The Playstation Portable (PSP) was the very first portable console under the PlayStation line. First released in 2004, the PSP became popular due to its large library of games and vast amount of multimedia features. For many, this console evokes great memories of all kinds of games, such as the early GTA Editions, God of War, Metal Gear Solid, and more. Fortunately, there is the chance to relive those memories. The best part? All it takes is an Android phone! In this article, we will discuss everything you need to do, in detail, to set up how to play PSP games for free on an Android smartphone.
How to play PSP games for free on Android
An emulator is simply a piece of software that allows one device to behave like another. In this context, we are looking for an app for Android that can simulate the PSP. It does not affect the device in any way as it is just like any other mobile app.
Step 1: Download a PSP Emulator
By far the most reliable available is PPSSPP. Of 100 million+ downloads, this emulator is reliable, safe and also quite easy to use. There is another version of PPSSPP titled PPSSPP Gold. This is a paid app and is there as a way to support the developers and future versions. It would be nice to pay a little cash as a way to give back to the people who worked hard to build this software.
Step 2: Download some PSP games
No games are included with the PSP emulator as the actual games have to be downloaded from somewhere else. There will be many websites on the internet that offer PSP game downloads, but it is advisable to be careful as there are also a few unsafe ones. A good option is Cool ROM – navigate to the link and check out all available games from the PlayStation Portable section. Once you have chosen the game, click on the link to the download page and click on the download button.
To clarify, a ROM is a name often used when referring to games that run on emulators. ROM literally stands for Read-only memory, and in this context, a ROM is a copy of a game’s read-only memory. Simply put, a emulator ROM is a general term for a digital version of a game cartridge. Another term used when talking about PSP emulators is: ISO. This is only the file that contains the PSP game.
Step 3: Unpack and organize the PSP games
The game must be downloaded as a .zip file or as a .7z File. These are essentially folders that contain the actual game file and they are used to reduce the size of the file for quick downloads. To get the actual game file, we need to extract the folder first. To do this, simply navigate to the file in a file manager app and press extract. PSP game files can vary in size with some of the top versions reaching 1.5-2 GB and possibly more while some can be less than 1 GB.
The main file that matters is the one that ends in .iso, because this is what the game actually is. It can be helpful to keep a folder that keeps all the .iso files together to keep things organized.
Step 4: Loading the Games
Now open the PPSSPP Application we downloaded before. The main menu is self-explanatory and features a file browser. Navigate to where the .iso file from the previous step is saved and the game should appear as shown in the image below.
As mentioned before, keeping a folder with all the games together can be helpful as it might be easier to find them in the future. To load the game, just click on the cover image in the file browser and it should just open normally.
Step 5: Familiarize yourself with the controls and settings
All the controls are on the screen, but understandably they can be a little fiddly to use for some games. In the settings menu it is possible to change the layout of the controls by moving or resizing buttons. Alternatively, it is also possible to connect a controller and thus play the games.
Just plug it in as you normally would and it should start functioning. There is the option to also assign controls in the settings if needed. There are a ton of different image and audio settings, some of which look quite complex. It’s best to avoid tweaking random things to be on the safe side.
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