The MSX 2 is the second generation of the MSX standard, published in 1985 by Microsoft and ASCII. It keeps the Z80A CPU and full compatibility with MSX 1 software, but changes video chip: the Yamaha V9938 brings more video memory, a 512-color palette, hardware vertical scrolling and far richer graphic modes than the first-generation TMS9918.
That technical leap enabled a library with a very recognisable look, carried by Japanese studios. Konami published some of its greatest 8-bit titles on it — Metal Gear (1987), Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, SD Snatcher, Vampire Killer, Nemesis 2 and 3 — often with cartridges embedding their own sound extension (SCC). Compile, with the Aleste series, and Micro Cabin also left their mark on the platform.
The MSX 2 mostly lived in Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, Brazil and South Korea. The standard then evolved into MSX2+ (1988) and MSX Turbo R (1990), the latter having its own system in Recalbox.
Emulator availability per board:
| Emulator | RPI3/RPI02W | RPI4/400 | RPI5/500 | OGA/OGS/RG351 | PC | RG353 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libretro bluemsx | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Libretro fmsx | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
blueMSX is the default emulator on every board: it is the most accurate one and the only one handling CRT output. Recalbox configures it as an "MSX2+" type machine, which also runs MSX 2 software. fMSX is a lighter fallback. Netplay is not available on this system, but RetroAchievements are supported.
A keyboard is recommended on this system. The MSX 2 boots into BASIC, floppy games are often loaded with a command, and many titles — Japanese adventure and role-playing games in particular — expect specific keys or text input. Without a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, part of the library stays out of reach. The mouse is optional: only a few drawing and office programs use it.
The blueMSX core does not start without its set of machine ROMs. All those files come from the official blueMSX v2.8.2 ("full" edition) package: get it, then copy its Machines folder as is into /recalbox/share/bios/, keeping folder and file names, spaces included.
/recalbox/share/bios/
└── Machines/
├── Forte II Games - Pesadelo/
├── MSX - C-BIOS/
├── MSX2 - C-BIOS/
├── MSX2+ - C-BIOS/
├── MSX2+ - European/
├── SEGA - SF-7000/
└── Shared Roms/
This
Machinesfolder is shared by every system using blueMSX: MSX 1, MSX 2, MSX Turbo R, Spectravideo, ColecoVision and SG-1000. It therefore only has to be installed once.
Complete list of the expected files:
| File name | Description | MD5 | Emulators |
|---|---|---|---|
Machines/Forte II Games - Pesadelo/pesadelo.rom |
Forte II Games Pesadelo machine | ba53d700ec25bcb08020ce693319cd28 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX - C-BIOS/cbios_logo_msx1.rom |
C-BIOS MSX1 (free BIOS) | 25b5cdea5040883a206b89845cdf55f1 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX - C-BIOS/cbios_main_msx1.rom |
C-BIOS MSX1 (free BIOS) | 87b27f48cc25e2b6f749c019587d5f23 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2 - C-BIOS/cbios_logo_msx2.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2 (free BIOS) | 659db9142e62c51f2f75fd52fac78e44 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2 - C-BIOS/cbios_main_msx2.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2 (free BIOS) | 98b94c2d99066f272bb5de07778f7fd1 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2 - C-BIOS/cbios_sub.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2 (free BIOS) | 9dd9a69432cc116d0f1d4ec7a51053e0 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - C-BIOS/cbios_logo_msx2+.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2+ (free BIOS) | 462d6ecb52a8c35dd7d48c2d46687f14 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - C-BIOS/cbios_main_msx2+.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2+ (free BIOS) | 0a34c660614ead31dab78638ce7745e9 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - C-BIOS/cbios_music.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2+ (free BIOS) | e09783c4ec6d4770c5395c42bb0e1d91 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - C-BIOS/cbios_sub.rom |
C-BIOS MSX2+ (free BIOS) | 9dd9a69432cc116d0f1d4ec7a51053e0 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/KANJI.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | acf53887c2d2783dc059a9b442c86b90 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/MSX2PMUS.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | f877f32e6d8687474ac5ee83e40de23b | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/MSXKANJI.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | 9dfdebfaa6b547222a40aab8bb2e29f8 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/Msx2pe.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | 277fd57c13f301fb4b366845a32d673a | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/Msx2pexte.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | f78ab735aaad7045badbda8f4c8ac751 | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/PANASONICDISK.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | 00aa02b6077de40a0b51d71a3c3e1d5f | blueMSX |
