PS1:PAL Optimized Titles

Considering the PAL and NTSC region differences, many PS1 titles released in the PAL region had gameplay speed that ran 17% slower than NTSC counterparts in the US and Japan. The PAL standard allowed for a higher vertical resolution of 576 lines compared to NTSC's 480, which meant PAL players saw big black borders in many games, due to a lack optimisation. Some titles may also have issues with sound and music being slower or clocks and timers being inaccurate. This is partially because of timing differences in the PS1's internal frequency oscillator and developers not compensating for these differences.

If you have not modified your PS1 by installing a Dual Frequency Oscillator (DFO) to address these problems, even MM3 modchipped consoles can experience minor issues while running out of region games on original hardware. If you do not plan to install a DFO, there are some PAL optimised titles available within the PS1 library. This means the speed of gameplay has been corrected while still running at 50hz / 50 fps, the music and sound effects being identical in tempo to NTSC. Clocks, timers and save game data are accurate to the second.

Due to technical limitations, PAL games cannot take full advantage of the PAL resolution (the image is effectively squeezed down). However, if you look at games like the Crash Bandicoot series, they do not have big black borders (because of quality optimsation) and run at a perfect speed. Forcing these games to 60Hz would break them, speed up the gameplay or cause UI elements to draw out of the viewable area. With a CRT that has overscan, you will not see the small borders, hence why they might be called 'fullscreen'. In terms of forcing these games to 60Hz on original hardware, some tests have been carried out with the FreePSXBoot softmod for the PlayStation and GSM tool for the PlayStation 2. Below is a table with some information of games that have undergone testing.

Gran Turismo (Part Optimised)

Crash Bandicoot 3 (Fully Optimised)

This is by no means a definitive list, as unfortunately one does not exist. Titles tagged with Fully Optimsed or Part Optimised might run too fast if forced to NTSC (60Hz). Fully Optimised means no big black borders.

If the game you're looking for is not listed here, generally it is safe to assume that European developers optimised their games for the PAL region. Codemasters, Psygnosis and Rockstar North / Rockstar Lincoln have done so for many of their releases. Prominent offenders include developers such as Square, Konami and Namco, as they are based in NTSC territories.

PAL PlayStation Games Tested for Optimisation

	Fully Optimised	Part Optimised	Unoptimised	60Hz with FreePSXBoot	60Hz with GSM	Modchip Protected
007 The World Is Not Enough	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
007 Tomorrow Never Dies	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Alone in the Dark - Jack Is Back	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Army Men: Lock 'N' Load	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Colin McRae Rally	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Colin McRae Rally 2.0	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Cool Boarders 2	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Crash Bandicoot	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Crash Bash	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	Yes
Crash Team Racing	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	Yes
Destruction Derby	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Destruction Derby 2	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Die Hard Trilogy	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Dino Crisis	No	No	No	Untested	Untested	Yes
Dino Crisis 2	No	No	No	Untested	Untested	Not Known
Driver	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Driver 2	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Final Fantasy Anthology	No	Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed)	No	Music runs too fast, graphical corruption	Music runs too fast	No
Final Fantasy VII	No	No	Yes	Yes, image slightly shifted up and right	Untested	No
Final Fantasy VIII	No	No	Yes	Reverts to 50Hz	Works in NTSC mode	Yes
Final Fantasy IX	No	No	Yes	Reverts to 50Hz	Works in NTSC mode	Yes
Firestorm - Thunderhawk 2	No	No	Yes	Yes	Untested	No
Formula One	No	Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed)	No	Hangs at loading screen	Runs too fast	No
Gran Turismo	No	Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed)	No	Runs too fast	Untested	No
Gran Turismo 2	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Grand Theft Auto	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Heart of Darkness	No	No	Yes	Untested	Yes	No
Jackie Chan Stuntmaster	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	Yes
Jumping Flash	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Klonoa	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Mega Man X4	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Mega Man X5	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Mega Man X6	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Mickey's Wild Adventure	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Music	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Oddworld: Abe's Exodus	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Pandemonium	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Parasite Eve 2	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	Yes
Rayman	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Resident Evil	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Resident Evil 2	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	Yes
Ridge Racer	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Ridge Racer Type 4	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Sports Car GT	No	No	Yes	Untested	Broken	No
Spyro the Dragon	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage!	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	Yes
Spyro: Year of the Dragon	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	Yes
Suikoden	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Suikoden II	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tiny Toon Adventures - Buster and the Beanstalk	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Tekken	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Tekken 2	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Tekken 3	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
TOCA World Touring Cars	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	Yes
Tony Hawk's Skateboarding	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tomb Raider	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Tomb Raider II Starring Lara Croft	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tomb Raider: Chronicles	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Vagrant Story	No	No	Yes	Untested	Untested	No
Wipeout	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Wipeout 2097	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	No
Wipeout 3	Yes	No	No	N/A	N/A	Yes

More data from personal testing is welcome, with an emphasis on the use of original hardware (PS1, PS2). Side to side runs from the Duckstation emulator can also provide valid results, as the emulator does not remove the PAL picture squeeze you would get on original hardware.