Hacking Megaman 9: Rom extraction, .BRSAR files, .BRFNA files, and MM9 Emu dis

[jinnai3k]

I have become generally curious as to how one could go about extracting Megaman 9 from its .WAD file, it's a NES game technically (or is it?), so I wouldn't mind figuring out if emulators can run it properly.

My problem stems from the files inside the .WAD, once its extracted, i've found the 00000002.app to be the largest file, and i've taken a look inside of it using u8tools, but no luck finding the rom itself, this lead me to try the other files all leading to various interesting things that seem to have no thing to do with the rom save an interesting folder containing wbf1.brfna and wbf2.brfna -- I have no idea what these files do, could they possibly be the rom?

Questions I guess:

1. What is a .BRSAR file? I've found it in the 00000002.app and it seems interesting at a meaty 3000+ kbs, I hear in the google waves that it has something to do with sound, music?

2. What could these .brfna files be? (I should mention i've tried running rockman9.brsar in an emu and no luck what so ever.)

3. Has anyone else opened this .WAD up? I want to know if this game could potentially be emulated but I don't really know which file is rom actually is.

I wanted to get a topic going on this because I think its an interesting one to raise, i've heard of people extracting .rom files from other VC releases, what of WiiWare titles? I think MM9 is simple enough to be a good starting ground for WiiWare experimentation... And it just happens to be a great VC game to play!

 

[Doctor Qwerty]

WiiWare games aren't just roms wrapped up all pretty. >__>

 

[FlatFrogger]

WiiWare games aren't just roms wrapped up all pretty. >__>

Exactly, megaman 9 was a freshly developed game, why would it be anything like a rom of a nes game?

 

[Gore]

ROMs extracted from Virtual Console, WiiWare is developed for the Wii, Virtual Console is
emulated.

These are vegetables. You must be lost.

 

[CockroachMan]

Although it looks like a NES game, it's a ROM.. it's a game developed for the Wii.. no can do.

 

[supersonic88]

-Facepalms-
Biggest Faceplam I've done in a while...

 

[Syangel]

Ugh... Why dont people think before they do something? This is a new game, so it has different coding then a single Rom and emulator data. For example, FFCC:MLaaK had some java, and other programming languages when extracted.

-Facepalms-
Biggest Faceplam I've done in a while...

lmao thank you

----------------
Now playing: Bullet For My Valentine - Eye Of The Storm
via FoxyTunes

 

[jinnai3k]

Hey, hey, it seemed like a legitimate question to me, the idea that perhaps underneith the extra content there could be an original rom file. No need to be a butt about it in your replies, I come to a forum to seek knowledge about something I know only so much about. Anywho, everyone pretty much confirmed what I was thinking.

 

[supersonic88]

Hey, hey, it seemed like a legitimate question to me, the idea that perhaps underneith the extra content there could be an original rom file. No need to be a butt about it in your replies, I come to a forum to seek knowledge about something I know only so much about. Anywho, everyone pretty much confirmed what I was thinking.

well i didnt mean to be an ass or anything but i figured 2 people already gave you an answer so i didnt think you'd need to hear it a third time. but yeah sorry for the facepalm thing, but im sure i wasn't the only one thinking that

 

[elenar]

ROM - read-only memory.

Stop using this term incorrectly. When you are saying "rom" what you really mean to say is "ROM dump" which is a file which contains all the information stored in a game cartridges read-only memory. It isn't a blanket term for the game itself. While you are correct that Megaman 9 does have underlying read-only memory (again, the ROM), you are incorrect in assuming that you could use a dump of that ROM on some emulator. Unless, of course, you are the one and only person with a working Wii emulator (I consider this extremely unlikely).

This is an idiotic question that could have been avoided if you understood the terms that you're bandying about.

Sorry if this comes across as rude, but script-kiddies have been annoying for decades.

 

[jinnai3k]

ROM - read-only memory.

Stop using this term incorrectly. When you are saying "rom" what you really mean to say is "ROM dump" which is a file which contains all the information stored in a game cartridges read-only memory. It isn't a blanket term for the game itself. While you are correct that Megaman 9 does have underlying read-only memory (again, the ROM), you are incorrect in assuming that you could use a dump of that ROM on some emulator. Unless, of course, you are the one and only person with a working Wii emulator (I consider this extremely unlikely).

