Namco 2x Systems: Namco System 21 / 22 / 23 games for PC

Namco arcade games from the 1990s, rebuilt so they run on a normal computer. You need your own copy of each game's files (the MAME versions); they are not included here. A ROM set from MAME 0.271 or later is supported; the chip unpacker also accepts a few older chip-name spellings where a MAME set has since renamed one (see docs/ROM_CHECKSUMS.md).

System 22 / Super System 22

Game	Year	Status	Online play	Game files you need	Linux	Windows
Prop Cycle	1996	Playable, start to finish	no	propcycl.zip	yes	yes
Rave Racer	1995	Playable	yes, up to 8 (how)	raverace.zip + namcoc74.zip	yes	yes
Tokyo Wars	1996	Playable	no	tokyowar.zip	yes	yes
Dirt Dash	1995	Playable, all five stages; optional no time limit	no	dirtdash.zip	yes	yes
Armadillo Racing	1997	Playable; the mouse or a USB trackball is the trackball	no	adillor.zip	yes	yes
Time Crisis	1995	Playable; mouse or light gun	no	timecris.zip	yes	yes
Ace Driver	1994	Playable; force feedback, developer screens	no	acedrive.zip + namcoc74.zip	yes	yes
Cyber Commando	1994	Playable; Japanese version	no	cybrcomm.zip + namcoc74.zip	yes	yes
Ridge Racer 2	1994	Playable; widescreen, developer screens	no	ridgera2.zip + namcoc74.zip	yes	yes

System 21

Game	Year	Status	Online play	Game files you need	Linux	Windows
Cyber Sled	1993	Playable; developer test mode, widescreen with the HUD at the edges	yes, 2 players (how)	cybsled.zip + namcoc67.zip + namcoc68.zip	yes	yes

System 23

Game	Year	Status	Online play	Game files you need	Linux	Windows
Time Crisis II	1997	Playable; mouse or light gun, gun recoil output, play either character (its own README)	yes, 2 players, LINK PLAY (how)	timecrs2.zip	yes	yes
Crisis Zone	1999	Playable; mouse or light gun, gun recoil output (its own README)	no	crszone.zip	yes	yes
Angler King	1998	Playable (Super System 23); English subtitles, a working reel, depth fog (its own README)	no	aking.zip	yes	yes

Are you running the same ROMs as the authors? The checksums of every ROM file the games use are in docs/ROM_CHECKSUMS.md, with a list in md5sum format for each game.

No extra BIOS file. Earlier instructions asked for c71.bin or MAME's namcoc71.zip (the DSP's BIOS). The games have it built in now, so you never need it; if you have it, ignore it.

Pictures

Tokyo Wars:

Rave Racer:

Time Crisis:

Dirt Dash:

Ace Driver:

Cyber Commando:

Ridge Racer 2:

Cyber Sled:

Time Crisis II:

Crisis Zone:

Angler King:

Prop Cycle:

Tokyo Wars, the title screen:

Download (nothing to build)

Each release on the Releases page has ready-made packages. None of them contains game files: after installing, you put your own zips in a folder (the INSTALL.txt next to the packages says where).

Package	For	How to install
namco-2x-systems_VERSION_amd64.deb	Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, Linux Mint 21 or newer, LMDE 6, Debian 12 or newer	sudo apt install ./namco-2x-systems_*_amd64.deb
PropCycle-x86_64.AppImage, RaveRacer-..., TokyoWars-..., DirtDash-..., ArmadilloRacing-..., TimeCrisis-..., AceDriver-..., CyberCommando-..., RidgeRacer2-..., CyberSled-..., TimeCrisis2-..., CrisisZone-..., AnglerKing-...	The Steam Deck, and any 64-bit Linux without installing anything	chmod +x the file and run it (on a Deck: Desktop Mode, right-click it > Add to Steam)
windows-release-VERSION.zip	Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit	Unzip it anywhere, put the game zips in its roms folder, double-click the game's .exe

On Linux, start a game from the applications menu (or type propcycle, raveracer, tokyowars, dirtdash, armadilloracing, timecrisis, acedriver, cybercommando, ridgeracer2, cybersled, timecrisis2, crisiszone or anglerking). The first time, it makes the folder ~/.local/share/namco-2x-systems/<game>/roms, tells you which zip is missing and copies any it finds in ~/Downloads. To uninstall: sudo apt remove namco-2x-systems your game files, settings and scores stay in ~/.local/share/namco-2x-systems/. Upgrading from 0.6 or older: the package was called namco22; the new one replaces it, and the games keep using your old ~/.local/share/namco22/<game>/ folders (and namco22-data portable folders), so nothing has to be moved.

