Smartphones are coming with amazing hardware specifications, making them capable of running graphics-intensive games. However, that doesn’t mean we should leave all the classics behind. There was a time when PSP (PlayStation Portable) was a big thing, but it got outshined by today’s Smartphones with solid specs.
Fortunately, we don’t have to say goodbye to our favorite PSP games as we can also run them on Android phones. Using a dedicated emulator, you can easily run almost all types of PSP games on your Android phone, and in this tutorial, we are exactly going to show you how.
Note: The performance of the games depend on the hardware of your Android phone. Some games may work a bit slower, and some might not even work at all. Mid-range to high-end phones are recommended.
PSP Emulator
There are many PSP emulators available on the Google Play Store, but not all of them are good. In this tutorial, we are going to use the PPSSPP emulator. It is an open-source app and ad supported on Android platform while being completely free. There is also a paid version that will only remove the ads (other features remain the same) and give you a golden icon.
You can download PPSSPP from the Google Play Store as long as you have a device with Android version 2.3 and above. However, the app doesn’t come with any kind of PSP games, so you will have to add ISO image or .CSO file of your PSP game in your phone to load the game.
Get the ISO Image of your PSP Games
To start playing your PSP games on the PPSSPP, you need to create a ISO image of your PSP UMD (Universal Media Disc). Fortunately, the process is not that hard and it may be completely free and legal to create ISO image of your own PSP games for personal use (check against your own local laws and regulations).
At the PPSSPP FAQ page you will find all the required information to create an ISO image from your PSP UMD disc. Just follow those instructions to create an ISO image and copy it to your Android phone from your PC.
Using PPSSPP
Now that you have the ISO image in your Android phone, running it in the PPSSPP is actually quite simple. Launch the PPSSPP app and navigate to the “Games” tab. Here you will find all your phone’s folders, just navigate to the folder in which you place the ISO image and you will find the game there. Now, just tap on it to start the game.
The buttons will be displayed right on the screen and you can touch them to use them. The experience will not be as good as the real PSP with physical buttons, but with time you will get a hang of it.
There are also tons of settings to customize to improve performance or make it easy to play games as you please. Tap on “Settings” in the main interface, and you will find all the options to tweak. You can customize according to your need, but if you are looking to increase performance of the games, then you can get help from PPSSPP tester solarmystic’s Guide.
Let us know which games you played on PPSSPP, in the comments below.