Nesdev

Forum Wiki

Notices

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• The messageboards are open. The old boards are still readable.
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• An NES dev cartridge is in production by Membler Industries. More details to come.

Text files

NES

General information about the Nintendo Entertainment System, or Famicom.

• Nintendo Entertainment System Documentation v1.0 by Patrick Diskin.
• NinTech by Blue Hawk.
• 2A03 technical reference First release (4-23-2004), by Brad Taylor. Covers everything related to the NES's CPU, including sound. The linear counter section needs to be written, if anyone experienced with this is interested in documenting it, please post on the forum.
• NTSC 2C02 technical reference First release (4-23-2004), by Brad Taylor. Lots of information about the NTSC version of the NES PPU.
• NES APU Sound Hardware Reference 2004.1.30 by Blargg
• NES ASM Tutorial by Mike H. (GbaGuy). An NES programming tutorial. Off-site link.
• NES 101 by Michael Martin. An NES programming tutorial for those who know 6502 assembly.
• Programming that 8-bit beast of power, the NES v.80.666 by joker21@earthlink.net.
• NES Technical FAQ v1.4 by Chris Covell.
• NES Tech doc (French) by Crispysix.
• Nintendo Entertainment System documentation v2.0 by Jeremy Chadwick.
• Nintendo Entertainment System documentation (Chinese) v2.0 by Jeremy Chadwick, translation by Blue Potato.
• Nintendo Entertainment System documentation (Dutch) v2.0 by Jeremy Chadwick, translation by A.A.J. Bouwmans.
• Nintendo Entertainment System documentation (Japanese) v.53 by Jeremy Chadwick, translation by (?).
• NES System Architecture v2.4 by Marat Fayzullin.
• NES System Architecture (Russian) v1.4 by Marat Fayzullin, partial translation by (?)
• NES System Architecture (Chinese) v2.2 by Marat Fayzullin, translation by Wu Jian.
• NES System Architecture (Japanese) v1.4 by Marat Fayzullin, translation by Bero.
• NES Programming Guide v.4 by Bokudono and Waseiyakusha.
• The Skinny on NES Scrolling by loopy.
• The Skinny on NES Scrolling (Spanish) by loopy, translated by Hyde.
• The Skinny on NES Scrolling (Portuguese) by loopy, translated by Hyde.
• Detailed DMC Operation by blargg. Information about how the DMA uses the sample buffer. Off-site link.
• How NES Graphics Work A document describing the basics.
• How NES Graphics Work (Dutch) A document describing the basics. Translation by A.A.J.Bouwmans.

6502

Information about the 6502. The NES's 2A03 CPU is a modified 6502.

• Assembleur sur NES (French) v0.9 by Crispysix.
• Rockwell 650x and 651x specs Official specifications for the 6502 family.
• 6502 Microprocessor info Excerpt from the Commodore 64 Programmers Reference Manual.
• 6502 Microprocessor info (Chinese) From the Commodore 64 Progammers Reference Manual, translation by Blue Potato.
• NMOS 65xx Instruction Set From a C64 emulator and devkit.
• Assembly in one step A brief guide to programming the 6502 in assembly language.
• 6502 Instruction Summary A list of opcodes and addressing modes. Originally by RTK, modified by CricketNE
• 6502 Opcodes In japanese. By famtasiaに添付されてたと思った (?)
• 6502 bugs A list of known bugs in the 6502.
• mathpac by Matt Malone. Some math routines in 6502.
• DR6502 Docs by M.J.Malone. This documentation for a 6502 simuator contains extensive 6502 information.
• Undocumented Opcodes v3.0 by Freddy Offenga. Based on the Atari 8-bit 6502.
• Extra Instructions of the 65XX Series CPU 11-27-96 by Adam Vardy.

Famicom Disk System

Information about the Famicom's floppy disk add-on.

