted. Much like Capcom during the 32-bit days. Huge borders, massive slowdown.

When I played FF7 american copy, I was blown away. It ran like its supposed to. Really worth it if you ask me. Especially in those days with regular CRT's without zoom functions. But even then, the upped gamespeed (or rather restored, since its the supposed speed) is worth it too.

[S3M]

SquareEnix are terrible for PS1 & PS2 games, I have yet too see any of their pal PS games with a 60hz option.

As Shakey_Jake33 sais'd Kingdom Hearts 2 is optimised and so is Final Fantasy XII. But neither are 60hz.

Any of interested is there any way to force PS1 & 2 games into 60hz? I know the xploder forces ps2 games into 60hz, but it seems to force them badly in 60hz causing half the picture to disappear as it's badly aligned.

[toxicninja]

well some mod chips have that option, not sure how well it works though.

[JamesS]

For some games, you can use a tool called Pal4u to scan the executable and produce Action Replay codes that'll switch the game into 60Hz and shift the screen to the right place. When it works, it works well, but some games don't work at all and others have timing problems when switched.

[saturn-gamer]

For PSX, I got a PAL one chipped and simply purchased American copies. Tekken 3 was the game I did this for in 1998. Way better in 60hz.

Ps2, I only had an NTSC-U machine. But that one actually went to become futile. PAL has even more games such as the lot of shmups and fighters released by Ignition and 505 amongst others!

So, modding a Ps2 and buying NTSC software for it must be the best solution I guess. Provided it works the same as the PSX; hz output is decided via the software's region.

[sj33]

Provided it works the same as the PSX; hz output is decided via the software's region.

Yeah, it's software dictated, though most top-tier modchips can force PAL, NTSC or PAL60. Not really recommended though as most games seem pretty dependent on the refresh and cause artifacts. Even moreso than Saturn.