PSXP

[Rostum]

How well does the PSP emulate PSX games? Namely RPG's and a few other random things. I've seen some YouTube videos of FF7, 8 and 9... and they seem to work rather well, but do you need to do a lot of fiddling around?

I know there are some decent games for PSP out, but I think I'd only get it if I could play most of my PSX games fairly well on it.

Otherwise, I may as well just get a DS so I can play the earlier FF games, FF3 and a few other RPG's around.

[JKTrix]

Point 1: Get a DS.

Point 2: They work pretty well, but you must take into consideration that you only have 1 "analog stick" and 1 set of shoulder buttons. I don't think most RPGs like FF need 2 analog sticks and L2/R2 buttons, so it should be fine in that regard. However, you need a hacked PSP to play your own PSX games. It's a pretty complex process if you're not comfortable with doing that kind of stuff, and it could potentially 'brick' (render useless) your PSP. If you're getting a brand new PSP, it's even harder to do it.

There will be downloadable PSX games for non hax'd PSPs, but currently I think you need a PS3 for it and you have to pay for 'em. I could be wrong about the PS3 part.

[Rostum]

Damn, why do Sony have to make it that hard? It's obvious the PSP is capable of playing most PSX games, they should just port them. No way in hell would I buy a PSP and a PS3 just so I can re-buy games I already have, so I can play them on the move.

Point 1 taken! Will move on to looking into a DS.

[Mirage]

They shouldn't port them, that costs a lot of money. Instead they should just make the emulation process easy.

[Maxico]

Point 1: Get a DS.

Because that's completely and entirely on topic and not at all biased!


If you follow instructions, there is actually fairly little that can go wrong, as long as you buy a PSP with the correct firmware and hardware. Which does mean that the longer you wait to buy one, the harder it will be to run homebrew.

If you do bite the bullet and get custom firmware running, you can pretty much run any game with little to no problems and at full speed.

The lack of a second analog stick is pretty much no problem unless you want to play Ape Escape

You'll also need to buy a fairly big memory stick to hold those games on.

[JKTrix]

Are you stalking me? Lately it seems you're attempting to shoot down every other thing I say. That's awesome.



Otherwise, I may as well just get a DS so I can play the earlier FF games, FF3 and a few other RPG's around.

On topic.

[Maxico]

It's not been intentional, maybe you've been saying alot of questionable things recently.

I missed that part about the DS in the original post, and it possibly wouldn't have screamed "horrible fanboy" so much if you put it after the justification rather than as a seperate point.


If it's Final Fantasy that you want, then the DS with its extensive backlibrary of GBA games out of the box is probably the way to go. While if you feel like kertinkering, then it's not too difficult to rip your existing library of PS1 games, not to mention that pretty much every other console below 16 bit is available via emulation.

Depends on how much effort or money you're willing to spend really.

[Dreddz]

What Dark Alex did with the PSP was amazing. Ive only put a few games on my PSP, but all run great. Except for FFVII which had some problems ( apparantly it was because the game was PAL ).

[Rostum]

I did read up that you can convert your PAL game to NTCS format, which makes it run better? If not, that sucks, because all my games are PAL.

Also, you'd pretty much have to buy a lot of memory sticks, if you were going to rip the Final Fantasy's. Right? How much do memory sticks go for, that are compatible with PSP?

I guess, the only other thing is that I probably can't get a PSP with the proper firmware to upgrade to Dark Alex's firmware. I heard you can downgrade and all, but is that really safe?

I guess the only reason I'd be looking at a PSP, is for emulating my PSX games (and ones that I have lost and I can't play on my PS2, due to them being NTCS format like Chrono Cross that I imported). And also playing games such as Valkyrie Profile, FF7 Crisis Core, FF Tactics and a few other games.

But if it's RPG's I'm looking at, maybe DS is a better option.

[The Mog Ninja]

PSP also has some great games such as Dynasty Warriors 5 (PSP name Volume 2), Samurai Warriors State of War (which includes the original Samurai Warriors and an Expansion Pack). So you might wanna check out some titles like them. And keep in mind DS's are easily-breakable. For e.g. I had my DS for 4 days. I dropped it. It broke. And it was only a 2 foot drop.

[KentaRawr!]

The only PSX game I've had trouble with thus far is Legend of Mana. All other games I've tried work perfectly, with the exception of the whole one analog stick thing.

