You can buy an original 190 in 1 cartridge on eBay or at retro gaming conventions. Prices range from $15 (loose, dirty) to $60 (boxed with a weird manual). Insert it into a top-loader NES (AV Famicom) for the best stability. Avoid using it with a Retron 5; the emulation layer usually crashes on the pirate menu.
Why "18"? In ROM dumping communities, numbers often indicate a revision. Version 17 might have had a broken TwinBee, while Version 18 fixes it. Alternatively, "18" could be the menu design index used by a specific Chinese pirate group in the late 90s.
For millions of gamers who grew up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was the gateway to a digital universe. The gray box with its zero-insertion-force cartridge slot defined a generation. But for those living outside of Japan and North America—particularly in regions like Russia, South America, and Southeast Asia—the official licensed cartridges were often too expensive or rare. Instead, a black market phenomenon took hold: the multi-cart.
Among the most revered (and sometimes bewildering) of these pirate cartridges is the "190 in 1 NES ROM 18." While the name sounds like a technical error or a part number for a circuit board, to retro enthusiasts, it represents a specific snapshot of ROM hacking, game curation, and childhood memory.
In this article, we will dissect everything you need to know about the 190 in 1 NES ROM 18. We will explore its contents, its technical oddities, why version "18" matters, and how you can legally experience this bizarre piece of gaming history today.
Why is the number "18" so important to collectors? Because earlier revisions (15, 16, 17) had a critical flaw: Save game corruption. Since most NES games didn't save, this wasn't an issue for action games. However, Rev 18 is one of the few pirate carts that attempted to simulate battery-backed saves for titles like Zelda II or Final Fantasy (if included). 190 In 1 Nes Rom 18
Unfortunately, due to the high voltage draw of the cheap Chinese flash chips used in these carts, Rev 18 is also known for:
For emulation enthusiasts, running 190 in 1 NES ROM 18 requires a specific command line in RetroArch: -map nes_famicom_disk. Without that, the menu will boot to a black screen or a jumbled mess of CHR-ROM tiles.
190-in-1 NES ROM (often specifically the "Super 190-in-1" or "Gaishi 190-in-1") is an unlicensed multicart released in the early 1990s, likely developed by Supervision
. Despite its name, these cartridges rarely contain 190 unique titles, instead relying on duplicates and ROM hacks to fill the menu. BootlegGames Wiki Key Characteristics Actual Game Count: Most versions only contain 42 to 89 unique games
. The rest of the "190" slots are typically hacks of the same games that start the player at different levels or with extra power-ups. BootlegGames Wiki Menu & Interface: You can buy an original 190 in 1
The menu system often uses an unorthodox layout where the first page shows 15 games, and subsequent pages are accessed via the "Select" button. The menu music is frequently lifted from the game Booby Kids BootlegGames Wiki
These were originally released as Famicom-style 60-pin cartridges, though North American versions often used internal adapters to fit 72-pin NES consoles. Sky Destroyer On the standard Nintendo 190-in-1 game list , the 18th game listed is typically Sky Destroyer Original Developer: Taito (port of their 1985 arcade shooter).
A 3D pseudo-flight simulator where you pilot a WWII monoplane, shooting down enemy aircraft and sinking naval destroyers. Common Games Included
The cartridge is notable for including several 64kB games that were less common on bootleg multicarts at the time: BootlegGames Wiki Battle City
(often listed as game #1, #2, or #3 in various hacked forms). Solomon's Key Classic Nintendo titles: Super Mario Bros Excitebike Donkey Kong BootlegGames Wiki for this multicart, or are you looking for a way to Why is the number "18" so important to collectors
The text "190 In 1 Nes Rom 18" refers to Sky Destroyer , which is game number 18 on the unlicensed "Super 190-in-1" multicart for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). About the 190-in-1 Multicart The Super 190-in-1
is a popular bootleg cartridge common in Asia that contains a collection of original Famicom/NES titles and modified ROM hacks. While it claims to have 190 games, many of these are duplicates or "Super" versions of the same game with minor graphical or gameplay changes. Game #18: Sky Destroyer Sky Destroyer
is a 1985 rail shooter developed by Taito (often credited to Konami on bootleg lists) where players pilot a World War II-era aircraft.
Other notable games in the first 20 slots of this specific multicart include: 01. Battle City 05. Tetris (Bullet Proof Software version) 10. Adventures of Dino Riki 15. 18. Sky Destroyer Technical Context
If you are looking for the ROM file for this specific cartridge, it is often sought after for its collection of obscure Famicom games that were never officially released in the West. However, because it is an unlicensed product, the quality and consistency of the games can vary significantly. Super 190 in 1 Unlicensed NES Multicart