A Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator written in Rust.

• 6502 CPU emulation with ~140 implemented opcodes
• PPU (Picture Processing Unit) with sprite rendering support
  • Background rendering
  • Sprite rendering with 8x8 and 8x16 modes
  • Sprite-0 hit detection
  • Sprite priority and transparency
• APU (Audio Processing Unit) basics
• Support for iNES ROM format (mapper 0)
• Controller input support
• SDL2 for video output and input handling

Install dependencies on macOS:

brew install sdl2

Build the project:

cargo build --release

cargo run --release <path_to_rom.nes>

Or after building:

./target/release/nes-emu <path_to_rom.nes>

# Run with normal logging
cargo run -- roms/Super_mario_brothers.nes

# Run with debug logging (shows controller inputs)
RUST_LOG=debug cargo run -- roms/Super_mario_brothers.nes

Or use the provided test scripts:

./test_controls.sh        # Normal mode
./test_controls_debug.sh  # Debug mode with controller logging

• Arrow Keys: D-Pad
• Z: A button
• X: B button
• Enter: Start
• Right Shift: Select
• R: Reset emulator
• Escape: Exit

Currently only supports mapper 0 (NROM) games, which includes many early NES titles.

This NES emulator now supports many classic NES games with mapper 0, including:

• Super Mario Bros.
• Donkey Kong
• Balloon Fight
• Ice Climber
• And other early Nintendo titles

Some limitations remain:

• Not all unofficial 6502 opcodes are implemented
• Audio output not connected to SDL (APU runs but no sound)
• Only mapper 0 (NROM) is supported
• No save states or debugging features

For best results, use mapper 0 ROM files.