A NDS ROMs Domain is one of the best kept secrets of owning a Nintendo DS. If you don't know about it already, it's a website where you can download thousands of free Nintendo DS games called ROMs.
But hang on, you might ask, what are ROMs? And why do I want them? So here's a little explanation.
ROM, or ROMs as they're more commonly known, are small files that are copies of data from a read-only memory chip like a Nintendo DS cartridge or the main board from an arcade cabinet like Galaga or Pac-Man.
The key thing to know about ROMs is that they're quite small. Unlike PC or console games, which can take up to several gigabytes for one game, NDS ROMs are around 32 to 128 megabytes per game depending on which game you download. The smaller size means you could store hundreds or even thousands of games on your computer - and people do!
Another great feature of ROMs is that you can store them on your PC and they don't get old and dusty unlike your old Gameboy cartridges. If your Nintendo DS cartridge gets dunked in a cup of Coke you can't repair it, but you can download the game again whenever you want - for free!
Unfortunately, you can't use the ROMs just yet. If you want to get started playing, you'll need one of two things: an emulator, to play the ROMs on your PC, or something like an Revolution 4 DS chip for the Nintendo DS yourself. This article isn't for instructions on how to use either, but if you do some quick research you'll learn how to get to grips with both pretty quickly.
Now assuming that you've got the software or the hardware to use ROMs, where do you get them from?
My favourite website is ROM Freaks which contains almost 5000 ROMs for the NDS. They've also got ROMs for Gameboy Advance, the Gameboy Color, Nintendo 64 and thousands more for different consoles. ROM Freaks also contains a number of image files for popular PC games as well.
Another great site is Romulation. Again, like ROM Freaks, Romulation has almost 5000 ROMs for the Nintendo DS alone. They've also got ROMs for the PlayStation, GameCube, Dreamcast and other old consoles. Romulation also have an updated list of all the upcoming Nintendo DS releases, as well as a forum where you can ask questions with other users.
Finally, the best advantage of downloading ROMs is that you won't get caught! Nintendo doesn't track ROMs like the music industry tracks mp3s or the film industry tracks movies online, so you can download free of fear. So if you've got a Nintendo DS, but always wanted more then go to Romulation or ROM Freaks and start downloading thousands of games now!
0
No comments:
Post a Comment