sony psp shmups

johnboy1967 · Post by **johnboy1967** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:15 pm

Now that twinbee,parodius and salamander portable are out i am considering getting a psp.Anyone give any reviews of how these games play.Already planning on getting gradius and star soldier.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 12:41 am

We already have a thread for the latest Konami shmup collections:

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.ph ... salamander

Impressions start near the mid/end of the 4th page in the thread.

Definitely pick up Gradius Collection. Emulation isn't perfect and no 2P wireless (like the other Konami psp collections, very lazy on their part) but it is still a very good compilation. 5 Gradius games on one disc = value.

dementia · Post by **dementia** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 2:30 am

Yep, open Firmware is pretty nice.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 3:29 am

Did you rip the game yourself, dementia (assuming you took that pic, man, that white PSP is gorgeous....)? I am using dark alex's firmware, I really need to throw a few of my PSX games on there. I too am curious as to how many MB a compressed ISO of Einhander would take up.

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:02 am

umm...
Einhander uncompressed its somethin like 650+ MBs
the same image compressed its somethin like 550+ MB
the same image RIPPED and compressed gets to a mere 14 MBs (thats the one i have on my PSP right now... you know, theres somethin else to put on that MSPD)...

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:15 am

^^^

Interesting. And there isn't any loss in audio or visual quality at 14 MB?

Anyways, Raystorm or Klonoa are my first picks when I get to it.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:31 am

Kaspal wrote:you know, theres somethin else to put on that MSPD)...

Porn?

Tempting to downgrade, but I'm wondering if I can be arsed to do it. I'm still having a blast with JSS on my WSC, and hopefully I'll have my frontlit SwanCrystal this weekend...

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:47 am

iatneH wrote:
Kaspal wrote:you know, theres somethin else to put on that MSPD)...
Porn?

Tempting to downgrade, but I'm wondering if I can be arsed to do it. I'm still having a blast with JSS on my WSC, and hopefully I'll have my frontlit SwanCrystal this weekend...

if you want to enjoy your PSP to the fullest, your best bet is goin for the latest custom firmware... so far, everyone i know dont regret it ... and it doesnt takes too much time (10 mins avergage).

dementia · Post by **dementia** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:30 am

Dylan1CC wrote:Did you rip the game yourself, dementia (assuming you took that pic, man, that white PSP is gorgeous....)? I am using dark alex's firmware, I really need to throw a few of my PSX games on there. I too am curious as to how many MB a compressed ISO of Einhander would take up.

Yeah, I ripped it, and that's my Ceramic White JPN PSP, which I love to death. Compressed, Einhander takes 329 MB on my memory Stick. 2GB sticks are about $30-$45 if you shop around. I got mine for $40.

Kaspal wrote:umm...
Einhander uncompressed its somethin like 650+ MBs
the same image compressed its somethin like 550+ MB
the same image RIPPED and compressed gets to a mere 14 MBs (thats the one i have on my PSP right now... you know, theres somethin else to put on that MSPD)...

Compressed, my Einhander EBoot is almost 330 MB. Does your 14 MB Einhander have sound?

Every Extend Extra, while not a true shmup is absolutely awesome.

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:34 am

dementia wrote:
Kaspal wrote:umm...
Einhander uncompressed its somethin like 650+ MBs
the same image compressed its somethin like 550+ MB
the same image RIPPED and compressed gets to a mere 14 MBs (thats the one i have on my PSP right now... you know, theres somethin else to put on that MSPD)...
Compressed, my Einhander EBoot is 330 MB. Does your 14 MB Einhander have sound?

Every Extend Extra, while not a true shmup is absolutely awesome.

sound?... yes, music, no.

dementia · Post by **dementia** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 5:36 am

Hmm, as I expected. I don't think it's worth the audible loss then.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 7:30 am

iatneH wrote:I'm still having a blast with JSS on my WSC, and hopefully I'll have my frontlit SwanCrystal this weekend...

I'm having a blast with JSS myself these days. On my PSP. Along with Noisza, Rrootage, Progear, Giga Wing, MM, and dozens of NES, SNES and Genny games. You seriously like updating to the official firmware?

