PlayStation Fan Update Restores Classic PS1 Graphics for Free, Looks Just Like the ’90s

With the recent first look at a “new-and-improved” Lara Croft in the upcoming Tomb Raider releases, as well as the first promotional images for Sophie Turner who will be taking on the live-action roles, talk has turned to polygons once again.

After all, we all remember the original Lara Croft who, as well as sporting a tank top and shorts, was perhaps best known for her triangular breasts thanks to the limited use of polygons back in the late 90s.

We have come a long way, especially when it comes to virtual breasts, but with some fans wanting to recapture the nostalgia of some of the best PlayStation 1 titles, a recent discovery may have provided just that.

Courtesy of Fantastic_Kangaroo_5 over on r/emulation, there is a way to configure the settings in your emulated games to allow you to experience PlayStation 1 titles with its original graphics.

That is because, despite many of us being unaware, the PlayStation 1 originally had a different GPU to the one we all know and love.

As such, DuckStation, one of the best known PS1 emulators, is giving users the chance to play some of their favourite titles with the very original graphics and thanks to this recent Reddit post, we can take a look at the difference.

In the official description, it reveals that the emulation setting, known as the “old GPU” adds an option to “crop vertex colours before modulation”.

I am not the most tech savvy, but even I can see that the difference is quite substantial and it seems as though fellow users agree, as well as taking the time to express their surprise over this seemingly unknown older GPU.

We Have Come Quite Far In Terms of Pixels

Eidos Interactive

“So that's the reason why my PS1 games were "worse looking" than my cousin's at the time!” The top comment read.

“It's wonderful to see these differences very few people know about. Maybe I'll use this version a couple of times to play the games we had as kids, so I can show him it was true.”

Another agreed, adding, “Hmm, I never knew this kind of difference existed, but thinking back, my launch PS1 had much more pronounced edges to the polygons in Tekken 2 in particular, but in my later PS1, the edges were gone.

“I thought I was going crazy as a kid/teen. This explains it.”

It is certainly not common knowledge but explains a lot of the nostalgia surrounding some of the classic PS1 titles.

So if you want to recapture that magic of childhood and play an emulated title in all of its original glory, make sure to check out this new setting courtesy of DuckStation.