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What is the best way to play Xenogears in 2020?

NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
Hey ERA - with XCDE coming out this week I got a hankering to go back to the OG that started it all.

Of course, I can easily dig out my thicc boi PS3 and PS1 game disc, but I'm wondering if it might not be easier/better to emulate? I have decent PC but I don't know the first thing about emulation. Unfortunately, I don't have a Vita, and I cant justify getting it just to play this game and Final Fantasy Tactics.

I know a while ago I saw some youtube videos that had modernized the aspect ratio or improved AA, faster text speeds, etc. I'd be especially interested to know if theres anything that tweaks the encounter rate as that is pretty bad.

If anyone can point me in the right direction, that would be great!
 

Deleted member 7883

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NattyBo said:
I don't, but suppose that is an option. Would there be any benefit to it over playing the actual PS1 disc on my fat PS3, other than physical space taken up being much smaller?
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I can't speak for Xenogears in particular, but I have found PS1 load times are a bit shorter via emulation (thru PSP and/or PC) than actual disc.
 
Truly Gargantuan

Truly Gargantuan

Still doesn't have a tag :'(
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Oct 25, 2017
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Hmm...I don't know how XG emulates, but unless your PC is 15 years old you shouldn't have a problem emulating it.
 
DrHercouet

DrHercouet

Member
May 25, 2018
1,679
France
PC is alright! Playing it on Vita and it works like a charm (plus, I feel like the Vita is the best way to play text heavy retro RPGs) (also Persona games). If you have a smartphone, grab a bluetooth controller and emulate it maybe? Pretty much anything Retroarch would work, even the New 3DS I believe!
 
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NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
Aleh said:
One day we will be blessed with a remake or a remaster. Believe...
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GUEST_ba4102b6-3d49-44fa-9a1b-54d4a3e7b492
 
Bastion

Bastion

Member
Oct 27, 2017
98
Buy a PSP. You can get it cheaper than a Vita and this game plays wonderfully on it. Of course, you need to hack the PSP to play this game as it isn't on PSN.
 
angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
Member
Nov 8, 2017
9,131
Ohio
You can find Vitas for around $100 bucks these days. Or, since you have the og game get a PS1 and a crt with svideo. I bought two nice crts from the thrift store field 9 cents apiece and PS1 go for around $30 on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace.
 
Arukado

Arukado

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,286
NattyBo said:
I...assume if I google those words, they'll make sense? Sorry, I don't know the first thing about emulationl. :(
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Sorta.

You have to download Retroarch, launch it and then download the core (the psx emulator itself) with Retroarch.

Sony - PlayStation (Beetle PSX HW) - Libretro Docs

This is RetroArch's document page, modification or development information outside of this repo may be incorrect.
docs.libretro.com docs.libretro.com

Emulation has some advantages, like increasing the internal resolution, save states or fastforwarding (that's how i played Parasite Eve for the first time last year , and how i'm replaying Vandal Hearts 2 on my hacked Switch).
 

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NattyBo said:
I...assume if I google those words, they'll make sense? Sorry, I don't know the first thing about emulationl. :(
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Retroarch is a catch all app for emulators, a front end for many emulators. Beetle PSX is thr name of the emulator you would use through it.

Quite frankly, if you only want to play one game it might not be worth setting up Retroarch. It's a great program but a slight bit tinkery. If you went the emulation route you could just as easily get the emulator on its own and skip a few steps.
 
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NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
Well, I learned something new today. Got it running on epsxe and even manged to patch the game with the fast text some kind user posted above. If there are any other QOL rom hacks I should know about, please do let me know!
 
DimitriLH

DimitriLH

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,513
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If you don't mind losing portability, Vita TV is a way cheaper alternative..... But I see you have gone the emulation path. Cheers!

Edit: uh, never mind? It looks like it got expensive wtf... You used to be able to find em for around 40$-ish.
 
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NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
DimitriLH said:
If you don't mind losing portability, Vita TV is a way cheaper alternative..... But I see you have gone the emulation path. Cheers!