• Famicom Disk System technical reference 3rd release (4-23-2004), by Brad Taylor. Comprehensive FDS technical docs.
• Famicom Disk System Loader by Brad Taylor. This is the software and documentation for a hardware project to emulate the FDS's disk drive using a PC disk drive via parallel port. Can also copy FDS disk contents to your PC.
• FDS Copy Tool info from a book in Japanese. Contributed by Tomy.
• FDS copy tool 2 Japanese docs, scanned by Tomy.
• Nintendo Disksystem Sound v1.1 by Norix. In Japanese.
• FDS Sound 07/14/2004 by Disch.
• Famicom Disk System info by Nori. (in Japanese)
• Famicom Disk System by Nori, translated by Ki.
• Famicom Disk System info by goroh.
• Famicom Disk System info by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• Disk Info

Etc.

Information about the NES/Famicom's add-ons, or anything that doesn't pertain to another category.

• SH657X Toolkit A huge amount of info, tools, and demos, for an NES clone system using the 657x IC.
• NES to Famicom Adapter 72 to 60-pin wiring info.
• Connecting NES Zapper to Famicom Wiring info.
• VS UniSystem Information v1.0 by Fx3.
• Nintendo Playchoice 10 Hardware Description v0.2 by Oliver Achten.
• New Playchoice 10 BIOS v0.1 by Oliver Achten. Allows the Playchoice 10 arcade machine to run NES carts.
• Megaman 1 ROM Tech v0.13 by AlphaBeta. Info on Megaman 1's ROM data structure.
• Famicom Four-Player Adapter v1.0 by Richard Hoelscher. This adapter works differently than the ones for NES.
• Excite Boxing by goroh, english translation by Ki.
• Family Computer Gun by goroh, english translation by Ki.
• Famicom keyboard info by goroh.
• Reverse Engineering the Keyboard of Family Computer by goroh, english translation by Ki.
• ??? by ???. In japanese.
• Power Pad information v1.2 by Tennessee Carmel-Veilleux.
• Family Trainer by goroh.
• NES Music Ripping Guide v1.4 by Chris Covell.
• The NED File Format by Damian Yerrick. A reverse-engineering of NerdTracker 2 file-format.
• NESdev Mailing list An archive of postings from Jan 22 1998, to March 25 1999. Go to Yahoo Groups to subscribe. (No activity since February 2006.)
• NES Game Genie Format v.071 by Benzene.
• NES 4 Player Adapter Documentation v.9 by Fredrik Olsson.
• Sound test codes by me. If you know one that isn't in there, tell me. Thanks to Bananmos for getting this back to me after my harddisk died.
• NES Music Author List v3.11 Information from various sources, compiled by Memblers. A never-ending research project that needs your contributions.
• NES Music Author List Japanese translation by HAS.
• Marat's doc randomized not of any use, but slightly amusing.

Emulation

Information related to the emulation of the NES/Famicom.

• NES emulator development guide 4th release (4-23-2004), by Brad Taylor. Lots of information and techniques about emulating the NES.
• Skate or Die 2 (title theme) Recorded by Memblers, through the audio output of an NES. This Rob Hubbard tune uses raw PCM output ($4011) that few (if any) emulators play correctly.
• Comic Bakery Recorded by Chris Covell. This is an MP3 of how this cover of a Martin Galway song plays on a real NES (The one in the Stars SE demo). It doesn't sound too good, due to some scarcely documented um.. features of the NES's sound hardware. Since it does a great job of highlighting these features, it may be be useful for emulator authors who want to improve their sound emulation accuracy. This MP3 is in stereo, the square waves are in the left channel, the triangle is in the right one. The noise channel isn't used. If you're wondering, these features were compensated for in Bananmos's newest sound code (as used in Solar Wars), and it is now 100% cool on real NES. =)
• UNIF File format specification An upcoming new format for NES roms.
• iNES Header Format march 2000 by rvu.
• iNES Header Format v2.0 by VmprHntrD.
• NES Palette v1.1 by merp. NTSC and PAL versions converted from BMF's and Matrixz's NES palettes in photoshop, paint shop pro, and microsoft format.
• NES palette generator 4-08-00 by Kevin Horton. Written in BASIC.
• NES Palette by Matt Conte.
• NES Palette by Loopy.
• .STA format NESticle .43 save state format info. By goroh.