Machines/MSX2+ - European/XBASIC2.rom |
European MSX2+ machine | 0b6120f289336538bc564548109f97c6 | blueMSX |
Machines/SEGA - SF-7000/sf7000.rom |
Sega SF-7000 machine | 561b362f9aa4cbcb240461abf83c2e0d | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/ARAB1.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 7fa0558bcec9dba310579521623d9f6a | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/ARABIC.rom |
Shared system ROM | 20c4b5d1d9469c201b145f082ec32658 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/BEERIDE.ROM |
Shared system ROM | b32279f2700652a5ce0a809318626763 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/FMPAC.rom |
Shared system ROM | 6f69cc8b5ed761b03afd78000dfb0e19 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/GCVMX80.ROM |
Shared system ROM | fd0b8f1766dc6dcc03a43d9c79dc4e37 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/HANGUL.rom |
Shared system ROM | 9baf17b190f631405b6b0eeeeb162b87 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/KANJI.rom |
Shared system ROM | acf53887c2d2783dc059a9b442c86b90 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MICROSOLDISK.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 02e8b1f96049f09d6d3a735647cbbb2a | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MOONSOUND.rom |
Shared system ROM | 42af93619160ef2116416f74a6cb12f2 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX.rom |
Shared system ROM | 364a1a579fe5cb8dba54519bcfcdac0d | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2.rom |
Shared system ROM | ec3a01c91f24fbddcbcab0ad301bc9ef | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2AR.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 91764e84f977671ac7caa50b36273fd2 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2AREXT.ROM |
Shared system ROM | be5d1ec8001d945ca1432285722e9d16 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2BR.rom |
Shared system ROM | d3df424728a225b301510f5384cae583 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2BREXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 355c6d5ee31da441d485cd89ca906413 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2EXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 2183c2aff17cf4297bdb496de78c2e8a | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2FR.rom |
Shared system ROM | 7af9e84da1520a8a7fb82e73703e5075 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2FREXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 6ffe789cca2eca9d2e71ca7b69b97e6b | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2G.rom |
Shared system ROM | b6c33b7b3508d691d7872589c778f808 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2GEXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 4047ce143a8bf391e21991835aa65b59 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2HAN.rom |
Shared system ROM | 7b9466546009d419ebd0dc27db90c30e | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2J.rom |
Shared system ROM | 53bec1c22b30c0a15263e04b91a7814f | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2JEXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 8aabde714a42256bef36ea9b04f6ef59 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2KR.rom |
Shared system ROM | 6819a1533502261bfdd52436b8346073 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2KREXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 30a0b3402a0a13b516af76d39f45a365 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2P.rom |
Shared system ROM | 847cc025ffae665487940ff2639540e5 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2PEXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 7c8243c71d8f143b2531f01afa6a05dc | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2PMUS.rom |
Shared system ROM | f877f32e6d8687474ac5ee83e40de23b | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2R.rom |
Shared system ROM | db56360c85ef8410dc4bcf8e8602f61e | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2R2.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 96ac231b718e88ce64d5a9b4a5e9ae12 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2REXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 8e4af1124e2b82fbdc74a7bc5f20dc6e | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2SE.rom |
Shared system ROM | fb8f7ab15e32a91147204bd7f7a1b451 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2SP.rom |
Shared system ROM | 79caefa20a0d056fb42eaeca856c6f82 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSX2SPEXT.rom |
Shared system ROM | d71842ce8f559a8aed2721766bc15f2b | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXAR.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 793e3b833c33be7aaf834beacb8fb926 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXBR.rom |
Shared system ROM | d13c1fc9ad4897c322f51aab3ad3b30d | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXDOS23.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 56bf5b02fed377b7bb9d91f914965431 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXFR.rom |
Shared system ROM | 6f43d28ac4a69182c860c2db0e18ee6d | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXG.rom |
