The best way to enjoy Sonic on your PSX - Review of updates 0.5.1 and 0.6

The Sonic the Hedgehog XA project continues to evolve, and its latest versions, 0.5.1 and 0.6, introduce some exciting improvements that make the experience feel closer than ever to a real 16-bit-to-32-bit transition. Built from scratch for original PlayStation hardware, the game keeps growing in ambition, blending authentic retro aesthetics with smoother gameplay and new content that would’ve impressed even in the console’s heyday.

Version 0.5.1 - A Leap in Polish

This version marks a major step forward in both visuals and gameplay refinement, starting with the new off-screen character rendering, which completely eliminates sprite distortion and delivers smoother, cleaner animation. 

The game’s sound has also received a huge upgrade, switching to CD-quality Red Book audio, making every track sound richer and more authentic on real PS1 hardware.

But beyond the technical upgrades, version 0.5.1 also expands the gameplay itself. Players will encounter new, level-specific objects, adding more variety to each stage’s design. From moving platforms to environmental hazards, every zone feels slightly more alive and dynamic.

For the first time, Sonic XA also features fully functional enemies and bosses, complete with unique palettes and animations, transforming the demo into a dynamic experience.

Enemies and bosses are a key feature in Sonic games

Other additions include a pause menu, audio settings, better memory management, and new 1-up mechanics. 

Altogether, v0.5.1 feels cleaner, faster, and more complete version of one of the best homebrew game available on the PSX!

Version 0.6 — A Pink Flash Joins the Race

If version 0.5.1 was already incredible, version 0.6 further enhances the overall experience. Just when things couldn’t get faster, version 0.6 introduces a major surprise: Amy Rose becomes a playable character. With her signature hammer and distinctive style, she adds variety to the gameplay while expanding the roster beyond Sonic himself. While Amy is slower and less agile than her peers, her vertical range and combat mechanics make her gameplay style unique and rewarding.

You have to finish the game to unlock her!

Other fixes include improved hitboxes, enhanced boss interactions and new visual touches such as animals dancing around the player after freeing them from capsules. Even the spin dash dust effect and OPTIONS menu details have been refined for more polish.

The developer has announced that this will be the final version before SAGE 2025, with only critical bug fixes planned for now, as development shifts temporarily to other projects.

Still, Sonic XA v0.6 stands as a major milestone. It is the proof that the PlayStation can truly keep up with the blue blur’s speed and spirit.

A Promising Future for Sonic XA

Sonic the Hedgehog XA is shaping up to be one of the most technically impressive 2D PSX homebrew projects out there. What started as a curiosity a “what if Sonic had a proper PlayStation release?” is turning into a full-fledged game that captures the energy of Sega’s golden age while honoring Sony’s 32-bit legacy.

If these updates are any indication, the future looks bright and fast for Sonic XA.

Here you can see the main post about the game: Sonic The Hedgehog XA

For more detailed info about the different versions, check official links:

V. 0.51 - V. 0.6

Yume Nikki PSX

 

Developer: Elias Daler

Release Date: November, 2025

Graphics: 3D

Version: Demo

Genre: Adventure 

Players: 1

Description

Yume Nikki PS1 is a recreation made by Elias Daler (also developer of Project MTP) of the original Yume Nikki game for the PSX. This is a short (~10-15 min) demo containing two dream worlds.

Extra info

At the moment, a demo of the title is available. From what we know, the demo will have the following features:

• It will contain two dream areas and two effects to find (+2 "pseudo" effects). 
• Block World and Snow World are present.
• You can drop effects in Nexus.
• Jumping mechanics.
• Photo mode!
• And much more!

Elias continues to work with the camera, but has stated the following:

"It looks quite pixely in the original PS1's 320x240. Not quite bad though? It runs *really* slow with this render distance on PS1. (~5-10 FPS sometimes). Turns out, Madotsuki moves *really* fast in the OG. 

This kind of perspective is not possible on PS1, sadly... You can't even have normal orthogonal projection on PS1 due to how the hardware works.So I'll experiment with more stuff, but I had to bump the walk speed on this level to 2.5x (!) to make the traversal not as slow...  

There are to many polys for PS1. If there was no culling, the game would have run out of RAM on the first frame."

Example of the fixed camera perspective with issues

An interesting fact about the development:

"Notice how when Madotsuki uses effect/transforms, she temporarily becomes much brighter (to simulate the flashing in the OG).