This is an idiotic question that could have been avoided if you understood the terms that you're bandying about.

Sorry if this comes across as rude, but script-kiddies have been annoying for decades.

Forums are built specifically for discussion, what seems like a kiddie question to you may look interesting to someone else. I am not a little squirt and hey, I just learned something new even if it wasn't my original topic --which I appreciate. And I thank the person who retracted the facepalm comment. It doesn't hurt to ask right? I'm sure if you wanted to know more about say the topic my masters thesis is on then i'd be happy to help you out, without making you feel like an idiot for asking.

Anywho I really wanted to just get a cloud of oppinions on the topic, so i'd like to move away from this 'What a dumb question' thing. Maybe I posted in the wrong forum? I'd like to think there are a few people out of highschool on this forum.

 

[asheam]

Well said Jinn. About time someone answered flames with a well thought out answer.

 

[elenar]

Limited perspective:

Let's say you've written a master's thesis, and let's say its about Nuclear Medicine.

If some hick walked up to you and said (regarding your field of study)"Hoooooooo boy! They shore cayun do anythin' these days! They even got summa them thar nukyular bombs that have medicine in 'em!" You would think they were an idiot.

Or maybe not, perhaps your patience with willful ignorance masquerading as knowledge, is much higher than my own. When people make mistakes, I correct them. I don't consider that to be particularly rude, because in my opinion the protocol for trying to find out new information is to ask specific questions. You, on the other hand, stated an objective which you were unable to attain and asked for assistance achieving it. The objective was, from the start, flawed. People pointed that out to you (with varying degrees of politeness), which to me seems to be the only way of actually "helping" you, and hopefully you learned enough to do a little research next time.

I don't really see the problem, and again, if that's rude, it isn't my intention. You asked for assistance, people gave it to you in the only way that seemed appropriate. What were you expecting? You made a mistake, and people corrected you. I really don't understand why you feel like that is something that "people out of highschool"(sic) don't do. College or University level educators will correct you without a moments thought, so will your employer, and so will an expert on the subject. You made a poorly thought-out query about something you knew little about on a forum full of people who are well-versed in the subject. Of course you didn't realize that what you were asking was foolish, but to be honest, it was. Would it have been more "nice" if no-one pointed out that it was a stupid question? Probably. But, to be honest again, is there some reason that people should assume that they are supposed to be concerned about your feelings when you are asking for information? You asked for assistance, not congratulations.

/rant/threadjack, I just don't understand what the problem is.

 

[JimmyBobAlex]

This quote from a thread yesterday sums it up pretty well.

Grow a thicker skin. The ratio of morons to intelligent members on this forum is EXTREMELY high due to its nature as a romkiddy hangout.

 

[flipt]

I think he is correct in his thought process, but maybe going the wrong way with it. Although not actually data dumped from the ROM, could it not be possible to manipulate the file into a 'ROM'. The data is there, just needs to be worked with.

My two cents. (flame away)

 

[elenar]

Again if by "ROM" you mean "ROM dump" then of course. The current file extension we use for such dumps is ".wad" actually. The pertinent issue is being able to "run" that "ROM". You can get it to run on actual hardware VIA Twilight Hack pretty easily. In fact I was doing this earlier today, thanks to Waninkoko and whoever dumped the game (I never know who to thank for these random scene releases). To get it to run on emulation software, which is what the OP asked about, will only be possible if you have Wii emulation software, which (as far as I know) doesn't currently exist and may not even be possible with current PC hardware.

The flaw in his original question came from assuming that a WiiWare game was the same as a Virtual Console game, and that CapCom would do something as extremely odd as code an NES game and port it to the Wii via the VC emulation, instead of develop a new game that's actually optimized for the hardware it's intended to run on. Myself and some others think that this was a particularly silly question. I happened to comment that it made the OP sound like he hadn't done even a little bit of research into his own question before asking for help. Again, that tends to leave people that actually have the knowledge you are looking for a bit unimpressed. It would be similar to just randomly walking into a mechanic's shop and telling him you couldn't get your diesel engine to work with the Premium gasoline, and asking how to get it to work.

