For our April release, we’re bringing even more elusive electronic esoterica to light. MAME 0.197 finally includes support for the 1987 version of the Spanish quiz game Master Boy, believed to be Gaelco’s first release. There are now drivers for several Neo-Geo MVS variants, exposing different capabilities. Lamp outputs are now supported for The Irritating Maze, bringing the game to life a little more. We’ve added four more Tiger LCD games, all based on licensed IP: Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Independence Day, and Transformers – Generation 2.

The Sega Model 2 improvements keep coming, with Rail Chase 2 now working. With its protection MCU emulated, Capcom’s F-1 Dream is also working. MAME 0.197 adds support for alternate versions and bootlegs of a long list of systems, including Crazy Bonus 2002, Explosive Breaker, Fidelity Excel 68000, Lup Lup Puzzle, Pochi and Nyaa, Renegade, and Silkworm. In addition, there are graphical improvements to Sega ST-V/Saturn, and Magical Tetris Challenge.

There are some nice improvements for computer emulation this month, too. The Acorn Electron has improved video handling and support for the Mega Games Cartridge. The NEC PC-98 CD-ROM software list has been updated with the latest dumps and compatibility status – recent emulation improvements mean more fully supported titles. You can now boot HP-BASIC cartridges on the HP9000/340 series.

You can read about the rest of the improvements in the whatsnew.txt file. As always, source and Windows binaries are available from the download page.