Game problems FAQ

Here is a list of games that are frequently cited as being problematic to emulate. Solutions are provided if possible.

PS1

Metal Gear Solid

MGS has anti-piracy features, and needs real BIOS to work. Do not use simulated BIOS in PCSX-R. These will just give a blank screen. If you are using BIOS and it is still not working, try different BIOS files.

If the game stutters, enable the relevant fix in your sound plugin.

GBC

Shantae

VBA doesn't emulate the game properly. Use Gambatte or VBA-M instead.

PS2

Metal Gear Solid 3

This game needs a very high end CPU to run at full speed and will run slowly on most CPUs.  All of the various blades of grass are one culprit cause of slowdown.

Shadow of the Colossus=

This game needs a very high end CPU to run at full speed.

Zone of the Enders 1 and 2

This game needs a very high end CPU to run at full speed.

PSP

Dangan Ronpa

Make sure you're using the latest version of PPSSPP.
Go to Game Settings > Graphics. If you use a Nvidia GPU, select Read Framebuffers to Memory (GPU) under "Rendering Mode". If you use an AMD GPU or Android device, select Read Framebuffers to Memory (CPU).

Gamecube

Wind Waker

In 4.0+ versions of Dolphin, DSP LLE is set to default for this game, so if you have a slow CPU: right click on the game in dolphin, go to properties and check DSP HLE emulation (fast). DSP HLE will cause random crashes though.