List All Available Rom Consoles / Systems

Name Image Name Rom Count Rom Downloads

Mame ROMs

Mame
Mame ROMs M.A.M.E. - Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator 33900 12561607

SNES ROMs

SNES
SNES ROMs Super Nintendo Entertainment System 3963 5384068

PS 1 ROMs

PS 1
PS 1 ROMs Sony PSX/PlayStation 1 845 4001265

NDS ROMs

NDS
NDS ROMs Nintendo DS 6457 3050101

N64 ROMs

N64
N64 ROMs Nintendo 64 834 2769556

GBA ROMs

GBA
GBA ROMs Game Boy Advance 2668 2451538

NES ROMs

NES
NES ROMs Nintendo Entertainment System 2573 2262047

Neo Geo ROMs

Neo Geo
Neo Geo ROMs Neo Geo 357 2187802

GameCube ROMs

GameCube
GameCube ROMs Nintendo GameCube 153 1715679

PSP ROMs

PSP
PSP ROMs PlayStation Portable 300 1317345

Megadrive ROMs

Megadrive
Megadrive ROMs Sega Genesis 1518 1250647

Wii ROMs

Wii
Wii ROMs Nintendo Wii 70 1007500

PS 2 ROMs

PS 2
PS 2 ROMs Sony PlayStation 2 155 942970

Saturn ROMs

Saturn
Saturn ROMs Sega Saturn 349 889795

CPS 2 ROMs

CPS 2
CPS 2 ROMs Capcom Play System 2 239 349335

GBC ROMs

GBC
GBC ROMs Nintendo Game Boy Color 1330 343096

CPS 1 ROMs

CPS 1
CPS 1 ROMs Capcom Play System 1 136 298156

GB ROMs

GB
GB ROMs Nintendo Game Boy 1521 282589

TurboGrafx16 ROMs

TurboGrafx16
TurboGrafx16 ROMs PC Engine - TurboGrafx16 621 278041

NAOMI ROMs

NAOMI
NAOMI ROMs Sega NAOMI 74 260833

Atari 2600 ROMs

Atari 2600
Atari 2600 ROMs Atari 2600 618 246183

Master System ROMs

Master System
Master System ROMs Sega Master System 476 226668

PS 3 ROMs

PS 3
PS 3 ROMs Sony PlayStation 3 18 220295

X68000 ROMs

X68000
X68000 ROMs Sharp X68000 3231 215729

Atari ST ROMs

Atari ST
Atari ST ROMs Atari ST 8361 164744

ZX Spectrum ROMs

ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum ROMs ZX Spectrum 3603 145244

C64 Tapes ROMs

C64 Tapes
C64 Tapes ROMs Commodore 64 Tapes(C64/CBM64) 1682 110495

Game Gear ROMs

Game Gear
Game Gear ROMs Sega Game Gear 454 100928

Famicom ROMs

Famicom
Famicom ROMs Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer System) 145 77229

CPS 3 ROMs

CPS 3
CPS 3 ROMs Capcom Play System 3 8 75550

32X ROMs

32X
32X ROMs Sega 32X 38 73207

Atari 5200 ROMs

Atari 5200
Atari 5200 ROMs Atari 5200 93 68007

Atari 7800 ROMs

Atari 7800
Atari 7800 ROMs Atari 7800 58 54679

Atari Lynx ROMs

Atari Lynx
Atari Lynx ROMs Atari Lynx 86 48422

Atari Jaguar ROMs

Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar ROMs Atari Jaguar 62 47578

Dreamcast ROMs

Dreamcast
Dreamcast ROMs Sega Dreamcast 4 46199

Neo Geo Pocket ROMs

Neo Geo Pocket
Neo Geo Pocket ROMs Neo Geo Pocket 76 37229

C64 Preservation ROMs

C64 Preservation
C64 Preservation ROMs Commodore 64 Preservation Project 1663 37045

BBC Micro ROMs

BBC Micro
BBC Micro ROMs Acorn BBC Micro Model B 4753 28604

CD-i ROMs

CD-i
CD-i ROMs Philips CD-i 44 24277

Wonderswan Color ROMs

Wonderswan Color
Wonderswan Color ROMs Bandai Wonderswan Color 90 13033

Virtual Boy ROMs

Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy ROMs Nintendo Virtual Boy 25 12566

Wonderswan ROMs

Wonderswan
Wonderswan ROMs Bandai Wonderswan 143 12269

3DO ROMs

3DO
3DO ROMs 3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3 12177

Everything You Need to Know about ROMs

If you look for ROM term using a search engine, you will find only that it stands for read-only memory. But, you are interested in ROM which contains a game for your desired retro console. As such, this may sound strange and complicated. Below, we will give you all the answers you need to fully understand ROM/ROMs and all facts associated with them. Let`s begin.

What are ROM/ROMs?

The aforementioned term that ROM stands for read only memory is accurate in this case scenario. Of course, when it comes to game ROMs, you won`t use an actual memory. You will use a copy of that memory which was transferred to a file that software can recognize and open.

To simplify the matters. All classic video games have cartridges that contain a game. Usually, one cartridge means one game, although there are cartridges with multiple games. A ROM file is a copy of that game. It is copied in a specific format, unique for each emulator so it can open and run the game. There are countless variants and they depend on the original console.

You need to know that when you actually download ROM file, it will have a unique extension. The extension depends on a game console that game was developed for. For example, if you are downloading Game Boy Advance ROMs, the extension will be .gba. Game Boy has .gb and so on. A suitable emulator will open that file and you will be presented with the game.

How ROM files are made?

One of the most important questions you probably have is how ROMs are made. They are made using special hardware which is known as "dumpers". The entire process is known as dumping. That device can be Doctor V64 or Retrode. Basically, each cartridge will require a separate dumper. A dumper is used to connect the cartridge with a computer and allow a user to copy the content. The entire process is complicated and it requires a lot of time and performing individual steps. A dumper is unique according to the console cartridge was made for.

You may believe that making ROMs is extremely easy. It isn`t. Almost any manufacturer of gaming consoles and cartridges used or tried to use protection which will make ROM creation impossible. For instance, Nintendo used 8cm disks, which were extremely rare and therefore impossible to copy. Users had no idea how to connect a disk to a dumper. This protection was common on Nintendo GameCube.

Neo Geo devices used an algorithm which will make the game impossible to copy and use. The algorithm prevented the users from making games for emulators. This was an issue until 2000 when hackers decrypted the algorithm and allowed gamers to play copied games.

Uses of ROMs

The simplest answer is for playing games on computers. As you may know, in order to play Game Boy Advance games you will need an actual device. It is expensive, impossible to find and most of them are kept as souvenirs. But, millions of players all across the planet want to play GBA games in 2019. The only possible way is with ROMs.

In order to play a ROM game, you will need an emulator which is a special software developed for this purpose only.

We explained what ROMs are, how they are made and why they are used. They allow millions of gamers to play archived classic games today and to get the same gaming experience they had as children, a few decades ago.