Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie

mitu

@snipersnake004 Please don't post links to ROM download sites - see the forum rules here. This topic is about how to legally acquire games/roms that work with Retropie.

Also, don't use upper case for your posts, it's not polite.

snipersnake004

@mitu Oh.... what? I thought this was about ROM sites.... sorry.

Auster

Piko Interactive released a prototype of Glover N64 in their site:
https://www.pikointeractive.com/uploads/WHACK1.N64

They shared the link in a Twitter post on Feb 9, 2021:
[edit because it seems the forum doesn't load Twitter links, but the post is still in their profile, @Pikointeractive, for those that want to check the source]

Auster

Two PS1 games now, both from the publisher Console Classics:

Mobile Light Force (aka Gunbird) (app/379370):
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/mobile-light-force-aka-gunbird

Sol Divide (app/379350):
https://www.humblebundle.com/store/sol-divide

Humble Bundle gives a Steam key for each game, and even though the games have been delisted from Steam, the keys from HB still work (I tested both earlier today). Also mind the stock HB has for keys of these games is very likely limited, so they could sell out at some point in the future.

To get the bin/cue files from the games, you need to do some steps:

1- Get Luigi Auriemma's xor tool (http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz/xor.zip) and unpack it anywhere in your PC

2- Download the games through Steam

3- For Sol Divide:

3.1- Go to Sol Divide's data folder ([Steam install folder]/steamapps/common/Sol Divide/data) and copy the file GameData.dat to where the xor tool was extracted

3.2- If you're in Windows, open the command prompt, navigate to the folder where you extracted the xor tool and run the following command:

xor.exe GameData.dat SolDivide.bin 0x42

And if you're on Ubuntu, open the command terminal in the folder where you extracted the tool and run:

wine xor.exe GameData.dat SolDivide.bin 0x42

This will generate a working bin file to use in your emulator (and you can rename the resulting file too, if you want)

4- For Mobile Light Force (aka Gunbird):

4.1- Go to Mobile Light Force's data folder ([Steam install folder]/steamapps/common/Mobile Light Force/data) and copy the file GameData.dat to where the xor tool was extracted

4.2- If you're in Windows, open the command prompt, navigate to the folder where you extracted the xor tool and run the following command:

xor.exe GameData.dat MobileLightForceGunbird.bin 0x42

And if you're on Ubuntu, open the command terminal in the folder where you extracted the tool and run:

wine xor.exe GameData.dat MobileLightForceGunbird.bin 0x42

4.3- The previous step will generate a working bin file, but you still need the .cue file for this game since it has multiple tracks (merged by the dev into the single bin file, that's why there's just one file), and most musics won't load without the .cue file.
To create the this file, first, create a .txt file, open it and paste the following code:

FILE "MobileLightForceGunbird.bin" BINARY
  TRACK 01 MODE2/2352
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
  TRACK 02 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 11:42:00
    INDEX 01 11:44:00
  TRACK 03 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 12:51:35
    INDEX 01 12:53:35
  TRACK 04 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 14:06:07
    INDEX 01 14:08:07
  TRACK 05 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 15:16:08
    INDEX 01 15:18:08
  TRACK 06 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 16:20:53
    INDEX 01 16:22:53
  TRACK 07 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 17:56:39
    INDEX 01 17:58:39
  TRACK 08 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 19:10:11
    INDEX 01 19:12:11
  TRACK 09 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 21:24:74
    INDEX 01 21:26:74
  TRACK 10 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 22:35:46
    INDEX 01 22:37:46
  TRACK 11 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 25:07:60
    INDEX 01 25:09:60
  TRACK 12 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 28:25:61
    INDEX 01 28:27:61
  TRACK 13 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 30:37:01
    INDEX 01 30:39:01
  TRACK 14 AUDIO
    INDEX 00 32:38:06
    INDEX 01 32:40:06

Then save the .txt file as a .cue file, or save it normally and rename the extension to .cue afterwards.
After that, you need to use the .cue file to open the game (and the .cue and .bin files need to be in the same folder)
You can also rename Mobile Light Force's files to whatever you want, but if I'm not mistaken, you'd also need to change the file name specified in the first line of the .cue file to match the bin's name.

The method of the xor tool should work for other games from the same publisher, like N2O, but I don't have them yet so I can't test

Auster

@crush said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

Found some more and you'll get roms for multiple systems.

I haven't bought these yet so i cant comment much on it, but it looks pretty nice.

Escape 2042 - The Truth Defenders
Atari STe / Gameboy / PC / Sega Megadrive Genesis / Jaguar
$12,00 at https://orionsoft.itch.io/escape2042

Zia and the goddesses of magic
PS1 / Dreamcast / PC Windows
$12 at https://orionsoft.itch.io/zia-and-the-goddesses-of-magic

And they got a few more but they look less intresting to me and i don't wanna type anymore so you can see them over @ https://orionsoft.itch.io/

The dev added a Dreamcast version to Escape 2042 this past week.

