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 to some extent for the PAL region. Codemasters, Psygnosis and Rockstar North / Rockstar Lincoln have done so for many of their releases (e.g. Colin McRae Rally). 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 | LibCrypt Protection | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 40 Winks | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Actua Soccer | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Actua Soccer 2 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Actua Soccer 3 (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Air Combat | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Aironauts (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Alien Trilogy | 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: Land, Air, Sea | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Army Men: Lock 'N' Load | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Asterix (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Battle Arena Toshinden | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, big borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Beatmania | Yes, has localised music and is optimsed due to it being a rhythm based game | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Bloody Roar - Hyper Beast Duel | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, big borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Bomberman | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Bomberman World | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | 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 |
| Clock Tower | 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 | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | 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 | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Yes, cutscenes play too fast | Untested | Yes |
| Crash Team Racing | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Croc: Legend of the Gobbos | No | No | Yes | Yes | Untested | No |
| D | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Darkstalkers 3 | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Dead Or Alive | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Descent | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | 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 |
| Diablo | Yes, squares become rectangles when running in NTSC, due to British developer | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Die Hard Trilogy | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, correct speed, but causes glitches and overscan (picture draws outside of viewable area) | Untested | No |
| Dino Crisis | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Dino Crisis 2 | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Disney's Treasure Planet | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, correct speed, but causes slight overscan on UI elements (picture draws outside of viewable area) | Untested | No |
| Disney-Pixar Toy Story 2 - Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| 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 |
| Earthworm Jim 2 (PAL Exclusive) | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| EA Sports Superbike 2000 | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | Yes |
| Ehrgeiz - God Bless the Ring | No | No | Yes | 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 |
| Fade to Black | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Fear Effect | No | No | Yes | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | Untested | No |
| FIFA 2000 | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | Untested | No |
| FIFA Football 2005 | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Final Fantasy Anthology | No | Yes, correct music speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Yes, 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 | Yes, 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 | No, hangs at loading screen | Runs too fast | No |
| Galerians | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Gex | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Gex 3D - Enter the Gecko | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Ghost in the Shell | No | Yes, optimised movement speed, big borders, slower gameplay | No | Untested, probably speeds up walking | 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 |
| Grudge Warriors | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | 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 |
| Hydro Thunder | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| ISS Pro Evolution | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, probably breaks cutscenes | Untested | No |
| Jackie Chan Stuntmaster | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | Yes |
| Jade Cocoon - Story of the Tamamayu | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Jumping Flash | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Kagero - Deception II | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| King's Field | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Kingsley's Adventure | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Klonoa | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Koudelka | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Kula World | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Kurushi | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | No, causes bouncing image | Squashed image | Yes |
| Legend of Kartia | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Legend of Legaia | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| 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 |
| Lost Vikings 2 - Norse by Norsewest | No | Yes, big borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, probably breaks cutscenes | Untested | No |
| Louvre - The Final Curse (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 |
| Medal of Honor Underground | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | No, game freezes at loading screen | Untested | No |
| MediEvil | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| Mega Man Legends 2 | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | 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 |
| Metal Gear Solid | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Metal Slug X | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | 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 |
| Music 2000 | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| NBA Jam - Tournament Edition | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | 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 |
| No Fear Downhill Mountain Biking | 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 |
| One | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, probably breaks cutscene | Untested | No |
| OverBlood | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Overboard | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Pac-Man World 20th Anniversary | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 |
| Quake II | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| R-Types | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Rage Racer | No | Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Rayman | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Rayman 2 - The Great Escape | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, cutscenes stutter under Duckstation emulator forced 60Hz | Untested | No |
| Re-Loaded | No | Yes, small borders but only cutscenes optimised | No | Untested, briefings run too fast under Duckstation emulator forced 60Hz | Untested | No |
| ReBoot | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Return Fire | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 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 |
| Shadow Man | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Silent Hill | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay (PAL version has minor censorship) | No | Yes, correct speed, but causes overscan (picture draws out of viewable area) | Untested | No |
| Skullmonkeys | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | N/A | N/A | 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 but only cutscenes optimised | 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 Ocean - The Second Story | No | Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested, probably speeds game up | Untested | No |
| 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 | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | No, stuck on black screen | Squashed image | No |
| Team Buddies | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, small borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Tenchu: Stealth Assassins | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay (PAL version has major censorship) | No | Untested | Untested | No |
| Terracon (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | Untested | No |
| Tekken 3 (Western releases have minor censorship in one cutscene) | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| The Italian Job | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| The Jungle Book - Groove Party | No | Yes, small borders but slower gameplay | No | Yes, correct speed, but causes slight overscan on UI elements (picture draws outside of viewable area) - does not affect gameplay | Untested | No |
| The Unholy War | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | 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 |
| Twisted Metal | No | Yes, correct game speed, wrong aspect ratio (letterboxed) | No | Untested, probably speeds up game | Untested | No |
| Urban Chaos | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| V-Rally - 97 Championship Edition | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Vagrant Story | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Vandal Hearts | No | Yes, big borders but only cutscenes optimised (opening cutscene) | No | Untested, probably breaks opening cutscene | 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, squares become rectangles when running in NTSC, due to British developer | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| Warhawk | No | No | Yes | Yes, image is slightly shifted to the side, but working | Untested | 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 |
| Worms | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, big borders | No | Yes, timer runs too fast, but game fills whole screen - screen is slightly shifted to the side | N/A | No |
| X-Men - Children of the Atom | No | Yes, timer optimised, slower gameplay, big borders | No | Untested, will probably break timer | Untested | No |
| Yusha - Heaven's Gate (PAL & JP Exclusive) | No | No | Yes | Untested | Untested | No |
| Z (PAL Exclusive) | Yes | No | No | N/A | N/A | No |
| 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. |