Does PS2 really look that bad on an HD set?

It's jaggies and just being dated. We're spoiled by graphics now that anything five years ago looks horrible. I tried playing some PS2 games that I thought were great at the time such as Onimusha 3 and Shadow Hearts 2 and couldn't stand more than five minutes of it. Though Final Fantasy XII held up nicely and I finally got around to finishing that.

It was the same with the old PS1 Final Fantasy games when the PS2 came out, everything just became dated by how much the tech has improved.
 
PS2 games has bad graphics?? Have you played ps1 vandal hearts? The CG cut scenes were borderline horrifying, but it's still an awesome game..
 
I'd kinda say so... then again when you're used to current gen games it's gonna look worse than it was when those old games were new.
 
What you have to understand is that CRT sets softened images slightly. So the jagged edges that were always there stick out more. In addition, your HD set or the PS3 itself will likely have to upconvert the PS2 images. Anytime you fiddle with a video signal the resultant image is going to be slightly different than to original.

Having said all that, I use my 60 Gig PS3 to play PS2 games. It's convenient, and honestly it's not that much of a visual detractor from the games themselves.
 
So it's just jaggies then? I can deal with that no problem. I play God Hand and Katamari for the goddamn games not how pretty they look. Thanks everyone.
 
I'm a 1-gen-behind gamer. I've only played the 360 maybe 3 times total, and I've only seen a PS3 being played at Wal-mart.

My super-unbiased opinion is that most games look much, much better on my 37" HDTV with component cables than they ever did on a 25" SDTV with A/V's.

Jaggies are a problem, but it seems that staying away from the progressive scan (480p) option in PS2 games will help with that. God Of War 2 and even more so Cars seem to suffer from it, but look great sticking with 480i. Also be sure to get PS2 component cables, they really help bring out the colors.
 
PS2 on an HD set looks horrific and blurry.
After ps3, I can't even look at some of the n64 and psone games, and I feel bad because.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']So it's just jaggies then? I can deal with that no problem. I play God Hand and Katamari for the goddamn games not how pretty they look. Thanks everyone.[/QUOTE]
Not so much jaggies imo. It's more like applying a blur filter to the entire image, which actually softens the edges a bit if you ask me. Colors seem a bit more muted too (may be the composite connection).

If possible, a good CRT is unquestionably the way to go, but PS2 games look fine on an HD set.
 
It just looks jaggy. Like all games use to back in the day. It's not that bad unless jaggy REALLY bugs you.
 
[quote name='Thongsy']It's jaggies and just being dated. We're spoiled by graphics now that anything five years ago looks horrible. I tried playing some PS2 games that I thought were great at the time such as Onimusha 3 and Shadow Hearts 2 and couldn't stand more than five minutes of it.[/QUOTE]

I'm playing SH2 right now and it isn't so bad in the graphics dept.
 
i think the images look better on a CRT, but i havent experienced a game looking so bad its unplayable, ive played multiple ps2 games on my HDTV without issue.
 
[quote name='Gourd']Having said all that, I use my 60 Gig PS3 to play PS2 games. It's convenient, and honestly it's not that much of a visual detractor from the games themselves.[/QUOTE]


Alright, a little off topic, but I'm confused. I frequently hear that the PS3 doesn't support backward compatibility, but at the same time, I frequently hear it does. Why can some people do it but not others?
 
[quote name='Sofa King Kool']Alright, a little off topic, but I'm confused. I frequently hear that the PS3 doesn't support backward compatibility, but at the same time, I frequently hear it does. Why can some people do it but not others?[/QUOTE]
Some of the older PS3's were able to play PS2 games. But eventually they took out BC out of all models.
 
I think its all about the size of your TV. Because Ive tried to play some PS1 games on my ps2/3 and they look horrible on my 47" LCD, but on the flip side, most PS1 games look great on my PSP barring the original graphics (heres looking at you fugly CG from ps1 games). Its all on how you scale it. Even 1080p looks horrible if you look at it on a big enough TV. Although you can change some aspects of how things look by getting the optimal cables (ps1 i think had component cables and current gen systems all have HDMI except wii).
 
I havent been privilaged enough to by any new consoles. But I did get a new 42in flat screen. So I really cant tell how the graphics got worse. But then again I use an S-Video cable and set the tv to normal screen ratio, and everything looks fine.

If your thinking about jagged lines, then you're going to see them. If you play the game for what it is.....then you should have no problems. If anything you could always buy a VGA adapter...... and just play on a regular CRT, or flat panel.
 
The biggest problem with the PS2 on HD sets is that very few PS2 games actually supported Progressive Scan. The PS2 itself supports Progressive Scan just fine. But in order for games on the system to take advantage of it, they had to be written to use the feature. And Sony never made it a requirement for developers to get behind Progressive Scan.

And most interlaced games, played on a HD set, are going to look like ass. Not much that you can do about it. A few games, like the God of War titles, do support Progressive Scan, and can actually look pretty good on HD sets. But the list of PS2 games that support progressive scan is actually smaller than the list of GameCube games that support that feature. And that's just sad.
 