[Maxico]

I did read up that you can convert your PAL game to NTCS format, which makes it run better? If not, that sucks, because all my games are PAL.

Also, you'd pretty much have to buy a lot of memory sticks, if you were going to rip the Final Fantasy's. Right? How much do memory sticks go for, that are compatible with PSP?

I guess, the only other thing is that I probably can't get a PSP with the proper firmware to upgrade to Dark Alex's firmware. I heard you can downgrade and all, but is that really safe?

I guess the only reason I'd be looking at a PSP, is for emulating my PSX games (and ones that I have lost and I can't play on my PS2, due to them being NTCS format like Chrono Cross that I imported). And also playing games such as Valkyrie Profile, FF7 Crisis Core, FF Tactics and a few other games.

But if it's RPG's I'm looking at, maybe DS is a better option.

You'd want a Pro Duo memory stick. Really you only need at least 1GB of space, as disks can hold a maximum of around 700mb and you can store them on your harddrive while not in use.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-5957071-5484806?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pro+duo&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
for an idea on Pro Duo pricing.

Downgrading is pretty safe, as long as you follow the correct directions properly and have a low enough firmware/the right hardware. I would read up on how to identify these things. I know there's a way to identify the firmware from the box, and I assume that firmware below a certain point will use the old hardware.

[Rostum]

And keep in mind DS's are easily-breakable. For e.g. I had my DS for 4 days. I dropped it. It broke. And it was only a 2 foot drop.

I think that just comes down to you not taking care of it. I got my girlfriend a DS last year, and it's still in perfect condition.


You'd want a Pro Duo memory stick. Really you only need at least 1GB of space, as disks can hold a maximum of around 700mb and you can store them on your harddrive while not in use.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/002-5957071-5484806?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pro+duo&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
for an idea on Pro Duo pricing.


Hmm, those seem a little expensive. But I suppose if you were to store your games on your HDD and then just transfer them over, it'd be alright. I still wouldn't have expected them to be that expensive (http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/sony-4gb-memory-stick-pro-duo/) though.

[Maxico]

Solution: eBay (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SONY-PSP-3-10-OE-A-OR-1-5-FIRMWARE-PACK-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ140102603173QQcategoryZ75556QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

People on eBay are cleverly selling PSP's with custom or 1.5 firmware installed.

And a 1GB memory stick at an additional £10 makes that a pretty sweet deal.

[Rostum]

Would it be better to wait for the PSP2?

[Dreddz]

Its not even 100% certain there will even be a PSP2. So it would be wiser just to buy a PSP now.

[Rostum]

I thought it was confirmed to be coming out at the end of this year with some new features such as 4/8GB memory?

Anyways, I just had a look around on the prices of PSP in Australia, and they are still $400AUD (as they were at release). Man, that sucks, even the DS Lite has gone down $30 and includes a free game. =\

[Dreddz]

There was alot of false rumors going around March last year that a new version of the PSP will be out in Christmas 06. This was meant to be a thinner model, a camera and 4GB memory. It was all trash, and as of now, nothing has officially been said by Sony of a PSP2 and a release date for it.

[Rostum]

I see, that sucks. A PSP2 probably would have sold me.

[Dreddz]

Chances are everyone will be back on square one when emulating on the PSP2. With every Firmware update comes barriers for all the emulators present on the firmware below it. When a PSP2 does come out, no doubt Sony will make it near impossible to hack. So you'll be best buying the machine that everyone can exploit.

[Rostum]

Ah, you'd be surprised what people can get around.

Anyways, is there anything I'd be missing by using a homebrew firmware, instead of a new official firmware?

Edit: OMFG they remade the original Myst for PSP. <3<3<3<3<3<3<3

[Dreddz]

AAnyways, is there anything I'd be missing by using a homebrew firmware, instead of a new official firmware?

Depends what Firmwares your talking about. If you want an official firmware, the best one is 1.5, as it allows you to do emulate almost everything except PS1 games. Most of the firmwares above are fine but are more of a hassle and if you accidentally go one to high you'll find you'll be stuck as you wont be able to downgrade and wont be able to emulate anything.

The custom firmware of choice is 3.10 OE-A. This is what I use and it is by far the best firmware you can put on your PSP ( for now anyway ). It allows you to do everything a 1.5 can and has the bonus of letting you play PS1 games. Theres nothing you lose, and alot you gain. So you'd be wanting this firmware.