ROM Editing Toolbox

1. ROM Extraction and Backup Tools

• Retrode - Dump ROMs from old cartridges
• EZ-Flash - Flash cartridge for dumping ROMs
• 7-Zip - Extract compressed ROMs
• ExtractData - Extracts data from certain ROM formats

2. Hex Editors

• HxD - Powerful hex editor
• Hex Fiend - Mac OS hex editor
• 010 Editor - Advanced hex editor with scripting

3. Tile and Graphics Editors

• Tile Layer Pro - Tile editor for 8-bit graphics
• YY-CHR - Tile editor for 8-bit and 16-bit graphics
• GraphicsGale - Pixel art editor
• Tiled - Tilemap editor for tile-based games

4. Sound and Music Editors

• Audacity - Sound editing tool
• VGMTrans - Converts VGM music files
• FamiTracker - NES music composition tool
• SNES Sound Tool - Sound editing for SNES

5. Assembly and Code Editors

• Notepad++ - General-purpose code editor with syntax highlighting
• IDA Pro - Disassembler for analyzing game code
• Ghidra - Open-source disassembler
• Mesen - NES emulator with debugging tools
• BizHawk - Multi-console emulator with scripting and debugging
• x64dbg - Debugger for 64-bit code

6. Debugging and Emulators

• FCEUX - NES emulator with debugging tools
• SNES9x - SNES emulator with debugging support
• BPS Patcher - For applying BPS patches
• BizHawk - Emulator with Lua scripting and debugging

7. ROM Patching Tools

• Lunar IPS - For applying IPS patches
• BPS Patcher - For BPS patches
• xdelta - Another patching format
• IPS Plus - Improved version of IPS patcher

8. Compression Tools

• gzip - For general compression/decompression
• lz77 Compression Tools - Specific to older ROMs
• PAK file Extractors - For extracting PAK files

9. Text Editors and Localization Tools

• Tiled Map Editor - For modifying tilemaps
• ROM Text Extractors - For extracting text from games
• Poedit - For working with PO files

10. Patch and Modding Communities

• ROMhacking.net - Community for ROM modding
• SMW Central - Super Mario World hacks
• Zeldix - Zelda ROM hacks
• HackingToolkit - ROM modding toolkit

11. Scripting and Automation

• Lua - For scripting emulators like BizHawk
• Python - For general automation and scripting
• AutoHotKey - For automating repetitive tasks
• Bash Scripting - For automation tasks

12. Utilities for Specific ROM Types

• SNES ROM Editor - For editing SNES games
• GBA ROM Tools - For Game Boy Advance ROM editing
• NES ROM Tools - For NES game hacking

13. GUI Tools and Frontends

• GameMaker Studio - For game creation and ROM editing
• Visual Studio - IDE with support for game development
• Hex Editor Frontends - Easy-to-use hex editors

14. Source Code and Game Engines

• Unity - Game engine for creating or editing ROMs
• Godot Engine - Open-source game engine
• GB Studio - Game Boy ROM creation
• RPG Maker - For RPG ROM creation and modding

15. Documentation and Tutorials

• NESDev Wiki - NES ROM structure
• SNESDev Wiki - SNES ROM structure
• ROM Hacking Tutorials - General ROM hacking resources

Bonus: Backup Tools

• GitHub - For version control of ROM mods
• Google Drive - Cloud storage for ROM backups
• Dropbox - Another cloud storage solution