Let's address the elephant in the room: storage space.

Whether you are reliving your childhood in your browser, building a bartop arcade, or modding a PlayStation Classic, tracking down a clean, verified MAME 2003 non-merged ROM set is the single best step you can take toward a hassle-free retro gaming experience.

In the emulation world, there are three ways to organize these files:

💡 Even with non-merged sets, (like neogeo.zip for Neo Geo games) must still be placed in the same ROM folder. They are not bundled into game zips.

Because each file is independent, you can delete games you don't want without accidentally "breaking" others. Comparison of ROM Set Types