Steam Deck: download the AppImage of each game you want, put your ROM zips in ~/.local/share/namco-2x-systems/<game>/roms/ (Desktop Mode: Dolphin > Ctrl+H shows the hidden .local folder; zips in ~/Downloads are found automatically), then in Desktop Mode right-click the AppImage > Add to Steam (or Steam > Add a Non-Steam Game) and start it from Game Mode. The AppImages use the Deck's own SDL2, so Steam Input works: the menu opens with R3 or by holding Start for a second. Each AppImage uses the same folders as the .deb, so the ROMs and settings are shared. If an AppImage will not start, run it from a terminal (./DirtDash-x86_64.AppImage) and read the message; on a system without FUSE, --appimage-extract-and-run works.

The AppImage names carry no version number, so updating is overwriting the file and a Steam shortcut keeps working. ROM zips placed next to the AppImage (or in a roms folder beside it) are found too. Portable mode: make a folder named namco-2x-systems-data next to the AppImages and each game keeps everything there (namco-2x-systems-data/<game>/: its roms, the unpacked chips, settings, scores and recordings) instead of ~/.local/share/namco-2x-systems -- one disk, e.g. a microSD card, then works the same on a Steam Deck and another PC. The AppImage standard's own portable folder works too: a folder named after the AppImage plus .home (TimeCrisis-x86_64.AppImage.home, or TimeCrisis-x86_64.home) keeps that game's data inside it. The Windows zip is portable already (everything lives in its folder).

Once extracted by the app after a first run, ROM zips are no longer needed and can be removed.

How it was made

Each game's original program was taken apart with Ghidra (the NSA's free reverse-engineering tool) and checked, piece by piece, against the arcade machine running in MAME.