Dr. PC Jr.

The Doctor PC Jr. is a Chinese computer based off the NES/Famicom. Visit Dr. PC Jr. Development Page for extended information.

• BIOS ROM A dump of the BIOS ROM from the Dr. PC Jr.
• DOS disk The files from the OS disk of the Dr. PC Jr.
• CATalogue v1.0 by Chris Covell. Uses the 'Cue-Cat'.

SNES

The well-known sequel to the NES, both castrated and enhanced. Only stuff unavailable elsewhere will be featured here.

• SNESdev starter kit by neviksti. Includes an assembler, example programs, docs, and tools.
• SNES Cartridge Reader by Lucas Siudym.
• SNES Cart Hacking Info v0.4 by Lucas Siudym. Includes pin-outs and diagrams showing how to modify SNES cartridges to use EPROMs.
• SNES Central Development Page Off-site link.
• Zophar's Domain - SNES Tech Docs Offsite link. More SNES stuff.
• Zophar's Domain - 65816 Docs Offsite link. Docs about the SNES's CPU. An enhanced, yet backwards compatible, 16-bit version of the 6502.

NES Programs

See Projects.

NES Development Tools

PC Programs

6502 Tools

• NESICIDE v.0.2 by Christopher S. Pow. The NES "Incredibly Cool" Integrated Development Environment, which aims to encompass the full lifecycle of NES ROM development. Off-site link.
• 6502 hex-to-mnemonix by juicy_killa@hotmail.com. A convenient reference program for viewing hex codes for 6502 opcodes. Email the author if you have any corrections or suggestions.
• FASM v1.0 by Toshi Morita. Quote from the docs: FASM was written as a quick replacement for the 2500 AD assembler for Nintendo 8-bit development. GPL license.
• Interactive Disassembler freeware version, by DataRescue. The commercial version is better, but it's expensive.
• NESrev v.013 by Kent Hansen. This disassembler detects the differences between code and data, and aims to produce output that can be reassembled. Works with 16KB programs. [Java source]
• nbasic A high-level programming language for 8-bit NES development, by Bob Rost. Off-site link.
• P65 Assembler A portable 6502 assembler written in Perl. Off-site link.
• WLA DX A portable GB-Z80/Z80/6502/6510/65816 macro assembler. Linux and MS-DOS versions available. Off-site link.
• CC65 A portable 6502/65c02/65c816 assembler, linker, and C compiler. Off-site link.
• X816 An assembler for 6502/65c816. By minus.
• 6502 SDK Quoted from the docs: The kit is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) similar to Borland ones, which allows you to edit, compile and (hopefully) debug your Assembly code for 65xx processors. It includes a (still rudimental) emulator and a project manager for multiple file applications. Requires Win3.11 or higher. Here's the source code.
• Nintendo Assembler v.1 by Charles Doty, David Michel, and J.H. Van Ornum.
• Minachun Disassembler for 6502 Famicom(NES) v.04a. Features Japanese language and mapper support. Source included, with an English language option.
• TRaCER A disassembler for 6502/65c816. By Y0shi.
• 6502 Simulator by Dan Boris.
• DASM v2.12 by Mathew Dillon

Graphic Tools

• Tile Molester v0.16 by Kent Hansen. This tile editor requires Java, and supports NES as well as other console formats.
• YY-Chr by YY. A multi-format tile editor. Available in Japanese and English.
• BMPNES v1.8 by ninjasuperk. Spanish BMP to NES format converter. Includes some utils by Chis Covell.
• Tile Layer Pro v1.0 by SnowBro. Tile editor.
• CHR-ROM Creator v1.1 by Stefan Fausser. An NES tile editor. VB40032.DLL is required.
• Open tUME A 2D level editor designed for game development, check it out!
• NES Screen Arranger Uses NES graphics from a .CHR file and let's you set up the name and attribute tables, with optional RLE compression. By SnowBro.
• Tile Layer v0.50b. Let's you edit graphics from roms for various consoles. By SnowBro.
• BMP2NES by 7h1460. Converts BMP graphics to the NES's format.
• RAW2CHR by Chris Covell. Converts graphics from RAW to the NES's format.
• CHARlie by Chris Covell. Optimizes graphics by removing redundant tiles.
• CHR2NAM by Chris Covell. Creates a nametable from an image file.

