How to Play PS2 Games on Your Computer With PCSX2

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Learn how to install, set up, and play games on PCSX2
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In this wikiHow, we'll teach you how to play PlayStation 2 games on your PC with PCSX2. PCSX2 is a widely used and very popular PS2 emulator, and it's your best bet if you want to play a PS2 game on your computer. We go over how to install and set up PCSX2, how to play a ROM or a PS2 disc, and how to tweak your graphics for a better gaming experience. Read on to learn how!

Quick Steps

  1. Download and install PCSX2.
  2. Run PCSX2 to set up the software.
  3. Choose a PS2 BIOS to finish PCSX2 setup.
  4. Download a ROM or rip your own PS2 disc.
  5. Add the game to your PCSX2 game directory.
  6. Double-click the game to open it.
Section 1 of 4:

Installing PCSX2

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  1. 1
    Download the PCSX2 installer. To do that, go to pcsx2.net and click the Download tab. Then, click Latest Stable . Choose the Installer version.
    • Don't download the Latest Nightly version of PCSX2, as this version can have bugs. Only install this version if you're tech savvy and don't mind encountering a few bugs along the way.
    • You can choose the Download version instead, but this will download a portable version of PCSX2. As such, PCSX2 won't be installed on your computer like a normal app. If you're less tech savvy, the installer is the better version to download.
    • PCSX2 is available for Windows, Linux, and Mac computers.
  2. 2
    Run the PCSX2 installer. If your computer asks you if you want to trust the application, click Yes .
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  3. 3
    Choose Standard Installation . Standard Installation will be selected by default; simply click the Next button to continue.
  4. 4
    Choose an install location. By default, PCSX2 will create a folder in your Program Files folder. If you want to install PCSX2 somewhere else, click Browse… and choose a new installation destination.
    • Click the Next button to continue.
  5. 5
    Choose a Start menu folder. By default, PCSX2 will create its own PCSX2 folder. If you want to put PCSX2 in a different Start menu folder, click Browse… and choose a new one.
    • Click the Next button to continue.
  6. 6
    Finish installation. If you don't want PCSX2 to make a desktop shortcut, uncheck the "Create a desktop shortcut" box. Click Next , then Install .
  7. 7
    Click Finish . Leave the "Launch PCSX2" box checked. PCSX2 will launch and immediately put you into the setup wizard.
  8. 8
    Choose a language and theme. By default, PCSX2 will use your system language and a dark gray theme. However, you can change these by clicking on the dropdowns to select different options.
    • If you want PCSX2 to auto-update, leave the "Enable Automatic Updates" box checked.
    • Click Next to continue.
  9. 9
    Obtain a PS2 BIOS. There are two ways to do this: dump your own PS2 BIOS, or download one from the internet. It's much easier to download a BIOS, but the only way to legally obtain a PS2 BIOS is to dump your own.
    • For an in-depth guide to dumping your own PS2 BIOS, check out PCSX2's documentation here . [1]
    • To download a PS2 BIOS, go to the emulator files page of the Emulation wiki, then click on the "BIOS files" link under the PlayStation 2 header. Download the ZIP file, then unzip the compressed file. Copy all of the unzipped files and place them in the BIOS folder.
      • No matter how you get the BIOS file, it should be placed in the directory listed in PCSX2 (which is \Documents\PCSX2\bios by default).
  10. 10
    Choose the BIOS for your country. If you dumped your own PS2 BIOS, you can skip this step. Once you've picked a BIOS, click Next to continue.
    • You'll see a lot of BIOS images available. If you're in the US, choose the "ps2-0160a-20020207.bin" file.
    • If you want to play a game from a different country (such as Japan) you'll need to choose a BIOS that matches the region the game came out in. Unlike modern consoles, the PS2 was region locked, so you can only play games from certain regions with certain BIOSes.
  11. 11
    Add a game directory. For each game directory you add, PCSX2 will scan them for new games and automatically add them to your games list. While you can skip this step for now, it's helpful to get a game directory set up right away.
    • To add a directory, click Add… , then navigate to the directory you want to add.
      • If you won't be placing any ROMs in subdirectories, you can click No when PCSX2 asks if you want the directory to be searched recursively. If you plan on organizing your ROMs into subfolders, click Yes .
    • You can place your game directory anywhere. However, to stay organized, you may want to create a special folder in your Documents folder to hold your PCSX2 ROMs.
    • Click Next to continue to the next step.
  12. 12
    Set up your controller. If your controller isn't plugged into your computer, plug it in now. Then, follow these steps:
    • Under "Controller Port 1," choose a controller type. For regular PS2 games, choose DualShock 2.
    • Click Automatic Mapping .
    • Choose your controller's name from the list.
      • You can also map your controller to your keyboard, if you don't have a controller or don't want to set the controller up right now.
      • If you want to customize the mapping of your controller, you can do this once PCSX2 is set up by clicking the Settings dropdown and choosing Controllers . [2]
    • Click Next to move to the next step.
  13. 13
    Click Finish . PCSX2 is now set up. [3] You can now jump to playing a ROM , playing a disc , or adjusting your graphics for the best emulation experience.
    • To make navigating PCSX2 a bit easier, click on View > Toolbar to open the toolbar.
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Section 2 of 4:

