So there I was, 14 years old with a crappy Pentium PC and a 56k modem that made those weird alien noises when connecting. My buddy Mike told me about this thing called “emulation” where you could play NES games on your computer. I was like, NO WAY… and this began my descent into the ROM world.
It took me like 45 mins to download Super Mario Bros 3. And another 2 hours to figure out how to make Nesticle (yup, that was the actual emulator name lol) work properly with my keyboard. My mom picked up the phone halfway thru and killed my download… twice. But when that ROM finally loaded… PURE MAGIC. I stayed up til 4am on a school night. Worth it? Hell yeah.
My disclaimer: Look, I’m not a lawyer. This is just my personal story, what I’ve seen over literally 20+ yrs hunting ROMs and the drama I’ve lived thru. Nintendo’s lawyers would probly hate everything about this guide. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ROMs & Emulators Explained by a Non-Techy Person
Ok so this might be obvious to some of u, but my dad still asks me “what the hell is a ROM?” every Christmas, so here ya go:
- ROM: It’s the actual game file. Like if your old cartridge could magically turn into a file on ur computer. I think of it as a “digital cartridge.” It stands for Read-Only Memory cuz back in the old days u couldn’t write to the game chips. My 7th grade teacher Mr. Peterson actually taught us that in computer lab, right before he got fired for something unrelated involving the principal’s car.
- Emulator: It’s the program that PRETENDS to be the console. Kinda like those people who pretend to be celebs on Twitter but hopefully more reliable. I’ve tried maybe 30-40 different emulators over my life? Some were AMAZING (Dolphin ❤️) and some were buggy garbage that corrupted my save file for FF7 after 60+ HOURS and made me cry real tears lmao.
So basically, emulator = fake console, ROM = game. You need both or ur getting nowhere fast.
Is Downloading ROMs Legal? The Short Answer: Mostly Nope
OK lets be brutally honest here. If you don’t own the game, downloading a ROM is almost definitely illegal. I’m not gonna BS you. Nintendo especially is SUPER aggressive about this stuff. I had a ROM site back in 2003 called “Mario’s Underground” that got taken down in like 72 hrs with a scary legal letter. I literally thought I was going to jail at 19 lol.
People talk about “abandonware” like it’s some magic shield, but uhh, that’s not actually a real legal thing. Just cause a company isn’t selling the game anymore doesn’t mean the copyright fairy comes and makes it free for everyone. I wish! Companies can ignore their old games for 30 yrs and still own them.
The personal backup thing is where it gets weird and confusing. MAYBE making your own backup of a game u already own is ok in some places… but honestly the equipment to do that properly costs way more than just buying the stupid game. My cart dumper was like $200!
I remember when EmuParadise (moment of silence) shut down in 2018… that was a HUGE wake-up call for the community. Some sites still exist but they’re playing a dangerous game of whack-a-mole with corporate lawyers who make more money in a day than I do in a month.
The Malware Nightmare Is Real (A Cautionary Tale)
Learn From My Stupid Mistakes!!!
So u know how they say nothing in life is free? DOUBLE TRUE for ROM sites these days. Let me share my worst ROM downloading horror story real quick:
In 2019 my old laptop was running slow, so I figured I’d wipe it and install Linux. Before I did tho, I wanted to play Conker’s Bad Fur Day one more time for the laughs. I found this sketchy ROM site with like 8 million popup ads, but hey they had the ROM! Downloaded an exe file (RED FLAG #1) that was supposed to be the ROM+emulator combo (RED FLAG #2). My antivirus immediately started freaking out but I TURNED IT OFF (RED FLAG #3, i’m an IDIOT).
Long story short: The exe was actually ransomware, and suddenly all my files were encrypted including YEARS of family photos that I hadn’t backed up. The hackers wanted $200 in Bitcoin. I was lucky cuz my tech friend Jason knew how to help, but it was still a nightmare week of recovery.
ROM site dangers are no joke:
- Malware City: SO MANY viruses, trojans, keyloggers, etc. My friend Dave – who’s usually smart about this stuff – got his credit card info stolen from a ROM site last year. He had to cancel a vacation.
