Ok, i have heard of roms and emulators and all that stuff. I want to download games, and then play them on my PC. will someone take me step by step on how to do all this. give me as much info as possible. thanks in advance, i really appreciate it

you open the emulator, and load the rom? ;D

the emulator will be different for each system. as far as games, you need to make sure what you're downloading/playing is legal (blah, blah)- basically, stuff from old systems tends to be okay as long as it's not back in print on a newer system (the old Sonic Games, FF1, FF5, FF6, Chrono Trigger).

I don't have links offhand. use google.

Find Znes.exe or that other one Snes9.exe or something o_o;;

It depends on what system you use really.

NES, SNES and Genesis are the Common Stuff, easy to emulate and doesn't require a bunch of power from the computer.

Next we have the Arcade emulators... this requires a bit of knowledge of how roms work and how emulators work. Leave this stuff for later. You can play Capcom Fighting games and Neo Geo (King of Fighters and Marval vs Capcom for example)

Emulators for recent consoles (N64, PSX, PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, Dreamcast)... don't even think about it, while the PSX/N64 can be emulated, the rest are far from being ready... and I doubt you'd really want to try to look for em.

Basically, what you'll need is...

1. The Emulator (to emulate... :P)
2. The ROM (the actual game)
3. A controller (A keyboard would work but try to get a controller)

Alright, the emulator is easy to get... www.zophar.net (note: Emulators are not illegal so I can just post the link here) Look around for the emulator for the system you want to run.

Second, the rom... might be a little tricky to get what you want, especially since you don't know where to look. I can't link you however... except for www.google.com

Roms come in different shape and sizes...

Nintendo Roms are in .nes format.
Gameboy Roms are in .gb format
Gameboy Advance Roms are in .gba format
SNES Roms are in a few different formats but the main one is .spc
Genesis Roms come in different formats... unsure what is the main.

The rest are just look and read to find out.

Originally posted by Alex Mack
you open the emulator, and load the rom? ;D

the emulator will be different for each system. as far as games, you need to make sure what you're downloading/playing is legal (blah, blah)- basically, stuff from old systems tends to be okay as long as it's not back in print on a newer system (the old Sonic Games, FF1, FF5, FF6, Chrono Trigger).

I don't have links offhand. use google.

Actually, it's never legal. There are certainly cases where it's moral, but even that "delete it in 24 hours" thing has no basis in copyright law. :\

It depends, while roms for GBA are illigal, roms for the SNES are legal.

Why? Because the SNES is 'dead' the system is no longer in production and no games are being develloped anymore, while the GBA is still alive and still releases new games periodically.

Actually, even though the SNES is a dead system, the data (or rom) cannot be legally duplicated because of the fact that they still hold the license for it. China has this new system from Nintendo and it uses SNES games so it shows that they haven't let go of the SNES license. The only roms that are legal are the Atari roms and homemade roms. Even the NES roms are illegal as they are being re-released on the Gamecube (Metroid and Zelda being the few of them).

Originally posted by Neo Xzhan
It depends, while roms for GBA are illigal, roms for the SNES are legal.

Why? Because the SNES is 'dead' the system is no longer in production and no games are being develloped anymore, while the GBA is still alive and still releases new games periodically.

Go look up the law before you say stuff about it.

I'm with TK here.

Emulators themselves that aren't using the BIOS file of an actual console aren't illegal. It's pretty much like MP3 players.

It's what you DO with emulators that isn't okay.

Even if you own the game you're emulating, it is still illegal, altough logically it shouldn't. That's because you aren't allowd by law to make a back-up copy of a game you own. Nor does it apply to games that are no longer on the market because the publisher own a right on it for about 25 years or so ( wouldn't exactly know because I'm not familiar with the american laws regarding copyrights but I've heard it's something like that ) I believe it should be otherwise but you can't help it.

So, to answer your question :

Go look throughout the web and read the goddamn help files included with the emulators. I mean, it's NOT THAT HARD to figure out. That sounds harsh, but it's true.

