RetroPie is a video game emulator that allows you to play retro arcade games on your Raspberry Pi or gaming PC. ROMsets or ROMs are specific game files that are required to play video games on an emulator. If you have installed MAME on RetroPie, you might be wondering which MAME ROMs will work best.
So, what MAME ROMs work with RetroPie? The MAME ROMs that can work with RetroPie include MAME 0.37b5, MAME 0.78, MAME 0.78- MAME 0.188, MAME 0.139, MAME 0.160, MAME 0.174, MAME 0.94, and MAME 0.106. Each MAME emulator has its own compatible MAME ROMs; therefore, you need to check if your ROMs are compatible with the MAME emulator you have installed.
For example, if you have installed the lr-mame2016 emulator on RetroPie, you have to install MAME 0.174 ROMset for you to be able to play retro video games on your Raspberry PI or PC. There are no best versions; as long as they are compatible, your gaming experience will not be negatively affected.
MAME was developed to enable millions of gamers who loved playing arcade video games in the 1990s to play those games in their modern gaming systems. To play video games using RetroPie, there are several files you need to add before you can play a game, such as BIOS and ROMsets.
Read on to find out what MAME ROMs work with RetroPie, how to put MAME ROMs on RetroPie, how to get PSX ROMs to work on RetroPie, and how to install the Attract Mode.
When setting up RetroPie on your Raspberry Pi or gaming PC, one of the steps you have to go through is downloading and installing ROMs. To use MAME emulators on your RetroPie, you have to download MAME ROMs. If you are not familiar with MAME ROMs, you might be wondering which one will work with RetroPie. It’s important to note MAME ROMs may be copyrighted and downloading them may be illegal.
MAME ROMs that work with RetroPie include MAME 0.37b5, MAME 0.78, MAME 0.78, MAME 0.188, MAME 0.139, MAME 0.160. MAME 0.174, MAME 0.94, and MAME 0.106. These MAME ROMs have their matching MAME emulators. You need to check if the MAME ROMs you want to download are compatible with the MAME emulator.
All MAME ROMs function the same; hence, there is no best or worse MAME ROMset. When you download MAME ROMs, ensure that it is legal to own that particular file. Also, check the source of the file to avoid downloading a corrupted file on your Raspberry Pi or PC.
Compatibility is key to making MAME ROMs work with RetroPie. Each MAME emulator available on RetroPie requires a particular ROMset to work. If you use a different ROMset, the MAME emulator will not work properly; hence, you will not be able to play any games on RetroPie.
For example, if your RetroPie has an lr-mame2003 emulator, you must download the ROMset MAME 0.78. If the MAME emulator you have on RetroPie is not working, check if you downloaded and installed the correct ROMset. On the RetroPie website, you can find a list of all the MAME emulators and their required ROMset versions.
ROMsets are based on data collected from video games that are copyrighted by their developers. Obtaining and playing licensed video games is illegal, and this can also apply to downloading ROMsets in different countries. Most MAME ROMsets are developed by third parties, such as gamers who do not own the rights to a particular game.
Therefore, before you download a MAME ROMset from a particular website, ensure that it is free from all licensing rights. If you do not want any trouble from the law, you can download MAME ROMs from websites approved by RetroPie developers and game developers like Nintendo.
You should also be careful when downloading MAME ROMs for your RetroPie. Many parties develop MAME ROMs, and not all of them do it for the right reason. Some might include malware in the files to infect your gaming system.
Ensure that you check a website’s authenticity before you download any file from it. One way to confirm a website with MAME ROMs is legit is by checking form spelling errors on the URL. You can also consult with other gamers using RetroPie to recommend the best and safest websites you can use to download MAME ROMsets.
How To Put MAME ROMs on RetroPie?
MAME ROMs play an important role in playing retro arcade video games on your Raspberry Pi or PC using RetroPie. When setting up RetroPie on your gaming system, you have to load ROMsets for the video games you want to play. If you are unsure about how it is done, here is the procedure to put MAME ROMs on RetroPie.
After installing RetroPie on your gaming system and configuring your controller, the next step is to load your MAME ROMs. First, download the MAME ROMs using your computer and save them in any location. Insert a USB flash drive in your PC, create an empty folder in the USB flash drive and name it “RetroPie”.
Remove the flash drive from the PC and insert it in your Raspberry Pi while RetroPie runs for a few seconds. Remove it and place it back on the desktop, and when you open it, the RetroPie folder will be full of all the emulators on RetroPie.
Open the folder of the MAME emulator you want to use, go to the folder on your PC containing the MAME ROMs you downloaded and the folder containing a compatible MAME ROMset.
Copy the MAME ROMset and paste it into the MAME emulator folder on the USB flash drive. Insert the flash drive back in your Raspberry Pi, RetroPie will automatically copy the files. After copying, restart RetroPie, and you will now see the MAME emulator on the main menu. You can start playing retro video games using that MAME emulator.
You can use several MAME emulators on RetroPie, but these emulators require a specific MAME ROMset to work properly. When copying the MAME ROMset to the MAME emulator folder, ensure that you copy the correct MAME ROMset.
