MiSTer FPGA Forum

I have a question regarding how NES ROMs file names are determined, and then how do we interpret them as it relates to which ROMs were sold in which regions or playing on NTSC, PAL etc.

I have a few roms that have multiple regions listed in the file name of the ROM.
For example:
10-Yard Fight (USA, Europe)
1942 (Japan, USA)
just to name a few, there are others.

For example with 10-Yard Fight
Am I to understand that this ROM can be setup in the NES Core of the MiSTer, as both NTSC and PAL?
I understand that this Cart was released in North America, Europe, and Japan. But, with USA and Europe on the same ROM this is very confusing. Especially since USA is NTSC and Europe is PAL.

I find much confusion by the naming of ROMs. And how the setup should be in the MiSTer to play them correctly. I am also trying to find the ROMs from the different regions to have complete region sets as they were released. I am not asking where to find them or how to get them, buy them etc. I am trying to just understand how the ROMs are name in filed and setup and played in the MiSTer.

If a ROM was made to play on the NA region NES then play it on that setup, if a ROM was made to play in the EU PALregion then play it on that setup.

Please help me understand if possible. Thanks.

Far from all NES games were adjusted for PAL timings when they got released in Europe. My guess would be that something like "(USA, Europe)" means that the ROM contents of the US and European releases were identical, so it matches both of those. In pretty much every case that means that you should run it with NTSC timing.

mic_ wrote: ↑Sat Apr 03, 2021 6:30 pm My guess would be that something like "(USA, Europe)" means that the ROM contents of the US and European releases were identical

This is my guess too. That it may be possible that even if the cart (outside shell is different meaning serial #, graphic, labeling etc) the rom inside is exactly the same as the NTSC title.

mic_ wrote: ↑Sat Apr 03, 2021 6:30 pm My guess would be that something like "(USA, Europe)" means that the ROM contents of the US and European releases were identical, so it matches both of those. In pretty much every case that means that you should run it with NTSC timing.

Correct. If you take a look at dat-o-matic - https://datomatic.no-intro.org/index.ph ... atset&s=45 - You can see that some roms that are named like you say have the same exact hash, meaning there is zero difference in their data no matter where they are played.

So, if the roms are no different, then did the PAL Nintendo slow the game down because of 50fps?

Yes, games that were not adjusted for the difference in screen refresh rate and CPU speed between NTSC and PAL consoles will typically run slower on a PAL console, and the music will typically have slightly different pitch and tempo.

Some games were partially adjusted, so that e.g. the music would sound the same as on an NTSC console, but with the game logic updating left unchanged (resulting in things like slower movement). And some games were fully adjusted, so that they would appear to run the same on both NTSC and PAL consoles.

For example, the PAL release of Super Mario Bros 3 was fully adjusted for PAL consoles; Batman only had its music adjusted; and Castlevania wasn't adjusted at all.

Thank you mic_! That makes more sense, as I am trying to review my collection. Do you know if there is a way to look at rom and determine the correct speed it was intended to play at without looking at how it was named? I am trying to organize my collection in a way that reflects the setting in the core for example
games/NES/NES/NTSC/USA/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/NES/NTSC/CANADA/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/NES/PAL/EUROPE/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/NES/PAL/AUSTRALIA/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/NES/PAL/FRANCE/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/FAMICOM/NTSC/JAPAN/0-9, A TO Z etc
games/NES/FAMICOM/NTSC/KOREA/0-9, A TO Z etc
Dendy

http://gw.eternal.dk/pal
This page lists a decent amount of European NES releases, detailing their internal timings, whether they were properly optimized or not. If the game is listed as 60hz for both game and music speed it means that it was not optimized and is probably identical to the American release.

There little to no reason to separate the roms between US and Canada
As Canada is part of the US market back in the 80s for the NES and SNES.

There little to no reason to separate the roms between US and Canada

Were there any NES games where french in-game text was added in the Canadian release? Some PAL releases were translated into the local languages. The distinction between "Australia", "France" and "Europe" seems pretty arbitrary though. There were about a dozen different PAL variants, which in some cases were intercompatible and even identical, and in other cases were not.

mic_ wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 8:28 am

There little to no reason to separate the roms between US and Canada

Were there any NES games where french in-game text was added in the Canadian release? Some PAL releases were translated into the local languages. The distinction between "Australia", "France" and "Europe" seems pretty arbitrary though. There were about a dozen different PAL variants, which in some cases were intercompatible and even identical, and in other cases were not.

Yes, Kirby's Adventure on NES had a French-only release in Canada.

The same is true for Zelda Link's Awakening (Game Boy) and Zelda: Link to the Past (SNES).