While PS2 emulators like PCSX2 have come a long way, they’re still ironing out some of the console’s more obscure quirks. The PlayStation 2 had a notoriously complex architecture, especially when it came to rendering effects like transparencies, depth-based fog, and unusual blending techniques. Developers often pushed the hardware in unconventional ways, which made accurate emulation a real challenge.
For years, these effects caused visual hiccups in emulators, things like ghosting, missing fog layers, or lighting that didn’t quite match the original. But recent updates, especially in PCSX2’s newer builds, have made big improvements. Features like render target emulation and better blending support have helped close the gap between emulated visuals and what you'd see on actual hardware.
Games like Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3, which rely heavily on atmospheric effects, now look much closer to how they were meant to. That said, perfect replication is still tricky, especially for titles that used the PS2’s graphics hardware in really specific or creative ways.