JSS is as crisp and clear as can be. I play it TATE'ed, full screen/auto fit using the analog for fire/shield. Plus, I didn't have to go to the hassle of having a Wonderswan modded. No offense. I may end up buying JSS and a Swan someday though, it would be a great shmup item to have and I am envious you have it.

dementia wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Did you rip the game yourself, dementia (assuming you took that pic, man, that white PSP is gorgeous....)? I am using dark alex's firmware, I really need to throw a few of my PSX games on there. I too am curious as to how many MB a compressed ISO of Einhander would take up.
Yeah, I ripped it, and that's my Ceramic White JPN PSP, which I love to death. Compressed, Einhander takes 329 MB on my memory Stick. 2GB sticks are about $30-$45 if you shop around. I got mine for $40.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I'm using a 2 gig right now. I have about 550 MB left on it so room for at least one PSX game. Looks like this year I will be saving for either a 4 or 8 gigger. I would never want more than 2 gigs if the homebrew scene wasn't so great.

Every Extend Extra, while not a true shmup is absolutely awesome.

100% agreed. Great fun and I also like how the game is unforgiving to any mainstream gamer who might pick it up. heh heh Although I am having one heck of a time getting all the stages unlocked.

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:10 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:You seriously like updating to the official firmware?

As a matter of fact, yes

But that's not to say I won't like using custom firmware MORE. If I have some time this weekend I may look into it, as long as I still get to keep my traditional Chinese system font.

I'm on a white JPN TA-082 or whatever it is, shipped with 2.5 (or possibly 2.60), now running 3.03 official. Got a FAQ you can point me to?

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 6:47 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:
iatneH wrote:I'm still having a blast with JSS on my WSC, and hopefully I'll have my frontlit SwanCrystal this weekend...
I'm having a blast with JSS myself these days. On my PSP. Along with Noisza, Rrootage, Progear, Giga Wing, MM, and dozens of NES, SNES and Genny games. You seriously like updating to the official firmware?

JSS is as crisp and clear as can be. I play it TATE'ed, full screen/auto fit using the analog for fire/shield. Plus, I didn't have to go to the hassle of having a Wonderswan modded. No offense. I may end up buying JSS and a Swan someday though, it would be a great shmup item to have and I am envious you have it.

dementia wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:Did you rip the game yourself, dementia (assuming you took that pic, man, that white PSP is gorgeous....)? I am using dark alex's firmware, I really need to throw a few of my PSX games on there. I too am curious as to how many MB a compressed ISO of Einhander would take up.
Yeah, I ripped it, and that's my Ceramic White JPN PSP, which I love to death. Compressed, Einhander takes 329 MB on my memory Stick. 2GB sticks are about $30-$45 if you shop around. I got mine for $40.
Thanks for the info. Yeah, I'm using a 2 gig right now. I have about 550 MB left on it so room for at least one PSX game. Looks like this year I will be saving for either a 4 or 8 gigger. I would never want more than 2 gigs if the homebrew scene wasn't so great.

Every Extend Extra, while not a true shmup is absolutely awesome.
100% agreed. Great fun and I also like how the game is unforgiving to any mainstream gamer who might pick it up. heh heh Although I am having one heck of a time getting all the stages unlocked.

For Dylan1CC,

Have you d/l the PSP homebrew shmup titles of Callisto v0.2 & R-Gear? They are worth a spin on a emu-enabled PSP... ^_~

The 4GB Sandisk Memory Stick Pro Duo is on sale at Circuit City for a mere $99.99 USD (after instant price reduction + mail-in rebate) this week -- Saturday the 10th of February 2007, will be the last day at that special price... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 12:00 am

iatneH wrote:
Dylan1CC wrote:You seriously like updating to the official firmware?
As a matter of fact, yes

But that's not to say I won't like using custom firmware MORE. If I have some time this weekend I may look into it, as long as I still get to keep my traditional Chinese system font.

I'm on a white JPN TA-082 or whatever it is, shipped with 2.5 (or possibly 2.60), now running 3.03 official. Got a FAQ you can point me to?

Wow, I have no idea if that's even downgradeable. I would be really careful before you try to do anything with it. I always consult the folks in this thread:

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/show ... hp?t=45043

I went ahead and asked for you.

edit: This is supposed to allow 3.03 downgrade to 1.5. The hitch though is that you need an unpatched copy of GTA LC to do it. Good luck:

http://www.psp-hacks.com/file/1034

When I downgraded last month I fortunately didn't need the GTA downgrader, but that was because I was on 2.80. Hopefully they will release a 3.03 downgrader that doesn't require the old GTA UMD.

Have you d/l the PSP homebrew shmup titles of Callisto v0.2 & R-Gear? They are worth a spin on a emu-enabled PSP... ^_~

The 4GB Sandisk Memory Stick Pro Duo is on sale at Circuit City for a mere $99.99 USD (after instant price reduction + mail-in rebate) this week -- Saturday the 10th of February 2007, will be the last day at that special price... ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

No, I haven't. Thanks for pointing me toward them, I will check them out later.

