Support NeoGAF

[IbizaPocholo]

Everyone loves a good retro gaming PC port now that the Twilight Princess PC port, Twilight Princess Dusklight is out...but there are so many other systems that can get the best retro games ported to PC...and now with a new PS1 tool called PSY-Z there is a method to port PS1 games to PC more easily...and it leads right through the Castlevania Symphony of the Night decomp project! This is why retro gaming is making a comeback...innovation!

• (00:01–00:43) The video introduces a new PlayStation 1 recompilation-related tool called Psy-Z/Size E, inspired by the old PS1 SDK environment known as Psy-Q, which was originally used to compile retail PS1 games. The new tool aims to modernize that workflow for current platforms.
• (00:43–01:23) The creator explains that the tool is essentially a modern compiler/runtime replacement capable of taking a fully decompiled PS1 game and recompiling it for modern systems like Windows or Linux. This could eventually help create native PC ports of PS1 classics.
• (01:23–02:20) The project is heavily connected to ongoing reverse-engineering efforts such as the decompilation of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and potentially Silent Hill. The speaker stresses that recompilation still requires major manual work despite the tooling improvements.
• (02:20–03:10) The technical challenge comes from translating PS1-specific hardware behavior — especially the MIPS CPU and custom audio/video systems — into code that modern x86 or ARM PCs can execute. The tool prioritizes compatibility rather than perfect hardware accuracy.
• (03:10–03:48) The video highlights how multiple open-source projects now build on each other: decompiled SDK libraries, compatibility frameworks, recompilers, and decompilation projects all contribute to a growing ecosystem for PS1 preservation and PC ports.
• (03:48–05:19) The creator clarifies the difference between:
  
  • Static recompilation (commonly used in N64 projects)
  • Decompilation-based PC ports
    Both achieve similar results — native PC playability — but through different technical methods.
• (05:19–07:11) A deeper explanation is given about historical console SDKs and development hardware. Back during the PS1 era, multiple third-party SDKs existed, unlike today's tightly controlled console development ecosystems for platforms like PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X.
• (07:11–08:06) The speaker compares modern recompilation momentum to the current explosion of N64 PC ports. Better tools dramatically lower the barrier for fan developers, allowing them to focus on the game itself rather than building foundational technology from scratch.
• (09:05–09:43) Current PS1 decompilation progress is promising:
  
  • The Silent Hill decomp is reportedly around 99.88% complete
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and other titles remain actively worked on
    Once these decomps mature, tools like Psy-Z could accelerate native PC ports considerably.
• (09:43–10:00) The overall takeaway is that this new tooling ecosystem represents a major step forward for retro game preservation, modding, and accessibility. While not "one-click ports," these tools could help bring many more PS1 games to PC and Linux in the future.

 

[Kiya's Guard]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

 

[rodrigolfp]

Glorious. I want the Megaman X games.

 

[RoboFu]

Meh, ps1 games should be low res, wavy, and dithered. Any other way is gross.

 

[Kupfer]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

He covers some great topics, but I just can't stand listening to him. I always have to pull up the subtitles and use some AI to generate a summary.

 

[Throttle]

I want the old spyro games in high framerate.

 

[poodaddy]

He covers some great topics, but I just can't stand listening to him. I always have to pull up the subtitles and use some AI to generate a summary.

Same, can't do it, his cadence of speech is just too irritating, and he has a video where he's speaking normally so I guess having the charisma of a sponge is just his schtick.

 

[wvnative]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

He really, really needs to work on his speech. Not an insult, just genuine constructive criticism. Love what he does, but it's really hard to follow him.

 

[Hadoukens]

Same, can't do it, his cadence of speech is just too irritating, and he has a video where he's speaking normally so I guess having the charisma of a sponge is just his schtick.

Wait. It's an act? LOL

Do you have a link to that video?

 

[poodaddy]

Wait. It's an act? LOL

Do you have a link to that video?

It's been posted several times in other threads, I'll see if I can find it here, but I'm in bed sick with the flu so I'm drifting in and out of conscience lol.



This isn't the video I had in mind to prove it, but it still gets the point across. His inflection in these videos doesn't sound like he's ending every sentence with a question mark like it typically does, perfectly reasonable cadence and inflection here.

He seems like a nice dude who genuinely loves gaming, so I don't wanna be too critical, as people get pretty fired up if you do, but it is what it is.

 

[Hadoukens]

It's been posted several times in other threads, I'll see if I can find it here, but I'm in bed sick with the flu so I'm drifting in and out of conscience lol.



This isn't the video I had in mind to prove it, but it still gets the point across. His inflection in these videos doesn't sound like he's ending every sentence with a question mark like it typically does, perfectly reasonable cadence and inflection here.

He seems like a nice dude who genuinely loves gaming, so I don't wanna be too critical, as people get pretty fired up if you do, but it is what it is.

Hey VGEsoterica talk like you do in this video for all your others please!
You're pleasant to listen to when talking like this!
I'm also at the point I can't listen to new videos anymore and I just want to skip around to get to the point!

 

[Thabass]

Wait. It's an act? LOL

Do you have a link to that video?

Of course it is, you don't think people actually talk this way, do you?

And yeah, his voice is grating, but damn does he make some good videos and keeps us updated. He really needs to drop the voice though, it's like sandpaper.

It's been posted several times in other threads, I'll see if I can find it here, but I'm in bed sick with the flu so I'm drifting in and out of conscience lol.



This isn't the video I had in mind to prove it, but it still gets the point across. His inflection in these videos doesn't sound like he's ending every sentence with a question mark like it typically does, perfectly reasonable cadence and inflection here.

