PSX4Droid brings spiky-haired protagonists to your Googlephone (video)

The HTC HD2 did it, and so did the iPhone 3GS (assuming you jailbroke), but now you can get your blocky amnesiac ex-SOLDIER action on Android courtesy of ZodTTD and yongzh. Their PSX4Droid app just launched on the Android Market for $5.99, and -- despite a few glitches -- it emulates PlayStation games like a charm, complete with multiple scaling modes and save states. Watch a Galaxy S rock the likes of Final Fantasy VII and Ridge Racer after the break, plus Crash Bandicoot on a Nexus One and some paired Wiimote action with a Dell Streak. Then, challenge yourself to adhere to intellectual property law instead of immediately hunting down ROMs and a BIOS file. We dare you.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[bluefisch200 Posted Jul 25th 2010 5:33PM]

DELL Streak @ flight mode + Wiimote = awesome gaming in a airplane...sorry...just going for holiday tomorrow and this looks awesome :D

[kenny goo Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:01PM]

@Pickaxe

There's not a hardware keyboard out there that can compare to an analog nub, a d-pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons. The PSP is nearly perfect for emulating PS1 games, from a control and performance standpoint. It's cool that an Android device can do this, but it doesn't appeal to me when a PSP Go is an entirely pocketable device.

That's just my take on it.

[grumbles Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:06PM]

@kenny goo

No one wants to carry around two devices.

[kenny goo Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:32PM]

@grumbles

I have my phone on a clip on my belt, my wallet and my keys in one pocket, and whatever other device I have in my other pocket. That could be my 120GB Zune (which is much better storage and feature wise then any other phone out there for multimedia), or my DS (which is better control wise then any other phone out there for gaming). I used to have a PSP, and will probably pick a Go or a PSP2 up in the next year or so.

I know a lot of people who carry two devices around. Three is a stretch, but two is not abnormal. Yes, convenience is nice, but sometimes you have to pick quality over the ease of having a lower quantity.

[ChaosAlloy Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:01PM]

Liking this emulator. Runs quick on my EVO w/ wii classic controller

[Wesscoast Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:19PM]

Wow. This. AGAIN!

People, you're turning FF7 into the most overrated game on Earth. Get over it!!

[threpac Posted Jul 25th 2010 9:28PM]

@Wesscoast

F off. That game is awesome.

[WilliamNighthawk Posted Jul 26th 2010 3:53AM]

@threpac No, I agree with him; However, it has always been my opinion that Final Fantasy sucks ass. [This appears to be a troll but it isn't and I'll get down ranked anyway.]

I just really can't stand turn based rpgs. I once took an online quiz that told me I was the 'action rpg' player. I like similar stuff to the regular RPG player with a few exceptions: A) No turn based, I have to be in the action, moving around. B) Quick thinking challenges. I want to be caught off guard.

[Wesscoast Posted Jul 26th 2010 8:01AM]

@threpac

Pftt... I'm not a troll, I love Square, but this game.... you guys have to let it go... its held up as the best FF ever, but.. seriously.. how many times can you play through a thirteen year old game? It's an RPG, its not exactly bursting with replay value.

Face it. you're playing it purely for nostalgia. let your childhood go.

[WilliamNighthawk Posted Jul 26th 2010 10:10AM]

@Wesscoast Ah, was that directed at me? I meant that my post appeared to be a troll post. It is hard for normal people to tell opinions from troll post because if any opinion is against the consensus than it is deemed trolling.

I agree with you, people should worry about the future and the present. Stop living in the past; As the doctor would say: "I hate repeats"

[seven7dust Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:35PM]

This is going to rock on the Droid 2 with the faster hardware and better slideout keyboard. whihci sm ost potbably going to be my next phone.
maybe it'll be even better on the Epic 4g.
any word on batterylife ???

[Randomher0 Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:49PM]

The only thing wrong with this is that it's not available in Norway. God damn it Google make paid apps available all over the world already!

[Hazdaz Posted Jul 25th 2010 6:59PM]

If this doesn't prove the importance of hardware buttons, I don't know what will.

Nothing like having 1/4 of your screen blocked by your own fingers simply because the latest crop of phones don't have physical keys. And even the few ones that do have a keyboard (D1, D2 and the new Epic), they still don't have buttons that are really aimed at the gaming crowd.

Enough with this crap already... where the hell is a modern, Android-based N-Gage????

[USSLiberty Posted Jul 25th 2010 7:25PM]

Wow!
Or you could just download it for free for the Nokia N900, like I did a couple of months back. :)

[Prevacator Posted Jul 25th 2010 9:15PM]

@USSLiberty
Or you could just root your Android phone and side-load the app for free.

