RPG Maker

RPG Maker is a software series dedicated to RPGs development. Games made with these engines can usually be played through Wine or different source ports.

Native

RPG Maker 2000/2003

EasyRPG Player can run games made with RPG Maker 2000 and 2003on Linux natively.

You can install it from your distribution official repositories or download the executable from the website. To start a game, put the EasyRPG Player binary in the same directory as "RPG_RT.exe". Open a terminal emulator and run ./easyrpg-player. As it supports MIDI playback, you don’t need another program. Download a SoundFont file, rename it to "easyrpg.soundfont", move it next to EasyRPG Player and it will use it by default. EasyRPG Player can also be started with environment variables, custom settings from configuration files and command-line options like:

• --soundfont <soundfont>, to use a custom path for your SoundFont
• --project-path <path>, to change the path where "RPG_RT.exe" is located
• --engine
• --disable-rtp
• --encoding
• --save-path
• --show-fps --fps-limit --no-vsync

Now that you use EasyRPG Player, you shouldn't need .exe, .dll, .jar files and you can remove them from the game project directory except "RPG_RT.exe" (this one is needed). All RPG Maker 2000/2003 games aren't compatible with EasyRPG Player though.

RPG Maker XP/VX/VX Ace

mkxp and mkxp-z are both tools to run RPG Maker XP, VX and VX Ace games on Linux natively. These versions are known to use the Ruby Game Scripting System or RGSS. mkxp only has pre-built binaries for Windows at the moment and mkxp-z only offers automatic builds.

You can run a game from a terminal emulator with mkxp --gameFolder="game" and change settings from the command-line with --<option>=<value> or using a configuration file. Like EasyRPG Player, it supports MIDI playback and only require to run a game with mkxp --gameFolder="game" --midi.soundFont=/path/to/soundfont.sf2 where soundfont.sf2 is the SoundFont you downloaded.

RPG Maker MV/MZ

As RPG Maker MV and MZ use Javascript, games made with these versions can run natively on Linux with the help of NW.js or a local web server. If you choose to run a game with NW.js, download the latest version, extract it to the game directory overwriting existing files and make "nw" excutable. You might need to edit the package.json file and pick a unique name. If you set up a local web server and use your usual web browser, saves are stored in local storage.

Wine

If you don't want to use source ports or if a game isn't working with one of the tool above, you can still use Wine and your favorite front-end.

1. Install English and/or Japanese "Run Time Packages".
2. Set up Japanese fonts. You might have to do the same with RPG Maker 2000 fonts

Installing translations

1. Extract resources from "Game.rgss" using RGSS Decryptor.
2. Copy them to the game directory.
3. Extract the patch archive to the same location.
4. Delete “Game.rgss”.

Some projects might recommend RPGMaker Trans instead.

Controls

RPG Maker versions share similar hotkeys and support controllers.

Troubleshooting

• Editing "Game.ini" to change the DLL used by a game might prevent missing DLL errors.
• Some Wine versions may require to delete "libEGL.dll" from the game directory, disable “libglesv2.dll” using winecfg or install “quartz” and “devenum” through Winetricks to run a game.
• You might have to change Wine "Compatibility mode" using winecfg to run some games.
• Try different "Run Time Package" installers if you get any errors.
• Some games might require changing your locales to Japanese.
• If you want to use Proton (through Steam or another front-end), choose "Proton 6.4-8" if you get any bugs.
• Installing Wine Mono should be enough to run RPG Maker Unite games.

See also

• Free RPG Maker games (English)
• RPG Maker games on Steam
• PCGamingWiki article