Hacking Final Fantasy 6

[Prior22]

I'm all set to delve into Final Fantasy 6 on my PSP and was curious which version is the best. In terms of weaknesses I've heard the PSX version has very long load times. Would this still be the case with a PBP file of the game? Also the GBA version supposedly has poor audio. Is this due to people listening through the weak GBA speakers? I would be playing the game on a PSP with earbuds. Would this make the audio close to as good as the PSX version (or atleast on par with the SNES version). And since the GBA and SNES versions would be played via emulators, does either version have a noticeable amount of lag. And finally with the PSX version is there the ability to save at any time, or are there only certain points with the ability to save. Thanks a lot. Since this is supposed to be the best, or atleast one of the best FF's, I want to be sure I get the version which suits my needs.

 

[Ryupower]

the gba version with the Sound Restoration hack (it need the EU version of the game to work )
but
maybe it the way best



or

wait and see if a new version of it comes out at some point

 

[injected11]

GBA version is best, but as Ryu said, use the sound restoration patch, and I would also recommend the color restoration patch.
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/765/
No idea why the messed with the original color scheme, but this brings it right back to its former glory. You're in for a great game though.

 

[Prior22]

GBA version is best, but as Ryu said, use the sound restoration patch, and I would also recommend the color restoration patch.
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/765/
No idea why the messed with the original color scheme, but this brings it right back to its former glory. You're in for a great game though.

Alright so this sound hack replaces the GBA music with the SNES music. Is the SNES music close to being on par with the PSX version. Also do I need to worry about any sort of slowdown playing via a GBA emulator? And is there any IPS patcher compatible with windows 7?

Also I've read about the PSX version having FMV's. This seems to be the only real selling point for the PSX version, unless the music is also better than the SNES version.

 

[Rydian]

Lunar IPS is a GUI-based utility that works on windows fine.
http://fusoya.eludevisibility.org/lips/

I don't know about the difference between the PSX and SNES music, but yes the PSX does have FMVs.

 

[ferofax]

You're in for a great game though.

Happiest grinding season of my childhood (aside from Pokemon). Getting all of Gau's monster forms, grinding for APs...

I might have to try it out again sometime. I miss this game.

 

[PJM]

Alright so this sound hack replaces the GBA music with the SNES music. Is the SNES music close to being on par with the PSX version. Also do I need to worry about any sort of slowdown playing via a GBA emulator? And is there any IPS patcher compatible with windows 7?

The SNES music is a little better then PSX, and the sound effects are much better on SNES.

Everything in this game was made for the SNES, and it was just ported (I believe, I doubt it's emulation) to the PSX. The loading times on PSX are horrible as well, and there are only a few FMV's in the game, that's the only thing you'll be missing by not playing that version.

The GBA version has everything added to the PSX (minus fmv) version like the bestiary and music player. It also has a better translation, and updated spells/items/espers and whatnot (fire 2 -> fira, ice3 -> blizzaga, etc.)

I haven't played the GBA version with the restored sound and color, but if they are as good as I've been hearing, than this would be the definitive version of the game to play.

Sorry if this post is hard to understand, i just woke up

 

[Cyan]

I didn't know there were a music patch.

Both patches (sound and color) can be applied at the same time?
If yes, in which order? I suppose the color first (it should patch the palette without changing the position of other data) and then the sound which free a lot of spaces in the ROM and add orchestral part.

 

[Issac]

GBA version is best, but as Ryu said, use the sound restoration patch, and I would also recommend the color restoration patch.
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/765/
No idea why the messed with the original color scheme, but this brings it right back to its former glory. You're in for a great game though.

It's nothing strange at all that they did that. I understood it right away, and they even stated it on the romhack page as well:
"To accommodate for the undersized, relatively dark monitor of the Game Boy Advance..."
Remember that the first GBA did not have backlit screens. So the darkness of the original would make it super hard to see anything. That's why.

 

[Rydian]

Super Mario World did the same thing.

 

[VMM]

But what about PSX version?
Which one is better?
PSX or GBA version?

 

[PJM]

But what about PSX version?
Which one is better?
PSX or GBA version?

IMHO GBA > SNES > PSX

GBA has everything but fmv's, and a new translation, and the patches you can apply to fix the palette and color
SNES and PSX are almost identical, PSX has load times which sucks, but also fmv's which are cool (but there are only a few), and worse sfx, but no matter which version you choose, you're gonna be in for one hell of a game!

EDIT: Also take into consideration that the PSX emulator for PSP is quite good, I'm not sure how good the SNES or GBA ones are anymore, I've been out of the scene for a while... but I do remember SNES being laggy (in general), even with the CPU at 333MHz. If the GBA emulator is good, I'd suggest that, but if not, there is nothing wrong with the PSX version.

 

[KDH]

...Everything in this game was made for the SNES, and it was just ported (I believe, I doubt it's emulation) to the PSX. ...

Actually I remember reading somewhere that all of the SNES -> PSX Final Fantasy games (and Chrono Trigger) are not only emulated, but use the Japanese ROM as a base and patch in real time for other languages, hence the absurd loading times. It's been a while and I don't remember where I read it, so I might be wrong. I'll go see if I can find a source.

EDIT: Okay, ignore me. Clearly I was wrong here. The PSX isn't nearly powerful enough to emulate the games.

 

[tbgtbg]

...Everything in this game was made for the SNES, and it was just ported (I believe, I doubt it's emulation) to the PSX. ...

Actually I remember reading somewhere that all of the SNES -> PSX Final Fantasy games (and Chrono Trigger) are not only emulated, but use the Japanese ROM as a base and patch in real time for other languages, hence the absurd loading times. It's been a while and I don't remember where I read it, so I might be wrong. I'll go see if I can find a source.

This rumor is just based on there being a japanese rom of Chrono Trigger on the PSX CT disc. There is absolutely no evidence that it's actually used at all in the running of the game, and there's no such rom on any of the FF PSX discs.

The absurdly slow loading time for CT is due to a poorly pressed disc. Taking my original disc, and making a CD-R copy on my PC then playing that backup on a chipped PSX resulted in drastically reduced load times over the poorly pressed disc. Don't get me wrong, it's still not up to SNES speeds, but it's actually playable.


Back to FF6, at first I was really interested in that sound restoration patch for the GBA, then I read the notes, and it turns out in order to make it work he had to turn the music into MONO. Sorry, that's a deal breaker for me. Nothing post-NES should ever be played with mono sound.

 

[PJM]

Back to FF6, at first I was really interested in that sound restoration patch for the GBA, then I read the notes, and it turns out in order to make it work he had to turn the music into MONO. Sorry, that's a deal breaker for me. Nothing post-NES should ever be played with mono sound.

I agree that it sucks that it has to be mono, but it's still an improvement. I'd rather good quality mono sound over low quality stereo sound. I'm not an audiophile at all though, to be honest, I can't tell the difference between having my movies playing in 5.1 vs 2.1 most times.



The hack kicks in at 1:31

 

[324atk]

I didn't know there were a music patch.

Both patches (sound and color) can be applied at the same time?
If yes, in which order? I suppose the color first (it should patch the palette without changing the position of other data) and then the sound which free a lot of spaces in the ROM and add orchestral part.

I believe there is a patch out there somewhere that has both sound and color in one file. I have no idea where to find it though :/ let me see if I can't dig it up.

EDIT: Nevermind, I found it but, it was a pre-patched rom. Though that does prove that the patches work together