Misc.

• uCON64 (offsite link) ROM management utility. Can convert between file formats, split iNES images into PRG and CHR ROMs (use Pasofami format to do this), and much more.
• Game Genie Code Coverter v4.0 by Zazer. Create new, or decode existing Game Genie codes for NES and all other GG-platforms.
• Roller Coaster by Pan/ATX. This program can generate various sine and non-repeating random data tables to use in your games/demos.
• Famicom Disk System Loader by Brad Taylor. This is the software and documentation for a hardware project to emulate the FDS's disk drive using a PC disk drive via parallel port. Can also copy FDS disk contents to your PC.
• Legacy of the Wizard map viewer by Brad Taylor. Programs to view the maps from this game. Includes a bitmap graphic of the entire map.
• FDSList v1.2 by Chris Covell. Lists and extracts files from Famicom disk images. Supports FDS format.
• Decrom v2.0 by Fx3. Converts VROM graphics into ascii.
• VRC-VII Emulator By Kevin Horton. VRC7 is a Konami mapper/sound-chip, with FM synthesis.
• VRC-VI Emulator Written in qbasic, by Kevin Horton.
• Hexposure v0.215. A Hex editor by SnowBro.

Sound Tools

• Nerdtracker 2 beta version by Bananmos. A DOS/Win9X NES music tracker. The NT2 site also has replay source code for NES, an assortment of songs made by NT2 users, and more.
• MCK by Izumi. A sound driver using MML format. Off-site link.
• NED2NSF v1.0 by Matrixz. Windows program that can make a single-song NSF from a NED file (Nerdtracker 2 format). Does not support NEDs with DMC samples, currently.
• MIDIMML converter v1.0 by Tom Murphy 7. [link] This program converts MIDI files (with some special annotations) into MML. The output wouldn't be as optimal as hand-crafted MML (in most cases), but it's very interesting and even useful for MIDI users, nonetheless.
• MCKC: MCK > MML Converter by Manbow-J, translated by virt. This document shows you how to use MML to create NES music.
• MCK/MML Beginners Guide v1.0 by Nullsleep/8bitpeoples.
• MCK/MML Beginners Guide (Chinese) v1.0 by Nullsleep, translated by Tong Yun Weng.
• DPCM HowTo by nullsleep. How to use DPCM samples with MCK.
• Making NSFs under UNIX by Julian Squires. Info concerning MCK. Off-site link.
• nsf2midi (Japanese) v.130 by GIGO. NSF2MIDI (english) v.05a Translated by Tatt and Yura.
• WAV2NES by David de Regt. Converts a .wav file to an .NES rom, but uses an obscure mapper.
• dmc converter (Japanese) v.05 by Norix. english doc by Nullsleep.
• sample converters by Bananmos. Includes 8bit-to-1bit and 1bit-to-8bit programs.
• sample converter by Damian Yerrick. Converts 8-bit samples to NES's 1-bit format, also scales the volume and oversamples the sound.

Amiga Programs

6502 Tools

• WLA DX A GB-Z80/Z80/6502/6510/65816 macro assembler.
• DASM v2.0 by Mathew Dillon. Source code is included. [http://nesdev.parodius.com/dasm32.zip v.212 is also available, but does not include an Amiga executable.

Graphic Tools

• Raw2CHR by Chris Covell. Converts graphics from RAW to the NES's format. C source code is included.
• CHARlie by Chris Covell. Optimizes graphics in CHR roms by removing duplicate tiles. C source code is included.
• CHR2NAM by Chris Covell. Makes a nametable from your CHR rom. C source code is included.

Misc tools

• FDSList v1.2 by Chris Covell. Lists and extracts files from Famicom disk images. Supports FDS format.
• AmiGenie by Chris Covell. Converts between Game Genie codes and hex addresses.

