Sony unleashes a monster!
Originally designed to be the CD-ROM Add-On for the Snes (Super Nintendo/Famicom) Nintendo famously stabbed Sony in the back and then jumped ship to work with Philips (who they would also later betray).
With furious vengeance in mind (maybe, lol) the top brass at Sony decided to take the existing project and make it a stand alone console. In almost total secrecy for a few years they worked with just about every top developer behind the scenes to bring to them a machine easy to make games for that would allow them to deliver new experiences off of the high capacity CD-ROM format.
In 1994 in Japan they set loose the console to end all consoles...
How to see the real power of the PlayStation...
First thing you need to do is download the emulator, use your usual search engine and search for ePSXe, then download it to your system.
The emulator won't work without a system ROM file so once again back to your favourite search engine and look for 'Playstation BIOS.' Once you've downloaded those two items it is time to start the process.
Extract the files using your archiving program (I recommend 7-Zip as always, it's free and it is good).
Extract the BIOS file to the emulator's location, in particular the BIOS folder of the emulator.
Once you go into the BIOS folder the file should now be there as well as another file which requires deletion ('erase.me' comes by default with the emulator).
Once that file is deleted it is time to get the emulator up and running. Double click on the ePSXe icon.
The following window should come back up on the first launch, click 'config.'
The emulator should then bring up a list of BIOS' that it finds, choose the one you would like to use and click next.
A message will pop up about a GPU plugin that cannot be found, don't panic! Just click 'ok.'
The following screen should show up recommending some video drivers.
I've chosen Pete OpenGL as I have an Nvidia card in my system. Download the file and extract it to the Plugins folder.
When you go into the plugins folder you will see several files. Delete the 'remove.me' file. Head back to the emulator and click back to return to the previous screen then next to get back to the plugins screen. Your plugin should now be listed.
Hit 'config,' and then set your graphics options on the screen below. If you're in a hurry you can click the 'fast' or 'nice' button on the bottom. For now I've set mine to windowed mode for screen grabbing purposes.
A balance here is needed depending on your system, too high and it will slow down, too low and it will be fast but you won't be getting the best possible visuals your system is capable of.
When finished click 'ok' then next.
The SPU version should appear, no configuration is available here despite the box being there, go ahead if you don't believe me, click it and see.
Next!
Next we need to choose your CD-ROM plug-in for the emulator. I've chosen the W2K/XP core as I am running Windows 7. for the older OS' (before XP) use CDR ASPI.
Click next.
Now it's time to configure your controller, click on controller one and the following screen should appear.
Configure it with the buttons from your gamepad, select which model of Sony controller you'd like to emulate. Simply click on each button and press the direction/button on your controller you'd like it to emulate.
I've chosen the Dualshock controller and mapped the buttons accordingly to my 360 pad. For the thumbsticks only one direction for up or down and left or right is required. The emulator will automatically figure out the other direction. Click next when finished.
You can configure your second controller if you have one and are after some 2 player fun. When you've finished or if not click next.
You're almost there! You should see the following message.
Click done and you should see the following. In the case of a memory card one is automatically created by the emulator which saves your progress.
Now we need to choose a game! You do have your ROM or actual disc ready don't you?
Click on File then 'Run ISO' or 'Run CD-ROM.' In the case of a disc, just select the drive on your PC the disc is in. If an ISO locate it and click open.
Your game should now run!