• Prop Cycle: Ghidra's output was turned into C and fixed by hand.
• Rave Racer: the program is translated to C by a tool of this project (raverace/gen/rr_lifted.c is its output), and parts are being rewritten by hand.
• Tokyo Wars: the program is translated to C by the same tool (tokyowar/gen/tw_lifted.c); its master DSP and sound programs are turned into C when you build, from your own copy of the game files.
• Dirt Dash: the program is translated to C by the same tool (dirtdash/gen/dd_lifted.c); its master DSP and sound programs are turned into C when you build, from your own copy of the game files.
• Armadillo Racing: the program is translated to C by the same tool (adillor/gen/am_lifted_NN.c, 16 parts) and matches MAME instruction for instruction through the attract; its master DSP and sound programs are turned into C when you build (the sound notes match MAME's).
• Time Crisis: the program is translated to C by the same tool (timecris/gen/tc_lifted_NN.c, 16 parts); its master DSP and sound programs are turned into C when you build, from your own copy of the game files. It is the newest game here: the program's code was checked against MAME's own coverage of the real game, and the DSP and sound translations against the interpreters they were made from; it has not yet been compared with MAME frame by frame or note by note, so expect small differences.
• Ace Driver: the same board as Rave Racer, so it runs on Rave Racer's code with one table of its own (acedriver/src/ad_game.c); its program is translated by the same tool (acedriver/gen/rr_lifted.c), its master DSP and sound programs are turned into C when you build. Both translations were checked against the interpreters they were made from; the picture was checked against MAME's on MAME's own video state. The Debug page of its menu launches six developer screens the shipped game never reaches (object, sprite and character viewers, a results-screen test); they run while the test switch is on (F2 leaves).
• Cyber Commando: the Rave Racer board again, one table (cybrcomm/src/cc_game.c) plus a twin-stick mode in the shared code; its program (cybrcomm/gen/rr_lifted.c) was checked instruction by instruction against MAME over a whole played game (162 million instructions), and its DSP and sound translations against the interpreters they were made from.
• Ridge Racer 2: the Rave Racer board again, one table (ridgera2/src/r2_game.c); its program (ridgera2/gen/rr_lifted.c) was checked instruction by instruction against MAME over the first 300 attract frames, and its DSP and sound translations against the interpreters they were made from (attract, a race and the test-mode pages, byte-identical). The Debug page of its menu launches the developer menu left in the game (SELECT MODE: object viewer, colour bars, switch / RAM / area / sound tests) and the hidden ADJUSTMENT screen. Force feedback and link play are not done yet.
• Cyber Sled: a Namco System 21 board (two 68000s, five C67 DSPs for the 3D, a 6809 sound CPU, a C68 I/O controller). Both 68000 programs are translated by the same tool (cybsled/gen/cm_lifted.c, cs_lifted.c) and were checked instruction by instruction against MAME's; the five DSP programs, the sound program and the I/O program are turned into C when you build, each checked against the interpreter it was made from. The sound chip (YM2151) is this project's own code. Online play links two cabinets the way the arcade's own cable did.
• Time Crisis II: a Namco System 23 board (a MIPS main CPU, an H8 sound / sub CPU, an H8 on the gun I/O board). The MIPS program is translated to C (tc2/gen/tc2_lifted_*.c) and was checked instruction by instruction against MAME's; the two H8 programs are turned into C when you build. The 3D chips, the text layer, the C352 sound chip and the JVS link are its own code (tc2/, a self-contained tree: see tc2/README.md).
• Crisis Zone: a Namco System 23 Evolution 2 board, run on the same System 23 code as Time Crisis II. Its MIPS program is translated to C the same way (crszone/gen/crszone_lifted_*.c) and its two H8 programs are turned into C when you build (crszone/: see crszone/README.md).
• Angler King: a Namco Super System 23 board, on the same System 23 code again. Its MIPS program is translated to C (aking/gen/aking_lifted_*.c), its two H8 programs (the sub CPU and the FCA-1 I/O board that reads the rod and reel) are turned into C when you build (aking/: see aking/README.md).
• The sound programs of all the games are turned into C when you build, from your own copy of the game files.

This repository has only the code. It has no game files and no Ghidra project or tools. Everything the games show or play is read from your own zips.

What you need to build it yourself

• Your own copy of each game's zip (see the table at the top). They are needed while building, not only while playing: each game's sound program and DSP program is turned into C from them.
• Linux (64-bit): a C compiler (gcc), make, CMake, pkg-config, the SDL2, OpenGL (Mesa) and zlib development files, and Python 3 with numpy. ./install-deps.sh installs all of these on Debian / Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, Alpine, Void and Gentoo.
• Windows programs are built from Linux (./build-windows.sh): the MinGW-w64 cross compiler (x86_64-w64-mingw32-gcc), CMake, make, curl, 7z (p7zip) and Python 3. The first run downloads SDL2, zlib and Mesa (the fallback OpenGL for computers with no graphics driver), so it needs the internet.
• Building the .deb, AppImages and Windows zip the way a release is made is done by the author with a script that is not part of this repository (it needs Podman for the Ubuntu container); you do not need it to build or play.

Linux

Open a terminal in this folder. First, once:

./install-deps.sh

This installs the tools the games need. It asks for your password.

Then build each game you have. Change the paths if your zips are somewhere else:

./build.sh ~/Downloads/propcycl.zip                                       # Prop Cycle
raverace/build.sh ~/Downloads/raverace.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc74.zip        # Rave Racer
tokyowar/build.sh ~/Downloads/tokyowar.zip                                 # Tokyo Wars
dirtdash/build.sh ~/Downloads/dirtdash.zip                                 # Dirt Dash
adillor/build.sh ~/Downloads/adillor.zip                                   # Armadillo Racing
timecris/build.sh ~/Downloads/timecris.zip                                 # Time Crisis
acedriver/build.sh ~/Downloads/acedrive.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc74.zip       # Ace Driver
cybrcomm/build.sh ~/Downloads/cybrcomm.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc74.zip        # Cyber Commando
ridgera2/build.sh ~/Downloads/ridgera2.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc74.zip        # Ridge Racer 2
cybsled/build.sh ~/Downloads/cybsled.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc67.zip ~/Downloads/namcoc68.zip   # Cyber Sled
tc2/build.sh ~/Downloads/timecrs2.zip                                                    # Time Crisis 2 (then tc2/launch.sh)
crszone/build.sh ~/Downloads/crszone.zip                                                 # Crisis Zone (then crszone/launch.sh)
aking/build.sh ~/Downloads/aking.zip                                                     # Angler King (then aking/launch.sh)