NES Hardware Information

more patent docs will be added eventually..

console hardware

• NES hardware development guide First release (4-23-2004), by Brad Taylor. Detailed NES hardware info, and several project ideas.
• Family Computer schematic by Nintendo? File provided by Ubaldo Prones.
• Nintendo Family Computer 回路の解析 by goroh.
• Nintendo Family Computer circuitry RE by goroh, english translation by Ki.
• 2A03 Pinout by Eli Dayan.
• RP2C02G (aka: the NES's PPU) by Kevin Horton.
• NES Audio Path by Kevin Horton.
• Electronic Sound Synthesizer A patent for the Famicom Disk System's sound hardware.
• Digital Sound Apperatus and External Memory Cartridge Used Therefor" A patent for the NES's sample playing hardware.
• 74LS373N Octal D-Type transparent latch; 3-state
• 74HCU04P Hex inverter
• 74HC368 Hex buffer/line driver; 3-state; inverting
• 74LS139 Dual 2-to-4 line decoder/demultiplexer
• Disabling the NES's lockout chip rev 0.4 by Mark Knibbs.
• Playchoice 10 Schematics 1986 Nintendo of America Inc.
• VS UniSystem Kit Manual by Nintendo of America Inc. Instructions on changing the game in an NES arcade cabinet, part list, etc.
• VS UniSystem Wiring Diagram 1984/1985 by Nintendo of America Inc.
• VS UniSystem Schematic by Nintendo Co. Ltd.
• "NES on a chip" pinout v1.0 by Kevin Horton.
• NT6578 NES "on a chip" pinout by Ubaldo Prones.

cartridge hardware

Note: Goroh's docs are in japanese

• NES ROM Pinouts by Drk. Covers all PRG, CHR, and RAM chips used in NES cartridges.
• NES EPROM Conversions by Drk. Instructions on how to modify certain boards to use EPROMs.
• EPROM Pinouts by Drk.
• Famicom Cartridge Connector Pinout by Siudym. DOC version available.
• Super Mario Bros. 2 Pinout by Siudym. Board is NES-TSROM-07.
• Super Mario Bros. 3 Pinout by Siudym. Board is NES-TSROM-08.
• Solstice Pinout by Siudym. Board is NES-ANROM-XX.
• Wizards and Warriors 2: Ironsword Pinout by Siudym. Board is NES-AOROM-03.
• Donkey Kong Classics Pinout by Siudym. Board is NES-CNROM-07. Comments in Polish.
• goroh's docs 1 by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• goroh's docs 2 by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• NES Cart Types by Kevin Horton.
• Namcot 106 by goroh, fix by ZW4 and nori, english translation by nori.
• Preliminary Maxi-15 Mapper Hardware Description by Mark.
• Comprehensive NES Mapper Document v0.80 by \Firebug\. Includes viewer program by Troy McLeod.
• Mapper 90 Information v2.0 by Fx3.
• Caltron / Myriad Games 6-in-1 v1.0 by The Mad Dumper.
• Konami VRC-VII Chip Info by Kevin Horton.
• Konami VRC-VI Chip Info by Kevin Horton.
• Konami VRC-VI by goroh. Sound info is inaccurate.
• Nintendo MMC1 by Matthew J. Richey.
• Nintendo MMC2 01/29/98 by Jim Geffre.
• Nintendo MMC3 by goroh.
• Nintendo MMC4 by ???
• Nintendo MMC5 Bankswitching by Kevin Horton.
• Nintendo MMC5 by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• Mapper 6 Info on the FFE mapper. By FanWen Yang.
• Bandai Mapper by goroh.
• Bandai Mapper About Bandai's NES mapper. By goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• Jaleco Mapper by goroh.
• Konami Mapper by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack. Here is the japanese version.
• Taito Mapper by goroh.
• Namco Mapper by goroh.
• Sunsoft Mapper by goroh, translated by Sgt. Bowhack.
• SMB2j aka "The Lost Levels" Mapper #40 Info 2.08.2000 by The Mad Dumper.
• Pirate game "Mario Baby" Mapper #42 Info 5.29.2000 by The Mad Dumper.
• iNES mapper 225 by ???
• iNES mapper 226 by Mark.
• "Mario Party" 7 in 1 by The Mad Dumper.

