Can the RG351P play PSP Games

The RG351P is a complete game changer when it comes to the world of retro gaming.

Having had this little pocket retro gaming wonder for a year now it still amazes me every day.

It’s well known to retro gamers that older games such as Atari 2600, ZX Spectrum, NES, SNES and even up to the interactive video based 3DO games play well on the RG351P – but what about PSP games?

The RG351P has the ability to play PSP games using the built-in PPSSPP emulator. Many PSP ROMs play well on the RG351P although some of the more demanding games can run slow and choppy at times. Reconfiguring the PPSSPP settings to Buffering mode can help with performance.

In 2005 Playstation launched the handheld PSP. Not only was it the highest quality handheld gaming system money could buy at the time, it also introduced the UMD film system exclusive to the PSP and carrying a number of Hollywood blockbuster movies new and old.

The quality of the games were nothing short of jaw dropping at the time, and still hold up pretty decently.

We put our RG351P to the test and tested a range of PSP games, as well as comparing these to our own PSP device to see whether we really can create a great PSP game playing experience on the RG351P.

Playability of PSP Games on the RG351P

Retropie is great for playing many retro games from the 70s, 80s and 90s and can handle most of all of these games with ease.

Fast forward to game consoles released in the 2000s and the Retropie starts to struggle, depending on the console in question.

Fortunately as PSP games were built for a processor sitting within a small handheld console, as opposed to a large gaming console, the RG351P manages these games easier – but not always perfectly.

Mention the PSP to many gamers and Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories will instantly be thrown in the conversation. Fortunately, although the game is a little slow and choppy at times, with a little patience the games are certainly playable.

Although it is possible to add later emulators to the RG351P in an attempt to play later consoles such as the PS2 or PS3, the games themselves are virtually unplayable.

The PPSSPP emulator though does a great and satisfying job.

The graphics match those quality sprites that amazed us back in 2005, and the controls, although not as perfect and accurate as the original PSP, certainly do a good enough job.

PSP Games on RG351P vs a PSP Console

What better way to test how well the RG351P manages PSP games than to play them together!

We chose a number of classic games we owned from our teenage years and really put the RG351P through its paces!

Grand Theft Auto Vice City Stories

This absolute classic of a game still looks and plays awesome today.

The original PSP version is smooth, crisp and clear. It renders smooth as silk and the controls, although not amazing, are decent.

Playing Grand Theft Auto on the RG351P through the PSP emulator isn’t a match for the original but it is still a good 80% there.

Graphics are good, controls are decent but it does lack a bit of a performance issue, with slow and jerky movements at times.

It is still highly playable.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

The Castlevania series really does play well on any port, but is perfectly suited to a handheld such as the RG351P.

After playing Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles on our PSP we fired it up on our RG351P for comparison, which ran the game at an impressive 31fps.

The RG351P plays the beautiful opening video sequence amazingly well. Incredibly clear graphics.

Castlevania doesn’t have the speed or pace of the other games we tried of course, and the RG351P handles the game very well.

No slowness or jerky movements.

The game ran clear, smooth and the controls are very impressive.

Aside from the RG351P featuring a smaller screen than the PSP, there is very little difference between them.

Ridge Racer

If there is a game to thoroughly test the processing power of the RG351P, and the PSP emulator, it’s Ridge Racer.

Immersive fast running gameplay, rendering required at speed as well as controls needing to be on point for the turns and drifts – if the RG351P can handle Ridge Racer on its PSP emulator it can probably handle most games.

The opening graphics are pure nostalgia, not only that they look absolutely gorgeous on the RG351P. The screen quality is certainly impressive.

My worries of slow gameplay were soon put at ease, Ridge Racer plays superbly!

The drifts to build up nitro boosts are smooth as silk, and even when flipping on nitro boost the graphics and rendering are spot on.

Controls are great, graphics are as good as the PSP.

Sound however can be a little choppy at times as the RG351P emphasizes on gameplay over sound.

Ridge Racer on the PSP emulator is a delight!

How to Install PSP ROMs on the RG351P

Emulators are nothing new, and Retropie through a Raspberry Pi already made retro gaming very accessible, but the Ambernic through the RG351P put everything together in one handy portable unit.

Not only that, they have managed to pre-configure all the frustrating control and technically complex configuration elements that often create a barrier to entry for new players wanting to experience retro gaming through Retropie.

The RG351P comes pre-configured with the PPSSPP emulator already installed.

This means new users can simply download and add the ROMs for PSP games (that the user owns if the player would like to be an ethical gamer) onto the PSP folder within the FileManager of the RG351P.

This can be done in a couple of ways but the easiest is to simply remove the micro SD card from the RG351P, insert it into a PC through either a built in SD card reader or USB media card, and then copy the ROM from your PC to the SD Card using the PSP folder within the ROM parent folder.

Once the game is copied across to the micro SD card simply remove the SD card from the PC and slot it back into your RG351P.

Switch on your device, scroll to the PSP game option and your newly installed game should be ready to play.

Limitations of RG351P Playing PSP Games

Trying to cram in so many impressive emulators onto a Retropie and configure the performance of each to high standards was never going to be an easy task.

Some nicities would have to give.

First of all, the RG351P is a little smaller than the PSP – as you can see in our comparison photo below.

It is a little noticeable but doesn’t deter from the overall gameplay.

Unfortunately the RG351P does not come with a HDMI socket, nor does it have the capabilities of sending a video output signal, so it is not possible to connect this handheld to a TV or monitor to play on a larger screen.

Despite these minor drawbacks, playing PSP games through the RG351P is possible and works very well.