Other homebrew games from the same dev:

Alice's Mom's Rescue - https://orionsoft.itch.io/alicemomrescue
Platforms: Atari Falcon / Atari Jaguar / Dreamcast

Yopaz IceStar - https://orionsoft.itch.io/yopaz-icestar
Platforms: Atari Jaguar / Playstation 1 / Atari ST

Elansar - https://orionsoft.itch.io/elansar
Platforms: Atari Falcon / Atari Jaguar / Firebee

Philia : the Sequel to Elansar - https://orionsoft.itch.io/philia
Platforms: Atari Falcon / Atari Jaguar

themazingness

The classic Black Dawn series and it's revival, Black Dawn Rebirth (Amiga games) are available on itch.io:

https://timeslip1974.itch.io/the-black-dawn-collection
https://timeslip1974.itch.io/black-dawn-rebirth

I have not tested these on my Pi or emulator yet.

Crush

SEGA GENESIS / MEGADRIVE
I just found another game, i quite like it.
And it has some good music tracks in there as well.
Title: Gluf
Price: Pay what you want
https://retrosouls.itch.io/gluf-16bit
[Edit] You can find more games from this dev by clicking this link

And this is a odd but funny one.
Title: ASAP PLZ!
Price: FREE
https://asapthegame.com/

Clyde

@crush I really like the music and the design of the first one. I probably wouldn't play the second, but I like its ironic concept. 😉

edit: I just bought GLUF on impulse for $5. 😁

Crush

@clyde said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

@crush I really like the music and the design of the first one. I probably wouldn't play the second, but I like its ironic concept. 😉

edit: I just bought GLUF on impulse for $5. 😁

haha yeah i got a fun 10 minutes out of ASAP.
I found GLUF very refreshing and i ended up playing for quite some time, that one is definitely worth donating some money for.

Clyde

@crush I just spent over an hour to import a video, screenshot, cover, and metadata into Skyscraper's cache to integrate GLUF in my RetroPie setup, only to play it like 10 minutes on my upright cabinet as a final test. 🙃 But I certainly will play it more, soon! The music alone is kinda addictive …

edit: I will certainly look into the other games from RetroSouls. 👍️

Auster

Can the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection from Steam be played in an emulator? I tried messing around with the files and using different emulators, but I always get some error.

Crush

@auster said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

Can the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection from Steam be played in an emulator? I tried messing around with the files and using different emulators, but I always get some error.
That one isnt available anymore (cause of GFWL), but if it uses the same files as the Mortal Kombat Kollection which i assume it does, then no you cant use it.

point of reference MK1 uses these 4 files in that version.

MK1.BIN
MK1AUDIO.BIN
MK1COMP.BIN
MK1IMAGE.BIN

Auster

@crush said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

@auster said in Where to (legally) acquire content to play on RetroPie:

Can the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection from Steam be played in an emulator? I tried messing around with the files and using different emulators, but I always get some error.
That one isnt available anymore (cause of GFWL), but if it uses the same files as the Mortal Kombat Kollection which i assume it does, then no you cant use it.

point of reference MK1 uses these 4 files in that version.
MK1.BIN
MK1AUDIO.BIN
MK1COMP.BIN
MK1IMAGE.BIN

Oh, so it isn't possible to use these files as roms at all? RIP
Thanks for answering, btw.

Both games from Spoony Bard Productions on Itchio come as NES roms, and they also come with demos:

Eskimo Bob: Starring Alfonzo: https://spoony-bard-productions.itch.io/eskimo-bob

Alfonzo's Arctic Adventure: https://spoony-bard-productions.itch.io/alfonzos-arctic-adventure

Both games are on Steam as well, but I can't check them since I didn't buy them there yet. The developer also made Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl which is on Steam, but I also don't own it on Steam so I can't check.

Auster

Orphea by Skyboy Games
Platform: NES
Link: https://skyboygames.itch.io/orphea
Also it's free to claim for the next ~6 days.

Spacegulls by Morphcat Games
Platform: NES
Link: https://morphcatgames.itch.io/spacegulls
Freeware, but you can pay for it if you want.

Clyde

There's an SNK sale for the next six days on GOG.com. You can extract many of the Neo Geo games for RetroPie from the installer files, see here about how to do that. (AFAIK, this does not apply to the 40th Anniversary Collection or the King of Fighters XIII + XIV Galaxy Editions.)

lionel_Z80

@clyde It may be possible to extract some games from the "SNK 40th anniversary" with one of the two scripts that I mentioned in this post: https://retropie.org.uk/forum/post/254003

Lionel

Folly

The makers of the "Aardvark ROMs", for atari2600, have released it over here :
https://atariage.com/forums/topic/319647-aardvark-rom-release/

themazingness

Dere Evil.exe is on sale on Steam for $0.54 USD, normally $0.99 USD. It isn't a ROM game itself, however, it has free DLC called PROTO DERE.nes which is. The DLC comes with two different versions of the ROM in case one isn't compatible with your emulator of choice (looks like they're different mappers).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/871950/DERE_EVIL_EXE/

themazingness

This post is deleted!

themazingness

I played through Proto Dere.nes tonight. It was a blast. It is super short but was definitely worth it.

Incidentally, DERE EXE: Rebirth of Horror is free (not a rom). I'm suspect it is free for a limited time, but I'm not sure.