And thanks for the heads up on the 4GB deal. [/quote]

iatneH · Post by **iatneH** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 5:55 am

Thanks for the info Dylan1CC. I'll keep waiting then and see what happens in a few weeks. No more official updates for the time being. I just got my SwanCrystal today too. Holy crap it's beautiful, so much nicer than the WSC.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 8:39 am

^^^

You're welcome. Yes, just wait awhile. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if they released a 3.03 downgrader that does not require GTA. IIRC, I had to wait awhile to downgrade my 2.80 for the same reason.

And congrats on getting your Crystal Swan.

Here's some more clarification from Bandit who is TNL's PSP homebrew expert:

Originally Posted by Dylan1CC
^^^

So even if a PSP ships with 2.5+ it still has remnants of 1.5 on it? I figured downgrading only worked on PSPs which at one time started on 1.0-1.5. paging bandit

bandit: No remnants of 1.50 if the system was originally 2.50. Downgrading can work on any PSP and on any firmware (except 3.10+)

I would keep that thread bookmarked, btw. It is an invaluable source of information and once you are ready to downgrade bandit can help you with any questions.

PCEFX: Just gave both Callisto and R-gear a try and they are quite good so far. Thanks for the heads up. I remember reading about both way back during the summer but they passed out of my mind since at that time my PSP was homebrew disabled. R-Gear has great visuals and an interesting take on the charge shot. Not to mention one of the funniest opening cinema stories I have seen since Zero Wing. haha

Enjoying Callisto too. Playing the stage 1 swamp right now, nice organic visuals.

Dylan1CC · Post by **Dylan1CC** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:51 am

Alrighty then. That R-gear intro isn't quite as funny when I realize I am forced to sit through it every time I boot up the game....

Great doujin game so far. R-TYPE gameplay meets manic shmup, I like the medal collecting. It's really tough though to the point of frustration. I can't get past the first level and have been playing it off and on for almost an hour.

than · Post by **than** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 1:52 pm

I know many people don't consider Metal Slug to be a true shooter because of it's mostly on foot/land vehicle gameplay, but I love it all the same. Metal Slug Complete should be coming to the PSP this month in Japan, and in March (according to wikipedia) in the US. Personally, I hate playing most games on my PSP (same goes for all portable systems really) because I tend to get cramp, so I'm waiting for the PS2 version.

As for Einhander... well, maybe I've not played it enough, but I find the ships are too big (not enough space to move around) and graphics seriously overrated (R-Type Delta looks and plays better). Maybe I just need to get used to the weapons system.

By the way, if I downgrade the PSP firmware (from 2.71) and install the custom firmware I can still play regular UMD software, right? Still a bit worried about bricking my PSP though.

dementia · Post by **dementia** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 2:55 pm

than wrote:By the way, if I downgrade the PSP firmware (from 2.71) and install the custom firmware I can still play regular UMD software, right? Still a bit worried about bricking my PSP though.

yep, and the PSP recognizes it as official 3.10, so you can still play the latest UMD games as well.

Belmont · Post by **Belmont** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 4:01 pm

Wow i always knew there was emulation on the psp but i didnt know you could rip ps1 games onto it... man the psp keeps getting more apealing to me, exspecially with dracula X coming out for it.

Specineff · Post by **Specineff** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 7:48 pm

dementia wrote:
Yep, open Firmware is pretty nice.

SEXY.

That pic looks almost like an official Sony ad.

dementia · Post by **dementia** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:38 pm

Thanks. The amateur photographer in me really appreciates that compliment.

Battlesmurf · Post by **Battlesmurf** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:43 pm

lol..so neat : ) I love that einhander pic. I think I lost interest in modding stuff myself- I have around 50-ish xboxes completed under my belt over the last few years, and a boat load of Ps1's back in the day. But hearing Progear and the like (and especially Einhander

being played makes my blood boil just a bit

I would almost hazard to say that I'm just a bit too lazy right now to 'mod' one out myself right now...but the idea is soo enticing (sp:P)

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:19 am

than wrote:I know many people don't consider Metal Slug to be a true shooter because of it's mostly on foot/land vehicle gameplay, but I love it all the same. Metal Slug Complete should be coming to the PSP this month in Japan, and in March (according to wikipedia) in the US. Personally, I hate playing most games on my PSP (same goes for all portable systems really) because I tend to get cramp, so I'm waiting for the PS2 version.