Rave Racer's, Tokyo Wars', Dirt Dash's, Armadillo Racing's, Time Crisis', Ace Driver's, Cyber Commando's, Ridge Racer 2's and Cyber Sled's first builds take a few minutes (Cyber Commando's needs about 4.5 GB of free memory; give Ridge Racer 2 the same, or build it with JOBS=1).

Then play:

./launch.sh prop      # Prop Cycle
./launch.sh rave      # Rave Racer
./launch.sh tokyo     # Tokyo Wars
./launch.sh dirt      # Dirt Dash (`./launch.sh dirt jungle` starts in a stage: city, jungle, hill, mountain, snow)
./launch.sh armadillo # Armadillo Racing (the mouse is the trackball)
./launch.sh tc        # Time Crisis (the mouse is the gun)
./launch.sh ad        # Ace Driver
./launch.sh cc        # Cyber Commando
./launch.sh r2        # Ridge Racer 2
./launch.sh cs        # Cyber Sled
./launch.sh           # the list of games and options

Windows

All the games run on Windows. The Windows version is built from Linux. Type:

./build-windows.sh

This makes a windows-release folder. Copy it to the Windows computer. Put the game files in its roms folder: propcycl.zip for Prop Cycle, raverace.zip and namcoc74.zip for Rave Racer, tokyowar.zip for Tokyo Wars, dirtdash.zip for Dirt Dash, adillor.zip for Armadillo Racing, timecris.zip for Time Crisis, acedrive.zip and namcoc74.zip for Ace Driver, cybrcomm.zip and namcoc74.zip for Cyber Commando, ridgera2.zip and namcoc74.zip for Ridge Racer 2, cybsled.zip, namcoc67.zip and namcoc68.zip for Cyber Sled, timecrs2.zip for Time Crisis II, crszone.zip for Crisis Zone, aking.zip for Angler King. Then double-click PropCycle.exe, RaveRacer.exe, TokyoWars.exe, DirtDash.exe, ArmadilloRacing.exe, TimeCrisis.exe, AceDriver.exe, CyberCommando.exe, RidgeRacer2.exe, CyberSled.exe, TimeCrisis2.exe, CrisisZone.exe or AnglerKing.exe.

Building on Windows itself, and what in the code is there for Windows only: docs/WINDOWS.md.

How to play

Prop Cycle. You fly a pedal-powered glider and pop balloons.

Key	What it does
5	Put in a coin
Enter	Start
Arrow keys	Steer and tilt
Space	Pedal
Esc	Menu (restart, exit, sound, levels, screen)
P	Pause. While paused, the arrow keys turn the camera around the rider and + / - zoom
F12	Take a picture

Rave Racer. A street race against the clock.

Key	What it does
5	Put in a coin
X (or Up)	Gas
Z (or Down)	Brake
Left / Right	Steer
A / S	Shift down / up
V	Change the view
F2	Test mode on / off (press again to leave it)
9	Service
P	Pause
Esc	Menu
F12	Take a picture

<a id="playing-online"></a>Playing online (Rave Racer, Cyber Sled, Time Crisis II). Up to eight players can race together in Rave Racer (two in Cyber Sled and Time Crisis II: the arcade linked two cabinets -- in Time Crisis II the two of you play LINK PLAY together, the first player as Richard (Left / Red), the second as Keith (Right / Blue)), each on their own computer. Open the menu with Esc and go to the Online page, then Host / join a game...:

• Local LAN: one player picks Host a LAN game; everyone else picks Find LAN games and clicks the game it finds.
• Internet game: type the address of a server (host or host:port, UDP 27750 by default) and Connect. Anyone can run such a server on a machine that is always on: server/ (nmn-server) is a small Rust program for exactly this, one server for every game's online play (see its README; the wire protocol is docs/NETPLAY.md). It still accepts older Rave Racer releases.

