How to Make "Final Fantasy XII" Work on PCSX2 Playground

The PCSX2 Playground software is the beta release of the popular PlayStation 2 emulator, PCSX2. PCSX2 Playground can still be downloaded and installed, but now is simply called PCSX2. Configuring PCSX2 to play retail PS2 games is a detailed process. Each plugin needs to be configured to use the fastest settings. This is especially true for games like "Final Fantasy XII," which is a graphically intense game. Be warned that even with the fastest settings on performance computer hardware, not all PS2 games run at full speed yet.

Open PCSX2 on the computer in which it has been installed. The PCSX2 menu has the options "System," "CDVD," "Config" and "Misc" on the top. These options open more configuration options.

Click the "Config" heading on the PCSX2 window and the "Plugin/BIOS Selector" subheading to open up the "Components Selectors" window.

Make sure that "GSdx" is selected as the "GS" plugin, "LilyPad" is selected as the "PAD" plugin and "SPU2-X" is selected as the "SPU2" plugin.

Click the "Configure..." option next to the "GSdx" plugin selection to open the "GSdx 9 Settings" window. Click the "Renderer" option and click "Direct3D9 (Hardware)" to significantly improve emulation speed.

Click the empty box next to "Native" to the right of the "Original PS2 Resolution" heading to enable it. This prevents graphical glitches from outputting the game at higher resolutions. Click "OK" to save the "GSdx 9 Settings."

Click the "Configure..." option next to the "SPU2-X" plugin selection to open the "SPU2-X Settings" window. Click the arrow underneath the "Interpolation" heading and click "0-Nearest (fastest/bad quality)." This is another option that will improve emulation speeds.

Click the empty box next to "Disable Effects Processing" to enable it. Click the arrow underneath the "Module" heading and click the "1-XAudio 2 (Recommended)" option. Click "OK" to save the "SPU2-X Settings."

Click "OK" for the graphics and sound settings to take effect. Click "System" at the top of the PCSX2 window and click "Boot CDVD (fast)" from the context menu. A file browser opens.

Select the "Final Fantasy XII" PS2 ISO file you have on your computer and click "OK." "Final Fantasy XII" starts on PCSX2 and can be played using the keyboard input keys.