QJ.NET How-To #11: Converting PS1 games to PSP eboots

The addition of classic PlayStation games to the PlayStation Store was a smart move. Not totally unexpected, but smart. There are still a lot of gamers out there who grew up on Sony’s first gaming console and are itching to try their hand again on the games they grew up with. The problem is, the number of PS1 classics on the PlayStation Store is still depressingly low. If you still have your old PS1 game disc, though, you won’t have to wait for your favorite games to show up on the PlayStation Store. All you need is a PSP.

The addition of classic PlayStation games to the PlayStation Store was a smart move. Not totally unexpected, but smart. There are still a lot of gamers out there who grew up on Sony’s first gaming console and are itching to try their hand again on the games they grew up with.

Right now, there are still less than fifty PS1 classic available on the US PlayStation Store. The European PlayStation Store has around less than that. Japan has more than both the US and Euro stores combined. A bit depressing, eh? Well, the numbers aren’t really important, since there are still more coming.

But even if there are releases still waiting down the line, chances are not all of your favorite games will be included. So how do you make sure you can still play through those games just sitting in the bottom of your closet or gathering dust on your shelves because your old PS1 just doesn’t work anymore? Yeah, you can play those on a PC emulator, but why not try playing them on official Sony hardware — and a handheld one, at that — instead?

Read on to find out how to do just that.

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Before everything else, check your PSP’s System Settings. Is it running on custom firmware? If it isn’t, check out our CFW tutorials here and here. If you’re already rocking custom firmware then we’re good to go.

First, you’ll need to rip your PSX game CD (make sure it’s an original copy that you actually bought) and turn it into an image file. ISO or BIN/CUE files work fine. For this, you’ll need a ripping software like Alcohol 120% or MagicISO.

Next, download PSX2PSP v1.4.2 here. Note that this bundle doesn’t include the necessary “base.pbp” file so you’ll have to look for it yourself. Once you find and download it, put it in the “psx2psp_v.1.4.2Files” directory. Alternatively, you can just use Google and look for a PSX2PSP bundle that includes the “base.pbp” file.

Once you have everything you need, extract the PSX2PSP archive into any folder you want and double-click on “PSX2PSP.exe”. It will open in Theme Mode, as shown in the screenshot below.

Time to begin loading up your image file. Click on the Convert Menu button to bring up the Convert Menu.

Click on the button next to the ISO/PBP File dialog and load up your PS1 image file. For this tutorial I’m using an ISO of Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (don’t worry, I have the original game disc although it’s pretty scratched up).

The Output PBP Folder is where you want PSX2PSP to put the converted eboot. All of the dialog boxes below that are automatically filled in once you load your image file. You can double-check with this site to make sure that the Game ID is correct. Some games need to use specific Game IDs to work, so check this compatibility list too.

You’ll notice that right next to the Convert button is a button called Extract ISO. That’s used for when you want to do the opposite of this tutorial: turning an eboot into an image file.

You’ll also notice that there’s a little arrow icon next to the image file. That’s used for when you want to convert multi-disc games into one big eboot. Clicking on the arrow icon will let you select the succeeding discs that you want to convert.

Now we head into my favorite part: eboot customization. Click the Customize PBP button to bring up the customization menu.

The Icon dialog box is for the eboot’s Icon0. It’s also used as the game save icon. You can go to the Options->Common tab and set it to different layouts. Here’s how the icon will look like in 80×80, Default, and Old Default modes:

Notice that you can also set the compression level in the Common tab.

The background image must be a 480×272 .PNG file. Same with the Boot/Warning image. The information image is a smaller-sized .PNG file at 310×175 pixels. Unless you already have an ATRAC3 file for the background music, you’ll have to edit and convert an MP3 file using an audio editor first.

For now, we’ll leave the Icon Animation dialog empty. That’s where you’ll load your animated icon file.

Here’s how the preview for the eboot will look like. You can click on the arrow buttons above the Convert Menu button to cycle between the main eboot preview, the save preview, and the loading screen preview.

We’re almost ready to convert our image file into an eboot. Remember that you can set the eboot compression level by clicking on the Options button and going to the Common tab. To make things easier, go to the Folder tab and enable the “Create main game title folder”. This will put the eboot inside a folder named using the game’s title — in this case, Persona 2 – Eternal Punishment. After you’re done tinkering with the options, click Save.

Click on the Convert button to start converting your image file into a PSP-ready eboot. Once that’s done, navigate to the output folder that you chose at the start of the tutorial and look for the folder containing your converted eboot. Remember, the eboot is inside a folder named after the converted game’s title.

Once you find it, copy that folder to the PSP/GAME folder on your memory stick. Congratulations, you’ve successfully converted a PS1 game to a PSP eboot. If you’re having problems running your converted PS1 game, check this compatibility list. You might also have to download Dark AleX‘s Popsloader plugin which is available here. Now all that’s left is to play it and enjoy.