Everyone in the lobby then picks Ready, and anyone can start the race once all players are ready. When the race begins the game turns free play on for you and gives everyone a moment to step on the gas; choose your car and wait for the others at the course select. Your name on the Online page is what the other players see. Chat in the lobby stays on the server for a while: whoever joins later sees the game's last 50 lines.

Playing the other side alone (Time Crisis II). Esc > Cabinet picks which of the two linked cabinets your machine is: Left / Red plays as Richard, Right / Blue as Keith. It takes effect from the next game.

Tokyo Wars. You command a tank in a city battle.

Key	What it does
5	Put in a coin
Enter	Start
Left / Right (or A / D)	Steer
Up / Down (or W / S)	Forward / backward pedal
X / Z	Right / left trigger
9	Service
F2	Test mode on / off
Esc	Menu (screen, sound, keys)
P	Pause
F11	Full screen
F12	Take a picture

Dirt Dash. An off-road race against the clock.

Key	What it does
5	Put in a coin (a game costs two)
Left / Right (or A / D)	Steer
X	Gas
Z	Brake
Q / E	Shift down / up
C	Select (change the view, confirm)
M	Motion stop
9	Service
Esc	Menu (screen, sound, keys)
P	Pause
F11	Full screen
F12	Take a picture

No time limit: Esc > Dirt Dash > Time limit OFF stops the clock, so you can drive a course as long as you like (checkpoints and new stages still set the time; ON is the arcade).

A game controller works in all the games. In Rave Racer the keys can be changed in raverace/rr_controls.cfg; in Tokyo Wars and Dirt Dash, in the menu (Controls) or in tokyowar/tw_controls.cfg / dirtdash/dd_controls.cfg.

Armadillo Racing. Roll the trackball to run. The mouse is the trackball: it is captured while you play (Esc releases it), and a USB trackball is a mouse, so it works as is. The arrow keys and a pad's left stick / D-pad roll the ball too. 5 coin (a game costs four), left click / 1 / Enter start, 9 service, F2 test mode, Esc menu. Controls has the trackball sensitivity and orientation (natural or direct). Settings live in adillor/am_controls.cfg.

Ace Driver. The keys are Rave Racer's: 5 coin (a game costs two), X / Up gas, Z / Down brake, Left / Right steer, A / S shift down / up, V view change, F2 test mode, Esc menu. A force-feedback wheel works as in Rave Racer (Controls: FFB strength and direction). Holding Service (9) while switching test mode on opens the hidden ADJUST MODE (wheel and pedal calibration). Game Options > SOUND IN ATTRACT is why the attract plays sound only part of the time. Settings live in acedriver/ad_controls.cfg.

Cyber Commando. Mech battles with two sticks, and the same keys as Cyber Sled: 5 coin (a game costs two), the arrow keys drive (both sticks: Up / Down forward / back, Left / Right turn, Shift + Left / Right strafe), E / D / S / F and I / K / J / L move the left and right stick on their own, Z gun, X missile, C view, F2 test mode, Esc menu. On a pad the two sticks are the cabinet's two sticks, A / RT gun, B / LT missile, Y view. Everything can be changed in the menu (Controls, see Two sticks); settings live in cybrcomm/cc_controls.cfg.

Ridge Racer 2. 5 coin (a game costs three), X / Up gas -- it also confirms in the menus, as the cabinet has no Start button -- Z / Down brake, Left / Right steer, A / S shift down / up, F2 test mode (a switch: press again to leave), 9 service, Esc menu (Display incl. widescreen, Audio, Controls, and Debug: the game's developer screens), F12 screenshot. On a pad: left stick steer, A gas, B brake, the shoulders shift, Back coin, Start or R3 the menu. Settings live in ridgera2/r2_controls.cfg, the operator settings and records in ridgera2/r2_eeprom.nv.

Angler King. A fishing game. 5 coin, the mouse (or the arrow keys, or either pad stick) aims the rod, left button / Space / Enter casts and selects -- it also starts a game -- and holding R / Left Shift (pad: B or the right trigger) reels the line in. W / S move through the game's menus, F2 test mode, 9 service, Esc menu (Subtitles puts English under the Japanese captions; Controls rebinds everything). See aking/README.md.

