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 11509467

SNES ROMs

SNES
SNES ROMs Super Nintendo Entertainment System 3963 4872489

PS 1 ROMs

PS 1
PS 1 ROMs Sony PSX/PlayStation 1 845 3468721

NDS ROMs

NDS
NDS ROMs Nintendo DS 6457 2543133

N64 ROMs

N64
N64 ROMs Nintendo 64 834 2412247

GBA ROMs

GBA
GBA ROMs Game Boy Advance 2668 2159952

NES ROMs

NES
NES ROMs Nintendo Entertainment System 2573 2011920

Neo Geo ROMs

Neo Geo
Neo Geo ROMs Neo Geo 357 1982120

GameCube ROMs

GameCube
GameCube ROMs Nintendo GameCube 153 1339194

Megadrive ROMs

Megadrive
Megadrive ROMs Sega Genesis 1518 1147148

PSP ROMs

PSP
PSP ROMs PlayStation Portable 300 895248

Saturn ROMs

Saturn
Saturn ROMs Sega Saturn 349 834831

Wii ROMs

Wii
Wii ROMs Nintendo Wii 70 753303

PS 2 ROMs

PS 2
PS 2 ROMs Sony PlayStation 2 155 675620

CPS 2 ROMs

CPS 2
CPS 2 ROMs Capcom Play System 2 239 312407

GBC ROMs

GBC
GBC ROMs Nintendo Game Boy Color 1330 301393

CPS 1 ROMs

CPS 1
CPS 1 ROMs Capcom Play System 1 136 263434

TurboGrafx16 ROMs

TurboGrafx16
TurboGrafx16 ROMs PC Engine - TurboGrafx16 621 257236

GB ROMs

GB
GB ROMs Nintendo Game Boy 1521 252776

NAOMI ROMs

NAOMI
NAOMI ROMs Sega NAOMI 74 239043

Atari 2600 ROMs

Atari 2600
Atari 2600 ROMs Atari 2600 618 216839

Master System ROMs

Master System
Master System ROMs Sega Master System 476 203436

X68000 ROMs

X68000
X68000 ROMs Sharp X68000 3231 193700

PS 3 ROMs

PS 3
PS 3 ROMs Sony PlayStation 3 18 173770

Atari ST ROMs

Atari ST
Atari ST ROMs Atari ST 8361 148816

ZX Spectrum ROMs

ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum ROMs ZX Spectrum 3603 135264

C64 Tapes ROMs

C64 Tapes
C64 Tapes ROMs Commodore 64 Tapes(C64/CBM64) 1682 104100

Game Gear ROMs

Game Gear
Game Gear ROMs Sega Game Gear 454 90859

CPS 3 ROMs

CPS 3
CPS 3 ROMs Capcom Play System 3 8 68112

Famicom ROMs

Famicom
Famicom ROMs Nintendo Famicom (Family Computer System) 145 67989

32X ROMs

32X
32X ROMs Sega 32X 38 67958

Atari 5200 ROMs

Atari 5200
Atari 5200 ROMs Atari 5200 93 61638

Atari 7800 ROMs

Atari 7800
Atari 7800 ROMs Atari 7800 58 50194

Atari Lynx ROMs

Atari Lynx
Atari Lynx ROMs Atari Lynx 86 43847

Atari Jaguar ROMs

Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar ROMs Atari Jaguar 62 43174

Dreamcast ROMs

Dreamcast
Dreamcast ROMs Sega Dreamcast 4 40285

C64 Preservation ROMs

C64 Preservation
C64 Preservation ROMs Commodore 64 Preservation Project 1663 33844

Neo Geo Pocket ROMs

Neo Geo Pocket
Neo Geo Pocket ROMs Neo Geo Pocket 76 33324

BBC Micro ROMs

BBC Micro
BBC Micro ROMs Acorn BBC Micro Model B 4753 27627

CD-i ROMs

CD-i
CD-i ROMs Philips CD-i 44 20364

Wonderswan Color ROMs

Wonderswan Color
Wonderswan Color ROMs Bandai Wonderswan Color 90 11928

Virtual Boy ROMs

Virtual Boy
Virtual Boy ROMs Nintendo Virtual Boy 25 11697

3DO ROMs

3DO
3DO ROMs 3DO Interactive Multiplayer 3 11168

Wonderswan ROMs

Wonderswan
Wonderswan ROMs Bandai Wonderswan 143 11150

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.