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RetroBIOS

QUASI88kai

QUASI88kai emulates NEC PC-88 and NEC PC-8001. It reads 19 files, 3 of them required: without a required file it does not start games. A required file is needed only by the machines that use it. Each file below cites the line of source code that reads it.

About this profile
Detail Value
Type standalone
Classification Enhanced fork
Source https://github.com/winterheart/quasi88
Version 0.7.1
Revision winterheart/quasi88@0d4e171415ca
Built by retropie, under its core name. The libretro buildbot does not publish this build.
Profiled 2026-10-20
Profile YAML, JSON
Cores quasi88
Systems NEC PC-88, NEC PC-8001
Install this emulator's files

With RetroPie: the installer finds RetroPie and its BIOS folder, then downloads only the files QUASI88kai reads there and checks each one.

Open a terminal on the device. Or connect from a computer with SSH, a terminal over the network. Paste the line. Press Enter.

Terminal
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Abdess/retrobios/main/install.sh | sh -s -- --emulator quasi88kai
Technical notes

Continuation of Showzoh Fukunaga's QUASI88, version 0.7.1 at the pinned commit (CMakeLists.txt:3). It reads every ROM, the OPNA rhythm samples and the floppy drive sound samples from one ROM directory.

The ROM directory is $QUASI88_ROM_DIR when set, else the rom folder under the QUASI88 home (src/file-op.cpp:444-464,521). The home is the working directory when it holds quasi88.ini, else $HOME/.quasi88 (src/file-op.cpp: 494-516). The -romdir option replaces it (src/getconf.cpp:282-290,529). The CMake ROMDIR setting becomes the ROM_DIR macro (CMakeLists.txt:31,38), which only fills the help text (src/help.h:214) and does not move the search. Paths below are relative to the QUASI88 home.

load_rom tries each name of an entry in order inside the ROM directory and stops at the first that opens (src/memory.cpp:175-219). A missing ROM is filled with 0xFF, and a short one is padded with 0xFF, so the emulator starts with any ROM missing. The machine model comes from byte 0x79D7 of N88.ROM (src/memory.h:44, src/memory.cpp:503), and BASIC_AUTO, the default, boots V2 when that byte is "4" or higher and V1S otherwise (src/initval.h:53, src/pc88main.cpp:2755-2761).

-compatrom FILE loads every main and sub ROM from one P88SR.EXE image instead of the separate files (src/getconf.cpp:535, src/memory.cpp:341-369). There is no default name.

With -samples (off by default, src/snddrv/quasi88/mame-quasi88.cpp:506-510, src/snddrv/quasi88/SDL/audio.cpp:91-94) the drive sounds motoron.wav, motoroff.wav, headdown.wav, headup.wav and seek.wav are read from the ROM directory (src/snddrv/quasi88/mame-quasi88.cpp:101-108,1085-1127). Any mono WAV is accepted (src/snddrv/quasi88/mame-quasi88.cpp:92). QUASI88 names no particular recording.

Files

Section titled “Files”

19 files: 3 required, 16 optional. 3 have an HLE fallback.

File Required
rom/N88.ROM for NEC PC-88
rom/N88EXT0.ROM for NEC PC-88
rom/N88SUB.ROM for NEC PC-88
rom/N88EXT1.ROM no
rom/N88EXT2.ROM no
rom/N88EXT3.ROM no
rom/N88N.ROM no
rom/N88KNJ1.ROM no
rom/N88KNJ2.ROM no
rom/N88JISHO.ROM no
rom/FONT.ROM no
rom/FONT2.ROM no
rom/FONT3.ROM no
rom/2608_BD.WAV no
rom/2608_SD.WAV no
rom/2608_TOP.WAV no
rom/2608_HH.WAV no
rom/2608_TOM.WAV no
rom/2608_RIM.WAV no

In this collection: 19 in repo and 0 missing.

Required

Section titled “Required”

N88.ROM required for NEC PC-88 in repo

  • Size: 32.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88.rom
  • N88-BASIC main ROM, read into main_rom (0x8000 bytes). Without it the Z80 runs from 0xFF filled memory and nothing boots. Its byte 0x79D7 selects the machine model.

