How to cheat on PCSX2 the PS2 Emulator

By Reaper-X | Nov, 9 2009 28 Comments Related Posts Share RSS Feed

Because currently i’m addicted to using PCSX2, and i can be considered as a cheater too (sometime) :P i decided to write a simple how to guide on how to cheat on pcsx2 in hope that someone that is looking on how to cheat in pcsx2 will find this useful :)

Before i get started, i just want to let you know that there are three methods that you can use to cheat on pcsx2. And that three methods are:

1. Using External Memory Editing program
2. Using internal PCSX2 patch finder function
3. Using RAW Codes that is available freely on the internet such as Codetwink, and many other site as well

And in this guide i’ll explain on how to use the RAW codes that can be obtained from various website to use in PCSX2 which is more simple because it requires no work :P … unless obviously … you can’t find the codes you were looking for of course and in that case you’ll need to search for that address manually using PCSX2 patch finder function or using External Memory editing program but i’m not going to write it again here because previously i’ve wrote on how to hack game yourself using memory editing program (PCSX2 patch finder function basically the same as memory editing) ;)

And so let’s begin the guide

Using RAW Codes on PCSX2

1. Let’s take a code from somewhere, and in this case i’m going to take an example from Final Fantasy XII Codes (converted to RAW)

Press L3 to Recover HP for All Characters :
E002FFFD 0056BADC
4054A150 00060071
0000270F 00000000

Press L3+R1 to Recover MP for All Characters :
E002F7FD 0056BADC
4054A154 00060071
000003E7 00000000

2. For this step we are going to get the game CRC’s and so start your desired game on PCSX2 (in this case Final Fantasy XII) and then press ESC / Escape key (if you run the game in fullscreen mode) and look at the PCSX2 Console Window and see the game CRC (look at the image below for the exact location of where you can see the game CRC)

3. After we get the game CRC’s, and so the next step would be creating a PNACH file extension with the game CRC as the filename, for example because Final Fantasy XII crc is 0779FBDB so you need to create a new text file named 0779FBDB.pnach inside your PCSX2/patches folder or PCSX2/cheats folder if you’re running a more recent version of PCSX2 (if you’re not playing FF XII or you have different version of FF XII, you’ll need change the CRC filename accordingly to the game you’re going to use the patch for otherwise it won’t work). So basically the .pnach file should look like ZZZZZZZZ.pnach where ZZZZZZZZ is the game CRC

4. Now you need to open that .pnach file you just created using your favorite text editor, and use below format to create your own pcsx2 patch

gametitle=GAME NAME
comment=Anything you want
// Describe what the code is
patch=1,EE,XXXXXXXX,extended,YYYYYYYY

Where XXXXXXX is the first part of the code and YYYYYYYY is the second part of the code you’re going to use

Here’s a complete example of the Final Fantasy XII PCSX2 PNACH file looks like using the above code (that is shown at the first step)

gametitle=Final Fantasy XII ( U )
comment=FF XII Codes
// Press L3+R1 to Recover MP for All Characters
patch=1,EE,E002F7FD,extended,0056BADC
patch=1,EE,4054A154,extended,00060071
patch=1,EE,000003E7,extended,00000000
// Press L3 to Recover HP for All Characters
patch=1,EE,E002FFFD,extended,0056BADC
patch=1,EE,4054A150,extended,00060071
patch=1,EE,0000270F,extended,00000000

5. Now for the next step, start PCSX2, and make sure that Enable Patches / Cheats is checked under Misc in order for PCSX2 to use your patch

6. And you’re done … enjoy cheating on pcsx2 ;)

Note: In most case PCSX2 don’t need Master Code, so there’s no need to put master code into your pnach file, unless it’s not working then you should try putting the Master Code into the PNACH file, but if you already put the master code and its still not working that means there’s something wrong with the Code or PCSX2 doesn’t support that code type yet

Using Codebreaker and ARMax codes on PCSX2

Because both Codebreaker / Codetwink codes and ARMAX codes are encrypted, you’ll need special tool in order to convert those codes into RAW Codes and so you can use it on PCSX2. But fortunately Pyriel managed to create such tool and other than that he also distribute it for free without charge and that tool is called OmniConvert (back then you’ll need to use separate tools to convert Codebreaker and ARmax using a program named CB2Crypt and MaxConvert but now it’s all integrated into one application) ;)

And here’s the link to download OmniConvert

• Author Site
• Mirror #1 (This site)

Anyway, since the tool itself is easy to use i don’t think i need to write special explanation here. Because all you have to do is just paste the Codebreaker Codes / Armax Codes in the Left area and then change the input to the code type you’re using (Armax or CB) and then switch the output into Unencrypted / Standard … and voila … you’re done converting to RAW Codes … but for an example purpose here’s what the FF XII Codes looks like if it’s converted to ARMAX or Codebreaker format (if iyou convert it to RAW you’ll get the RAW codes displayed at the Using Raw Codes section)

As for the rest of the steps after you get the raw codes, you just need to follow everything from step #2 at the Using Raw Codes on PCSX2