GBA Roms

[-Red XIII-]

what is a rom? I've been on the internet tryin to find out, and so far it looks like a downloadable zip file thats a game... but what do i do with it after i down;oad it? after i did, i clicked on it and it said "Open this file with what?" it cant find anything right to do... hrm...:confused: :confused:

[Araciel]

it's an image of the cartridge in question...in effect it's the game in the form of a computer file that is playable on an emulator. you aren't allowed to use roms legally unless you bought the original cartridge

[Roto13]

Even then, I'm pretty sure they're illegal.

[Araciel]

dunno i heard they aren't...probably though because the implication of piracy is still there

[-Red XIII-]

but how do i play it? I have the real thing (I just wanted a computer version, just to see what it's like), but... how do i open it and play it?

[Araciel]

well regardless of whether or not it's legal, you need an EMULATOR i believe i said this before...it's a program that takes the place of the gameboy itself...do a search you will find plenty i'm sure

[Zeromus_X]

You need to download an emulator (so basically VisualBoy Advance) and then with the emulator, open the rom file on your computer to play it. You can set up the controls on your keyboard and what-not with the emulator.

http://www.google.com

[-Red XIII-]

oh.... thx! I wasn't really understanding what you said the first time (sorry... :) ) but i'll try it now. thx

[Araciel]

be careful the computer piracy police don't get ya...if it is in fact illegal

[Zeromus_X]

It's illegal, but rest assured that the evil piracy robots aren't going to storm your home and destroy your computer.

[Araciel]

so why is all the software to run the roms available

[Zeromus_X]

So I can play Mother 3 whenever they finally complete that translation patch.

[LunarWeaver]

so why is all the software to run the roms available

Because having the software and not using it doesn't do anything. Loop holes are in all kinds of illegal stuff.

Actually, I thought roms were legal if you both owned the real game and deleted it after 24 hours or something stupid that you have to pretend is true.

[ljkkjlcm9]

No roms are not legal in any form as far as I'm aware. The "if you own it in another format" or "Delete within 24 hours" things are complete BS. If you download it for free, you're breaking the law. Just like if you download a song you're breaking the law unless you payed for it. Even if you own the CD but download it somewhere else it's illegal. Either rip the CD, or pay to download the song... that's how the law works.

THE JACKEL

[edczxcvbnm]

Actually I do believe if you own it then you can download it. It is the sharing it with other people that don't own a copy that would be illegal. Its a back up and that falls under the fair use act or whatever it is.

[-Red XIII-]

wait i have another question. I went to gamefaqs.com to get a game save, but when i try to play it in the visual boy, it says that it can't! (its like a format message or somthin...) how do i fix this?

[Zeromus_X]

The 'if you own the original copy' and 'delete after 24 hours' rules are untrue.

[LunarWeaver]

Oopsie! :cat:

Yes well... I would never do such a thing anyway... :shifty:

Oh well, at least companies like Nintendo are trying to embrace the retro-goodness to their benefit.

[-Red XIII-]

hmm.... it still says that it won't play. I... don't.... understand *acts like william shatner*

[Zeromus_X]

Open up your emulator.

Go to file->open.

Locate the rom file on your computer, and open it.

If it's still zipped up (alot of roms are beforehand), you may need to use WinRar or some other alternative to unzip it. Then, the file inside the folder will be your rom file.

http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm

[-Red XIII-]

nope. it's not zipped. It's just the little paper icon with the folded top right corner. this message pops up when i open it in the visualboy:

"Unsupported file type C:\documents and settings\Chris\my ducuments/visual-boy advance\1.7.2"

yeah, i don't get it for nothin. it seems like when i click on zipped files, though, it works... ???

[Tasura]

You can actually buy a card type thing for GBA to put the ROMs on, whether or not that is official Nintendo merchandise, or just an ingenious creation, either way, I wants one =(

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Please don't ask for illegal material on this site.