[threpac Posted Jul 25th 2010 9:29PM]

@Prevacator

or you could just not root your phone and sideload the app for free.

[Wesscoast Posted Jul 26th 2010 8:04AM]

@threpac

*sigh... PS1's used... selling for 5 bucks at a garage sale... play the exact same game on any PC for like 5 bucks.... so bored of this game be resuscitated again and again and again..

[jonyah Posted Jul 25th 2010 7:32PM]

tried pacman world on my EVO and it's pretty choppy. Not sure if it's game related or what, but it could definitely use more work.

[threpac Posted Jul 25th 2010 9:32PM]

@jonyah

The EVO has some bad software flaws [kernel] and the snapdragon is terrible compared to TI and Samsung's processors.

Fortunately, they can fix most of the EVO's problems with a software update.

[Mecha2142 Posted Jul 25th 2010 11:12PM]

@threpac Sorry, but no. It's true that both the OMAP and Hummingbird processors are better than the Snapdragon, but they don't make it look terrible in comparison. The Snapdragon has not gotten any more worse since the Toshiba TG01 was released, it's just that new processors are being developed. If that weren't the case, the Droid X and Galaxy S would make the Evo feel like a turtle in terms of responsiveness.

[Rawnchie14 Posted Jul 25th 2010 8:26PM]

ANDROID MARKET FAIL though.

[DoomLight Posted Jul 25th 2010 8:26PM]

if he only made an analog style control pad. playing games on it would be so much easier.

[Prevacator Posted Jul 25th 2010 9:14PM]

Intellectual - what now?

[Strand0410 Posted Jul 25th 2010 10:02PM]

People are excited about this? Good lord those samples looked practically unplayable. Stuff like this makes me even more worried every time someone says "touchphones are the next step in gaming!"

The no-buttons glass ceiling will always limit games to gimmicky accelerometer/touchscreen games. This emulator is half-assed at best, shoe-horning in a virtual D-pad and buttons on the screen.

[DBG Posted Jul 25th 2010 10:15PM]

More of a pet-peeve of mine, but it's valid. Please don't call non-cart system games "roms". Thank you.

[Bratyr Posted Jul 26th 2010 3:15AM]

@DBG
You mean that the CDs PlayStation games come on aren't Read Only Memory? If you're going to have a peeve make it a valid one!

[Hazdaz Posted Jul 26th 2010 8:48AM]

@DBG

Yea because the "ROM" in CD-ROMS and DVD-ROMS must not mean Read Only Memory, right?

:rolleyes:

[DBG Posted Jul 27th 2010 1:37PM]

@Hazdaz I was just hoping Engadget would be more "scene"-wise than technology. In the release world, cart-based titles are roms and CD/DVD/BR/etc-based technology are referred to as ISOs. That's all I was referring to ^.^.

[jsheahan Posted Jul 25th 2010 11:34PM]

I'm getting annoyed I can't download this

[nickux Posted Jul 26th 2010 12:24AM]

Looks like I'll be making a return to Shadow Moses Island

[boodiespost Posted Jul 26th 2010 2:58AM]

unless you have a Samsung Galaxy S or similarly powered phone, you won't get a fast frame rate. That's what zottd said. Go SGS!!!

[WilliamNighthawk Posted Jul 26th 2010 3:49AM]

And the Winners are:
Graphics and Speed goes to Samsung Galaxy S
Best Gameplay Experience goes to Dell Streak
Runners Up include Evo 4D and Nexus1

[delicatessen lama Posted Jul 26th 2010 5:34AM]

& I thought I was cool playing Minish Cap on my phone...

[BrownRoach Posted Jul 26th 2010 7:58AM]

Am I the only one who read the headline and immediately thought of Kingdom of Loathing?

[yomachaser Posted Jul 26th 2010 8:55AM]

Okay I guess I'll be the one to say it, who really wants to play old ps1 games on their phone? In concept it's great to see consoles being emu'd ,but native phone games (mostly iphone right now) are better looking and playing than this stuff. I played all these games back when they came out so I don't want to come off as a hater I just don't see how anybody would chose;

FFVII (It hasn't aged well at all) over Chaos Rings
Ridge Racer over Real Racing
Bloody Roar over Street Fighter 4 (so good it's scary)

And it needs repeating that the few real gems on ps1 (that come to my mind at least) most definitely will need the analog stick and heavy use of shoulder button combos. Stuff like Ehrgeiz,Tekken and hell even FFVIII and IX would be terrible.

Or is this just to tide Android peeps over until more native touch games get made/ported or are people honestly hyped up for this?