At the sony outlet, they had the ps2 connected to the new sony bravia 1080p. hey had some NBA game playing, but it was so blurry that I couldn't see the ball at all - It blended in with the floor.
 
Katamari 2 on a plasma became a gridded mess, it was really bad compared to a CRT. That said, if you sit farther away you won't notice much of a difference.
 
I just finished playing FFX on my Panasonic 50pz80u, and it didn't bother me a bit. Sure, it's not going to look like a 360 or PS3 will, but it's still playable.
 
Soul Calibur III on component cables looks amazing, practically next-gen!

Also note, when progressive scan is enabled on the PS2, noticeable slow-down impacts certain games. Which means setting it on interlace actually improves gameplay response time. [shooters, action adventure titles; twitch response games.]

using the right setup to match with the console hardware is important. You're asking for [graphical] disappointment if you plug in N64 era into HD. PS2 is marginally crossing that threshold as later life-cycle AAA games tended to look better. Developers learned to maximize the juice out of the machine.

Just watch the God of War II cinematics [cut-scenes] through component on HD. Amazing! You'd think you're on PS3; jaw-dropping goodness.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Some good examples have been cited in this thread already. God of War, Soul Calibur III, and Final Fantasy XII all look great on an HD widescreen. (If FF12 had only supported progressive scan, it could have really looked amazing.) Lots of other games look terrible. Whether they're still playable is going to be pretty much completely subjective. Just make sure you've got component cables, and try to stick with games that support widescreen and/or progressive scan for best results.
 
It's jaggies and just being dated. We're spoiled by graphics now that anything
signature_deepthakur.jpg
:)
 
Yes, PS2 can look quite a bit blurry and indistinct on an HDTV, but the only time it affects gameplay is for certain First and Third person shooters, like Sniper Elite (where the point is to pick off distant enemies, who'll sometimes resemble little puffs of brown smoke), but even then it's relatively minor.
 
Its all based on preference. No matter what you're using a 480 pixel sized image and stretching it to a larger scale (size speaking). (think of blowing up a 4x6 picture to 8x10). The bigger the stretch the more jagged edges appear to be present. and yes progressive scan may help this problem (God of War is an excellent example) but then on the other hand look at shadow of the colossus which also supports progressive scan. This game has huge draw distances along with animating the colossus (which covers 80% of the screen) the ps2 hardware falls short. Its hit or miss with HDTV's PS2 games. but as stated before, if you enjoy playing the game, it'll slip your mind.

The best thing is to get some component cables and the deep customization options of your HDTV. Some do have settings for displaying 480i or 480p. This will stop the TV from scaling the picture to match its pixel ratios and help with the clarity.
 
The claims of it looking "horrible" or "unplayable" are greatly exagerrated. Like most have said here, just don't expect 360/PS3 visuals with last-gen technology. Get yourself a decent set of component cables (might I suggest the ones from monoprice.com for $3.95?) and try to sit a bit further back to minimize the effect of the jaggies. You should be just fine.
 
ya it looks bad in the first sight but it increases the game size tremendously and you can enjoy numerous games in one hard disk installed in your PS2 ,according to me this is very convenient and financial... :)
 
[quote name='willardhaven']Katamari 2 on a plasma became a gridded mess, it was really bad compared to a CRT. That said, if you sit farther away you won't notice much of a difference.[/QUOTE]

Well since I'm finally done dragging my ass about this and am about to make the purchase can you elaborate on this? Is the resolution screwed up or do I just need to sit a few feet away?
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']Well since I'm finally done dragging my ass about this and am about to make the purchase can you elaborate on this? Is the resolution screwed up or do I just need to sit a few feet away?[/QUOTE]

The problem is that often times people buy a huge TV set and don't take into account that if they sit close, it will look terrible. For example, someone runs off to buy the largest TV that Costco has, while his couch is three feet away from it. Doing this makes ghosting and other artifacts in many non CRTs even more apparent.

And it may be hard to believe, but it really pays to get the right size TV, and no larger. That way you can spend money on FEATURES. Someday you might regret only having two HDMI ports...

I'll root around and see if I can find the viewing distance to TV set size guide I used when I bought my HDTV.

There we go. Take a look at this calculator. There are many others available online like this:

http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html
 
I was playing Ratchet & Clank Up Your Arsenal just the other day, and THAT game looks fan-flippin'-'tastic! Just gorgeous...really lookin' forward to poppin' in Tools of Destruction when I get to it.
 
[quote name='BigD']I was playing Ratchet & Clank Up Your Arsenal just the other day, and THAT game looks fan-flippin'-'tastic! Just gorgeous...really lookin' forward to poppin' in Tools of Destruction when I get to it.[/QUOTE]
I just finished UYA myself. It had been a long time since playing Going Commando, and I was quickly reminded of how great the series is.

Been a PS3 hold-out so far, but Ratchet may finally force me to take the plunge.
 
[quote name='Allnatural']I just finished UYA myself. It had been a long time since playing Going Commando, and I was quickly reminded of how great the series is.

