I want to play FF7 again, should i play the PC version or an emulator?

[Nvidiaguy07]

I no longer own a PS1 but i want to play FF7 again. I can download a PS1 emulator and play it on that or play the PC version.

I remember reading an article on how to configure the PC version to work in vista. I was wondering it it would just be easier to play a rom.

Ill be playing on my school laptop which is new but i guess wouldnt be considered a "gaming" laptop.

What do u think?

also which would look better? Im guessing PS1 would max out at a certain setting but maybe i can set the pc version to a high res so it looks cleaner?

EDIT: this is the article i remember reading http://savvygeek.com/2007/10/0...vii-in-restored-glory/

 

[DaveSimmons]

Got a PSP or PS3? The digital download from PSN is cheap.

 

[shortylickens]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=80&threadid=2140106

Windows version has all kinds of issues, BUT, if you can get it working, and working with the hi-res patch, its awesome.
Also you can easily find trainers and save-game editors to let you do all kinds of crazy shit. You can start with any item or materia and edit your starting stats. Imagine having each Master Materia on every single player!

It seems to me that Playstation emulation is WAY more trouble than its worth. Better to find a PS1 dirt cheap someplace.

 

[aka1nas]

The PC version is awful, I owned it and ended up grabbing a used PS copy and emulating it for my last run-through. You at least get AA and AF on the emulator.

 

[TecHNooB]

PC version. Give yourself outrageous materia from the get-go.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

It seems to me that Playstation emulation is WAY more trouble than its worth. Better to find a PS1 dirt cheap someplace.

I'd normally agree with you, but the PC port in this case was so problematic that it was actually significantly easier to get running using epsxe for me.

 

[mooncancook]

I remember playing this game on a Voodoo graphic card using Glide driver and it looked great and played great with a Sidewinder gamepad. Don't remember encounter any problem with the PC version. Not sure how it will run on a modern OS though.

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Got a PSP or PS3? The digital download from PSN is cheap.

This.

Buy it and play it on your PS3. I haven't done it myself but if I really wanted to re-live old memories I would.

 

[PhatoseAlpha]

Emulator. In practical terms, the graphics are pretty much dated and awful no matter how you look at it. Modern PS1 emulators are quite capable of running at very high resolutions with the added sharpness that entails, and tossing in antialiasing and all that. None of which is going to help the fact that the game's visuals have aged exceptionally poorly. There's just not a significant advantage there.

And even if compared to an actual PS1, the emulator still wins, especially on squaresoft games for one simple reason.

The ability to turn off frame rate limitations and make the game run a 10 times normal speed. Combined with a game like FF7, notable for having design done by a man who figures you have nothing else to do with your life then watch the 90 second spell animation again, this is instant win.

 

[Dacalo]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Got a PSP or PS3? The digital download from PSN is cheap.

I still have a copy for PC which I bought over 10 years ago with a Voodoo 2 card but I am considering buying a copy on PSN for convenience.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: Dacalo

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Got a PSP or PS3? The digital download from PSN is cheap.

I still have a copy for PC which I bought over 10 years ago with a Voodoo 2 card but I am considering buying a copy on PSN for convenience.

I have it on PSN for the PS3, it's not bad. I haven't had much time to play it, it doesn't look terrible on my HDTV. If it's available to you the PSn version isn't bad - i'm not sure if the ps1 emulator or pc version is better.

 

[Adrenaline]

There seems to be a consensus that the pc version wasn't reliable, go for emulation.

If you do decide to grab a PS1 you could buy FF 7 along with FF Chronicles, FF Anthology and FF 1.

 

[Chronoshock]

When I replayed it, I just used an emulator (epsxe). I unlock framerates during random encounters and tap x to auto attack, turns 1min fights into 5 seconds. I also didn't own the PC version and my brother took my PS1, so I only really had one choice

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Adrenaline
There seems to be a consensus that the pc version wasn't reliable, go for emulation.

If you do decide to grab a PS1 you could buy FF 7 along with FF Chronicles, FF Anthology and FF 1.

No, there is no consensus.
When I got it right after it came out for Win98 it was fine. I had no issues getting it to run. Something tells me a lot of folks must have been using pirated versions because those were notorious for not working. I had the legit version and it installed and played just fine.

Getting it to work these days requires a few patches, but still runs, and at higher resolutions.

 

[vhx]

I have FF7 for PC and it works in Windows 7 so I never had much too much trouble. The hi res patch is certainly awesome. I also found a mod includes a DLL that adds shader support and a whole bunch of other performance and quality settings, was pretty nifty. Only thing about the PC is that the FMV's are usually lower quality and the music is MIDI. If you prefer better graphics over those things, then go for the PC version.

 

[zebano]

Emulation using epsxe is trivial and I've only ever had problems with one game (Final Fantasy Tactics) in which the main map shows black unless you move the cursor. The graphics are dated, you will have to live with that, but speeding up random encounters is a big plus. I personally find hacking games to make yourself overpowered ruins the fun so that's not a big draw either way.

Edit: If the PC version really cleans up this well (http://savvygeek.com/2007/10/0...ii-in-restored-glory/) then go for that.

 

[Fox5]

Emulate it, the emulated version will be superior in almost every way....except the PSX version will still lack a z-buffer and thus the polys will flicker around like on a real PSX. Otherwise, the PSX emulated version will be more adaptable to higher resolution, custom shader filters people have made (don't underestimate the value of a toon filter), higher res textures packs / upscaled textures, and various other mods. Also, it'll be easier to get working than the PC version at this point.

Emulation using epsxe is trivial and I've only ever had problems with one game (Final Fantasy Tactics) in which the main map shows black unless you move the cursor. The graphics are dated, you will have to live with that, but speeding up random encounters is a big plus. I personally find hacking games to make yourself overpowered ruins the fun so that's not a big draw either way.

From what I remember about my PSX emulation days, you just needed to turn on framebuffer emulation. By default it wasn't on, since it's quite the performance hit, it required a lot of bus communication between the graphics card and cpu that the AGP bus (and many video card drivers) just weren't up to.

 

[StrangerGuy]

ePSXe allows you to use save states, and see the amazing engrish ("Attack while the tail is up!" when it actually meant the opposite and "This guy ARE sick!") in the PSX version.

 

[masterxfob]

a little help please!

i decided to start playing again after reading this, but am starting with a previously saved game. i think i had just gotten to the point where the north crater is blocked off, but not sure where to go or what to do from there. can any of you experts give me a few tips on where to start?

 

[wheels]

is there a way to use a save game or type of trainer for the emulated version? I got save games on my memory card, since I cant transfer them to pc I thought I could use some hack to level up my guys