a VERY HUGE disappointment

Hi there, beckham_m7u !!! ...indeed the story of VP is a long and sad one !! ...before I start, let me say this : I don't think that psx emu authors have ignored this excellent rpg, its just that not many people are aware of this game yet. If VP had the fan base of, say, the Final Fantasy series, then it probably would be of higher priority for emu authors.... but, even as it is, I'm pretty certain that sooner or later, VP is going to be succesfully emulated, so just ...er...be patient !!!
Now for the 2nd part of my reply: Here are the problems the 4 most popular emus have with this game:

FPSE 0.9: Cannot even load the game.

Bleem 1.5b: speed issues in 2D scenes (too fast). Sound plays too fast. The 3D map travels look ok (a bit fast though). Battles are too slow (severe frame drop and/or freeze).

VGS 1.41: Prologue halts at the last scene. Battles freeze from time to time (this is negligible though, since by pressing the SELECT button and thus entering the in-battle menu, the game comes back to normal). The 3D map hangs the emulator.

ePSXe 1.4.0: The game freezes most of the time (most people cannot get passed the audience with Odin). Battles are too slow (severe frame drop and/or freeze). Sometimes the sound "skips".

Now, there IS a way to play VP but you will have to use Bleem (only ONCE, just to start the game) and from then on, a patched version of VGS. I will explain this for all those VP fans who want DESPERATELY to play this epic rpg. Please bear with me, I know this is supposed to be in the VGS board, but since the thread was started here... here goes :

Use bleem to start the game. The reason for this is that VGS hangs when the 3D map appears, and it appears at some point early in the game, and at this point NOT EVEN the patched version of VGS can get you through this. Keep reading the story. At the point where Arngrim and Lawfer fight the Harpy just keep pressing the square and X buttons. You will not see much since the battles are so slow, but you will eventually win. Later in the game you will have an opportunity to save the game, and by God's name, TAKE IT !!!
Now, quit bleem and use a tool like ConvetM, MemManager, or MemoryConverter to convert the bleem memory card (.MCD) to the format used by VGS (.MEM). Now do the following: use the ORIGINAL version of VGS1.41 and patch it with VGSVPE.exe (get it from Aldo's Tools). Start VGS, and at the VP title screen press Esc (to return to VGS interface) and then Alt-Tab to return to your desktop. Now start PEC, select "user database" and enter the following hex values:

D0099975 78FF 80099975 7890

(These values turn the mountains of the world map black. If you come across another code that enables you to see the mountains "half-black" DO NOT USE IT - it will eventually HANG vgs.)
Press "OK" to accept them then re-open user database, click on the tick-mark box left of the cheat's name, press OK, and then "activate". Now press Alt-Tab to return to VGS, then Esc to return to VP. From the main VP menu, select load game, and load the recently converted memory card. You can now continue your game. But your troubles are not over just yet. When you complete the first dungeon (Artolian mountains) SAVE before you go out to the world 3D map. Then go out. Now remember this, and ALWAYS keep it on yor mind: 1) You will always see the mountains of the world map BLACK - I know it's bad, but its the ONLY graphical sacrifice you will make. 2) Whenever you acess the menu (while on the world map) at the moment you return BACK to the world map (FROM the menu) VGS will probably HANG. To avoid this, do the following ALWAYS BEFORE you press the menu button. Manuever Valkyrie in such a way that she sees the top of the sky (that is, continuesly press the "down" button). That's right, BEFORE entering the menu, Valkyrie must face only the blue of sky. Now you can go in and out of the menu as many times as you like. When you're through with the menu (saving, rearrange weapons etc.) you can move Valkyrie freely around the world map, visit towns etc. Just REMEMBER to make her face the sky as high as possible before acessing the menu again !!

Phew !! That's it I guess !! Now you can play VP using only one emu (VGS). The only nasty side effects that you'll have are: To activate PEC and the Hex values/codes whenever you play, and also the mountains of the world map will be black.

A couple of final notes. 1) Using the patched version of VGS, the Prologue plays perfectly all the way. 2) As I said before, If you happen to experience a freeze in battle: If its during a spell or attack, just wait and the game will recvover in a couple of seconds. If its NOT during a spell or attack just press the SELECT button a couple of times - entering the in-battle menu, recovers the frame rate....