NES Hardware Projects

• PC NES transfer cable by sepi. Connects a PC's parallel port to the NES control port. It allows you control a game with a PC keyboard to log and play back button presses.
• Famicom Disk System Loader by Brad Taylor. This is the software and documentation for a hardware project to emulate the FDS's disk drive using a PC disk drive via parallel port. Can also copy FDS disk contents to your PC.
• CopyNES by Kevin Horton. NES modification that allows reading and writing of cartridges.

Links

Music

• NES Music NES music in module format.
• Sounds of the 2A03 New, original NES music!
• 2A03.org An archive of new NES music in NSF format.
• NSF Collection Here you can get a sorted collection of NSFs, the only bad thing being that the sound effects are removed.
• wayfar.net Makers of MIDINES, a MIDI interface cartridge for NES.
• VGMIX A videogame music remix site, with an excellent interface for musicans to add their own works.
• VORC A Japanese/English chip and game music news site.
• Zophar's Domain NSF page The most complete NSF archive around.
• Chibi-Tech's page Tracked chip music, including NES-style stuff.
• Dropoff 7 Original music, plus NES music remixes and a few real NES tunes recorded with analogue effects.
• The Minibosses A band that covered some NES songs, their MP3s available for download here.
• OverClocked ReMix A site with remixes (mostly MP3 format) of music from games of many systems.
• The Best Game Music! Check it out whether you read Japanese or not, it has music and original content. Also the home of the MCK sound driver.
• Video Game Jam Guitar and bass tablature for game music.
• Chiptune.com Chip music in various formats.

NES-related

• NESdev mailing list A mailing list for NES programmers.
• NESdev messageboard The messageboard for this site.
• NES HQ A site with a bit of hardware info, a few cart/box scans, and other stuff.
• Hardware Console Design NES Hardware simulator done in VHDL.
• NESp Website for a portable NES project.
• Dr. PC Jr. Development Page A site with technical information and support files for the Dr. PC Jr. (A Chinese computer based on the NES/Famicom)
• Nintendo, America! A page by Jon Valesh, who worked at Color Dreams.
• NES World An excellent NES site.
• tsr's NES archive Another good NES site.

misc. tech

• Tototek A supplier of FlashROM-based cartridges for various systems, among other things.
• RomLabratory Tons of tech info about cartridges for NES/FC, SNES/SFC, and Sega Genesis/MegaDrive.
• SMS Flash devcart and Motherboard Flash Method How to program a Flash-ROM with a PC motherboard, and SMS devcart instructions.
• Cuttle Cart A RAM cartridge for 2600 with bankswitching support. Loads a ROM through audio input.
• SMS Power A page with some tech info, demos and sources and stuff for the Sega Master System.
• GamesX A page with technical info on various consoles.
• Atari 2600 Programming Page You'd have to be a maniac to program this console.
• Atari 7800 Developer's Page Info on building a devkit/copier for 2600/7800.

home pages

• Game Development for the 8-bit NES Bob Rost's site. Lots of interesting NES projects.
• NES Sound Emulation Blargg's site.
• Siudym's Homepage Tech info, and other stuff. In Polish and English.
• Chewbone Software
• Strangulation Games Unlicensed NES game developer.
• Damian Yerrick's page NES and PC games and demos.
• Chris Covell's page Some interesting stuff, and even an explanation of how to convert your NES to have stereo sound!
• BlueTech Kevin Horton's page. Tech info, pictures and descriptions of some amazing home-made devices.
• Mark Knibb's page Some console tech info, plus some Amiga and C64 stuff.
• Memblers' page Info about Dropoff 7 (the band I'm in), and downloadable music in MP3, NSF, and iNES format.

6502

• 6502 Cross-Development Languages and Tools
• The Fridge 6502 source code archive.
• Dan Boris's 6502 Page
• 6502.org

misc 6502

• Magnified pictures of a 6502

graphics were ripped from other pages.

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