Playing ROMs

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  1. 1
    Download a ROM. There are many places to download ROMs online. The safest place to get ROMs is from the Internet Archive. You can find links to the Internet Archive (as well as other safe ROM sites), sorted alphabetically, here .
    • Make sure to download a ROM that matches the country you selected for your BIOS. If you chose the US, you'll want to download the USA or North America version of the game.
    • Save the ROM file to the directory you set as your PCSX2 game directory. This way, PCSX2 will automatically detect your game.
  2. 2
    Extract the game file (if necessary). If the game file is a 7Z/7Zip, ZIP, or RAR file, you must extract them first. If the game is a CHD file, you can skip to the next step.
    • If the extracted file is not a BIN, CUE, ISO, MDF, CHD, CSO, ZSO, GZ, ELF, IRX, GS, or DUMP file format, PCSX2 won't be able to read it.
  3. 3
    Click Scan For New Games in PCSX2. PCSX2 will scan your game directory, and show the new game in your games list. To run the game, simply double-click on the tile.
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Section 3 of 4:

Playing a PS2 Game You Own

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  1. 1
    Download and install RetroArch. RetroArch is an emulator that can be used to rip games from your own PS2 discs so you can play them in PCSX2.
  2. 2
    Insert your PS2 disc in your computer's CD/DVD drive. If you don't have a built-in CD/DVD drive, you can use an external drive .
  3. 3
    Click Dump Disc . This option is in RetroArch's main menu.
  4. 4
    Choose your CD/DVD drive. It is usually the first option on the list.
  5. 5
    Wait for the disc to finish dumping. This can take some time, so wait for the process to finish completely before moving on. Check the "Dumping disc…" progress bar in the lower-left part of your screen to see how far the process is.
  6. 6
    Open the RetroArch downloads folder. The default location of this folder is \C:\RetroArch-Win64\downloads (or whatever your default drive letter is).
  7. 7
    Rename the BIN and CUE files to the name of your game. This will make the game easier to locate in your PCSX2 files.
    • If the game you're dumping has multiple discs, it might be helpful to add "Disc 1," "Disc 2," etc. after the game name to differentiate them.
  8. 8
    Right-click the CUE file and open it in Notepad. Go to Open with > Notepad .
  9. 9
    Change the ISO name to match the file name. The text to change is in between the quotes that are between the words "FILE" and "BINARY."
    • The name of the ISO file, the CUE file, and the text inside the CUE file must all be exactly the same.
    • Save the CUE file before closing Notepad.
  10. 10
    Move the ISO file and CUE file to your PCSX2 game directory. You can now eject the game disc from your computer and close RetroArch. [4]
    • You can, alternatively, run games from disc in PCSX2. However, this is a very intensive process and will slow your computer and your game down by a lot. It's best to rip your own discs to play them in PCSX2.
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Section 4 of 4:

Graphical Tweaks

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  1. 1
    Fullscreen Press Alt + ↵ Enter to enter fullscreen mode. Press it again to go back to windowed mode.
  2. 2
    Resolution By default, PCSX2 plays games in native PS2 resolution, which doesn't look great on modern monitors. Increase your resolution by following these steps:
    • Click Settings > Graphics > Rendering .
    • Click the Internal Resolution dropdown.
    • Choose a higher resolution. Play around with a few different resolutions to see which one you like best. You'll have to start a game to see the changes.
  3. 3
    Anisotropic filtering Turning on anisotropic filtering can help preserve details at extreme angles. Enable anisotropic filtering by following these steps:
    • Click Settings > Graphics > Rendering .
    • Click the Anisotropic Filtering dropdown.
    • Choose 8x or 16x for best results.
  4. 4
    Anti-aliasing Enabling anti-aliasing can help tone down jagged edges and make the game look smoother. Enable anti-aliasing by doing the following:
    • Click Settings > Graphics > Post-Processing.
    • Click the FXAA checkbox.
    • (Optional) Choose a contrast adaptive sharpening method to further increase graphics quality.
  5. 5
    HD texture packs Some users have created HD texture packs to increase the quality of certain PS2 games in PCSX2. Not all games have these packs, however. To find them, simply search for "[game name] PCSX2 texture pack" and see if any exist.
    • Follow the instructions that the texture pack creator has included with the textures for the best results. Some texture packs will require certain settings to be turned on or off.
    • Textures go in \Documents\PCSX2\textures .
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Why does the PCSX2 lag?
    Community Answer
    It emulates the PlayStation system to make the game playable,so it needs more RAM to run smoothly.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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    Not Helpful 1 Helpful 10
  • Question
    Does it require a PS 2 controller to play games in an emulator?
    Community Answer
    No, but you will need to configure the buttons.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    I inserted my bios file into the PCSX2 and it loads perfectly but when I insert a PS2 disk game it doesn't play. Why not?
    Community Answer
    Make sure your game is a .iso file and is not in a zipped folder. If it is in a zipped folder, unzip it. To make sure it is an iso file, its icon while browsing through files displays as a CD.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://pcsx2.net/docs/setup/bios
      2. ↑ https://pcsx2.net/docs/post/controllers
      3. ↑ https://pcsx2.net/docs/setup/windows
      4. ↑ https://fantasyanime.com/emuhelp/pcsx2#backing-up-your-ps2-games-to-iso

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