If you are building a , an Anbernic handheld , or a cheap Fire Stick , using a "Split" or "Merged" set will lead to hours of frustration. The Non-Merged Reference set eliminates dependency hell. It allows you to treat each game as a standalone entity.
: Place the .zip files in your emulator's ROM directory (e.g., /roms/mame2003-plus/ on a RetroPie setup).
. It’s the "Goldilocks" of arcade emulators—fast enough for low-power hardware but updated with hundreds of extra games and features compared to the standard 0.78 set.