How To Play PSP Games Using PPSSPP Emulator On iPhones?

For many young adults, the PSP was the pinnacle of technology, combining a regular console’s power in the size of a Nintendo Switch. This is perhaps why most considered the console ahead of its time and despite the multiple options available today, people, including myself, still miss the PSP. While emulation has allowed Android and Windows users to relive their childhood, iOS users haven’t had that opportunity. Fortunately, after Apple’s recent change of heart regarding emulators, the popular PPSSPP emulator has finally made its way to the iOS App Store. We’ll explain what PPSSPP is and how you can easily play PSP games.

What is the PPSSPP emulator?

For those familiar with emulation, the PPSSPP emulator needs no introduction. For iOS users, however, PPSSPP works similarly to the Delta emulator, mimicking the functionality of the PSP console to run its ROMs, allowing users to play their favorite games.

Developer Henrik Rydgård, who announced the app, stated that while the emulator has all the features required to play PSP games, there are some limitations. Firstly, due to Apple’s policies, the emulator doesn’t come with the Just-in-Time recompilers that help translate codes and improve performance. Additionally, the app doesn’t support Apple’s Magic Keyboard, and the RetroAchievements feature has been disabled.

How to get game ROMs for PPSSPP emulation?

The next important step is to acquire the game ROMs, and there are currently two ways of doing this. Firstly, if you have old PSP game discs lying around, you can extract the ROM files from them. However, you will need a UMD reader or a PSP console since most laptops don’t support the UMD platform. Alternatively, you can visit a ROM website and download the files. To do this:

1. Visit the emulatorgames.net website.
2. Navigate to the “ROMs” section at the top left.
3. Select the “PSP” console from the subsequent list.
4. Look for your desired game.
5. Download the file.

However, it is important to note that unlike other consoles, PSP ROMs often include two files that are compressed into one. Therefore, after downloading, you will need to decompress the files for the emulator to recognize them. To do this:

1. Download WinRAR from the App Store.
2. Open the app.
3. Navigate to the downloads folder or wherever the downloaded game ROM is located.
4. Extract the files.

Import games

After extracting the files, the next step on our list is to import these games into the PPSSPP emulator. Follow these steps:

1. Open the PPSSPP emulator app.
2. Click on the “Browse” button.
   
3. Navigate to your game folder.
4. Click “Open” to import the game.
   

Customization options in the PPSSPP emulator

Considering the emulator simply works out of the box, there aren’t a lot of customization options in the regular PPSSPP emulator. Nevertheless, users can:

1. Save game states

With the PSP supporting story games, such as GTA San Andreas and Final Fantasy, saving game states becomes an essential feature, considering you probably won’t finish the titles in one sitting. Therefore, to save the game states:

1. Open the PPSSPP emulator and navigate to your game.
2. Open the menu.
3. Click on “Save State” and that’s it!

2. Save Game Profiles

Considering the PSP’s diverse game catalog, you might want to set up your controls differently based on a specific game. For example, you could want the X button to a specific action in Tekken, while something different in Final Fantasy. Fortunately, the emulator has this feature to set game profiles:

1. Open the desired game.
2. Open the menu.
3. Click on “Create Game Config.”
4. Now, you can adjust the controls and settings for the specific game.

3. Fast Forward

No one likes to sit through long monologues of characters talking. Fortunately, you can skip the boring parts using the fast-forward feature baked right into the PPSSPP emulator. To do this:

1. Open your desired game.
2. Hold the play button next to the “Select” button.