- Ads from Hell: Not just annoying, but sometimes straight-up porn ads that pop up when ur DEFINITELY not expecting them. Got super awkward once when my niece was watching me play Pokémon…
- Broken/Hacked ROMs: Downloaded a “Super Mario World” ROM once that was actually a hacked version where Mario screamed obscenities every time he jumped. Hilarious until my 8-yr-old cousin started repeating them at his Catholic school.
- Fake Download Buttons EVERYWHERE: U know those sites where there’s like 6 “DOWNLOAD NOW” buttons and only one actually has the file? The others install toolbars and garbage?
I legit don’t chance it anymore. After the ransomware incident, I’m done with sketchy ROM sites. It’s just not worth losing all your personal crap over a free game from 1994.
Actual Legal ROMs Exist (But They’re Kinda Boring)
There ARE some 100% legit ROMs out there, but they’re not usually the games you’re dying to play:
- Homebrew: These are games made by hobbyists/indie devs specifically for old systems. Some are genuinely awesome! I played this homebrew SNES RPG called “Unholy Night” that was better than half the commercial games. But let’s be real – you’re probably not desperately searching for homebrew when you want a ROM.
- Stuff So Old It’s Public Domain: Honestly, this is almost nothing in the gaming world. MAYBE some ancient computer games from like the 70s, but not your favorite SNES games.
- Dev-Released Freebies: Sometimes small devs or individual programmers will release their old commercial games for free. Happened with the DOS game “Tyrian” which is cool as hell, but super rare.
Bottom line: If you’re looking for Zelda, Mario, Final Fantasy, Sonic, etc. – the stuff that made our childhoods awesome – there’s a 99.9% chance those freely available ROMs aren’t legal. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
It’s kinda like when my doctor told me I couldn’t eat pizza every day and be healthy. I mean, I still do it sometimes, but I know it’s wrong lol.
Legal Ways I Actually Play Old Games Now
How I Legit Play Retro Games in 2024
OK so now I’m old and have a job (most days) and some disposable income. And tbh the legal options for retro gaming are waaay better than they used to be. Here’s what I actually do now:
- Collections & Anthologies: I’ve bought way too many of these. The Sega Genesis collection is my fav – 40+ games for like $30. My gf rolled her eyes when I showed her Toejam & Earl, but she got SUPER into Streets of Rage 2. We played it drunk after a wedding and she became obsessed. Also really dig the Castlevania and Contra collections.
- Virtual Console & PSN Classics: God I miss the Wii Virtual Console. Nintendo’s Switch Online thing is *OK* but not as good. I’ve bought Chrono Trigger like 4 different times on different systems lol.
- Mini Consoles: The SNES Mini was maybe the best $80 I ever spent. Mod community for it is INSANE. My buddy Carl put like 300 games on his and the interface still works perfect. When are we getting a Dreamcast Mini tho??
- Actual Original Hardware: I got back into collecting real SNES games around 2016 before prices went CRAZY. Found a copy of EarthBound for $80 at a garage sale (worth like $300+ now) – legit one of my proudest moments. The old lady selling it had no idea what it was worth, almost felt bad… almost. Now I’ve got a dedicated retro corner in my apartment with a CRT TV that weighs more than my fridge.
- GOG.com: These guys are the real MVPs for PC gaming preservation. I grab stuff when they have sales. Their version of System Shock 2 saved me from a really sketchy download situation.
- Weird but cool: Antstream: Subscription service with a ton of legal retro games. I was super skeptical but they actually have decent stuff and it’s like $10/mo? I subscribed for 3 months just to play a bunch of Amiga games I was curious about.
Yeah I know, this all costs actual $$ unlike free ROMs. But honestly, when I download Symphony of the Night legit on PSN, I don’t have to worry about weird Russian malware or Nintendo ninjas. And the games actually work right!
My most ridiculous splurge: I own Panzer Dragoon Saga legit for Saturn. Cost me a literal fortune. Played it twice. Worth it just to see my best friend’s face when I showed him.
But What About Emulators?
OK so emulators themselves are generally legal! Companies have tried to sue emulator makers and usually lost those cases. Good emulators I personally use:
- RetroArch: This thing is AMAZING but confusing as hell at first. Took me 3 separate tries over like 5 years before I finally “got it”. Now I can’t live without it. Just watch a YouTube tutorial.
