| Game Title | Patch Quality | Visual Glitches | Recommendation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Perfect | None (except pre-rendered cutscenes are zoomed) | Essential | | God of War 1 & 2 | Flawless | None | Essential | | Shadow of the Colossus | Great | Slight HUD stretching | Highly Recommended | | Persona 3 FES / 4 | Perfect | UI centers correctly | Highly Recommended | | Gran Turismo 4 | Excellent | 2D menu backgrounds clip slightly | Recommended | | Ratchet & Clank | Good | Weapon wheel is slightly off | Recommended | | Metal Gear Solid 2 | Perfect | Codec screen borders misaligned | Recommended | | Silent Hill 2 | Good | Fog boundary visible on extreme edges | For Enthusiasts | | Dragon Quest VIII | Perfect | None | Essential | | Burnout 3: Takedown | Flawless | None | Essential |
Look for the option labeled: "Enable Widescreen Patches." Tap that toggle to ON .
The built-in database is good, but not perfect. If a game doesn't have a patch, you can add one manually: aethersx2 widescreen patch
When you force that image onto a 16:9 screen without modification, two things happen:
You will never go back to 4:3 again.
This is "culling." The PS2 is programmed to stop rendering objects outside the original 4:3 box to save processing power. Widescreen exposes the void. Fix: In AetherSX2 Settings → Graphics → Hardware Download Mode → Set to Disable Readbacks or Synchronize . This forces the GPU to render everything, though it may cost 5-10% performance.
Rendering a wider FOV means the emulator must process approximately 33% more polygons and textures per frame. On high-end devices (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, Dimensity 9200, M1 iPad), this is unnoticeable. | Game Title | Patch Quality | Visual
The technical term for what these patches achieve is often referred to as "Hor+" (Horizontal Plus).
Do you have a favorite PS2 game that looks incredible in widescreen on AetherSX2? Let us know in the comments below! This is "culling