Vertical arcade games hold a legendary status in gaming history. In the 1980s and 1990s, arcades were filled with cabinets housing monitors turned sideways. This portrait orientation—known in the emulation community as —allowed for taller playfields. It became the definitive format for shoot 'em ups (shmup), classic maze games, and iconic puzzle titles.
Building a pack involves a few technical steps depending on your front-end software:
If you are building a DIY cabinet, mounting a screen vertically opens up the door to authentic retro layouts. This is highly popular for "bartop" mini-cabinets dedicated solely to shmups and classic 80s arcade games. 3. Handheld Retro Consoles
A quality vertical ROM pack should include a mix of classics, shooters, and maze games. Here are the must-have titles: 1. The Shooters (Shmups) vertical arcade rom pack
Grid-based drop games that benefit from vertical screen real estate. Essential Games in a Vertical ROM Collection
You can find vertical arcade ROM packs by searching online for: "Vertical MAME ROM pack" "TATE arcade ROMs" "Best vertical shmups set"
This guide explores the essentials of vertical ROM packs, how to find them, and how to optimize your hardware for the best arcade experience. Why Choose a Vertical ROM Pack? Vertical arcade games hold a legendary status in
—were designed for vertically oriented screens. For modern retro gamers, a vertical arcade ROM pack
Downloading ROMs for games you do not physically own is technically a copyright infringement in many jurisdictions. Always research local regulations.
In standard emulation setups, downloading a complete MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) romset means sorting through thousands of horizontal games. A vertical ROM pack eliminates this hassle. It filters out widescreen and standard landscape games, leaving you exclusively with titles meant to be played vertically. Top Genres Found in Vertical ROM Packs It became the definitive format for shoot 'em
LaunchBox allows you to filter your massive MAME import automatically. Using the playlist, you can select all titles that are supposed to be vertical.
If you are using to play these, you don't need to guess which games are vertical. You can set a filter in the UI:
These packs are often paired with front-end software like RetroArch , Batocera , or LaunchBox with a "Tate" theme. Some advanced packs even include:
Vertical arcade games—often called from the Japanese word for "vertical" ( tate , pronounced tah-tay )—represent a legendary era of gaming. Unlike standard widescreen layouts, these games utilize a tall 3:4 or 4:5 aspect ratio.