Rom Abbreviations


camokid

Still Fresh
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
Messages
51
Age
42
Website
Visit site
Hi

I have many a full rom set, but one thing that has always confused me is the amount of abbreviations attached to rom file names, eg [!], (W), (REV 00) etc etc.

Any one know a source for finding out what they all mean?
 
ROMs Symbol Meanings

Ever wonder what those little symbols next to the ROM names meant? Well, here is the official GoodTools listing:


..................
...............: STANDARD CODES :................
: :\
: [a] Alternate [p] Pirate :\
: Bad Dump [t] Trained :\
: [f] Fixed [T] Translation :\
: [h] Hack [x] Bad Checksum :\
: [o] Overdump [!] Verified Good Dump :\
: (M#) Multilanguage (# of Languages) :\
: (###) Checksum (??k) ROM Size :\
: ZZZ_ Unclassified :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.................
................: SPECIAL CODES ::...............
: :\
: .-----Gameboy-----. .----Super Nintendo----. :\
: [ [C] Color ] [ (BS) BS ROMs ] :\
: [ Super ] [ (ST) Sufami Turbo ] :\
: [ [BF] Bung Fix ] [ (NP) Nintendo Power ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
: :\
: .-----Genesis-----. .--------Atari---------. :\
: [ (1) Japan ] [ (PAL) Euro Version ] :\
: [ (4) USA ] `----------------------' :\
: [ (5) NTSC Only ] :\
: [ (8) PAL Only ] :\
: [ (B) non USA ] .--------Coleco--------. :\
: [ [c] Checksum ] [ (Adam) ADAM Version ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
: :\
: .--NeoGeo Pocket--. .-------Nintendo-------. :\
: [ [M] Mono Only ] [ (PC10) PlayChoice 10 ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.................
................: COUNTRY CODES ::...............
: :\
: (1) Japan & Korea (4) USA & BrazilNTSC :\
: (A) Australia (J) Japan :\
: (B) non USA (Gen) (K) Korea :\
: © China (NL) Netherlands :\
: (E) Europe (PD) Public Domain :\
: (F) France (S) Spain :\
: (FC) French Canadian (SW) Sweden :\
: (FN) Finland (U) USA :\
: (G) Germany (UK) England :\
: (GR) Greece (Unl) Unlicensed :\
: (HK) Hong Kong (Unk) Unknown Country :\
: (I) Italy (-) Unknown Country :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.......................
.............: STANDARD CODE NOTES ::............
: :\
: [a] This is simply an alternate version of a :\
: ROM. Many games have been re-released to :\
: fix bugs or even to eliminate Game Genie :\
: codes (Yes, Nintendo hates that device). :\
: ------------------- :\
: A bad dump often occurs with an older :\
: game or a faulty dumper (bad connection). :\
: Another common source of ROMs is a :\
: corrupted upload to a release FTP. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [f] A fixed game has been altered in some way :\
: so that it will run better on a copier :\
: or emulator. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [h] Something in this ROM is not quite as it :\
: should be. Often a hacked ROM simply has :\
: a changed header or has been enabled to :\
: run in different regions. Other times it :\
: could be a release group intro, or just :\
: some kind of cheating or funny hack. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [o] An overdumped ROM image has more data :\
: than is actually in the cart. The extra :\
: information means nothing and is removed :\
: from the true image. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [t] A trainer is special code which executes :\
: before the game is begun. It allows you :\
: to access cheats from a menu. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [!] Verified good dump. Thank God for these! :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

......................
.............: SPECIAL CODE NOTES ::.............
: :\
: **** SNES **** :\
: (BS) These Japanese ROMs were distributed :\
: through a satellite system in Japan :\
: known as the Broadcast Satellaview. :\
: They were transmitted along with a TV :\
: show which was connected to the game in :\
: some way. These games were only playable :\
: during the show, and thus stop after an :\
: hour, and many were timed so that only :\
: certain time periods were playable. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (ST) The Sufami Turbo device allowed two :\
: GameBoy sized carts to be plugged into :\
: the SNES. Certain carts combined into :\
: new games much like the Sonic & Knuckles :\
: lock-on technology by Sega. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (NP) Nintendo Power has been known to release :\
: games only available to its subscribers. :\
: Most of these ROMs are Japanese, as this :\
: practice occured mainly in Japan. :\
: ------------------- :\
: :\
: **** Genesis **** :\
: (1) Carts with this code will run on both :\
: Japanese and Korean machines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (4) While this code is technically the same :\
: as a (U) code, it is a newer header :\
: format and represents that the cart will :\
: run on USA and Brazil NTSC machines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (B) This country code indicates that the :\
: cart will run on any non US machine. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [c] This code represents a cart with known :\
: faulty checksum routines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: :\
: **** GameBoy **** :\
: [BF] Bung released a programmable cartridge :\
: compatable with the GameBoy which could :\
: hold any data you wished to play. :\
: However, many games do not function on :\
: Bung v1.0 carts and have to be 'fixed.' :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

