Small (game) ROM question

[Parvini]

I was just wondering why on NES, SNES, MAME etc. ROM files there are often certain symbols and letters after the filename...

I'm referring mainly to "[!]" which one usually sees after certain versions of NES files, say for example:

Mega Man 3 (U) [!].nes

Now why has that US version of Megaman 3 got the "[!]" by it? The European and Japenese versions don't have that but this one does, WHY?!

I've also noticed several other things after games too, take this example from the SNES NBA Jam:

NBA Jam - Tournament Edition (U) [o1].smc

Now what is that "[o1]" there?

Or take this N64 Rom of Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness:

Castlevania - Legacy of Darkness (E) (M3) [!].z64

What is all this gubbins after the filename? It bothers me, if there's ever a choice between a file without a [!] and file with one I always go for the one without it, because to me the [!] suggests there's something wrong with the file.

[Eric]

I encountered this sort of thing during my infrequent sessions playing with Amiga, C64 and others, Roms.

I actually recall a page which explained these in detail - the symbols mean many things although, needless to say, I can't find that list

They can mean any of the following:

A cracked (copy protection removed) version
A modified version which has cheats available
A specific language / region version
A specific OS / Hardware version (to take advantage of special machine features, for example)

I'll keep looking for that list.

[eMTe]

http://www.oldgames.nu/forum/showthread ... adid=16403

[Eric]

That wasn't the list I had in mind but it certainly is a good one

[Swieb]

In short

[!]= means verified dump, i.e. the rom is exactly the same as the content on the cartridge.

[o1] = means first overdump. The dump is bigger then the cartridge itself. For example made by faulty dumpers. 1 means simply that there are more

(E) (M3) [!] = E means English version. M3 means 3 different languages.

More questions, feel free to post or look at the list.