https://nrdblg.de/tags/roms/Recent content in Roms on nrdblgHugoen-usFri, 07 Aug 2026 14:20:00 +0200https://nrdblg.de/posts/gaming/rom-naming-schemes/Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:20:00 +0200https://nrdblg.de/posts/gaming/rom-naming-schemes/<p>For anyone wondering and especially when you&rsquo;re running <a href="https://nrdblg.de/posts/gaming/recalbox-thin-client/">Recalbox on a thin client</a> for example: browse any ROM set and you&rsquo;ll run into filenames that look like line noise - <code>Sonic the Hedgehog (UE) [!].bin</code>, <code>Metal Gear Solid (USA) (Disc 1).cue</code>.</p> <p>Those brackets aren&rsquo;t random, they&rsquo;re a whole taxonomy for how a file was dumped, verified and possibly hacked.</p> <p>Here&rsquo;s what the major schemes actually encode.</p> <style> #callout { color: black; padding: 1.5em 1.25em; border-radius: 3px; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 20px; } #callout-inner { margin-left: 1em; } @media (max-width: 767px) { #callout { padding: 1.5em 0.75em 1.5em 0.6em; } #callout-inner { margin-left: 0.5em; } } </style> <div id="callout" style="background: #7EC8E3;"> <div> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 384 512" width="24" fill="currentColor"> <path d="M297.2 248.9C311.6 228.3 320 203.2 320 176c0-70.7-57.3-128-128-128S64 105.3 64 176c0 27.2 8.4 52.3 22.8 72.9c3.7 5.3 8.1 11.3 12.8 17.7l0 0c12.9 17.7 28.3 38.9 39.8 59.8c10.4 19 15.7 38.8 18.3 57.5H109c-2.2-12-5.9-23.7-11.8-34.5c-9.9-18-22.2-34.9-34.5-51.8l0 0 0 0c-5.2-7.1-10.4-14.2-15.4-21.4C27.6 247.9 16 213.3 16 176C16 78.8 94.8 0 192 0s176 78.8 176 176c0 37.3-11.6 71.9-31.4 100.3c-5 7.2-10.2 14.3-15.4 21.4l0 0 0 0c-12.3 16.8-24.6 33.7-34.5 51.8c-5.9 10.8-9.6 22.5-11.8 34.5H226.4c2.6-18.7 7.9-38.6 18.3-57.5c11.5-20.9 26.9-42.1 39.8-59.8l0 0 0 0 0 0c4.7-6.4 9-12.4 12.7-17.7zM192 128c-26.5 0-48 21.5-48 48c0 8.8-7.2 16-16 16s-16-7.2-16-16c0-44.2 35.8-80 80-80c8.8 0 16 7.2 16 16s-7.2 16-16 16zm0 384c-44.2 0-80-35.8-80-80V416H272v16c0 44.2-35.8 80-80 80z"/> </svg> </div> <div id="callout-inner"> Obligatory disclaimer: this post explains cataloging conventions, not where to get files. Only dump and keep ROMs of games you actually own. Downloading copyrighted ROMs you don&#39;t own is piracy and illegal in most places - don&#39;t. </div> </div> <h2 id="goodtools">GoodTools</h2> <p>GoodTools (GoodNES, GoodGen, GoodSNES, &hellip;) is the oldest of the bunch, written by Cowering in the early 2000s for cartridge-based consoles.</p>