NES Emulator

A cycle-accurate NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) emulator written in C++.

Requirements

• C++17 or higher
• CMake 3.10+
• SDL2 (for graphics and input)
• Make or Ninja build system

Building

cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

Running

./nes_emulator <path_to_rom.nes>

Project Structure

src/
├── cpu.cpp/h        # 6502 CPU emulation with all 256 opcodes
├── ppu.cpp/h        # Graphics processing unit
├── bus.cpp/h        # Memory bus and addressing
├── cartridge.cpp/h  # ROM loading and cartridge management
├── ram.cpp/h        # RAM implementation
├── joypad.cpp/h     # Controller input handling
└── main.cpp         # Entry point

Testing

The emulator passes the nestest ROM validation tests, ensuring accurate CPU cycle timing and opcode implementation.

Controls

Key	Action
Arrow Keys	D-Pad
Z	A Button
X	B Button
Enter	Start
Shift	Select

To-Do

• Implement APU support for audio emulation
• Improve games compatibility
• Add Xbox controller support
• Fix clock synchronization issues

References

• NESDev Wiki