Edit: uh, never mind? It looks like it got expensive wtf... You used to be able to find em for around 40$-ish.
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Yeah, vita is mad expensive now.

For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get the GTE wide screen hack running in any of the emulators I've tried. I just want to see if it would look okay in widscreen...
 
Dragon1893

Dragon1893

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,446
Vita is awesome for PS1 RPGs.
And you're not going to pay $200 for one in 2020.
If new Vitas are expensive maybe buy second hand?

Emulation is always a great option of course.
 
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NattyBo

NattyBo

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Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
I simply cannot get the game to run centered, widescreen or original aspect ratio, in either PCSXR or epsxe. It's off center no mater what resolution or rendering plugin I use.

SIgh
 
civet

civet

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Jul 6, 2019
460
France
The best way in 2020 is still to fire up a PSX on a CRT tv. Now if that's not an option, emulation will do it but it's never as satisfiying.
 

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NattyBo said:
I simply cannot get the game to run centered, widescreen or original aspect ratio, in either PCSXR or epsxe. It's off center no mater what resolution or rendering plugin I use.

SIgh
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Stuff like this is why you shouldn't be using these old, outdated plugin based emulators. Learn how to setup and use the Mednafen/ Beetle core in Retroarch and then you will have none of these problems.
 
Bradford

Bradford

terminus est
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Aug 12, 2018
5,423
civet said:
The best way in 2020 is still to fire up a PSX on a CRT tv. Now if that's not an option, emulation will do it but it's never as satisfiying.
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You know, you can, in fact, run emulators on a CRT monitor, lol.

It's how I play classic games, and I love it. At this point, Retroarch/Mednafen on a CRT monitor (preferably with switchres and supersampling/PGXP enabled) is pretty goddamn amazing.
 
Perkin_Warbeck

Perkin_Warbeck

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Jan 27, 2020
3,385
Washington, DC
I last played it in epsxe circa 2007. That emulator was a real pain to configure. These days I use OpenEmu which I believe has Mednafen. I haven't tried Xenogears with it, but other games have been a breeze to get up and running.
 
Martylepiaf

Martylepiaf

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Oct 25, 2017
424
France
I'm currently playing it on ePSXe and it's a blast. If you need any advice on the settings or if you have issue don't hesitate to ask
 
civet

civet

Member
Jul 6, 2019
460
France
Griff said:
You know, you can, in fact, run emulators on a CRT monitor, lol.

It's how I play classic games, and I love it. At this point, Retroarch/Mednafen on a CRT monitor (preferably with switchres and supersampling/PGXP enabled) is pretty goddamn amazing.
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That's true! Never thought about doing it since the day I switched to lcd tho. Not sure if CRT monitors are that easy to find these days
 
Bradford

Bradford

terminus est
Member
Aug 12, 2018
5,423
civet said:
That's true! Never thought about doing it since the day I switched to lcd tho. Not sure if CRT monitors are that easy to find these days
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Depending on what you are looking for they can be found with relative ease. Check local recycling centers or call Goodwill; Goodwill won't stock them but if you call when they have received some they will be happy to offer them to people.

Craigslist as well.
 
Stimpack

Stimpack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
590
Probably loading retroarch on the switch would be the best way. I should probably go through it again after all these years.
 
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NattyBo

NattyBo

Member
Dec 29, 2017
4,316
Washington, DC
Martylepiaf said:
I'm currently playing it on ePSXe and it's a blast. If you need any advice on the settings or if you have issue don't hesitate to ask
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Were you able to get the widescreen thing working in epsxe? Would love to know how if so

Edit: Just got it working, somehow. Wizards inside or something. Anyway, about to play. finally!
 
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Stimpack

Stimpack

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Oct 27, 2017
590
Dragon1893 said:
Vita is awesome for PS1 RPGs.
And you're not going to pay $200 for one in 2020.
If new Vitas are expensive maybe buy second hand?

Emulation is always a great option of course.
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My major issue with this is that PlayStation's emulation has that issue with loading. I just can't wait 3 seconds to load into the menu and 3 seconds to load out. That's a lot of time over the course of the game.
 
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