Support for NEC LD-ROM² is coming to Ares, and is already available as part of the multi-format emulator's nightly builds, it's been announced online.
Last month, as you may well be aware, brought the exciting news that Ares would become the first ever emulator to support the Mega LD add-on, a peripheral device created for Pioneer's 1993 video game system and laserdisc player, the LaserActive.
This was, of course, all down to the incredible efforts of Roger Sanders (better known online as Nemesis), an Australian LaserActive fan and emulation expert who managed to not only figure out a way to reliably dump the Mega LD games from Laserdisc but also decipher how the Mega LD format communicated with the LaserActive, to get it up and running in Ares.
Following this breakthrough, there were some within the retro community who inevitably wished that support for NEC LD-ROM² games would follow shortly after, and we're happy to report that now seems to be the case, with Sanders recently revealing on a SonicRetro thread that he has "cracked LDrom2 support for the NEC PAC" and that it is now "up and running in Ares nightly builds".
This means you can now experience NEC LD-ROM² titles like Vajra, Vajra 2, Demon's Judgment, and other laserdisc titles, in the less stable version of the emulator, ahead of the next big Ares release.
In case you are unaware of the add-on's history, the NEC PAC was developed in partnership with the PC Engine creator NEC and functioned similarly to the Mega LD, expanding the number of formats that were useable with the LaserActive system. However, unlike the Mega LD that supported Sega Mega Drive, Mega CD, and Mega-LD titles, it instead featured support for NEC LD-ROM² titles, HuCard cartridges, CD-ROM² discs, and CD+G media.
Given how these games have largely remained out of reach of players over the past few decades, it's remarkable in 2025 to see them finally get this kind of attention to ensure they're preserved for future generations.