Kamakurako becomes bright too, but this is a bug... When I looked at it, I thought "Wait, this looks like dynamic lighting!" and decided to leave it."

Both characters have the lighting effect.

MediaWarning: the game might freeze during the loading process when running from CD-R's.

Unfortunately, many PS1 drives are slowly dying and can have problems reading from CD-R's. Burned CD-Rs use a different technology of encoding the data compared to the licensed pressed CDs.

If the game freezes during the load for you, try restarting and trying again.

Links

Itch.io - YouTube - Twitter (X)  

Loonies 8192

  

Developer:  thp

Release Date: June, 2020

Last Update: July, 2021

Graphics: 2D

Version: r66

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1

Description

Loonies 8192 is a retro-style puzzle game built for an absurd number of platforms (20!!!). The goal is simple yet addictive: combine matching tiles to survive.

Extra info

r62

"This version adds a port to a new system: The original PlayStation (PSX). Save game support is not included, but global leaderboards (using the QR code) do work. The port was created using Lameguy64's open source PSn00bSDK.

Compared to r61, the name entry screen for the highscore list has been improved and  now resembles an on-screen keyboard."

r65

"The current ports have also been updated, and some fixes have been incorporated."

r66

"All other ports have been updated too. There have been some improvements to the touch handling, as well as visual updates throughout. In addition to that, high scores can now be submitted always, not just when coming in the top 3 locally."

Media

Links

Itch.io - YouTube 

Doki Doki Literature Club! PSX

 

Developer:  Soeiz

Release Date: July, 2025

Last Update: September, 2025

Graphics: 2D

Version: 0.4

Genre: Visual Novel

Players: 1

Description

The famous visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club is now available for PSX!

Extra info

"Welcome to the Literature Club! It's always been a dream of mine to make something special out of the things I love. Now that you're a club member, you can help me make that dream come true in this cute game!

But, before you join us, I have to tell you something:

I'm in the Playstation 1! I don't know how nor why, but someone trapped me in here. Please, join me!

This PS1 demake of DDLC try to ressemble as much as possible to the original content. After working on multiple other ports, I felt ready to make it. By using the PSYQ + Nugget SDK, I've made my way into PS1 developement !

This project has been halted for the moment, mostly since the developer lost motivation to continue it."

About 0.4

"Hello everyone ! Coming back from the shadows, I wanted to revisit the source code of this project, and I noticed multiple things. When I fixed them, a lot of bugs got fixed, so I figured out it'd be a good idea to release a fixed demo of DDLC !

Now, the save mechanics work, so you can save the characters on the memory card and interact with them (in a good way, or a... bad way).

Other bugs have been solved. Today, I'm wondering if I should just topple everything and re-do the whole thing, but for the moment I can't. So for the moment, enjoy a fixed version !"

Media

 

 
Links

GameJolt - YouTube 

Noah and the Poohloudies

 

Developer:  Golden Age Turbo

Release Date: TBA

Graphics: 3D

Genre: Adventure

Players: 1

Description

You play as Noah, a versatile rescue robot with the unique ability to merge with other machines, absorbing their powers and gaining new skills. Tasked with a critical mission, Noah must save the Poohloudies, a community of robotic inhabitants, before their galaxy is obliterated by an incoming meteor.

Extra info

"PSX is now supported in the new engine! 

 There are still a few minor glitches to work out. I'm not using the GTE at all. Once that is implemented, it should lead to a significant performance boost."

  

About this new game engine is built around a clever level-of-detail technique: nearby objects are rendered as highly detailed polygon meshes that can dynamically split into smaller shapes, while distant ones are progressively merged into larger, simpler forms. These shapes are not limited to being coplanar, which allows for more natural geometry. The developer calls this approach “SuperQuads".

Alongside this, the engine incorporates practical gameplay features such as camera collision, physics for grabbing and holding objects, and floating platforms. Higher performance is expected in the long term because the GTE is not being fully exploited! NATP proves that, with precise and purposeful programming, it’s possible to achieve visually impressive results.

NAPT is also being ported to the Sega Saturn, N64, 3DO and Dreamcast. 

 

For more information, you can read an interview with the developer. It was conducted in 2021 on the website Shiro! Also, they did a post in 2025 about the news about his new engine for the Sega Saturn.

Media

 

 

Links

YouTube - X (Twitter) - BSKY