¶ Technical data
- Manufacturer: Nintendo
- Year of release: 1983 in Japan (as the Famicom), 1985 in North America, 1986 in Europe
- Units sold: 61.91 millions
- Best-selling game: Super Mario Bros.
- CPU: Ricoh 2A03 (MOS 6502 core) @ 1.79 MHz
- RAM: 2 KB
- VRAM: 2 KB
- Video: Ricoh 2C02 PPU
- Resolution: 256x240, 25 colors on screen out of a 54-color palette
- Sound chip: built into the 2A03, 5 channels (2 pulse, 1 triangle, 1 noise, 1 DPCM)
- Media: cartridge
¶ Presentation
The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES, is the 8-bit console that revived the video game industry after the 1983 crash. Released in Japan in July 1983 as the Family Computer (Famicom), it reached North America in 1985 in a completely redesigned grey case, deliberately distanced from the "game console" look in order to reassure retailers who had been burned, and then Europe in 1986.
Its success rests as much on its simple, inexpensive hardware as on Nintendo's very strict publishing policy: the famous seal of quality, the cap on the number of titles each publisher could release, and the 10NES lockout chip that blocked unlicensed cartridges. The NES is where the series that still define Nintendo's catalogue today were born: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kid Icarus, Punch-Out!!, not to mention third-party licences that became classics such as Mega Man, Castlevania, Contra and Final Fantasy.
The console is also remarkable for its accessories: the Zapper, the light gun bundled with Duck Hunt, R.O.B., the Power Glove and, in Japan, the Famicom Disk System. With nearly 62 million units sold, the NES remains the reference machine of the third generation and one of the best preserved catalogues in retrogaming.
¶ Emulators
New in Recalbox 10.1: netplay is enabled, with online play, synchronization mode and "GameLink". On the NES it is available with FCEUmm and FBNeo.
Emulator availability per board:
| Emulator | RPI3/RPI02W | RPI4/400 | RPI5/500 | OGA/OGS/RG351 | PC | RG353 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Libretro nestopia | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Libretro fceumm | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Libretro quicknes | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Libretro mesen | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Libretro fbneo | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Mesen is not available on RPi3 and RPi Zero 2. Every other core is present on all boards.
Nestopia is the default emulator: it offers the best balance between accuracy and performance, and it runs on every board. FCEUmm comes second and remains the core of choice for netplay and for games using exotic mappers. QuickNES is a very light core, useful on the most modest machines. Mesen is the most accurate of the five but also the most demanding, which explains why it is missing on RPi3. FBNeo only reads zipped romsets and is mainly aimed at arcade versions (VS. System, PlayChoice-10).
Softpatching (automatic application of translation or hack patches placed next to the rom) works with Nestopia, FCEUmm, QuickNES and Mesen, but not with FBNeo. CRT output is supported by Nestopia and FCEUmm. RetroAchievements are available on this system, and a light gun is recommended to enjoy Zapper games such as Duck Hunt. No BIOS is required.
¶ Roms
Put your games in:
/recalbox/share/roms/nes/
Supported extensions per emulator:
| Emulator | Extensions |
|---|---|
| Nestopia | .nes .unf .unif .zip .7z |
| FCEUmm | .nes .unf .unif .zip .7z |
| QuickNES | .nes .unf .unif .zip .7z |
| Mesen | .nes .unf .unif .zip .7z |
| FBNeo | .zip .7z |
The standard format is .nes (iNES format, with a 16-byte header describing the mapper). The .unf / .unif formats cover unlicensed cartridges and special dumps. A No-Intro romset is strongly recommended: file names are normalised there, which greatly improves scraper results.
.zipand.7zarchives are read directly, there is no need to extract them. However, an archive must contain a single game only.
Also have a look at the NES guide for game preparation, configuration and system-specific tips.