MS Anthology has been released in Europe already... its pretty cool, even tho it has a couple things that bothers me when playin... but its pretty cool to have 7 MS games on on UMD... its pretty weid to see a game being released in europe b4 america or japan, but this time, it happened.

if you like this games, go for them, you wont be dissapointed at all... if you can overlook the loading times.

boagman · Post by **boagman** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:35 am

Vokatse wrote:You def have to mod it...and if you modded xboxs, then modding a psp is more like a softmod than a hard mod.

It's really easy and does not require any extra tools...just make sure you follow the readmes properly.

Also, I think the Japanese cover for Einhander looks better than the US one.

Anyone who is familiar with modding their PSP this way, and happens to live in the Detroit area, would you care to help a brother out? I'm dying (DYING!) to be able to do emulation on PSP, but I'm so computer-stupid that I really need someone to do it for me, more or less.

I'd be happy to buy said person lunch, or whatever, but I have a 4GB memory stick that barely has anything on there, and I absolutely want to play Neo-Geo shooters, PS1 shooters, and such, on the go.

HELP ME PLEASE! If you're in the Detroit area, I could sure use it. Thanks!

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:45 am

Vokatse wrote:I'd help you, but I'm in New Hampshire

You ever been to Funspot? I don't live in NH but I have relatives their that me and my family go see every couple of years. I almost got the Leprachaun world record while I was their last time,I was just off by about 20 thousand points which isn't much in that game.

For the uniniciated Funspot is a Huge arcade in NH with many classic games their.

http://www.funspotnh.com/

boagman · Post by **boagman** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 1:11 am

Vokatse wrote:I'd help you, but I'm in New Hampshire...and you might be a child molester...

It's really not that hard to do...

Heh. Well, I'll put it this way: I use a Mac. If that doesn't explain a lot, I don't know what more I can possibly say.

My current Devhook allows me to go up to 3.01, I believe. I did not install this, nor was I able to do so when I tried. Had to take my PSP, memory stick, etc. to a friend's place who is computer-knowledgable, but isn't familiar with the PSP stuff at all, nor gaming in general.

And a big old, "Eww!" on the child-molester thing. That's...just sick. But, in the spirit of fairness, since the possibility exists: if someone can do this stuff for me via laptop and wants to meet in a public, safe place for them, I'm very cool with that. Honestly: I just want to make the PSP do what I'd like. That's it. Really.

fl0w · Post by **fl0w** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:32 pm

Dylan1CC wrote:Did you rip the game yourself, dementia (assuming you took that pic, man, that white PSP is gorgeous....)? I am using dark alex's firmware, I really need to throw a few of my PSX games on there. I too am curious as to how many MB a compressed ISO of Einhander would take up.

I have ripped my own G-Darius and it works like a charm.

Thank you, Dark Alex!

Kaspal · Post by **Kaspal** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 10:34 pm

boagman wrote:
Vokatse wrote:I'd help you, but I'm in New Hampshire...and you might be a child molester...

It's really not that hard to do...
Heh. Well, I'll put it this way: I use a Mac. If that doesn't explain a lot, I don't know what more I can possibly say.

My current Devhook allows me to go up to 3.01, I believe. I did not install this, nor was I able to do so when I tried. Had to take my PSP, memory stick, etc. to a friend's place who is computer-knowledgable, but isn't familiar with the PSP stuff at all, nor gaming in general.

And a big old, "Eww!" on the child-molester thing. That's...just sick. But, in the spirit of fairness, since the possibility exists: if someone can do this stuff for me via laptop and wants to meet in a public, safe place for them, I'm very cool with that. Honestly: I just want to make the PSP do what I'd like. That's it. Really.

you should be able to do the downgrading/ flashing with Custom FW with a mac, since those programs ARE NOT designed to run on windows, but on the PSP, all you have to do its place them onto your MS in the right places (read the readme) and follow instructions.

now, im not sure, but the only thing that MIGHT stop you from doin it so in a mac, would be the MS file system (FAT16/32)... if a mac doesnt recognizes it natively, then, runnin a win emulator would do the job... and thats it, within 10-30 mins, oyou should be enjoyin all the goods on your PSP with no problems.

i got a couple of questions for you tho:
1) what FW version do you have right now?
2) if its the 1.50 (i think you said you have a version of devhook?), you can use the latest devhook version (0.52) to run FW 3.03 ... AND best of all, you can upgrade to CFW 3.03 OE-C directly (you can still enjoy the advantages of FW 1.5 plus the additions of FW 3.03 like the PSX emulator)