...........
...................: Credits ::..................
: :\
: Document written by Psych0phobiA / q^-o|o-^p :\
: :\
: All codes developed by Cowering for the :\
: Goodxxxx series ROM file renaming utilities. :\
: :\
: Visit #rareroms on NewNet in IRC! :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
 
I must admit I have always wondered that. I know that (E) means a European rom, (U) means a US rom, and (J) means a Japanese rom but I haven't got the faintest idea what the rest means. :blink:

Edit: Well I certainly know now lol.
 
PokeParadox posted on Feb 8 2006 at 12:01 PM said:
ROMs Symbol Meanings

Ever wonder what those little symbols next to the ROM names meant? Well, here is the official GoodTools listing:


..................
...............: STANDARD CODES :................
: :\
: [a] Alternate [p] Pirate :\
: Bad Dump [t] Trained :\
: [f] Fixed [T] Translation :\
: [h] Hack [x] Bad Checksum :\
: [o] Overdump [!] Verified Good Dump :\
: (M#) Multilanguage (# of Languages) :\
: (###) Checksum (??k) ROM Size :\
: ZZZ_ Unclassified :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.................
................: SPECIAL CODES ::...............
: :\
: .-----Gameboy-----. .----Super Nintendo----. :\
: [ [C] Color ] [ (BS) BS ROMs ] :\
: [ Super ] [ (ST) Sufami Turbo ] :\
: [ [BF] Bung Fix ] [ (NP) Nintendo Power ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
: :\
: .-----Genesis-----. .--------Atari---------. :\
: [ (1) Japan ] [ (PAL) Euro Version ] :\
: [ (4) USA ] `----------------------' :\
: [ (5) NTSC Only ] :\
: [ (8) PAL Only ] :\
: [ (B) non USA ] .--------Coleco--------. :\
: [ [c] Checksum ] [ (Adam) ADAM Version ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
: :\
: .--NeoGeo Pocket--. .-------Nintendo-------. :\
: [ [M] Mono Only ] [ (PC10) PlayChoice 10 ] :\
: `-----------------' `----------------------' :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.................
................: COUNTRY CODES ::...............
: :\
: (1) Japan & Korea (4) USA & BrazilNTSC :\
: (A) Australia (J) Japan :\
: (B) non USA (Gen) (K) Korea :\
: © China (NL) Netherlands :\
: (E) Europe (PD) Public Domain :\
: (F) France (S) Spain :\
: (FC) French Canadian (SW) Sweden :\
: (FN) Finland (U) USA :\
: (G) Germany (UK) England :\
: (GR) Greece (Unl) Unlicensed :\
: (HK) Hong Kong (Unk) Unknown Country :\
: (I) Italy (-) Unknown Country :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

.......................
.............: STANDARD CODE NOTES ::............
: :\
: [a] This is simply an alternate version of a :\
: ROM. Many games have been re-released to :\
: fix bugs or even to eliminate Game Genie :\
: codes (Yes, Nintendo hates that device). :\
: ------------------- :\
: A bad dump often occurs with an older :\
: game or a faulty dumper (bad connection). :\
: Another common source of ROMs is a :\
: corrupted upload to a release FTP. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [f] A fixed game has been altered in some way :\
: so that it will run better on a copier :\
: or emulator. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [h] Something in this ROM is not quite as it :\
: should be. Often a hacked ROM simply has :\
: a changed header or has been enabled to :\
: run in different regions. Other times it :\
: could be a release group intro, or just :\
: some kind of cheating or funny hack. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [o] An overdumped ROM image has more data :\
: than is actually in the cart. The extra :\
: information means nothing and is removed :\
: from the true image. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [t] A trainer is special code which executes :\
: before the game is begun. It allows you :\
: to access cheats from a menu. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [!] Verified good dump. Thank God for these! :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

