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Games

Patching SNES MSU-1 ROMs

This post explains what to do with .msu .pcm and .ips files.

If you have a bunch of .pcm files and you don’t know what to do with them check the terms section below.

Short Version

Use Lunar IPS to apply the .ips file to the .sfc file.
Copy the .sfc in the same directory as the .msu and .pcm files.
Open the .sfc file.

Requirements

  • Original ROM (.sfc)
  • MSU-1 files (.msu and .pcm)
  • MSU-1 patch (.ips)
  • Lunar IPS

This post uses the Sam Miller Restored Pack (.msu and .pcm files) with the Super Metroid MSU-1 romhack (.ips) as an example.
Disclaimer: Remember to scan any files you download for viruses before opening or running them.

Some patches may list a file hash (MD5, SHA256, etc.) to confirm the rom version. Check this post for more information on file hashes.

Terms

The term “patch” can get confusing. An MSU-1 hack does not combine all files into a single file.

The end result will look like this
gamename_msu.msu
gamename_msu.sfc: The MSU-1 patched version of the ROM.
gamename_msu-#.pcm: There will be multiple .pcm files (ex: gamename_msu-1.pcm, gamename_msu-2.pcm, etc.) that must be in the same directory and have the same name as the .msu and .sfc files.

Patching the ROM

This will overwrite your ROM. Make a copy before patching. Some romhacks may require a specific name.
In this example the Super Metroid MSU-1 patch requires the ROM to be named supermetroid_msu1.sfc.

Open Lunar IPS click Apply IPS Patch and select your .ips file.

I’m using an emulator so I’ll select supermetroid_msu1_emulator.ips.
If you have multiple files check the romhack’s readme for information on which one to use.

After selecting the IPS file you’ll see another prompt to select the file to patch. Select your .sfc file.

If all goes well you’ll see a message that says the file was successfully patched. The .sfc file you selected will be overwritten with the .msu hack.

Running the ROM

Move the .sfc file you patched to the same directory as the .msu and .psm files.

Open the .sfc file in your emulator.