Stranger Of Paradise Final Fantasy Bald Mod Makes Game Run Faster
The PC version of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin runs a lot faster with the hair removed, thanks to a mod that makes the characters bald. Stranger of Paradise has seen technical issues on all platforms, but the PC version of the game suffers the most in terms of frame rate dips and general poor performance.
There were concerns about the performance of Stranger of Paradise dating back to the first demo of the game, but most people assumed these issues would be fixed by launch. Now that Stranger of Paradise is available to buy, fans have had the chance to go through the files of the game and discover the cause of the slowdown. It turns out that the character models are unoptimized and are pushing the hardware too far. This isn't the first time that this has been an issue for the Final Fantasy series. The pre-A Realm Reborn iteration of FFXIV had issues with flowerpots, as they had far too much detail for a background element, and they slowed the game down as a result.
There is a solution to the slowdown issue in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, but it involves whipping out a set of shears to make the characters bald with a mod. According to AkiraJkr on Twitter (via PC Gamer), it's possible to improve the frame rate in Stranger of Paradise by removing the hair on all of the character models. This is due to how needlessly detailed and taxing the hair is. The method for removing the hair was outlined by MorrisonGamer on Reddit.
Surprisingly, Stranger of Paradise has yet to be embraced by the modding community, with only a single reshader available on modding site, Nexus Mods. It didn't take long for modders to fill the PC version of FF7 Remake with hilarious mods, yet it seems Jack and his crew don't inspire the same kind of adoration from the audience. The Final Fantasy fans love to see Jack shout about how he wants to kill Chaos, but they seem to prefer he be canonically dressed while doing so.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin has an excellent combat and loot system, with a story that is hit or miss, depending on how much the player loves the ridiculousness of its characters and premise. The technical issues with Stranger of Paradise are impossible to ignore, however, and they can constantly crop up throughout gameplay. The developers will likely update Stranger of Paradise to fix these issues, but it's unclear if they'll need to give everyone a buzz cut in order for the game to hit a steady 30fps. Then again, FF7 Remake Intergrade on PC's issues have yet to be fixed, so maybe Stranger of Paradise will be ignored, and fans could be forced to fix the game themselves through mods.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: AkiraJkr/Twitter, MorrisonGamer/Reddit (via PC Gamer)