MAME and a Few Retro Gaming Resource Sites

I recently sorted out some retro gaming resources, so here is a short note.

MAME

MAME is now officially described as a “multi-purpose emulation framework”. It started out mainly as an arcade emulator, but now also supports many old computers, consoles, and other legacy hardware platforms.

• Official site: https://www.mamedev.org/
• Latest release: https://github.com/mamedev/mame/releases

I think MAME’s biggest value is still preserving old software and hardware information. If you just want to casually play some arcade games, MAME may not be the easiest option. But if you want compatibility, completeness, and a mature ecosystem, it is still well worth installing.

Resource Sites

mdk

https://mdk.cab/

This site is a MAME / arcade database.

Good for:

• Finding arcade ROMs
• Using together with MAME
• Filtering by year, genre, and manufacturer

edge|emulation

https://edgeemu.net/

A long-running ROM site. You can browse directly by platform from the homepage, and find NES, SNES, N64, GBA, Mega Drive, Saturn, Dreamcast, and more.

Good for:

• Finding console game ROMs
• Browsing resources directly by platform

The ROM Depot

https://theromdepot.com/

This site currently requires registration and login before use.

Good for:

• Using as a supplementary source
• Checking when the first two sites do not have what you need

Quick Pick

If you just want to find resources quickly:

• Console games: edge|emulation
• Arcade / MAME: mdk
• Supplementary source: The ROM Depot