He seems like a nice dude who genuinely loves gaming, so I don't wanna be too critical, as people get pretty fired up if you do, but it is what it is.

Holy shit, this is insanely better than his programmed voice. Yeah, drop that stuff dude, it ain't worth it.

 

[Lokaum D+]

Glorious. I want the Megaman X games.

why not emulate them ?

 

[CamHostage]

Meh, ps1 games should be low res, wavy, and dithered. Any other way is gross.

Good news: the present is now! You can have your PS1 games on a PS1, exactly as they have always been.

For those of us who would like certain games to play on a modern tv without some of the frustrating drawbacks of the era and platform, tech and gruntwork keeps adding new options.

Myself, I do weigh the option, and sometimes I'm with youz and sometimes I want to bump it up. Some PS1 games are so bare bones that they look flat and boring with their polygons cleaned up and the resolution dialed in. The gameplay balance of some games is also broken by "improvement" hacks, such as Street Fighter crippling Chun Li if a widescreen hack is used, or a FPS being too easy if the draw distance or framerate aren't blocking it up. I wouldn't do a tournament or speed run with emulated games. But if I'm just having fun, I'm not hurting anybody by exploring my options.

 

[adamsapple]

PS1 emulation is in such a complete state, including texture replacements, that this kind of feels unnecessary.

Do more PS3/360 recomps please, folks.

 

[squidilix]

This is great new. Even if I love playing PS1 games. I'm just curious to mods them and push the engine to the limit

Maybe we can finally a decent port of FF PS1 (no, sorry PC port aren't good), Gran Turismo, Tekken and MGS1

 

[MayauMiao]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

Going to agree with this. The spoken words is kind of jumping around and not sure where to land. Love the channel but the speech really need more work.

 

[Hadoukens]

PS1 emulation is in such a complete state, including texture replacements, that this kind of feels unnecessary.

Do more PS3/360 recomps please, folks.

I dunno man. I wanna play Silent Hill 1 at 60fps / widescreen and have all the gameplay timings still be correct and not sped up.

 

[Kupfer]

This is a day and night difference

Hey VGEsoterica talk like you do in this video for all your others please!
You're pleasant to listen to when talking like this!
I'm also at the point I can't listen to new videos anymore and I just want to skip around to get to the point!

Oh VGEsoterica is here? I'm sitting in the same boat as Hadoukens , skipping your videos because of this.
Like I said before, you cover great topics, but it's too exhausting trying to listen, at least for me as a non native englisch speaker

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I get that recomps are really interesting for some people, but I do feel like trying to paint over the original, rougher look does these games a disservice. Upscaled properly, with a CRT filter, I think PS1 games have a distinct aesthetic to them that really works, and I personally don't have any interest in losing that.

 

[Puscifer]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

He's actually Alan from Smiling Friends

 

[kasrkinsquad]

why not emulate them ?

He can but native PC ports offer alot of advantages. My personal favorite is better performance. A native PC port will need less power then emulating the same game on a handheld for example. Plus I do think stuff like this opens the doors for android, Mac, and Linux ports.

I dunno man. I wanna play Silent Hill 1 at 60fps / widescreen and have all the gameplay timings still be correct and not sped up.

I downloaded Dusk and I'm a believer. My most played games for the past 2 months have been emulated games but native PC ports are the way.

 

[StueyDuck]

Co-op mods or im out

 

[SpokkX]

I love our man, but his way of speaking is so difficult sometimes for my non English native ears lol

Yes I love the content and what he says - but his way of speaking Is frankly grating.

 

[Lokaum D+]

He can but native PC ports offer alot of advantages. My personal favorite is better performance. A native PC port will need less power then emulating the same game on a handheld for example. Plus I do think stuff like this opens the doors for android, Mac, and Linux ports.

its Megaman X 240hz ll make no difference on gameplay, even my old Samsung A36 can emulate them without a problem, its cool to have a native app for PC but in reality ll change nothing.

 

[rodrigolfp]

why not emulate them ?

I already do this, but a native version is much better.

its Megaman X 240hz ll make no difference on gameplay, even my old Samsung A36 can emulate them without a problem, its cool to have a native app for PC but in reality ll change nothing.

Emulators also adds at minimum a little input lag. And as some already said, easier/more mods possible like better widescreens, unlocked frame rates, etc...

 

[kruis]

This is a day and night difference


Oh VGEsoterica is here? I'm sitting in the same boat as Hadoukens , skipping your videos because of this.
Like I said before, you cover great topics, but it's too exhausting trying to listen, at least for me as a non native englisch speaker

The difference is even bigger when you compare that voice over with his voice in his very first video. That's a completely different person speaking. In this very first video he has a very nice speaking voice. He looks like a cool dude and sounds completely normal. I have no idea why he wants to speak the way he does in current videos....

 

[TanDad25]

Complaining about people's "voice" is just rude tbh, since it can't be changed. Just stop watching and shut up.

I stopped watching VGE because he stretches the material way too thin. Any minor news tidbit is stretched just beyond the 10-minute mark. Every one of his videos over the last year felt like a major waste of time, which is why I love the AI summary for a quick skim.

 

[MayauMiao]

Complaining about people's "voice" is just rude tbh, since it can't be changed. Just stop watching and shut up.

See this is why toxic positivity happens.

 

[Futaleufu]

Meh, ps1 games should be low res, wavy, and dithered. Any other way is gross.

and with a CRT filter

 

[Tobimacoss]

How long before every PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4 game can be played on PC?

 

[cartman414]

He's actually Alan from Smiling Friends

I was thinking Rick from Rick & Morty.

Speaking of SotN, can they convert polygonal assets into bitmap based sprites (aka rasterize)?

 

[MMaRsu]

3ds smt iv recomp when lord