Originally posted by TK


Go look up the law before you say stuff about it.

done it.

ok, the thing is, there's been little established law, because virtually none of these cases go to court. they go after people that host and distribute them, not people that use them for personal enjoyment/whatever.

and even those cases don't make it to the courts, because the people know they're in legal trouble; they usually get a cease-and-desist and well, stop hosting them.

and actually, it recently WAS established that roms from "extinct" systems (systems/games not reasonably available retail stores) are legal. however, it was only established that the ROMS are legal- not the downloading of them.

and the idea that an emulator is somehow "more legal" than a rom isn't even right. they could pursue people on this, they just don't. emulators are ripping off the original code of the system.

it's very, very shady legal territory because they haven't been enforcing it, just like with MP3s. no one (yet) has been found guilty of some crime related to sharing-of-music on P2P systems. the RIAA slaps a lawsuit at you, but offers a settlement. everyone so far has gone with the settlement. this doesn't mean that IF someone were to go to court over it, they'd end up paying the "full sum".

but yes, TK, you're right. a lot of "legal information" out there is absolutely bullshit. that includes the 24-hours thing and the "internet privacy act signed by Bill Clinton". neither have any basis at all.

edit: about mp3 players, it IS illegal to create a software based mp3 player and not pay royalties. mp3 is a licensed format. interesting, eh? ;D

You've said that "emulators are ripping off the original code of the system". Well, that is very true but I've yet to find a law that protects those. Sure, the protection applies for the components and their use but I haven't seen anything regarding the internal workings of a system. I'd like to see where you found that, if you can show it to me. That'd be most interesting. Thanks in advance.

there hasn't been a specific ruling (like virtually everything else), but it's more or less common sense.

why? because it isn't just hardware (not that it isn't possible to have a license on hardware), but there's also software at the core of a system- that's what a BIOS is.

games are protected (to a certain extent) because they're software, they're intellectual property. the same is true with the system itself.

There's always the fact that you ought to buy the game so the people who put long hard hours into creating it see some money for their effort, too. Obviously that no longer applies to older ones that aren't being produced anymore, but I really hate those people who just d/l GBA emus and don't even consider buying the system.

I downloaded a GBA Emu when FFTA came out...

It's kind of like playing a demo of a game, really. It doesn't feel like you own it. I finished Final Fantasy VI on my SNES emulator, but it wasn't as cool as finishing it on my PSX. (I know, I know - technically it's the PS emulating the SNES, but that's not the point.)

Anyway, long story short - the GBA emu made me want to buy a GBA. So I did, and now i'm hopelessly addicted to FFTA.

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon


Go look throughout the web and read the goddamn help files included with the emulators. I mean, it's NOT THAT HARD to figure out. That sounds harsh, but it's true. [/B]

Thanks ass

Thanks for your help everyone else

Originally posted by Locke_FF36


Thanks ass

Thanks for your help everyone else


Ass, heh ? Heh, you just asked for it. It's like asking how to use a keyboard...So, I did help you because I said the truth and this is how you thank me ? If you are not enough intelligent to figure it out this is not my problem, don't go insulting me for that. But, hey, not that you'd know since you didn't even try. Talk about being ingenious here. And besides, we already told you it's illegal so you truly expect someone to tell you exactly how to do it ? Please...

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon
Talk about being ingenious here. And besides, we already told you it's illegal so you truly expect someone to tell you exactly how to do it ? Please...

the whole point to most post was that the legal ramifications of downloading/playing roms isn't really known now, and most likely never will.

in any case, it's no "more illegal" than downloading music.

Yeah, and Evad, aren't you that guy who was making that unbelievable argument way back when that downloading MP3s instead of buying the album is "sharing" rather than "stealing?"

ExS, I didn't say people who d/l a GBA emu at all, I said people who do it and never think about buying the system. :)

Actually the only tricky part about the emulator is to... download it. Once you over come that, thats about it.

Originally posted by TK
Yeah, and Evad, aren't you that guy who was making that unbelievable argument way back when that downloading MP3s instead of buying the album is "sharing" rather than "stealing?"

ExS, I didn't say people who d/l a GBA emu at all, I said people who do it and never think about buying the system. :)

Hum...case of mistaken identity, TK. I don't remember about it. Must have been someone else.Because I've always believed it was stealing, just not as "bad" as what the RIAA, for example, says. Downloading just a song is just as bad, but that looks a lot like ExS's example with just trying out a game on an emu. So, yeah, by the law's terms it's bad, but just because it's the law doesn't necessiraly always make perfect sense. Just for a laugh, go look at this website : http://www.dumblaws.com

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon
You've said that "emulators are ripping off the original code of the system". Well, that is very true but I've yet to find a law that protects those. Sure, the protection applies for the components and their use but I haven't seen anything regarding the internal workings of a system. I'd like to see where you found that, if you can show it to me. That'd be most interesting. Thanks in advance.

