Final Fantasy 4 Black spots

[wise_evian]

Final Fantasy 4 is a great game. I purchased chronicals a few days ago and would like to preserve my cd's; therefore I converted the games into ISO's for use with epsxe. I am running a 1.7ghz p4 512mb ram 5200 ultra fx card. During gameplay I notice alot of blackness over water especially in towns, caves etc.. If anybody could direct me in a manner of wisdom I would appreciate the knowledge. If it works for you without any black boxes could you could post your configuration please. Thank you.


Peace.

[Talon0226]

Which plug in are you using for video? I noticed that the "high end" plugins (like Pete's Open GL or Pete's DX) for games like FF9 that need alot of intensive colors, etc cause problems in these older games. So by going to the low end plugins you might not have the same problem. Also you might want to make sure your color depth on the plug in and your system are set to 16 bit color instead of 32 bit. I found E}I{'s soft driver worked great in the chronicals games.

[Kane]

Actualy I think this may be an issue with FF4 itself, not with the emus

[wise_evian]

I have tried many of pete's plugins. I understand that playing the snes version would be an easier way, however all the updated things in the psx version are making me want to stick to trying to get this solved lol. I will try different video plugins, thanks.



Peace.

[hushypushy]

try Peops Soft, it's a 2D game

[Esturk]

Originally Posted by Kane-Sama

Actualy I think this may be an issue with FF4 itself, not with the emus

My friend has FF Chronicles for PS. I think it happens on the real PS too, but not on the SNES.

[hushypushy]

that's why you should play FF2/4 in ZSNES

[Betamax]

It's a known bug. Nowt to do but wait and see if anyone can figure out what's up... or play it on your psx/ps2.

[wise_evian]

Considering many people have inquired about these black spots appearing on the psx/psx2; I am forced to believe this problem lies within the game.

[Phoenix Flame]

It's not the game, I just tried it on my PS2 (FFIV PAL) and it works perfectly without any of the graphics bugs. It's an emulation error which is as yet unresolved.

[hushypushy]

well many people have also complained about it not working on the real PSX/PS2....so how do you explain that?

[Phoenix Flame]

Who? And where?

And why get so defensive? All I'm saying is that I have a PS2 sitting in front of me, running FFIV PAL without the graphical glitches that I get using an emu. How do you explain *that*?

[Kane]

Maybe they fixed it in the PAL version?

[wise_evian]

I wanted to get some more information on this subject so I traveled around numerous game shops in my area to find out that there are two versions of chronicles. The first and now rare version had some serious visual bugs which made it necessary to launch a second version. Not really sure if the bugs were about this subject, but nonetheless a thought.


Peace.


ps: hushypushy i love your sig hehe. where is that pic from i wonder? lol gotta get me one

[hushypushy]

Originally Posted by Phoenix Flame

Who? And where?

well a few people in this thread, mainly here:

Originally Posted by wise_evian

Considering many people have inquired about these black spots appearing on the psx/psx2; I am forced to believe this problem lies within the game.

and how do i explain how it works on your system?

Originally Posted by Kane-Sama

Maybe they fixed it in the PAL version?

[wise_evian]

Reason I wanted to play my psx version of ff4 and not the snes version is because I like the translation better in the psx version remake of ff4 not the snes toned down version of ff2.



peace.

[hushypushy]

well, you can play FF4 hard type and get a translation patch (IIRC FF4 PSX is FF4 easy type)

[Betamax]

Er no, that would be incorrect. Eg// the "dark" command is missing from the easytype, but is present in the psx version.

[wise_evian]

betamax there is a version out there of ff4 jap version on snes that has a translation patch however the amateur type translation it is, lol its still a decent patch. Beta is there anything else besides the "dark" command that makes it the "hard" version? just curious. I just like to see what squaresoft did with it and all..call me a hardcore fan or something lol anyway peace.

[Kane]

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PSX/SFC VERSIONS OF FF4j
---------------------------------------------------------

There are very few differences between the original FF4j and the
Playstation version of FF4j. In terms of graphics and music, the two
are identical. Actually, since the PSX does not support Mode 7 there
is some choppiness in the scenes that use it like when you are flying
in the airship. The gameplay is identical to the original FF4j except
for a few slight differences, like being able to hit Barbariccia in her
spin, which was not possible in the original FF4j. There is 1 FMV
segment in the PSX version. When you first start, you get to see the
first 15 seconds, and then after the ending, you get to see the movie
in its entirety. It's about a minute long and consists of various
important scenes in the game. The sound effects are slightly different
in the PSX version. They sound kind of like you're hearing them from
the other end of a long tunnel. This is bad IMHO, but if you are
listening to the game in surround, it might be better, I don't know.
Basically it is the same thing as the original FF4j.