N88EXT0.ROM required for NEC PC-88 in repo

  • Size: 8.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88ext0.rom, N88_0.ROM, n88_0.rom
  • N88-BASIC extension ROM bank 0, mapped at 0x6000-0x7FFF when port 0x71 selects the extension ROM. Bank 0 holds the N88-BASIC V2 code that BASIC_AUTO boots on SR and later models.

N88SUB.ROM required for NEC PC-88 in repo

  • Size: 2.0 KB / 8.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88sub.rom, DISK.ROM, disk.rom
  • Disk subsystem ROM run by the sub CPU. 2048 bytes is the 2D type and is mirrored to fill 8 KB, 8192 bytes is the 2HD type. Without it the sub CPU runs 0xFF and no floppy image boots.

Optional

Section titled “Optional”
16 files

N88EXT1.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 8.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88ext1.rom, N88_1.ROM, n88_1.rom
  • N88-BASIC extension ROM bank 1, mapped at 0x6000-0x7FFF when selected.

N88EXT2.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 8.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88ext2.rom, N88_2.ROM, n88_2.rom
  • N88-BASIC extension ROM bank 2, mapped at 0x6000-0x7FFF when selected.

N88EXT3.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 8.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88ext3.rom, N88_3.ROM, n88_3.rom
  • N88-BASIC extension ROM bank 3, mapped at 0x6000-0x7FFF when selected.

N88N.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 32.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88n.rom, N80.ROM, n80.rom
  • N-BASIC ROM, mapped at 0x0000-0x7FFF in N mode, the PC-8001 compatible mode.

N88KNJ1.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 128.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88knj1.rom, KANJI1.ROM, kanji1.rom
  • Kanji ROM level 1. A file of exactly 0x20000 bytes sets has_kanji_rom. Otherwise the menu falls back to English and the ANK font comes from the built-in table.

N88KNJ2.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 128.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88knj2.rom, KANJI2.ROM, kanji2.rom
  • Kanji ROM level 2.

N88JISHO.ROM optional in repo

  • Size: 512.0 KB
  • Aliases: n88jisho.rom, JISYO.ROM, jisyo.rom
  • Dictionary ROM, 32 banks of 16 KB. Read only with -jisho, off by default.

FONT.ROM optional in repo HLE fallback

  • Size: 2.0 KB
  • Aliases: font.rom
  • ANK font. When it is missing or not 2048 bytes the font is taken from the kanji ROM, or from the built-in table without one. -nofont skips the file (src/getconf.cpp:583).

FONT2.ROM optional in repo HLE fallback

  • Size: 2.0 KB / 4.0 KB
  • Aliases: font2.rom
  • Second font. 4096 bytes carries its own semigraphic half. Missing, the built-in ANH table is used.

FONT3.ROM optional in repo HLE fallback

  • Size: 2.0 KB / 4.0 KB
  • Aliases: font3.rom
  • Third font. Missing, it is left transparent.

2608_BD.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_BD.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_bd.wav
  • OPNA rhythm bass drum sample. The six rhythm samples are read in the order BD, SD, TOP, HH, TOM, RIM, the uppercase name first, and loading stops at the first one missing or not mono PCM. They are read only by the fmgen OPNA, used with -fmgen and sound board II (-sd2), both off by default (src/snddrv/quasi88/mame-quasi88.cpp:32,529-536, src/initval.h:56). Without them the fmgen rhythm channel is silent.

2608_SD.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_SD.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_sd.wav
  • OPNA rhythm snare drum sample, read with the bass drum sample.

2608_TOP.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_TOP.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_top.wav
  • OPNA rhythm top cymbal sample, read with the bass drum sample.

2608_HH.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_HH.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_hh.wav
  • OPNA rhythm hi-hat sample, read with the bass drum sample.

2608_TOM.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_TOM.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_tom.wav
  • OPNA rhythm tom sample, read with the bass drum sample.

2608_RIM.WAV optional in repo

  • Path: rom/2608_RIM.WAV
  • System: NEC PC-88
  • Aliases: 2608_rim.wav
  • OPNA rhythm rim shot sample, read with the bass drum sample.

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”
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Maintained by Abdess on GitHub. Report a problem.

Packs from release v2026.10.10, .

MIT for the tooling and metadata. BIOS and firmware files are third-party system software, preserved for personal backup, archival and interoperability.