Copyright laws protect any and all written text... Programming is a written text, and is therefore protected under copyright laws, so yes, a gaming systems programming is protected O_o

At least that's my opinion... I could be mistaken...

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon


Hum...case of mistaken identity, TK. I don't remember about it. Must have been someone else.Because I've always believed it was stealing, just not as "bad" as what the RIAA, for example, says. Downloading just a song is just as bad, but that looks a lot like ExS's example with just trying out a game on an emu. So, yeah, by the law's terms it's bad, but just because it's the law doesn't necessiraly always make perfect sense. Just for a laugh, go look at this website : http://www.dumblaws.com

Okay, yeah, now that I think about it, I think I was having a different but somehow related argument with you. I wonder who that was.

Originally posted by TK


Okay, yeah, now that I think about it, I think I was having a different but somehow related argument with you. I wonder who that was.

Hum...I wouldn't really remember about it. Although that sure would be another interesting thing to talk about.

Originally posted by Evad D'Aragon


Hum...I wouldn't really remember about it. Although that sure would be another interesting thing to talk about.

Actually, it was one of the worst conversations I've ever had. Went something like this:

Me: Downloading and burning albums without buying them is stealing.
Him: No, it's just sharing.
Me: How is it just "sharing" when you take someone else's property without their permission?
Him: See, it's just sharing.
Me: No it's not. It was created by a group of individuals who own it and have expressly stated that only they may distribute it, and that you may only have it if you pay money for it, since it belongs to them since they made it. So if you take it without complying, you are taking their property and that's what we call stealing.
Him: But it's sharing.
Me: God, why are you doing this to me? I feel like strangling myself with a guitar string.

haha yes I love getting in arguements with giant-stupids. ;D

I do think there's a difference between stealing intellectual property and physically stealing something, though. I'm not saying that one's worse than the other, but I do think they're fundamentally a bit different.

Originally posted by Alex Mack
haha yes I love getting in arguements with giant-stupids. ;D

I do think there's a difference between stealing intellectual property and physically stealing something, though. I'm not saying that one's worse than the other, but I do think they're fundamentally a bit different.


Ditto. It's basically the same but also a little different. Mainly because one isn't always proved the same way as the other.


Well I'm sorry to see it turned that way, TK. That sure made me laugh though.

It's sure ain't no sharing. Altough it's not necessiraly always "that" bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm very far from saying people should do it. Let's say it can be compared a lot to emulation. At least on the legal basis level. I'd be lying to say I never burned an illegal CD nor did I never played an illegal game on an emulator. So I might not be a good person to talk about it.

But what I'm trying to say here : Both are hard to solve. But let's keep trying to find solutions that can please both the consumers and the industry. There has to be some reason besides plain stealing for the piracy. That means somehow the industry has some part of the blame, too. I didn't say it's mainly their fault, though.Things like iTunes are already a good start, even if it's far from solving the situation. Because let's face it : one of the reasons people burn CDs is because they're not interested in the whole album , only in a song or two. So, if they did pay for the right to download said songs at least it's better than having your whole album ripped off. I understand some artists will feel like it's useless to do albums then but then again it's still better to have rights for a song or two and that you know they're legally used rather than having the whole album stolen. As for emulation, it should be allowed to use the ROM of a game you own and the emulator of a system you own. I don't think you do any harm when it's something you did pay for anyway.

And, in a sense, when you emulate a game that wasn't released here and that the only you can play it is by importing it but then you have to illegally modify your system to play, well in this case in my opinion it's nothing but the company's fault. That's why I am in no way ashamed to have played Seiken Densetsu III on an emulator. If they wanted me to be legal, they should have released the goddamn game back in 1995. Because (hint hint) if Square-Enix ever releases a port on PSOne you can bet on it I'll buy it. It's easier with CDs because importing them won't require you to modify your CD player. Although you're going to pay quite the high fees for importing.Oh well.

I guess I'm really disgressing here.