Been a PS3 hold-out so far, but Ratchet may finally force me to take the plunge.[/QUOTE]

R&C may just be my favorite video game series now. I've just had so much fun with the games since the first installment. Right now, I'm REALLY enjoying Deadlocked. It's actually VERY good. I'll be starting Size Matters for the PS2 after this...I no longer have a PSP so I'll be playing the PS2 version unfortunately. After that...Secret Agent Clank...and then I'll be hitting up the three games for PS3. I'm excited! :whee:
 
i used to hook the ps2 up with an s-video connector.
jsut a touch under component but a hell of alot better than composite.
At least thats the way i felt.
PLUS all ps2 games will play on s video.
 
I remember seeing that there was a high def cable with the three colors red blue and green that was for the ps2 on ebay. that might help.
 
[quote name='PawnTakesKing']Get yourself a decent set of component cables (might I suggest the ones from monoprice.com for $3.95?)[/QUOTE]

Again, this is all you need.
 
[quote name='slfc']Again, this is all you need.[/QUOTE]

What do component cables do exactly? Do they UP the resolution? If they're that cheap...I'll buy a pair. The PS2 doesn't have an HDMI port right? My PS3 is hooked up via HDMI.
 
[quote name='BigD']What do component cables do exactly? Do they UP the resolution?[/QUOTE]
No, but they do offer the best possible quality, and they allow for progressive scan (if the game supports it).
 
Gawd I played Ico, Nocturne, and Fatal Frame on an HD monitor. I could stand Ico and Nocturne, but Fatal Frame sucked fucking balls on it. I switched to a SDTV and I thoroughly enjoyed the game. I guess that means some games are tolerable, and some aren't.
I have a VGA converter though, so it probably looks worse than component cables.
 
I have my 60 gig PS3 hooked up with a HDMI cable to a 32inch widescreen lcd. Every PS2 game ive played on it really doesnt look bad...but they're kind of gray looking (not as colorful) compared to what I remember them looking like on my old CRT. There also seems to be a blur. Anyone have any tips on how I could fix that? Or is it really just supposed to look like that?

Like most have said, certainly not unplayable...id rather play em on a ps2 hooked up to a crt. But playing them on the ps3 is more convenient
 
[quote name='Supreme0ne']I have my 60 gig PS3 hooked up with a HDMI cable to a 32inch widescreen lcd. Every PS2 game ive played on it really doesnt look bad...but they're kind of gray looking (not as colorful) compared to what I remember them looking like on my old CRT. There also seems to be a blur. Anyone have any tips on how I could fix that? Or is it really just supposed to look like that?

Like most have said, certainly not unplayable...id rather play em on a ps2 hooked up to a crt. But playing them on the ps3 is more convenient[/QUOTE]

I don't think it's supposed to look like that. My fiancee has been playing DQ VIII on our 60 gb PS3 through HDMI to our HDTV and I've actually been impressed at how vibrant the colors are.

Do the PS2 games actually look different from the PS3 games, color-wise? Like they're washed out?

And what do you mean by blur? Like motion-blur, or is everything just kind of fuzzy looking? If it's the latter, it could be from the PS3's smoothing option, which takes away some of the jaggies at the expense of detail.
 
[quote name='namtrahj']I don't think it's supposed to look like that. My fiancee has been playing DQ VIII on our 60 gb PS3 through HDMI to our HDTV and I've actually been impressed at how vibrant the colors are.

Do the PS2 games actually look different from the PS3 games, color-wise? Like they're washed out?

And what do you mean by blur? Like motion-blur, or is everything just kind of fuzzy looking? If it's the latter, it could be from the PS3's smoothing option, which takes away some of the jaggies at the expense of detail.[/QUOTE]

Yes, my PS2 games definitly look different than my PS3 games color-wise. Washed out is a great way of putting it.

As for the blur, it's more along the lines of a motion blur. But it does look kind of fuzzy too...but that's probably just because of the color problem I have.

I have a copy of DQ8 (greatest rpg ever made in my opinion) and could take some pictures if you'd like...if you think you'd be able to help that is!
 
[quote name='Supreme0ne']Yes, my PS2 games definitly look different than my PS3 games color-wise. Washed out is a great way of putting it.

As for the blur, it's more along the lines of a motion blur. But it does look kind of fuzzy too...but that's probably just because of the color problem I have.
[/QUOTE]
I mentioned the same thing earlier. The colors are a bit muted, presumably because of the upscaling and deinterlacing.

The blur you see is probably just the sample-and-hold effect, which is definitely more pronounced with SD sources imo.
 
the blurring seems to happen more in some games and less in others. yakuza 2 seemed to have alot of it...but i was just playing FF12 a little bit ago and there was none.

ff12 does look somewhat better than some of the other games ive played. maybe because it has a widescreen option?
 
Before the 360, PS3, or Wii came out, I had my PS2 hooked up to a 60" HD RPTV, and it looked great. I miss those days of downloading games and playing them off the PS2's hard drive with HD Loader.

When playing PS2 games on my PS3, I'm not fond of the black border around all sides of the screen. I wonder why they can't make the image fill the entire screen.
 
bread's done
Back
Top