Configure Controls for PCSX2 PlayStation Emulator

5 Parts:

Configure Keyboard, Controller, or Mouse

Set Key Bindings for the PCSX2 Emulator

Additional Tips

Questions and Answers

Comments

Are the game controls driving you crazy on your PCSX2 PlayStation 2 emulator? Do you hate it when you're in a game, and your character jumps when you press the circle or 'B', or maybe 'L'? We grew up jumping with 'X', 'A', or the space bar; but on a Windows computer keyboard that's all different. Thankfully, the PCSX2 PlayStation Two emulator supports custom input. That means you can remap controls to whatever works best for you. In the tutorial below, we'll be showing you how to build your own custom controls. We'll help you with every step and make sure you're able to get exactly the game controls you need to make it through Metroid or Street Fighter. Read on to learn how to set up your own custom controls for your PS2 Emulator.

Configure Controls for PCSX2 PlayStation Emulator 14822.jpg

Contents

1 Configure Keyboard, Controller, or Mouse
2 Set Key Bindings for the PCSX2 Emulator
3 Additional Tips
4 Questions and Answers
5 Comments

You can choose from some input methods for the PCSX2 PlayStation emulator. Which ones you choose will depend on your personal preferences, your available hardware, and, in some cases, the game you are playing.

1
Start by double-clicking the icon of the PCSX2 PlayStation 2 emulator
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The app will launch, and you should see the main application configuration window.

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2
Look for the 'Config' option in this window
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When you find it, click 'Config'. Then, choose 'Controllers' and click once on 'Plugin Settings'. This will open a new window where you can start customizing your keyboard, controller, or mouse.

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3
First, let's configure the keyboard API
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You'll see the red box in the image below, where we will select our keyboard configuration type. If you're using a keyboard to play your PlayStation 2 games, you need to choose from one of these three options. Newer operating systems like Windows 10 will require you to choose 'Windows messaging'. Older operating systems like Windows XP will need 'Raw input' selected. Those of you using a custom keyboard or third-party device will need to select 'DirectInput'.

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4
If you are using a gamepad, a joystick or a controller, you need to choose 'Game Device APIs' from the settings menu
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If you have a generic controller, just tick 'DirectInput'. Those of you using an Xbox 360 controller will need to select 'Xinput'. If you're using a PlayStation 3 controller and have already installed all the drivers, then the 'DualShock 3 native mode' will be available; and you will need to tick it. You can also tick 'Monitor when in the background', which will let you press any key on the gamepad when the emulator is minimized but still let the game receive the input.

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5
In very select cases, you may have a game that requires a mouse
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In this case, you should choose 'Mouse API'. Just as with your keyboard settings, select the one appropriate to your operating system. However, if you are not playing any games that require a mouse, make sure to disable it, as we have done in the screenshot below.

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Once you have your controller or other input method selected, you will want to configure your key bindings. Because we are using the PCSX2 PlayStation 2 emulator, we can do things with our controllers and keyboards that we couldn't normally do on a PlayStation 2.

1
Let's say you want one button to do the task of two or even more buttons
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For example, in King's Field games, if you want to center your view, then you need to press 'L2' and 'R2' at the same time. If you click 'Allow binding multiple PS2 controls to one PC control', then you will be able to bind 'L2' and 'R2' inputs to a single button.

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2
Those of you planning to play a multiplayer game that has more than two players and needs more than two controller ports, tick 'Port 1 Multitap' or 'Port 2 Multitap'
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This will allow you to set multiple gamepad bindings.

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3
Once you have set everything in this window, tap the 'Pad 1' or 'Pad 2' tab at the top of the screen for the controller you want to set up
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In our example, we will click 'Pad 1', as shown in the screenshot below.

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4
In the 'Pad 1' tab, you will see a lot of keybindings on the left side and all of your available buttons on the right side.

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5
You can either leave your controller set to the default options as we have shown or customize them
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If you leave them as shown, you can just try and see which buttons do what, changing them one by one. Or you can simply click 'Clear all' and start from scratch.

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6
The left side of the window will now be clear
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From here, you can bind the controls for each input separately, setting them up the way you want them to be.

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7
We'll show you how to set up one button and let you set the rest to your preferences
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Let's start by setting up one now. On the right side of the window, press the PlayStation button. In this case, we're going to press 'Cross'. Once this is done, you need to press the corresponding button on the input device that you wish to use; and your entry will appear on the left side. You can choose this entry by clicking it and then configuring the sensitivity or dead zones. In our case, we are using the keyboard; and keyboards don't have dead zones. If you're using an analog controller, you might need to configure dead zones.

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Now you know how to set up and configure your PCSX2 PlayStation 2 emulator controls. Once you have configured everything according to your preference, click 'OK' and enjoy your custom controls.

Remember that you can always go back and edit or change controls. This is helpful if you find that a particular set of custom controls you created just isn't doing what you thought it would or should.
You can also create different sets of controls for specific games. You can load your custom controls before starting the game. Many times this can give you an edge, especially in games like Metal Gear Solid, where you have to click multiple buttons at once to defeat some challenges and bosses.

My RIGHT ANALOG and the Main Buttons like X, O, etc. are the same?

Hello there, I've been reading the controller configuration guides, and I still can't find an answer to my problem. It works like this. I configure my controller, but for some reason, the right analog stick gets bound to the main buttons(circle, square, etc.). So for example, when playing Final Fantasy where the triangle key is the menu button, pressing up on the right analog will open the menu. This is pretty infuriating as in some games that stick is needed to move the camera. I tried monkeying around with lock input, direction, etc., but nothing seems to stop this multiple button/stick binding.

There is a button on the controller, usually located between the select and start buttons (and labelled mode on generic third party dualshocks). This button switches the controller between digital and analogue modes. The controllers are usually in digital mode by default. Make sure that the small led light by the mode button is lit and rebind the controls.