Cyber Sled. A tank battle with two levers. 5 coin, 1 / Enter start, the arrow keys drive (both levers: Up / Down forward / back, Left / Right turn on the spot, Shift + Left / Right strafe), E / D / S / F and I / K / J / L move the left and right lever on their own, Z gun, X missile, C view, F2 test mode, Esc menu. On a pad the two sticks are the two levers, A / RT gun, B / LT missile, Y view. Everything can be changed in the menu (Controls, see Two sticks). Online (Esc -> Online): host or find a LAN game, or connect to a server, then Ready / Start battle in the lobby -- the two machines restart linked, with free play on, and the game's own VS mode takes over ("WAITING FOR YOUR OPPONENT"); T opens the chat during play. Settings live in cybsled/cs21_controls.cfg, the operator settings and high scores in cybsled/cs21.nv.

Two sticks (Cyber Sled and Cyber Commando)

Both cabinets have two sticks, and Esc -> Controls binds every part of them: each stick's up, down, left and right (eight rows), the tank rows (both sticks forward / back, turn left / right, strafe), Gun, Missile, View, and in Cyber Sled also Coin, Start and Service. Enter on a row, then press a key or a button, push a hat, or move a stick (Esc cancels). A row can hold two keys, two gamepad inputs and inputs from two joysticks: one stick's trigger and the other's, for Gun, as on the cabinet. Left clears a row, Right puts its defaults back, Reset all controls (Cyber Sled) puts them all back.

• Two joysticks (flight sticks, arcade sticks): bind Left stick up by pushing the left joystick forward, and so on for each direction. An axis moves the stick in proportion; a button or a hat moves it at the cabinet's key speed. Two joysticks of the same model are told apart by the order they were plugged in (the second shows as #2), so plug them in in the same order each time, or rebind after swapping them.
• A gamepad works as before with no setup: the left and right thumbsticks are the two sticks.
• Stick deadzone (default 15%) is how far an axis must move before it counts, for sticks that do not rest exactly at the centre.
• A joystick whose axes are bound to the sticks is never also read as a steering wheel.

Time Crisis. A light-gun shooter. The mouse is the gun.

Key	What it does
Mouse	Aim
Left button (or Space)	Shoot (also starts the game and picks menu items)
Right button (or Z)	The foot pedal: step out of cover to attack, step back, reload
5	Put in a coin (a game costs three)
9	Service
F2	Test mode on / off (the operator's menu: shoot inside the screen = up, outside = down, pedal = enter)
F8	A white border round the picture (cycles its width; some light guns need it)
Arrow keys / a pad's right stick	Aim without a mouse; A / right shoulder shoots, B / left shoulder is the pedal
Esc	Menu (screen, sound, keys)
F11 / F12	Full screen / picture

Light guns. A gun that acts as an absolute mouse (Sinden, Gun4IR, OpenFIRE, Reaper, AimTrak) works as it is: aim at the screen and shoot. To reload, aim a little OFF the screen and shoot (the pointer sits on the window's edge, which the game reads as "off screen"), or hold R or the gun's side button. The widescreen picture keeps the game's 4:3 aiming area in the middle. Guns with their own calibration need it done once in their own software. Not tested here: any real light gun hardware.

Choosing a stage. --stage 1, --stage 2 or --stage 3 on the command line starts the game's own Timed Game at stage 1, 2 or 3 (unlimited lives, a best time per stage): the coins are put in and the choices made for you, then the gun is yours. It works from the attract screens, not during a game. No crosshair: Esc > Display > Crosshair turns the red aiming cross off (a real light gun needs none).

Your own crosshair (Time Crisis, Time Crisis II, Crisis Zone): put PNG pictures in a crosshairs folder beside the game .exe files (or one named crosshair.png), then pick one in Esc > Display > Crosshair image; "built-in" is the game's own cross. The picture: 8 bits per channel (grey, RGB, RGBA or a palette; transparency is kept), not interlaced, at most 256 x 256 pixels. It is drawn at its own size on a 1080-line screen and scales with the window, so 64 x 64 is about the size of the built-in cross. The choice is saved.

