MSX
English-friendly titles in this collection: 1,993
Tested with CocoaMSX (1.61)
File size (uncompressed): 438.8 MB
Format: .rom, .dsk, and .cas
The MSX was Microsoft Japan's offering to the home computer market of the '80s that provided affordable, entry-level hardware and software that would shape a new standard of compatibility in the Japanese industry.
It was also built from the ground up as a gaming-first machine, with a few components under the hood that matched those inside Sega's SG-1000 and the Colecovision, with the ability to support titles on all available media at the time: Cassettes, diskettes, and cartridges. The MSX was designed in a way that newer models would be backwards compatible with all versions before it, which helped older titles sell and stick around, even after several years.
A handful of famous game series launched on the MSX first - For some prime examples, "Zanac," "Bomberman," "Mugen Senshi Valis," "Gradius," and "Parodius" all appeared here before anywhere else!
The gameplay and graphics on this original system were basic and fairly limited, but after a few years, there came the massively upgraded MSX2 and its improved 2+ and Turbo R revisions.
Special items included: Unreleased titles, prototypes, English-patched translations, homebrew titles up to 10 years after the lifespan of the system, and titles not in English that are easy enough to play without being fluent in another language.
Items removed: Non-working dumps, duplicates, multipacks that included games already in the set, and titles that require proficiency in another language to play.
Release notes: The folders in this collection separate the ROMs and diskettes from the cassettes. This is because a ROM or a disk typically load by just inserting them. However, cassettes are far trickier. For your mental health, I recommend that you keep them organized and separated the way I have them.
Please note (about emulation): Due to there being so, so, so many models of MSX computers with different hardware and upgrades, various levels of software coding quality, and three different types of media that these games originally came on, there is currently no perfect "one stop shop" setting to get all of these games up and running. However, I have found that the CocoaMSX or BlueMSX emulator in a mode that simulates the Philips MSX2 VG-8235-20 system to be the most compatible of everything I tried, most especially for cassettes. If you can't get a game to load on the VG-8235-20, try simulating these systems next, in order: MSX2+ European, Sony HB-F1XD, Toshiba HX-10E, and the Goldstar FC-200. The vast amount of titles will load just fine with those first two.
Also be aware that some games have multiple disks or cassettes, and some cassettes have a "side B." Just load the first one, and if it ever needs the next one in the series, it will ask you to insert it. I have all the files labeled clearly - Once you open the next one, it should load automatically.
You'll want to change your emulator's settings to make sure the system reboots when a ROM or disk is inserted, which will make the game start automatically.
Please note (about cassettes): When loading cassettes into your emulator, there are a few additional steps to get them running. First of all, you want to make sure that the cassette is "rewound" (preferably on insertion, that's another setting). After that, you'll need to type in a command to load the game. The problem is, there are three different commands based on how the game was put together. I have done the hard work for you and filtered the cassettes into three folders based on the command you will need to start them: BLOAD, CLOAD, and RUN. The full, exact commands are below:
BLOAD"CAS:",R
CLOAD (and after it finds the game, type RUN)
RUN"CAS:"