WHO'S THAT POKEMON?! The Lua game that tugged at everyone's heart strings even as early its Alpha release has now poke-evolved into its next version: PSPokemon Beta. Yep, that's right: Beta. Still not a final full version that developer sony_psp_player has in mind, however, while it's in Beta, it's still quite a catch as things go.

There's a lot of new stuff included in this release, plus some added touch-ups:

• Loading screen
• Menu
• easy fight engine
• You can select one of six pokemon at the beginning

Right now, sony_psp_player is calling for a graphic artist who can help him with the background for the fighting scenes. Now while some of you would firstly rather see Ash being re-sized (yeah, he's still in Godzilla mode, same as the previous version), I personally think it's an interesting quirk that this game has. Oh, and as an added note from the developer:

There is no version for FW 1.50 now. I think there will never be one because everyone is using the new custom firmwares.

For those interested in working with sony_psp_player on the fighting scene re-vamp, just get in touch with him through our forums, as linked below. Enjoy the download, while you're at it!

Download: PSPokemon Beta
Visit: PSP Development Forum

For an Alpha release that's coded in Lua, this is pretty well done. And to think, it's PSPokemon">sony_psp_player's very first homebrew game. It's called PSPokemon, and from the name itself, you'd know it's (in the developer's own words) "a Pokemon clone."

As of now though, all you can basically do in this baby-phase Alpha release is control the Godzilla-sized Ash around the map you see in the pic above. You can also enter the houses, but they're pretty bare. Try it for yourself; no one's stopping you. The download doesn't contain a readme, so we can't quite direct you to any. Basically, the developer just wanted to get this early version out so that people could reply with their feedback.

Is it a good project to pursue? Hands down, I've always been a Pokemon fan, and any Poke-exposure on the PSP is very much welcome for me. the_darkside_986 (of "Die Critters Die" homebrew fame) seems to agree with me and said in the forums: "I'm going to get a DS to play Pearl/Diamond. But this sounds interesting so I'll try it. I hope this project really goes somewhere. Good luck with it."

So, to sony_psp_player, godspeed and may way see the full version soon!

UPDATE: sony_psp_player released Alpha 2 of his PSPokemon game already, so feel free to try it out! Enjoy!

Download: PSPokemon Alpha 2 Release
Visit: PSP Development Forums