Arcade (FBNeo)

Arcade games run on the bundled FBNeo core and need more care than console ROMs: the files are zips with cryptic databases names, they must not be renamed, and some games need extra support files.

Where games go

Put your game zips straight into:

Roms/Arcade (FBN)/
├── dino.zip
├── mslug.zip
├── neogeo.zip      ← BIOS set, next to the games
└── sf2.zip

Never rename the zips

FBNeo identifies a game by its zip filename (the MAME-style short name, e.g. sf2 = Street Fighter II) and by the ROM files inside it. Renaming sf2.zip to Street Fighter II.zip breaks the game entirely.

To get readable names in the game list, use a map.txt instead — this is the intended way for arcade folders:

Roms/Arcade (FBN)/map.txt:

dino.zip    Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
mslug.zip   Metal Slug
sf2.zip Street Fighter II

(Filename, then a single tab, then the display name.)

Romset version matters

FBNeo only loads zips that match its own ROM database — sets built for MAME or for a different FBNeo version often fail with missing/bad ROM errors. Use a FBNeo romset, and prefer non-merged sets (each zip self-contained); with split/merged sets, a clone needs its parent zip in the same folder.

BIOS sets (neogeo.zip and friends)

Games on BIOS-based boards need the board's BIOS zip in the same folder as the game — most commonly neogeo.zip for Neo Geo titles (Metal Slug, KOF, …). The BIOS zip is part of the romset, and its version must match too. You can hide it from the game list with a dot alias in map.txt:

neogeo.zip  .hidden

Sound samples

A few classics (mostly pre-1990) play some or all of their audio from sample packs. FBNeo looks for them under the system's BIOS folder:

Bios/FBN/fbneo/samples/<game>.zip

Games run without samples — those sounds are just missing or replaced by approximations.