Short answer, theoretically possible, he's going about it the wrong way, should probably read around the interweb about emulation in general instead of expecting us to tutor him.

 

[Miles]

It looks like an NES game, but it's not one.
It's developed for the Wii, 360, and PS3, and uses a completely different engine than the original Megaman games.
I also heard it uses more colors and effects than the NES could actually handle.
It also has a better picture quality and sound than the original games (even when emulating the NES games you don't get quite as good looking and good sounding as Megaman 9 without enhancements)
Also even with sprite flicker enabled, Megaman 9 doesn't have as low of a sprite limit as the originals (I didn't even notice any flickering sprites with it enabled.)

I guess you could wait for a ROM hack of one of the original NES games, but even then you'd have to code in the new bosses, power ups, and remake the levels.
It's not an easy task, because it'd be like porting it.

 

[jinnai3k]

Again if by "ROM" you mean "ROM dump" then of course. The current file extension we use for such dumps is ".wad" actually. The pertinent issue is being able to "run" that "ROM". You can get it to run on actual hardware VIA Twilight Hack pretty easily. In fact I was doing this earlier today, thanks to Waninkoko and whoever dumped the game (I never know who to thank for these random scene releases). To get it to run on emulation software, which is what the OP asked about, will only be possible if you have Wii emulation software, which (as far as I know) doesn't currently exist and may not even be possible with current PC hardware.

The flaw in his original question came from assuming that a WiiWare game was the same as a Virtual Console game, and that CapCom would do something as extremely odd as code an NES game and port it to the Wii via the VC emulation, instead of develop a new game that's actually optimized for the hardware it's intended to run on. Myself and some others think that this was a particularly silly question. I happened to comment that it made the OP sound like he hadn't done even a little bit of research into his own question before asking for help. Again, that tends to leave people that actually have the knowledge you are looking for a bit unimpressed. It would be similar to just randomly walking into a mechanic's shop and telling him you couldn't get your diesel engine to work with the Premium gasoline, and asking how to get it to work.

Short answer, theoretically possible, he's going about it the wrong way, should probably read around the interweb about emulation in general instead of expecting us to tutor him.

Stripped down looks like my question was asked without the proper terminology, my mistake, I am thrilled that we seem to be going in the right direction with this now however and coming after you personally was never my intent with that reply so I hope you don't take it that way. I think it's important to practice patience, it gets you further and really causes people to respect you all the more --in this case I do not know many of the circles to which this question could be answered in so? I asked. Sure I looked foolish to some, but maybe others we're thinking along the same lines? Again, all im getting at is it does not hurt to ask.

As for me I have my answers now! (or perhaps more questions for myself) And maybe in my spare time ill consult one of my engineering friends in person over them instead of a forum.

Something tells me the answer as to whether the game can be compiled into a readable format for say a gamecube or lower emulator (I know of no Wii ones yet.) is a legitimate question to pose, the information is there, in the .wad, and the game itself is not terribly extensive. I really could see a person of comp-sci knowledge able to create a 'ROM-dump' is it?

I just wanted to get people brainstorming with me, my last experience with a forum was over 6 years ago when I still did graphic design as a hobby, those forums were helpful! This one can be too if we want it to be.

Thanks for all the help though everyone, and you Elenar.

 

[Miles]

Something tells me the answer as to whether the game can be compiled into a readable format for say a gamecube or lower emulator (I know of no Wii ones yet.) is a legitimate question to pose, the information is there, in the .wad, and the game itself is not terribly extensive. I really could see a person of comp-sci knowledge able to create a 'ROM-dump' is it?

Not possible, never will be possible.
If you don't have a Wii, PS3, or 360, the best you can hope for is that someone will port the game as an NES hack.

 

[Lumstar]

It's not a ROM at all. This game was coded to resemble an NES game. It doesn't actually use any of the original data, and breaks NES limitations in a few ways.

Probably would be easiest to port the game to PC. Since that's the most flexible option.