......................
.............: SPECIAL CODE NOTES ::.............
: :\
: **** SNES **** :\
: (BS) These Japanese ROMs were distributed :\
: through a satellite system in Japan :\
: known as the Broadcast Satellaview. :\
: They were transmitted along with a TV :\
: show which was connected to the game in :\
: some way. These games were only playable :\
: during the show, and thus stop after an :\
: hour, and many were timed so that only :\
: certain time periods were playable. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (ST) The Sufami Turbo device allowed two :\
: GameBoy sized carts to be plugged into :\
: the SNES. Certain carts combined into :\
: new games much like the Sonic & Knuckles :\
: lock-on technology by Sega. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (NP) Nintendo Power has been known to release :\
: games only available to its subscribers. :\
: Most of these ROMs are Japanese, as this :\
: practice occured mainly in Japan. :\
: ------------------- :\
: :\
: **** Genesis **** :\
: (1) Carts with this code will run on both :\
: Japanese and Korean machines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (4) While this code is technically the same :\
: as a (U) code, it is a newer header :\
: format and represents that the cart will :\
: run on USA and Brazil NTSC machines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: (B) This country code indicates that the :\
: cart will run on any non US machine. :\
: ------------------- :\
: [c] This code represents a cart with known :\
: faulty checksum routines. :\
: ------------------- :\
: :\
: **** GameBoy **** :\
: [BF] Bung released a programmable cartridge :\
: compatable with the GameBoy which could :\
: hold any data you wished to play. :\
: However, many games do not function on :\
: Bung v1.0 carts and have to be 'fixed.' :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

...........
...................: Credits ::..................
: :\
: Document written by Psych0phobiA / q^-o|o-^p :\
: :\
: All codes developed by Cowering for the :\
: Goodxxxx series ROM file renaming utilities. :\
: :\
: Visit #rareroms on NewNet in IRC! :\
:...............................................:\
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\



I'm sorry, but could you be a little clearer?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Anybody know what PRG means? I've always wondered and I don't see it on that list.
 
lubidog posted on Feb 8 2006 at 01:22 PM said:
I'm sorry, but could you be a little clearer?

i think it's pretty clear, but there are a few things. Like, what is a 'bad dump' 'over dump' 'fixed' etc, that are rom specific terms that people may not be aware of. However, if you take a look at the lower section these are explained.

Overall the list is great, exactly what i wanted! thanks for the fast info!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
No problem... I've been into the emulation scene for quite a while, so most of the meanings I remember... although some of the more obscure ones I sometimes have to lookup.

PS: NO I couldn't make it any clearer.

Well possibly if you mention which symbol you want explaining...
 
i too wondered what [!] was, im glad i found out it means good verified dump..as ive had a lot of those.

not sure what bad, good, overdump, etc really means though..
 
Paradox posted on Feb 8 2006 at 03:08 PM said:
not sure what bad, good, overdump, etc really means though..

it's written in that list/document ;)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Code:
(1)	Japan/Korea
(4)	USA/Brazil NTSC
[a]	Alternate
(A)	Australia
(ADAM)	Coleco Adam version
[b]	Bad Dump
(B)	Non-USA
[BF]	GB Bung Fix
(BS)	SNES BS ROMs
[c]	Checksum
[C]	GBC
©  China
(E)	Europe
[f]	Fixed 
(F)	France
(FC)	French Canadian
(FN)	Finland
(G)	Germany
(GR)	Greece
[h]	Hack 
(HK)	Hong Kong
(I)	Italy
(J)	Japan
(K)	Korea
[M]	NeoGeo Pocket - Mono Only
(M#)	Multilanguage (# of Languages)
(NL)	Netherlands
(NP)	SNES Nintendo Power
[o]	Overdump
[p]	Pirate
(PAL)	Atari Euro version
(PC10)	Nintendo PlayChoice 10
(PD)	Public Domain
[S]	GB Super
(S)	Spain
(ST)	SNES Sufami Turbo
(SW)	Sweden
[t]	Trained
[T]	Translation
(U)	USA
(UK)	UK
(Unl)	Unlicensed
(Unk)	Unknown country
[x]	Bad Checksum
[!]	Verified Good Dump
(-)	Unknown country
(###)	Checksum 
(??k)	ROM Size
ZZZ_	Unclassified

That should be a bit easier to read...
 
Er, yes I was joking. Yes I did need to quote the whole quote.

I hope that clears things up.



(Jeez!)
 
Paradox posted on Feb 8 2006 at 10:08 AM said:
not sure what bad, good, overdump, etc really means though..
Bad dumps are basically just roms that weren't dumped properly and likely have bad data in them. Overdumps occur when someone dumps "more" than the cartridge actually contained... often there's no obvious way to tell how much memory is actually in a cartridge, and when you start reading data past the "end", you'll either get garbage data or a mirror image of the data that was already read.

Unless there is no good dump of a game available, 's and [o]'s are literally digital garbage. Please delete them. It always annoys me to see people posting these on the net and in newsgroups, as they're basically just wasting tons of bandwidth for no good reason.

--Zero
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lubidog posted on Feb 8 2006 at 05:49 PM said:
Er, yes I was joking. Yes I did need to quote the whole quote.

I hope that clears things up.



(Jeez!)
I got the joke, if that makes you feel happy :p
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top