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FF4j EASYTYPE AND FF2 US
-----------------------------------------------------

STORY CHANGES:

FF4j easy version is basically identical to FF2 US. However, they did
take out some character background for some strange reason. For
example, they left out details about Foo-soo-ya being Cecil's uncle, and
they didn't cover Cain's background about how he is trying to live up
to his father's reputation as a Ryuukishi, (Dragon Knight) and how he
chose to follow his father's footsteps as a Ryuukishi even though the
king tried to make him into an Ankoku Kishi (Black Knight) like Cecil.

Note, however, that there were some strange forms of censorship in
FF2 US. This includes:
* Changing the scythe that was going to drop on Rosa's head in
the tower of Zott into a big metal ball.
* Taking out a frame of animation where Cecil + Rosa are
kissing so they just hug each other instead.
* Censoring swearing and rephrasing some "important" phrases
(like the few that hint that Cecil + Rosa have been sleeping together
on a long time basis--not that it's surprising that this would be
censored in the US...)
* Censoring references to death. For example:
Cid in FF4: "I'm going to blow myself up and sacrifice my life to save
you! Yang will be lonely in the afterworld!"
Cid in FF2, same situation: "Oh, I'll just get off here, hold the bad guys
off, and stay in the underworld a bit longer."

In FF4, there is a "programmer's room" located below "Pub Rally-ho" in
the dwarf castle. In this room, you could talk to (and fight!) some of
the programmers, and there is some strange stuff down there like
the Porno book. This room was taken out of the US FF2, probably so
you can't get access to the Porno Book.

NAME CHANGES:

Characters in your party:
FF4 FF2
---------------------------------------------------
Cain (Pronounced "Kyne") Kain
Tella Tellah
Gilbert Edward
Foo-soo-ya FuSoYa

Classes
FF4 FF2
---------------------------------------------------
Ankoku Kishi (Black Knight) Dark Knight
Ryuukishi (Dragon Knight) Dragoon
Ouzoku (Prince/Royalty) Bard
Monk-sou (Monk-priest) Black Belt
Gishi (Engineer) Chief

Monsters:
I'm not a masochist so I won't do them all, (about 95% of the
monsters' names were changed for FF2 US).

Spells:
White Magic
FF4 FF2
----------------------------------------------------------------
Keal Cure
Kealra Cure 2
Kealda Cure 3
Kealga Cure 4
Raise Life
Araise Life 2
Telepo Exit
Minimum Size
Esuna Heal
Saitoro Sight
Protesu *Nonexistant*
Shell *Nonexistant*
Reflek Wall
Levitate Float
Sairesu Mute
Confyu Charm
Dispel *Nonexistant*
Raibura Peep
Haste Fast
Berserk Brsk
Holy White


Black Magic:
FF4 FF2
-------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Fire 1
Faira Fire 2
Faiga Fire 3
Blizad Ice 1
Blizara Ice 2
Blizaga Ice 3
Thunder Lit 1
Thundara Lit 2
Thundaga Lit 3
Tornado Weak
Poison Venom
Bio Virus
Break Stone
Death Fatal
Dejon Warp
Poki Piggy
Flare Nuke
Aspiru Psych
Slipul Sleep

Summoning Magics:
In FF4, each of the Summoning spells has an attack name when cast.
In FF2, these attack names don't exist.
FF4 FF2
------------------------------------------------------
Chocobo Choco
"Chocobo Kick"

Dragon Mist
"Kiri no Breath" (Mist Breath)
Shiva Shiva
"Fubuki" (Blizzard)
Ramuu Indra
"Sabaki no Ikazuchi" (Lightning of justice)
Efreet Jinn
"Jigoku no Kaen" (Flames of Hell)
Titan Titan
"Daiichi no Ikari" (Anger of the Earth)
Asura Asura
"Asura"
Leviathan Levia
"Tsunami" (aka Tidal Wave but Tsunami is an English word too! -_^)
Sylph Sylph
"Kaze no Sasayaki" (Whisper of the Wind)
Odin Odin
"Zantetsuken" (Name of his sword-"Sword that cuts iron")
Bahamut Baham
"Megaflare"
Bomb Bomb
"Jibaku" (Self-destruct)
Goblin Imp
"Goblin Punch"
Mind Flayer Mage
Cocatrice *Nonexistant*

Ninjutsu:
FF4 FF2
-------------------------------------------------------
KatonÊ(Fire technique) Flame
Suiton (Water technique) Flood
Raijin (Lightning God) Blitz
Kageshibari (Shadow Needles) Pin
Kemuridama (Smokebomb) Smoke
Bunshin (Body Split) Image

Twin Magic
FF4 FF2
-------------------------------------------------------
Buchi Flare (Little Flare) Flare
Buchi Meteo (Little Meteo) Comet

One note on "W.Meteo" in both FF4 and FF2....in case you were
wondering, that "W" stands for "Double." In Japanese, they often use
the letter "W" to mean "Double." They did this in FF7 too, for the "W"
commands.


SKILLS TAKEN OUT OF FF4j EASYTYPE:

These are a list of battle commands that each character had that
were taken out of FF4j Easytype, and what they do.

