Vimm’s Lair is one of those websites that offer great ROMs for retro game lovers. It provides games for 13 consoles with the direct download links for Vimms ROMs.
Even since Nintendo has filed lawsuits against various big ROM websites, it’s not easy to download ROMs.
The website initially might look a little bit scary as it has a unique color combination.
You can also play the games online using the flash player if you want to. The option is present right next to the download button of ROM if it’s available to play.
The downloading speed of the links might be a little slow as compared to download from other servers.
Also, you cannot download multiple files simultaneously. Vimm has done that to preserve as much as bandwidth as possible.
The archive.org is I think the next best option to download the ROMs. I will provide the link to the few of the best ROMs at the end of the article to download.
Is Vimm’s Lair Safe?
Yes. Vimm’s Lair is entirely safe to download ROMs. All of the ROMs, excluding the hacked and translated ROMs, are verified on No-Intro.
No-Intro is an organization that catalogs the ROM dumps.
They provide DAT files of the ROMs, which contain Name, Hashes, Serial and other information, which is closest to the original media (the best possible dump of the game).
So, you can compare the ROM information with the data on No-Intro’s website so that you will get the best copy of the game.
How to Verify Vimm’s ROM with No-Intro’s data?
- Visit the Vimms website and select ROM, which you wanted to validate. For example, I am going to compare the data of the Batman game, which was available on Nintendo.
Nintendo – Batman ROM - I am going to compare the CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) code with one mentioned on No-Intro. CRC code is present in the ROM details block.
Batman ROM CRC & MD5 Info - Now go to www.datomatic.no-intro.org, which is a subdomain of the No-Intro website. You can visit the URL from the no-intro site also from the option under the downloads.
- Now, select the console to which your ROM belongs. I am choosing the “Nintendo-Nintendo Entertainment System.”
Datomatic – Console selection Menu - You can search using the serial number or the name of the game. I am exploring using serial, which is NES-B4-USA.
ROM Search results - Click on the result, and a new page will open with a catalog of all dumps.
- You can compare the CRC, MD5, and SHA1. They are the same as with the Vimms ROMs.
Comparison between Dotomatic Dump & Vimm’s ROM - So, You can say that it is safe to download.
Vimm has done a great job and has provided the links of the best ROMs.
He has ROMs to add info about himself, which I don’t find is much of an issue. You are getting free ROMs to download, so I don’t complain about that.
Steps to download Vimms ROMs
Download steps are pretty much self-explanatory and straightforward. But if you are new to the website or having any issues, you can follow the below steps to download ROM.
- Go to the Vimms website.
- You can find many options on the left-hand side menu. The “Emulation Lair” is used to download the emulator for your device. While “The Vault” contains all of the ROMs.
Vimm’s Lair site menu - Select “The Vault” option. A list of Consoles will be visible on the screen right below the main menu.
- Now select the console for which you have downloaded the emulator.
Console and ROM selection on Vimm’s site - Select the desired ROM from the list opened on the page. A new page will open with download options.
- Click on the Download button to start the Download.
Vimms Roms – Marvel vs. Capcom ROM
In this way, you can download any other game on this website. You can also play these games online using flash player.
There will be an option present right next to the download button if any game is playable online.
You can follow the below-mentioned video tutorials to install the emulator and playing the game on it.
1. Tutorial for PC
You can use the Dreamcast emulator for your Ubuntu, Windows, or Android device. Here is the tutorial for Ubuntu users.
Similar steps can be used for other emulators and downloading the ROM.
2. Tutorial for Android
Conclusion
Vimms Lair has, no doubt, created one of the excellent websites to download the ROMs. If you can remember the name of the game which you used to play in childhood, you can download it here.
It’s an excellent website for retro game lovers, and I cannot recommend it enough.
You can also play a few of the games online in the browser using the Flash Player. If you are facing any issues, then you can leave a comment through the comment section below.
Bonus Links
You can download No-Intro ROMs in bulk from Archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/no-intro_romsets
https://archive.org/details/no-intro-rom-sets