For example, if you want to use the lr-mame2003-plus emulator, you should download and copy the MAME 0.78-MAME 0.188 to the emulator folder. If you have completed the ROMset loading process and your MAME emulator is not working, check the emulator folder to ensure you copied the correct ROMset.
Some might be in zip format when downloading MAME ROMs, and you have to extract them before copying the files on the corresponding emulator folder. You should not copy the zip files directly to the emulator folder because they are not supported.
To ensure that RetroPie is copying the ROMset files, you should use a USB flash drive with an LED light. When you insert the flash drive in your Raspberry Pi, the LED light will blink to indicate RetroPie is copying the files, and it will stop after a few seconds.
How Do You Get PSX ROMs To Work on RetroPie?
The current PlayStation consoles no longer support many great PlayStation video games. RetroPie enables you to play some of these classic PlayStation video games using the PSX emulator. The PSX emulators require PSX ROMs, and you might be asking yourself how to make them work on RetroPie.
First, you need to install one of the PlayStation emulators (lr-pcsx-rearmed, PCSX-ReARMed, lr-beetle-psx, or lr-duckstation) for RetroPie. Insert a USB flash drive on your desktop and create a RetroPie folder. Eject the flash drive from the desktop and insert it into your Raspberry Pi. After a few seconds, eject the flash drive, insert it back into your desktop and open the RetroPie folder.
Afterward, open the PSX emulator folder and the ROMs folder. Then, go to the folder that contains the PSX ROMs you downloaded and select the corresponding file. If the file is in a zip format, you need to extract the files first before copying the files.
Copy the extracted files and paste them into the ROMs folder. Once it is done copying, eject the flash drive and insert it in your RetroPie. RetroPie will copy all the files on its SD card, and after it is done, you are free to start playing your classic PlayStation games. If your RetroPie does not show the PSX emulator, restart it, and you will find it among the other installed emulators.
You need to find the PSX ROMs that are compatible with the emulator you have chosen. For example, if you install the PCSX-ReARMed emulator, you need to add ROMs with extensions that end with “.cue, .cbn, .img, .iso, .m3u, .mdf, .pbp, .toc, .z or .znx”.
Some of these extensions can work on all PlayStation emulators, but you first need to check before downloading the ROMs. Some emulators also require BIOS to play certain video games; therefore, you must install the required BIOS after loading the extensions.
You should note that the PlayStation emulator you have chosen might not support the game you want to play; hence, you do not need to change the extensions or BIOS. First, check if you have copied the correct PSX ROMs, and if it’s the wrong extension, choose the correct one.
If the PSX ROMs are correct, then you have to try playing the game using another emulator. RetroPie allows you to install multiple emulators, and if the game does not work in a certain PlayStation emulator, you can try another one.
Installing emulators on RetroPie can be challenging if you do not know how RetroPie works; hence, always consult with other gamers or RetroPie’s customer support when you get stuck. Please do ensure any ROMs or emulators you use are not illegal as there are copyright restrictions on some of these.
How Do I Install the Attract Mode?
Attract-Mode is a graphical frontend for emulators like MAME and Nestopia that gamers use to hide the underlying operating system. You can run it on Linux, OS X, and Windows-based operating systems. If you want to use Attract-Mode to change your emulator’s graphics and other features, you might be wondering how you will install it on your gaming system.
First, you need to download the version of Attract-Mode that is compatible with your gaming system. If you are using RetroPie, you can download it directly from the RetroPie app. Launch RetroPie, open the menu, and go to the RetroPie setup. Select “Manage packages,” go to “Manage Experimental Packages,” and scroll down to locate “Attract Mode”.
Click on Attract Mode to install it on your RetroPie. You should note that Attract-Mode is available on RetroPie as an experimental package, meaning the developer is yet to release the full version of Attract-Mode for RetroPie.
After installing Attract Mode, you need to set it up before you can start using it. When you launch Attract-Mode on RetroPie for the first time, you will be prompted to select the language you need to use.
After selecting language, you will be taken to the configuration screen to set up Attract Mode with your MAME emulator. The set-up process is easy because all you have to do is place the required data in a particular step before moving on to the next step. Ensure you have every data ready before beginning the process, such as Rom path and ROM extensions.
You should note that the controller setup for Attract-Mode is usually controller or joystick. The reason why the controller is the default is to make it easier to enter codes. Usually, gamers would have to memorize long codes and type them correctly using their keyboards, and it is tiresome and time-consuming.
Attract-Mode makes it easier to enter codes by pressing a single key or button instead of typing a long list of numbers or letters. It looks pretty and also makes it easier for you to run your PC.
Wrap Up
MAME emulators are the most popular retro arcade game emulators because of their compatibility with most gaming systems. However, their installation or setup process is not that straightforward. You have to use other files like compatible MAME ROMsets to play video games.
When loading MAME ROMs to a MAME emulator folder, you have to be careful because your MAME emulator will not work if you load the incorrect file. The same thing goes with PSX emulators; however, the emulators require ROMs that end with a specific extension.
If the extension does not match the PSX emulator, you cannot play the classic PlayStation video games. Finally, the purpose of using Attract-Mode is to enter codes by clicking a key on your controller instead of typing the entire code using a keyboard. Therefore, if you plan to enter numerous codes while gaming using RetroPie, try using Attract Mode to improve your gaming experience.
