[DJB14336]

I know you are using the same media that you have had success with before, but that doesn't mean it will work with all games. Not familiar with the PS1, but been backing up for my PS2 for a while now, and I've noticed a few quirky things--maybe this will help.

SIZE MATTERS (OK, get your mind out of the gutter): The PS2 has trouble at the middle of the CDR, especially bad on 700MB cd's, even worse on nearly silver bottoms. Some games play a video shortly after the system files are loaded. If they fall in this troubled area on questionable media, the game will actually fail early in the boot process because of a prefetch routine. Naturally, a game that consumes less space may never run into this problem--Spongebob snapped off without a hitch because the whole game reached less then 25 minutes into the disc--Gauntlet Legends failed after first frame loaded because it ran over 55 minutes into the disc, and the opening videos are smack dab in the middle of the CD. I discovered my mod chip is not rated to support 80min CDR, so I changed to 650 MB media and it worked like a charm--I didn't even use the original source! I forgot I still had the 700MB CDR in the reader when I ripped it to the new media (my newer DVDROM reads better then my CDRW Drive, so I use that to read). Further proof that it was the media, not the method. Remember --PS CD's were originally produced BEFORE 700MB media went mainstreem--they are pressed on 650MB Discs, which don't have as tight a track specification as 700MB's--it is simply harder on the laser to read the larger format.

QUALITY IS CRUCIAL: Ever had trouble playing CDR in an old CD player? Did it skip like h*ll? Why?--the original cd players had weak lasers--so do the PS(X) boxes. PS CD's are very thin, and the laser moves in real close to read it. On CDR's it backs off. CDR's are typically much thicker. If you look at a diagram of how it is constructed, you will see why. On top of this, it has to cut through a different colored dye. PS cd's are actually Purple, PS2's are Dark Blue. Red laser light passes through these colors easier because they have no yellow dye in there. Many CDR's have a bit of yellow in there, so it reduces reflectivity a bit. Then, you reach the reflective lair it self. A Pressed CD is Metallic with actual pits and lands. A CDR is a metallic layer covered with a layer of colored spots. Get the picture? The Dye is designed to BLOCK reflection when it is concentrated in one spot--naturally it will offer some resistance even when it isn't clumped up. Thus it is VERY important you check the reflectivity THROUGH THE DYE.
When comparing two different brands of similar color, you want to see a BRIGHTER RAINBOW EFFECT when you move the CD, and LESS REFLECTION OF YOU when you are looking directly at the bottom. Perhaps the surest way to determine if it is good quality is to hold it up towards a lamp--standard overhead fixture with 60Watt bulb does nicely. Looking through the disc from the bottom, you want to see only a faint image--or no distinguishable image at all. If you can easily make out the lamp (like looking at it through a heavily tinted window, and I mean the whole thing, not just the light bulb portion of it)--steer clear of it for the PS or PS2. These CD's are often made with a cheaper, thinner layer of Mylar--which is prone to allow certain bandwiths of light pass through. It also has a tendency to polarize light as well--not good for a disc spinning at a couple thousand RPM's and being read from a slight angle by a weak laser.

Bearing these quirky things in mind, I would ask around some friends and see if you can swap them for a 650MB 16 or 24X rated media, or at least an Audio CDR, and try it. If it works, you found your culprit. I've started having great success with some 650 MB Maxell 24X CDR's I borrowed from my brother. Goldish to silver on the bottom, but very dense reflective layer. Used them up today, and bought some 700MB just like them (24X also) to test them out. So far they are working as well--but I haven't tried FF VII Yet!

Good Luck!