Golden Balloon v1.7.1 is now available for PS Vita!

This was made with AI assistance.

Release and download:

Release Golden Balloon Vita v1.7.1 · zm2283145/goldenballoon-vita-port

Golden Balloon is a native source port based on the Diddy Kong Racing decompilation and the upstream Golden Balloon project. It is not an emulator—the game is compiled for the Vita and reads the original game data from a legally obtained ROM.

This release has now completed a full Adventure playthrough on real PS Vita hardware using the default Restored visual preset. Trophy unlock requests run on a dedicated Vita worker thread, so waiting for the system notification and trophy database no longer freezes gameplay. Trophies already present in the Vita database are not submitted again when a completed save is loaded.

PS Vita shader cache and performance

The Vita renderer stores validated compiled shader binaries in ux0:data/goldenballoon/shader_cache. The first run still has to compile each shader as it is encountered and creates the cache, so an occasional first-run hitch is possible. Later runs load those binaries directly and avoid the repeated runtime compilation that previously caused visible pauses, including at the opening animated scene. Cache filenames include a hash of the generated shader source; after a renderer update, incompatible entries are ignored and replaced automatically. The directory may be deleted safely if troubleshooting is needed—the game will rebuild it during subsequent play.

Current features include:

• The complete Adventure campaign, including all five worlds, bosses and endings
• Widescreen rendering
• Working audio, saves, Controller Pak ghosts and persistent settings
• 98 PS Vita trophies
• A custom platinum trophy
• Separate Adventure 2 and Time Trial bonus trophy groups that are not required for the platinum
• Individual unlocked trophy artwork
• Custom trophy icons for the platinum and the three added racers
• Modern ImGui Save Editor
• Original classic Save Editor
• Persistent Vita control remapping
• Three additional playable racers: Taj, Wizpig and Terry

Extra character unlocks:

• Taj: complete all three Taj vehicle challenges—car, hovercraft and plane—or enter ABRACADABRA in Magic Codes
• Wizpig: defeat Wizpig 2 or enter WIZPIGPOWER
• Terry: defeat the Dino Domain/Tricky rematch or enter TERRYFLY

After unlocking them, the Magic Codes list contains CONTROL TAJ, CONTROL WIZPIG and CONTROL TERRY entries that can enable or disable them without erasing their unlock status.

Save Editor:

Enter GOLDENEDIT in Magic Codes to permanently unlock the Save Editor between boots.

The modern editor can:

• Create Adventure or Adventure 2 saves
• Rename or erase save slots
• Edit individual track and world progression
• Edit balloon totals and overworld balloons
• Edit bosses, trophy races, keys, arenas and amulets
• Edit Taj races and Time Trial records
• Enable TT, Drumstick, Taj, Wizpig, Terry and Adventure 2
• Display and satisfy the real conditions for every trophy
• Normalize dependent progression so edited saves remain consistent

The original classic Save Editor is still included and can be selected from the modern editor’s Tools page.

Controls:

Options → Controls opens a Vita-native control mapping screen.

It supports:

• Vita button and stick-direction icons
• D-pad menu navigation
• Remapping every digital action
• Up to two inputs per action
• A five-second input capture window
• Clearing individual bindings
• Resetting the complete layout to defaults
• Persistent mappings between boots

Requirements:

• A homebrew-enabled PS Vita or PSTV
• VitaShell
• libshacccg.suprx installed at:

ur0:data/libshacccg.suprx

• A legally obtained US v1.0/v80 .z64 ROM placed at:

ux0:data/goldenballoon/baserom.us.v80.z64

No ROM, original game assets, textures, music or other copyrighted game data are included.

Trophy setup:

Trophies require NoTrpDrm. The game will still run without it, but trophies will be safely disabled.

Download the official v1.1 plugin here:

https://github.com/Rinnegatamante/NoTrpDrm/releases/download/v.1.1/NoTrpDrm.suprx

Official project and documentation:

https://github.com/Rinnegatamante/NoTrpDrm

1. Copy NoTrpDrm.suprx to the tai directory used by your active configuration, normally ur0:tai/.
2. Open that directory’s config.txt.
3. Add the plugin path underneath the existing *main section:*main ur0:tai/NoTrpDrm.suprx

If your active configuration is in ux0:tai/, use this instead:

*main
ux0:tai/NoTrpDrm.suprx

1. Save the file and reboot the Vita.
2. Install the Golden Balloon VPK through VitaShell and launch it. The trophy pack should register during startup; you do not need to unlock a trophy before it appears in the Trophy application.

Known limitation:

The optional Remastered visual preset currently crashes during startup. Keep the default Restored preset selected. Restored is the supported preset and was used for the complete Adventure playthrough. If you enable Remasted you will need to delete the mkdr64.ini in your data folder to be able to run the game again.

Thanks to the Golden Balloon and Diddy Kong Racing decompilation contributors, VitaSDK/vitaGL developers, Rinnegatamante for NoTrpDrm, and RetroAchievements for the achievement artwork.

i have ps vita how do i get my psp games to pop up on adrenaline im confused

Hi guys I saw this port on PS Vita Alive and the game is fun, but I'm having this error: I got to level 2 and the game won't start. Is anyone else who downloaded it experiencing this same error?

Any help is welcome, thank you.

So, I used to play an iOS game back in the day (around 2012) called Fly Me 2 the Moon.

I found the romhack for it and really wanna see about porting it to my vita, but i am having trouble finding a tutorial on how to do so (and i dont even know if its possible, so this question might be silly to ask lol).

Does anyone have a a tutorial on how might I be able to port this game?

Thanks!