- Dolphin: GameCube/Wii emulator that’s probably better than the actual consoles now? Wind Waker in 4K is like a religious experience.
- PPSSPP: PSP emulator that’s so good it makes me wonder why I carried around a real PSP for years.
- PCSX2: I’ve probably put 200+ hours into this PS2 emulator. The scanline filter option gives me those perfect nostalgic vibes.
The actual legal problem isn’t using the emulator itself – it’s where u get the ROMs/ISOs to use with it. That’s always the sticky issue.
My semi-legal approach: I’ve invested in a RetroDE for cartridge dumping and a modded Wii for making backup ISOs of games I own. Do I sometimes dump my friend’s games when they bring them over? Uhhh… no comment. But at least I’m backing up actual physical media that somebody paid for at some point.
Did I sell my actual physical copy of Paper Mario after dumping it because I needed rent money in 2016? Also no comment. But I still have the ISO. 🙃
How Much PC Horsepower U Actually Need
This is such a moving target, and it depends hugely on what you’re trying to emulate:
- 8-bit & 16-bit (NES/Genesis/SNES): My literal toaster can probably run these. I’ve got them on a Raspberry Pi that cost $35. My Android phone from 5 years ago handles them fine. Even the crappiest laptop with 2GB RAM will work. No sweat at all.
- N64/PS1 Era: Getting a bit more demanding but still pretty chill. My old Surface Pro tablet from 2017 can handle these no problem. Any half-decent laptop from the last 10 years should be OK.
- PS2/GameCube/Xbox: Now we’re talking about needing a somewhat decent modern computer. My living room PC has a GTX 1060 from like 2016 and runs these perfect. You probably want at least 8GB of RAM and a quad core CPU. My brother tried running these on his old Dell from college and it was a slideshow mess.
- PS3/X360/Wii U: You need a legit gaming PC for good performance here. My i7-9700K struggles with some PS3 games even with a decent GPU. The emulators are also still kinda experimental. I can play Last of Us on RPCS3 but it drops frames in heavy scenes.
- Switch: Yuzu is insane for how new the Switch still is, but I needed to upgrade to 32GB of RAM to get Breath of the Wild running smoothly. Not kidding.
My best advice? Start with emulating stuff that’s WAY below your PC’s capabilities. It’s not fun when you’re constantly tweaking settings and the games run like garbage. I spent more time configuring CEMU than actually playing Wii U games on it lol.
Real talk: I bought a gaming laptop in 2022 partly just for better emulation. I told my gf it was for “work” but it was really for Persona 5 on RPCS3. She knows, but pretends not to. That’s love.
Final Thoughts From a Reformed ROM Hoarder
I’ve been chasing ROMs since the 90s, and it’s been a wild ride watching this whole scene evolve. From the Wild West days of IRC channels and sketchy forums to today’s DMCA takedown hellscape. I’ve had hard drives die with thousands of ROMs I never even played once. What a waste!
These days, I try to keep it mostly legal. Not because I’m some moral guardian, but because:
- My PC is too important to mess up with malware from sketchy sites
- I’m too old to deal with the hassle of hunting down working links
- Official versions often run better and have nice extras
- The prices are usually reasonable for what you get
- I like supporting preservation efforts when I can
Don’t get me wrong – I get why people still hunt for ROMs. Some games are IMPOSSIBLE to play legally without spending hundreds or thousands (looking at you, Panzer Dragoon Saga and Snatcher). Some games have never been rereleased. And not everyone has disposable income for buying games.
But if you CAN go the legit route, it’s honestly better in 2024. You’ll spend more time actually PLAYING games and less time dealing with broken downloads, malware scans, and weird glitches.
Whatever you do – PLEASE use an ad blocker and a good antivirus if you’re visiting ROM sites. I’ve seen too many people get burned.
Last story: In college, I had a 500GB drive FULL of ROMs. Every system, thousands of games. I spent months curating it. Then my roommate accidentally spilled bong water on my external drive and killed it. I was devastated for like… 3 days? Then I realized I’d only played maybe 30-40 of those games ever. The rest were just digital hoarding. Now I keep a small collection of favorites and stuff I actually play. Much better this way.
