PS1:PAL Optimized Titles
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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.
This is by no means a definitive list, as one does not exist. Titles tagged with Fully or Part Optimised might run too fast at 60Hz. Fully Optimised means no big borders or games that are bordered, running in native aspect ratio.
 | 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. |
| 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 |
| Air Combat | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Alone in the Dark - Jack Is Back | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Alundra | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested, music will probably run fast | Untested | No |
| Alundra 2 | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested, music will probably run fast | Untested | No |
| Ape Escape | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Army Men: Lock 'N' Load | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Asterix (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Beatmania | Yes, has localised music and is optimsed due to it being a rhythm based game | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Bomberman World | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Bushido Blade | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| C-12 - Final Resistance | 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 |
| Cool Boarders 4 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 |
| Croc: Legend of the Gobbos | No | No | Yes | Yes | Untested | No |
| Dead Or Alive | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Destruction Derby | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Destruction Derby 2 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Destruction Derby Raw | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Die Hard Trilogy | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Dino Crisis | No | No | No | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Dino Crisis 2 | No | No | No | Untested | Untested | Not Known |
| Doom | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Driver | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Driver 2 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Duke Nukem | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Dynasty Warriors | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Evil Dead - Hail to the King | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Exhumed | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Fear Effect | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Final Fantasy Anthology | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Music runs too fast, graphical corruption | Music and game run too fast | No |
| Final Fantasy VI | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Music and game run too fast | Music and game run too fast | No |
| Final Fantasy VII | No | No | Yes | Yes, image slightly shifted up and right | Untested, probably works same as other FF games - video skip, X & Y adjust in NTSC mode | 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 |
| Galerians | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Gex | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Grandia | No | Yes, big borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, probably breaks cutscenes | Untested | 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 |
| Granstream Saga | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Guardian's Crusade | No | Yes, correct music speed, small borders | No | Untested, music will probably run fast | Untested | No |
| Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | Squashed image | No |
| Harvest Moon - Back to Nature | No | Yes, optimised movement speed, slow text boxes, small borders | No | Untested, probably speeds up walking | Untested | No |
| Heart of Darkness | No | No | Yes | Untested | Yes | No |
| Jackie Chan Stuntmaster | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Jumping Flash | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Kingsley's Adventure | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | |
| Klonoa | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Koudelka | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | No, causes bouncing image | Squashed image | Yes |
| Lifeforce Tenka | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Loaded | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| MDK | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Medal of Honor | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| MediEvil | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| 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 |
| Metal Gear Solid | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Mickey's Wild Adventure | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Mortal Kombat Trilogy | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Music | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Nightmare Creatures | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Ninja - Shadow of Darkness | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | 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 |
| PaRappa the Rapper | 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 |
| Rage Racer | No | Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Ridge Racer | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Ridge Racer Revolution | No | Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Ridge Racer Type 4 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Road Rash | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Silent Hill | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay (PAL version has minor censorship) | No | Correct speed, but causes overscan (picture draws out on viewable area) | Untested | No |
| Sled Storm | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Soul Blade | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Spider-Man | No | Yes, small borders, slower gameplay, optimised cutscenes | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Sports Car GT | No | No | Yes | Untested | Squashed image | 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 |
| Star Wars - Dark Force | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Suikoden | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Suikoden II | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Syphon Filter | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Tenchu: Stealth Assassins | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay (PAL version has major censorship) | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Time Crisis - Project Titan | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay and slow timer | No | Untested | Untested | 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 (Western releases have minor censorship in one cutscene) | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| TOCA World Touring Cars | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Tombi! | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Tomb Raider | No | Yes, aspect ratio correct at 50Hz, intended to run in 60Hz speed (PC version is definitive) | No | 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 |
| Tony Hawk's Skateboarding | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Urban Chaos | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Vagrant Story | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Vib-Ribbon | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Vigilante 8 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Wacky Races (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Warcraft II - The Dark Saga | Yes, PAL speed believed to be original speed due to British developer | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Wild Arms | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested, music will probably run fast | 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 Duckstation emulator can also provide results on resolution differences, as the emulator does not remove the PAL picture squeeze you would get on original hardware. |