I joined the PSP modding scene several years ago, and have since then acquired many independently created apps and plugins. Some that I’ve loved, and others that, due to lack of sophistication or support, I had to abandon. However, this post will cover every single App and Plugin that I currently use and would not want to be without. So without further adieu, let us begin.
Game Categories Lite: Category Lite is the newest revision of the age-old plugin, Game Categories, which was created to allow you to neatly organize all your PSP games, homebrew apps and emulators. The particular version that I use was especially made to work on the newest custom firmware by Neuron; 6.60 ME v1, which is based on Sony’s just released 6.60 Official firmware. Once activated, Category Lite will give you 3 options under the PSP’s System Settings:
1.) Category Mode: Your categories will appear as a contextual menu or a multi ms.
2.) Category Prefix: Older versions of Game Categories required you to prefix your folders with the word Cat. For example, let’s say you are creating a folder for your emulators. For this folder to correctly appear as a category on your PSP, you would have had to name the folder cat_emulators. Category Lite does away with this, but leaves you the option in case you want it. I personally welcomed the change.
3.) Show Uncategorized: You can choose whether or not your PSP will display items that aren’t in a categorized folder.
It should also be noted that this homebrew is most likely what inspired Sony to add their own Categories feature to their official firmware. Previously, only homebrew users were able to categorize their games.
Hold+: Hold+ is a must have for those of you who often use your PSPs to listen to music. Hold+ conserves your PSP’s battery life while playing music. How does it do this? Well, while listening to music, put the PSP on hold by pushing the power switch down. Once you’ve put the PSP on hold, Hold+ will automatically turn off the LED and backlight, underclock the CPU, and revert the screen brightness to the lowest level. Your previous settings will automatically be restored once the hold switch is released. Normally, while in Hold mode you would not be able to skip songs at a whim. However, with Hold+ you can so long as you hold the Select button while pressing either the L or R buttons. The Hold+ version that I use was especially made for use on Neuron’s latest 6.60 ME custom firmware.
Mp3Player Plugin: Mp3Play is an awesome plugin that allows you to listen to music while playing a game or reading ebooks and comic books on your PSP. It isn’t perfect though. I could be wrong, but I’m almost certain that it will only play higher quality mp3 tracks. It will skip over any others, so no WMA format here. Also, the audio gets scratchy while on a loading screen. The songs play just fine during play though. I had such an awesome time playing some of the original Dragon Ball Z: Budokai theme songs on DBZ: Tenkaichi Tag Team. The version of Mp3Play that I use was especially made for use on Neuron’s latest 6.60 ME custom firmware.
PSPEText: PSPEText is an essential homebrew if you know that you’re going to be away from your computer and may need help passing a mission, or obtaining the last few unlockables in your game. PSPEText allows you to read text files without having to exit your game. Connect your PSP to your PC, and make a folder in your MS Root that will be dedicated to FAQs. In that folder, create a text file and then copy/paste any FAQ that you need. For example, if you need to know some info about Monster Hunter, title your text file Monster Hunter, and then paste the FAQ into the file and save it. Once you exit USB mode and load your Monster Hunter game, press and hold the L, R, down and X buttons for about 2 seconds. A screen should pop up. The first time that you do this, you’ll be in the MS Root. Look for and select your FAQ folder, then select the FAQ you want to read. That’s it. Once you’ve gotten the info you needed, press start to exit and resume your game.
CWCheat: This plugin allows you to do several things: First, load your game and then press select and hold it for 3 seconds until a screen pops up. These are the options you will be presented with.
1.) EnableCheats: CWcheat was created with cheapness in mind. I don’t personally use cheats myself, because well, what’s the point of playing a game if you’re going to cheat? But if you want to cheat, you’ll be glad to know that CWCheat has a massive, and I do mean MASSIVE collection of cheats created by hackers. Select Enable Cheats, and then click Select Cheats. If the particular game you’re running has any cheats made for it, and it most likely will, you will see them all listed here. To enable them, just click on the cheat you want to use.
2.) Enable Dump Function: Ya know, I don’t personally know what the hell this is for. To me it served as nothing more than an annoyance. Sometimes it would pause the game, I’m guessing after I pressed a certain button combination accidently, and on screen it would read ‘Dumping’. Very annoying. Gladly I disabled it.
3.) Enable USB: This option will allow you to connect your PSP to your PC without exiting the game. I’ve found this feature to be very useful.
4.) Enable remaPSP: This is the feature that I downloaded CWCheat for. This allows you to change any game’s button control layout. I’m a huge… well I used to be a huge WWF fan and I loved all the WWE Smackdown vs Raw games on PS2. The SVR series made an almost seamless transition to the PSP, and it would’ve been perfect were it not for how the devs mapped the movement buttons. On the Playstation 2, you moved your grappler using the analog stick. On the PSP you had to use the shitty directional pad which made for clunky movement. I did not like that at all. Using remaPSP, I was able to switch it around. So instead of being forced to use the PSP’s Dpad, I was now able to use the analog nub, which made movement 10x much more precise and fluid.
CWCheat has plenty of other options; one of my favorite being the ability to take screenshots of your game, but I won’t delve into all of them here. Download the plugin and check them for yourself.
Bookr Mod: Bookr saved me a couple hundred dollars. If it wasn’t for this baby, I would’ve eventually wasted my money on one of the official eReading devices. Thankfully, I don’t need to do that anymore since Bookr is an incredible app that allows you to read eBooks right on your PSP. Sure, it may not be as intuitive as a dedicated eReader, but it’s good enough and it gets the job done. Bookr can display text files and even PDF files. Unfortunately, image heavy PDF eBooks like art books will load very slowly, although it does give you the option to decrease image quality for a slight increase in speed, among many other options. Though that would obviously render certain eBooks completely useless. Still though, text files run perfectly, and so if you have a giant collection of eBooks you’ve download from Gutenberg.org, they will all display wonderfully on the PSP.
PSPComics: PSP Comics is, as the name implies, an app that allows you to read comic books on your PSP and it’s very easy to use. It preceded even Sony’s Digital Comics application, and is arguably even more useful since it allows you to read downloaded comic books. Personally, I read each new Naruto chapter using PSPComics weekly. It has several options to choose from, including a zoom function, a feature that allows you to go to any page at any time, bookmarks, etc. It has too many to list. In short, if you have a PSP and love reading manga or comic books, download PSPComic.
Honorable Mentions:
1.) RemoteJoy Lite: This plugin will let you display your PSP screen on your PSP through the USB. I see that many folks have gotten this to work (that’s how there are so many PSP gameplay videos on Youtube), but I couldn’t. Well… I could but it’s just that RemoteJoy Lite’s compatibility doesn’t seem to be that great. Most games will just crash the system, but it still seems to be very popular. So if you want to try it out, go for it.
2.) Audio Boost: This plugin allows you to increase the system’s maximum volume. It’s useful while playing music, but it can seriously fuck up your PSP’s speakers if you misuse it. So don’t turn it up too loud.
3.) Password Lock: I can’t imagine that anybody would actually need this, unless they have incredibly stupid siblings who can ruin their PSP. Anyway, what this does is allow you to set a password for your system. So before anyone can access the PSP’s XMB, they will first have to input the correct password. As a word caution, add this plugin to all of your directories: vsh.txt, game.txt and pops.txt.
4.) Krap-PSP: I haven’t used this one myself, but it seems to be pretty popular right now. What it does is let’s you easily manage your PSP settings.
5.) SSSSSS: Uhhhh…. yup. that’s the name of the plugin. Weird, I know… but useful. It let’s you take bmp, jpg or png screenshots.