diff --git a/src/BizHawk.Common/Extensions/IOExtensions.cs b/src/BizHawk.Common/Extensions/IOExtensions.cs
index e8be70fd1d..507ec47923 100644
--- a/src/BizHawk.Common/Extensions/IOExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/BizHawk.Common/Extensions/IOExtensions.cs
@@ -25,15 +25,24 @@ namespace BizHawk.Common.IOExtensions
 			return outStream.ToArray();
 		}
 
-		// Read bytes from a BinaryReader and translate them into the UTF-8 string they represent.
-		// WHAT? WHY IS THIS NAMED ASCII BUT USING UTF8
-		public static string ReadStringFixedAscii(this BinaryReader r, int bytes)
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Read a string from a binary reader using utf8 encoding and known byte length
+		/// </summary>
+		/// <param name="r"></param>
+		/// <param name="bytes">exact number of bytes to read</param>
+		/// <returns></returns>
+		public static string ReadStringFixedUtf8(this BinaryReader r, int bytes)
 		{
 			var read = new byte[bytes];
 			r.Read(read, 0, bytes);
 			return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(read);
 		}
 
+		/// <summary>
+		/// Read a null terminated string from a binary reader using utf8 encoding
+		/// </summary>
+		/// <param name="br"></param>
+		/// <returns></returns>
 		public static string ReadStringUtf8NullTerminated(this BinaryReader br)
 		{
 			using var ms = new MemoryStream();
diff --git a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NSFFormat.cs b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NSFFormat.cs
index f5f70b8dd4..b975a2b3f8 100644
--- a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NSFFormat.cs
+++ b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Nintendo/NES/NSFFormat.cs
@@ -62,9 +62,9 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Nintendo.NES
 			LoadAddress = br.ReadUInt16();
 			InitAddress = br.ReadUInt16();
 			PlayAddress = br.ReadUInt16();
-			SongName = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(32);
-			ArtistName = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(32);
-			CopyrightHolder = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(32);
+			SongName = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(32);
+			ArtistName = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(32);
+			CopyrightHolder = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(32);
 			SpeedNTSC = br.ReadUInt16();
 			br.Read(BankswitchInitValues, 0, 8);
 			SpeedPAL = br.ReadUInt16();
diff --git a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Sony/PSX/PSF.cs b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Sony/PSX/PSF.cs
index 8670f92c13..3d91a9d1a5 100644
--- a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Sony/PSX/PSF.cs
+++ b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.Cores/Consoles/Sony/PSX/PSF.cs
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Sony.PSX
 			{
 				//not endian safe
 				var br = new BinaryReader(fs);
-				var sig = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(4);
+				var sig = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(4);
 				if (sig != "PSF\x1")
 					return false;
 
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.Cores.Sony.PSX
 				}
 				else
 				{
-					if (br.ReadStringFixedAscii(5) == "[TAG]")
+					if (br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(5) == "[TAG]")
 					{
-						var tagstring = br.ReadStringFixedAscii((int)(fs.Length - fs.Position)).Replace("\r\n", "\n");
+						var tagstring = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8((int)(fs.Length - fs.Position)).Replace("\r\n", "\n");
 						foreach (var tag in tagstring.Split('\n', '\x0'))
 						{
 							if (tag.Trim() == "")
diff --git a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/DiscFormats/SBI_format.cs b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/DiscFormats/SBI_format.cs
index 45ed1831af..3fb51a07f7 100644
--- a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/DiscFormats/SBI_format.cs
+++ b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/DiscFormats/SBI_format.cs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem.SBI
 			using (var fs = File.OpenRead(path))
 			{
 				BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(fs);
-				string sig = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(4);
+				string sig = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(4);
 				if (sig != "SBI\0")
 					return false;
 			}
diff --git a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/Internal/Jobs/LoadSBIJob.cs b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/Internal/Jobs/LoadSBIJob.cs
index 1a62038b6b..dae9c11846 100644
--- a/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/Internal/Jobs/LoadSBIJob.cs
+++ b/src/BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem/Internal/Jobs/LoadSBIJob.cs
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ namespace BizHawk.Emulation.DiscSystem.SBI
 		{
 			using var fs = File.OpenRead(IN_Path);
 			BinaryReader br = new BinaryReader(fs);
-			string sig = br.ReadStringFixedAscii(4);
+			string sig = br.ReadStringFixedUtf8(4);
 			if (sig != "SBI\0")
 				throw new SBIParseException("Missing magic number");