Shared system ROM | 4655329d3f37bf1a655d05f2abd1aa62 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXHAN.rom |
Shared system ROM | 394efbc50fb7df1151130d8c162f85c3 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXJ.rom |
Shared system ROM | f005e55c680ba6e7b19f6d4dc8f73ce5 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXKANJI.rom |
Shared system ROM | 9dfdebfaa6b547222a40aab8bb2e29f8 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXKR.rom |
Shared system ROM | c84f362c44192659273d45ae97462362 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXR.rom |
Shared system ROM | 0db9592930488259fc1a5c127215e784 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXR2.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 704bdd980fa56c6be5c680358458eeeb | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXSE.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 161cb768c52a13f5b38ba46e721b68c1 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXSP.rom |
Shared system ROM | 51af5b19aeccf94eb8e03bce0b5d33c4 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXTR.ROM |
Shared system ROM | fd9513736823e470965949f2a3ec6a43 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXTREXT.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 824b1c4475a3bd3b91c5ae81ea940aa2 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXTRMUS.ROM |
Shared system ROM | c688a229f834f95f8c64df7d33188cd8 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/MSXTROPT.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 2cba0d812ec445cfe63ffa2cac8d42c2 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/NATIONALDISK.rom |
Shared system ROM | 86269da485e852d9f581ac27f4ba32ff | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/NOVAXIS.rom |
Shared system ROM | 20989124671593ab04eeb01d52a1e25c | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/PAINT.rom |
Shared system ROM | 41db0d7b37be479296ffd59fcd6775f0 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/PANASONICDISK.rom |
Shared system ROM | 00aa02b6077de40a0b51d71a3c3e1d5f | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/PHILIPSDISK.rom |
Shared system ROM | 01dd1d72ed9bb6afe8a9b441c198a1cd | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/RS232.ROM |
Shared system ROM | 55cca200bbbdd0a1ec5c9d70966c05c0 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/SUNRISEIDE.rom |
Shared system ROM | 7b564497beb2c0de0847f107dec00ddf | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/SWP.rom |
Shared system ROM | 490db04e2a3c1c993a2a9d3611949c76 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/XBASIC2.rom |
Shared system ROM | 0b6120f289336538bc564548109f97c6 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/nowindDos1.rom |
Shared system ROM | 8c294a75f14fc30fce0c8642d28ccec1 | blueMSX |
Machines/Shared Roms/nowindDos2.rom |
Shared system ROM | 1847398c014384b833868c64f149f338 | blueMSX |
The second core, fMSX, does not use blueMSX's Machines/ folder: it expects its own rom set in /recalbox/share/bios/msx/. These files are optional — fMSX boots without them, using its built-in free BIOS — but they are needed to get the exact behaviour of the original machines, the floppy drive, the FM-PAC or the Japanese and Cyrillic fonts.
| File name | Description | MD5 |
|---|---|---|
msx/MSX.ROM |
MSX 1 BIOS | aa95aea2563cd5ec0a0919b44cc17d47 |
msx/MSX2.ROM |
MSX 2 BIOS | ec3a01c91f24fbddcbcab0ad301bc9ef |
msx/MSX2EXT.ROM |
Extension MSX 2 BIOS | 2183c2aff17cf4297bdb496de78c2e8a |
msx/MSX2P.ROM |
MSX 2+ BIOS | 6d8c0ca64e726c82a4b726e9b01cdf1e |
msx/MSX2PEXT.ROM |
Extension MSX 2+ BIOS | 7c8243c71d8f143b2531f01afa6a05dc |
msx/DISK.ROM |
Floppy disk controller | 80dcd1ad1a4cf65d64b7ba10504e8190 |
msx/MSXDOS2.ROM |
MSX-DOS 2 | 6418d091cd6907bbcf940324339e43bb |
msx/FMPAC.ROM |
FM-PAC sound cartridge | 6f69cc8b5ed761b03afd78000dfb0e19 |
msx/FMPAC16.ROM |
FM-PAC sound cartridge (16 KB) | af8537262df8df267072f359399a7635 |
msx/KANJI.ROM |
Kanji font | febe8782b466d7c3b16de6d104826b34 |
msx/CYRILLIC.FNT |
Cyrillic font | 85b38e4128bbc300e675f55b278683a8 |
msx/ITALIC.FNT |
Italic font | c83e50e9f33b8dd893c414691822740d |
msx/PAINTER.ROM |
Painter cartridge | 403cdea1cbd2bb24fae506941f8f655e |
msx/RS232.ROM |
RS-232 serial interface | 279efd1eae0d358eecd4edc7d9adedf3 |
msx/CARTS.SHA |
Cartridge checksum database | d6dedca1112ddfda94cc9b2e426b818b, 74b0f217fa0e2b8bb5a2f8e2ecc69da3 |
This
msx/folder is shared too, between MSX 1, MSX 2 and MSX turbo R: installing it once is enough.
Put your games in:
/recalbox/share/roms/msx2/
Supported extensions per emulator:
| Emulator | Extensions |
|---|---|
| blueMSX | .cas .dsk .m3u .mx1 .mx2 .ri .rom .zip .7z |
| fMSX | .cas .dsk .m3u .msx1 .msx2 .rom .zip .7z |
A few landmarks about those formats:
.rom, .mx1 and .mx2 are cartridge images, .mx2 standing for MSX 2 cartridges;.dsk is a 3"½ floppy disk image, the most common medium on MSX 2;.cas is a tape image, .ri a cartridge image produced by some dumpers;.zip and .7z archives start without being extracted.For a game spread over several floppy disks — a frequent case on MSX 2 — create a
.m3ufile listing the images in order, one per line, and start that.m3u: disk swapping is then done from the emulator menu, without leaving the game.