Nearly thirty years after the console’s initial release, the Casio Loopy finally has a complete and verified romset!
If you’ve never heard of the system before, the Casio Loopy was a 32-bit home console geared towards young girls, released in Japan in 1995. It featured a Hitachi SuperH SH7021 CPU, a Casio-developed sound system, and a very unique color sticker printer built in.
There were only 10 games released for the system before being discontinued, alongside a peripheral called Magical Shop that utilized composite A/V captures. Games ranged from a dress-up/fashion modeling game (Dream Change), to a kid-friendly dating sim (Little Romance), and a Mario Paint-like art/writing/music game (PC Collection). Most games allowed for some customization of stickers before printing them in full-color. Even though the system has been disparaged by some thanks to its available games and marketing, the Loopy has gained a bit of a cult following within a group of software and hardware preservationists.
Utilizing the Open Source Cartridge Reader‘s Loopy module developed by Roger Braunstein, Chakra-kun’s Charm Paradise was dumped by Rachel Simone Weil and verified against real hardware. All the other existing ROMs from older sets available online were double-checked by Kasami, which led to Little Romance being redumped and an emulation future-proofed copy of Magical Shop added. Between all of the physical copies of games tested by the group, surprisingly no variations have been found in the software, even though some cartridge PCBs show revision markings.
As a fan and fellow Loopy enthusiast, I’m excited that Chakra-kun has finally been preserved and more people out there will be able to experience the full game lineup. Between this dump and all the other behind-the-scenes work that is currently happening, I believe that 2023 is definitely shaping up to be the Year of the Loopy!
To get your copy of the full Casio Loopy romset, feel free to head over to archive.org.