Mario Bros hiscore no longer working from 0.286
Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2026 12:32 pm
Hello,
I have just noticed that since MAME 0.286, Mario Bros (mario.zip) no longer saves hiscores.
I also noticed in the 0.286 changelog that nvram is now used for this game.
On first load the hiscores are loaded, but when the game is exited, and inside nvram folder, mario\nvram is created
When the game is next loaded the hiscores are reset back to default, and even when registering a name with the reset scores - it no longer saves.
If i delete the mario\nvram file, the old scores will load.
I also tried deleting mario.hi, and this doesnt help
I also noticed if I delete mario\nvram, get a hiscore, the mario.hi file will have a new time stamp, as well as a new mario\nvram file being created, but a fresh hiscore list loads next time.
I have tested this with 0.286, 0.287 and 0.288, so believe something broke with the 0.286 update.
Mario Bros hiscores still work OK with MAME 0.285 and earlier
I have just noticed that since MAME 0.286, Mario Bros (mario.zip) no longer saves hiscores.
I also noticed in the 0.286 changelog that nvram is now used for this game.
On first load the hiscores are loaded, but when the game is exited, and inside nvram folder, mario\nvram is created
When the game is next loaded the hiscores are reset back to default, and even when registering a name with the reset scores - it no longer saves.
If i delete the mario\nvram file, the old scores will load.
I also tried deleting mario.hi, and this doesnt help
I also noticed if I delete mario\nvram, get a hiscore, the mario.hi file will have a new time stamp, as well as a new mario\nvram file being created, but a fresh hiscore list loads next time.
I have tested this with 0.286, 0.287 and 0.288, so believe something broke with the 0.286 update.
Mario Bros hiscores still work OK with MAME 0.285 and earlier