I've just started playing this game not too long ago. I really love it so far...except for one thing. The black screen of death. Well I'm in the Giza Plains to get a sunstone to activate the crescent stone I got from Old Dalan. However, everytime I switch areas from the Giza Plains to the Nomad Village the game messes up. The screen goes black to load the next area and then music for the next area starts playing. But that's it...it stays black and the music just plays. It's like the game freezes up. I've done it several times and I don't know how to fix it.

JackKnifeZero

Thanks guys! You've been helpful. I will see what I can do. I have one of those Disc Cleaning Doctor devices...would that work or would a game or music store have better equipment to clean the disc? Anyway thanks for all your help.

That won't damage the game? Sounds risky? But I don't really know how discs work...that's not exactly my area of speciality. I live in a small town but we do have a gamestop...does anyone know if they do the full disc repair?

On another note about my problem...I recently heard a rumor that older versions of the PS2 (basically the big ones) can't handle the texture maps from FFXII, but the chip that handles this in the Slim PS2 models can because it's a better chip. I don't know what chip it is...I'm still trying to figure it out on different forums. Anyway the rumor is that since the old PS2s can't really handle the texture maps your game will freeze sometimes while loading areas (which is the problem I'm having...btw I have an old PS2 Series 30001R). Does anyone know if this info is legit? If so what can I do to solve this problem? Someone on a FFXII network forum said that you should be able to just replace the chip (I'm no electrician so I don't know how difficult that would be...or if it's even legal) so it has the same as the slim models. However I have no idea what this chip is...how much it costs...or how to install it. Anyway I just wanted to know if anyone else has heard any of this and if they could verify if it is true or not.

Thanks. That whole bit about the slim ps2 thing worried me and if it were true it was about to really tick me off. Anyway thanks for all the help. Hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed tomorrow.

how long does it stay on that black screen?

Well when it comes to video games, I can be pretty impatient. So It stays black for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes before I get frustrated and turn it off. However, one time I just let it ran, went out to eat at a place near my house and was gone for about 20-25 minutes and came back and it was still just a black screen with music playing.

well i guess waiting isn't the solution there it probably is scratches just get them taking care of.