Pad rumble (Time Crisis, Time Crisis II, Crisis Zone, Tokyo Wars): a game pad rumbles on every shot, the way the cabinet's gun kicks. Turn it off with Pad rumble on recoil: Esc > Display in Time Crisis II and Crisis Zone, Esc > Controls in Time Crisis and Tokyo Wars.

For testing (environment variables, set before starting the game): TC_INF_TIME=1 keeps the clock from running out and TC_INF_LIFE=1 gives back every life lost, so a test can reach the later scenes of any stage. They act only during a game.

Steering with the stick (Tokyo Wars and Dirt Dash): Esc > Controls > Stick steering sets how the stick turns the wheel. Medium (the default) is gentle near the centre and still reaches full lock at the edge; Smooth and Very smooth are gentler still; Linear turns the wheel in step with the stick.

On a game pad or a Steam Deck (no keyboard): the menu opens with R3 (click the right stick) or by holding Start for a second (a quick tap is still the game's own Start). The cabinet's Test mode (the service switch, F2 on a keyboard) and Service button are in the menu too -- the File page in Rave Racer and Prop Cycle, the Controls page in Tokyo Wars and Dirt Dash. Test mode is a switch: turn it on to enter the operator menu (its screen says which controls choose, enter and change a value), turn it off from the menu to leave. A hint on the screen says how to open the menu for the first few seconds after the game starts, when a pad is connected.

Screen settings (Prop Cycle, Tokyo Wars, Dirt Dash, Time Crisis, Time Crisis II, Crisis Zone and Angler King)

Press Esc and open Display. Your choices are saved by themselves.

• Widescreen: turn it on to fill a wide screen. You see more of the world at the sides, not a stretched picture. The time and score gauges move out to the corners (Widescreen HUD; in Cyber Sled too, since 2026-10-21).
• Window mode: a window, or full screen.
• Resolution: how many pixels the game draws. It is scaled to fit the window, so a smaller number runs faster on a slow computer.
• Aspect ratio (when widescreen is off): 4:3 like the arcade screen, or stretched to fill the window.
• Frame rate (all five games, Rave Racer included): how many pictures a second are shown. Auto (the default) follows your display -- 60 on a 60 Hz screen, with vsync -- or pick a fixed 24, 30, 50, 60, 75, 90, 120, 144, 165 or 240. The game itself always runs at the arcade's speed (just under 60 frames a second), whatever you pick and whatever your graphics driver's vsync setting is: a lower number shows fewer pictures, a higher one shows each picture more than once for a smoother picture on a fast monitor.

Starting a game with settings (command line)

Every game takes its settings on the command line too, for a launcher or a shortcut. They hold for that run only: the settings file is not changed (unless you change the same thing in the menu).

• --set KEY=VALUE: any line of the game's settings file (the .cfg beside the game), as many times as needed, e.g. --set widescreen=1 --set volume=50 --set frame_rate=60 --set fullscreen=1. Look in the .cfg file for the names.
• --fullscreen: start full screen. A number (2, 3, ...) is the window size, as before.

Time Crisis II and Crisis Zone also take, for a LAN game set up from a script (two copies on one PC, or two PCs):

• --host host a LAN game, --join find one on the LAN and join it, --server ADDR connect to an online server
• --name NAME your name online, --instance 2 a second copy on the same PC (its own settings and backup files), --pos X,Y[,SIZE] where its window goes (and its size)

Linux, installed package or AppImage: namco-2x-launch tc2 --host --pos 0,0 and, in a second terminal, namco-2x-launch tc2 --instance 2 --join --pos 960,0. Windows: the same options after the program's name in a shortcut, e.g. TimeCrisis2.exe --set widescreen=1 --fullscreen.

