1982 · Fujitsu · Japan · computer
Fujitsu FM-7
A twin-6809 Japanese computer where the country's early RPGs grew up.
Mixed Some setup Needs a keyboard Awkward on a modern pad ▶ Watch on YouTube ↗
Image: JCCyC · CC BY-SA 3.0
A 1982 Japanese home computer with an unusual twin-6809 design — one processor for the machine, one dedicated to the display — popular enough to become one of the platforms on which the country's early role-playing games grew up.
The Black Onyx, released here, is often credited with kicking off Japan's home-computer RPG boom and teaching a generation what a party of adventurers was.
What it cost
roughly a third of a month’s pay in 1982 · about $1,638 today
| Japan launch price (¥126,000 / ~$500 USD) |
¥126,000 (1982)
Dual Motorola 68B09 CPU architecture with dedicated graphics sub-processor. |
|---|---|
| Typical street price | — No verified mass-market street price recorded yet. |
| Units sold | ≈250,000 estimate 250,000 units sold in Japan. |
Why it mattered
The FM-7 was one of the platforms on which Japan's home-computer RPG grew up, hosting early Falcom and the genre-seeding Black Onyx before consoles took the form mainstream.
Emulating it today
| Emulators | XM7, MAME |
|---|---|
| Setup effort | Some setup (6 on this site's scale) |
| Controls | This is a computer-like platform: games may use a joystick or pad, but launching and configuring software often needs a keyboard. |
| Runs on a handheld | No — it needs a real machine |
The emulator names above are starting points, not a promise that every title or accessory behaves identically. Computer platforms usually add model selection, disk handling and keyboard setup even when CPU emulation itself is mature.
FM-7 F-BASIC & Subsystem ROMs (FBASIC38.ROM, SUBROM.ROM)
The Fujitsu FM-7 uses a dual-CPU architecture (two 6809 processors) where the main CPU runs F-BASIC and the subsystem CPU manages display and keyboard. Emulators require dumps of the F-BASIC ROM, subsystem ROM, and character font ROMs to function.
How many files you need: 3. Three files: FBASIC38.ROM, SUBROM.ROM, and KANJI.ROM.
Where it stands legally: F-BASIC and subsystem ROMs are copyrighted by Fujitsu and must be dumped from an FM-7 computer.
Firmware details checked 2026-08. Emulator requirements change — see MAME FM-7 Driver Documentation for the current list.
Where the software is
TOSEC catalogues computer disks and tapes broadly, including many revisions. It is useful for preservation, while a smaller curated selection is usually easier to play.
Copyright: Commercial software remains copyrighted unless its owner explicitly released or relicensed it. Homebrew, public-domain programs and current reissues should be treated separately from abandoned commercial titles.
This site names preservation projects and explains what they are. It does not link to ROM downloads.
Where to start
- Hydlide 1984 action RPG
- Thexder 1985 action
- The Black Onyx 1984 RPG
The game that started Japan's home-computer RPG boom.
- Dig Dug 1983 maze
The verdict
For fans of early Japanese RPGs willing to work in Japanese; a historically important library.
The language barrier and dated interfaces make it hard going for anyone but the dedicated.
- Worth it if
- Players curious about sharp, fujitsu and msx and willing to learn how the original machine worked.
- Not for
- Anyone who wants a large, instantly accessible library and no model, firmware or control decisions.
Scored 3/5 for fun today and 3/5 for historical importance. Those two scores decide the label at the top — a machine can matter enormously and still be no fun.
Read more & watch
This page is 50% complete against the facts we try to record for every system. Gaps are shown as gaps.