Cecil as an Ankoku Kishi (Black knight)
Ankoku (Pitch-black)
With this command, Cecil gathers his life energy in his sword and
uses it to shoot black bolts of energy at all the enemies to do damage
to them. However, every time you use Ankoku, Cecil's HP will drain
a bit.

Tella
Omoidasu (Remember)
With this command, Tella will try to remember one of the spells he's
forgotten. Basically it casts a spell at random. It can even cast spells
that can't normally be cast, like Tornado or Death on all the enemies.
Once when I was fighting Octomammoth, Tella remembered
Thundaga. That was sure a quick fight. Once Tella remembers his
forgotten spells on the Shiren no Yama, (Trial Mountain) this
command disappears.

Gilbert
Kusuri (Medicine)
Kusuri heals all the characters for about 10-20 hp worth of damage.

Rosa
Inori (Prayer)
Without using up MP, Rosa will cast "Keal" on all characters in the
party. It doesn't always work though.

Yang
Tameru: (Gather)
Yang will gather his strength to do a double-damage attack, but it
takes time for him to build up strength.
Gaman: (Endure)
With this command, Yang can reduce physical damage to himself as if
"Protesu" was cast on him.

Palom
Tsuyogaru (Strengthen)
After using this command, Palom's magic power will increase.

Porom
Usonaki (False tears)
Porom will pretend to cry which upsets the monsters, and makes it
easier for the party to run away.

Fuusuuya
Seishinha (Spirit Wave)
When Fuusuuya uses Seishinha, all the party's HP regenerate slowly.

OTHER CHANGES
In FF4j Easytype, there are no front or back lines when fighting the
enemy. IOW, in FF4 there is a front and back row among the
enemies. Enemies in the back row will take half damage from your
attacks, just as characters in the back row take half damage.
Unfortunately, monsters in the back row don't seem to do less
damage when they attack. Overall battles are harder, and there are
annoying bits not present in the easytype to make things difficult.
For example, if the twins take much longer to cast their double spells,
get out of synch when they try to cast a magic together, when they
come forward to cast the spell, they expend the MP, but do
absolutely nothing.

Items in general are more expensive and tougher to get in FF4 than
in FF4 Easytype. The Eteru (Ether in FF2 US) items can only be
bought on the moon, whereas in FF4 Easytype Eteru is available in
stores from the first town. The Ban Nouyaku (Heal potion in FF2) is
50 times more expensive in FF4 than in the easytype. Also it's not
buyable until the latter half of the game.

Many of the bosses were toned down for FF4j Easytype. For
example, the Dark Dragon does much more damage with his Dark
Breath, and Barbariccia cannot be hit in her spin except by Cain's Jump
attack, or by magic.

The Shoukan spell "Asura" does different things in FF4 and FF4
Easytype. In FF4, Asura does one out of three things: 1) Cast "Raise"
on every member of the party. 2) Cast "Kealda" on every member of
the party. 3) Cast "Protesu" on every member of the party. In FF4
Easytype, the "Protesu" effect is turned into a mega-cure which
usually will heal your party to max. On a similar note, Asura is
*much* more difficult to beat in FF4, since the first thing she does
before you can do anything is cast "Protesu" on herself, making
physical attacks do next to nothing. And since you basically have to
cast "Reflek" on her to keep her from healing herself it makes it
much tougher.

Also, many of the non-boss monsters in FF4 Easytype were toned
down. In FF4, they do more damage and have higher defense ratings
so you do less damage on them. Also, some of them are tougher due
to item constraints. For example, the Molbol's Kusai Iki (Bad breath)
gives you every bad status effect you can have, and since Ban
Nouyakus (aka Heal potions) are so rare, if the characters that can
cast "Esuna" get affected you couldn't do anything. Also, some
monsters have additional attacks in FF4, or have powerful attacks that are
used much more frequently than in the easytype. For example, the "Tsuki no
Megamis" (Lunar Goddesses-I forget what they are in FF2--those girls with
swords on the moon) have a special attack which heals your characters-but
also turns them to stone. (And if you confuse her, she decides to try and
heal you by this method...yuk...) While this attack is still present in the
Easytype, it is used much less often.

In FF4j Easytype, the various secret passages in the walls and the
like are visible, whereas they are all invisible (except for one place, I
think) in FF4j normal.

It's a small difference, but during Cecil's flashback to the stealing of
Mysidia's crystal, there is no dialogue between Cecil and the elder in
FF4j, but there is in FF4j Easytype.

The rumor about there being a subquest in the original FF4 to get an
item to cure Palom and Porom's petrification is false! There is no
such subquest. The reason the box pops up when you press "A" in
front of the twins is that you can waste your "Kin no Haris" here. The fabled
"Basilisk's Eye" does not exist in any way, shape, or form. The three extra
dummied-out items that you can get using the Gunslinger code in FF2 US are
the Dark Matter (steal it from Zeromus to weaken him) and two Switch items
used as event-triggering switches within the game, Let's give this rumor a
nice burial. ^_^