PS2 Imports and playing them on a Slim PS2

3 questions really.

1)Besides all the fighters,Sega Ages and Shmups, what's worth importing on PS2?


2) How exactly do those rubber things that come with Swapmagic work?

3) what's the best place to get said Swapmagic/Rubber thingies?

 

Not all the shooting games are worth importing if you ask me. Quite a few are though.

There's quite a few RPGs w/ guides available on the interweb.
A thread to help:
http://www.gamengai.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=335

 

You'll get sick of Swap Magic about a month after using it. I recommend getting a modchip installed. If done correctly/professionally, you'll never go back.

 

I don't suggest the rubber thingies

They are a little too much work IMO.

I suggest replacing the entire disc door of the slimline with one of these.

http://www.modchip.ca/store/product.php?productid=16213&cat=269&page=1

It has the parts that push the necessary sensors/switches down so you dont' have to insert anything every time you want to play already built into it.

I have a modchip in my Phat PS2, so I dont' have to worry about the swap magic discs, But yeah, you will get a little sick of them after a while.

 

Get a slimline TEST PS2 or an actual modchip.

 

a friend of mine has had two PStwos with modchips and both got incredibly hot after about an hour, the discs were so hot you couldnt touch them.

so i recommend if youre going for a PS2 modchip make sure you have the large version.

 

What version PStwo are they? Did your friend install the Laser diode fix as well? My PSTwo is v14 and has the latest diod fix installed. I installed the chip myself back in January of this year and have yet to run into DREs or hangups while playing. Before the Chip, my PSTwo still got hot (around the CPU area, not the CD bay).

 

That was probably because he didn't have a laserfix. A laserfix must be installed in addition of the modchip.

 

modchip is the way to go, in my opinion. Not only it makes the PS2 region free, you can use to play homebrew stuff (ulaunchElf, SMS, ... )

 

I don't want to go voiding any warantys this is a sony product after all.

I use a Freeloader with my Gamecube so boot discs are not an issue with me at all.

 

Why do people say the modchips kill the lasers? I don't understand that. The only reason I would think a modchip would be related to a laser dieing would be it wearing out more quickly trying to read crappy writable discs. However if you were playing clean original imports, I don't see any reason why that would happen.

I would agree you can get very tired of Swap Magic. I know I did. Now I just use the HDLoader with PS2 Independence Exploit and never mess with discs. I still wish there were an easier way to play imports as we didn't get alot of great PS2 titles. It's a shame it's not like Sega Genesis or Saturn where you just had to put a switch on the right jumper.

 

So what exactly is the issue with Swap magic?

 

Personally, I recommend just getting a Japanese PS2. They can be had for fairly little; mine was only 30USD, albeit the guy selling it told me it occaisonally had problems loading PS2 games. I haven't had any problems so far.

There are some decent racing games that are only available in Japan as well.

 

I would've done that in the first place, but I figured it would just be easier to get the swap magic/rubber dealies

 

The only issue with SwapMagic is really just waiting for it to load up, then swapping. I mean it's not a huge deal but it's still annoying you can't just put the disc in and go. I think for playing your imports SwapMagic should do the job just fine and be cheaper than actually aqquiring a japanese PS2. The main reason I'm tired of SwapMagic is because I have a regular tray style PS2, which requires use of the "SlideCard" tool. I got tired of that and switched to the HDLoader.

 

How does it compare To the Freeloader on Gamecube?

 

If you have a Slimline with all the tools installed it'd be the same as using the Freeloader I think. Once you have the lid sensor fooled you just start the system with the swap magic disc in there, change to your import like you would put any disc in, and off you go. The main reason SwapMagic is a hassle is if you either A. Install a special Fliptop cover or B. Use the Slide Tool tray opening and closing method for swapping. The PSTwo Slimline is nice because you get molded pieces to fool all of the lid sensors and that's all you need to do. I am not expeienced with it though, and I saw one video I didn't like where they did not close the disc cover and played with it open. I would assume there is a way to install the little things so that you can close the cover.

 

Exactly, my PS2 is a V5 and i bought it already modded with Messiah chip. I later asked my friend Marcelo (that owns a gamestore) to remove it and install the Matrix Infinity.

Never had a single problem with my PS2. And i use it to play not only PS2 games, but also PS1 cd's. Plus every single homebrew i try, i use the pendrive or the HDD.