If it does not work

• "not installed": run ./install-deps.sh again.
• "can't be used": the zip is the wrong game or version (compare your files with docs/ROM_CHECKSUMS.md). Prop Cycle needs the one called propcycl; Rave Racer needs raverace and namcoc74; Tokyo Wars needs tokyowar; Dirt Dash needs dirtdash; Armadillo Racing needs adillor (World, AM2 Ver.A); Time Crisis needs timecris (World, TS2 Ver.B); Ace Driver needs acedrive (World, AD2) and namcoc74; Cyber Commando needs cybrcomm (Japan, CY1) and namcoc74; Ridge Racer 2 needs ridgera2 (World, RRS2) and namcoc74; Cyber Sled needs cybsled (World, CY2), namcoc67 and namcoc68; Time Crisis II needs timecrs2 (US, TSS3 Ver.B); Crisis Zone needs crszone (World, CSZO4 Ver.B); Angler King needs aking (Japan, AG1 Ver.A).
• "still missing dt2vera.1" (Dirt Dash): the program chips dt2vera.1 and dt2vera.2 were not found in dirtdash.zip. They can be at the top of the zip, in a dirtdasha/ folder or in any other folder, or in a separate dirtdasha.zip beside it. If the message says the chip "cannot be used", it says why (wrong size, damaged zip, or a compression method that is not Deflate or Store).
• "c71.bin is missing": that message is from an older version. The DSP's BIOS is built in now, so c71.bin and namcoc71.zip are not needed; update to a current build.
• Black or white screen: update your graphics driver.
• Slow, or the picture stutters. Open the game's log (raveracer.log, tokyowar.log, dirtdash.log, adillor.log, timecris.log, acedriver.log, cybrcomm.log, ridgeracer2.log, tc2.log (on Windows also Crisis Zone's and Angler King's), crszone.log, aking.log, propcycl.log beside the .exe on Windows; the terminal window on Linux) and look at these lines:
  • [HOST] OpenGL: ... (Prop Cycle: OpenGL: ...) names the graphics chip the game is using. It should be your graphics card, for example NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. If a laptop with two graphics chips shows the weaker one (AMD Radeon Graphics, Intel ...), the game is on the wrong chip. If it says llvmpipe, GDI Generic or Microsoft Basic Render Driver, it is drawing in software: install the graphics driver.
  • [HOST] display N Hz, vsync or timer-paced, and every 600 frames [PACE] ... interval mean 16.7 ms. Interval near 16.7 ms with few frames over 20 ms is a steady 60 fps. [POST] final colour stage: GLSL is the fast path; pixel map (slow) is not: please send us that log.
  • Laptops with two graphics chips, Windows: the newest builds ask Windows for the fast chip themselves. If yours still uses the other one, set it by hand: Settings > System > Display > Graphics, add the game's .exe, Options > High performance (or NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D settings > Program settings).
  • Linux, two graphics chips: __NV_PRIME_RENDER_OFFLOAD=1 __GLX_VENDOR_LIBRARY_NAME=nvidia ./launch.sh dirt (or prime-run ./launch.sh dirt); with AMD or Intel drivers DRI_PRIME=1 ./launch.sh dirt.
  • Plug the laptop in and pick a Best performance power mode. On a 120/144/165 Hz screen the games still run at the arcade's 60 Hz, which looks uneven; a 60 Hz screen mode is smoothest. A lower Esc > Display > Resolution also helps.

More about the game files: docs/ROM_SETUP.md

Thanks

People who sent changes that are in the games:

• Endprodukt: wheel force feedback (Rave Racer, Dirt Dash, the shared engine module), wheel / pedal / shifter bindings, Dirt Dash's road speaker, Rave Racer's EEPROM kept between sessions.
• TheSaltTrader: widescreen for Cyber Sled and Cyber Commando, twin-stick controls, Tokyo Wars' tank controls and far chase view, the Tokyo Wars attract-mode cuts, Cyber Commando on older ROM sets.
• OctopusButtons: README fixes (where the crosshairs go).
• svera: README fixes (the ROM zips after unpacking).

And everyone who reported a bug with a log, a recording or a screenshot.

License

The code in this repository is released under the MIT License.

• The games themselves (their programs, graphics, sound and music) belong to Namco / Bandai Namco. This repository has no game files and the MIT License does not cover them; the files under */gen/ that are translated from the games' programs are derived from Namco's code, and the license covers this project's own work, not theirs.
• Other people's code keeps its own license: Nuklear (third_party/, MIT / public domain). The Windows programs also contain SDL2 and zlib (both under the zlib license), and the mesa folder of the Windows download is Mesa (MIT and other licenses).