Anemoia-ESP32 is a rewrite and port of the Anemoia Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator running directly on the ESP32.
It is written in C++ and is designed to bring classic NES games to the ESP32.
This project focuses on performance, being able to run the emulator at native speeds and with full audio emulation implemented. However, games with complex mappers may induce a small speed loss.
Anemoia-ESP32 is available on GitHub under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3).
Anemoia-ESP32_2.mp4
This project is proudly sponsored by NextPCB. Their support helps fund the development and continuation of this project, and I'm very grateful to have them as my first ever sponsor.
Want to make a PCB? NextPCB offers PCB fabrication and assembly services with fast turnaround times and affordable pricing to help bring your electronics projects to the next level.
Anemoia-ESP32 is heavily optimized to achieve native NES speeds on the ESP32, running at ~60.098 FPS (NTSC) with 1 frame skip and full audio emulation enabled.
Here are the performance benchmarks for several popular NES games.
Note
The following benchmarks show average framerates recorded over 8192 frames (~2 minutes) of emulation time. Some games, such as Kirby's Adventure, which frequently switch banks may experience significant FPS drops in certain sections.
| Game | Mapper | Average FPS |
|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Bros. | NROM (0) | 60.10 FPS |
| Contra | UxROM (2) | 60.10 FPS |
| The Legend of Zelda | MMC1 (1) | 60.10 FPS |
| Mega Man 2 | MMC1 (1) | 60.10 FPS |
| Castlevania | UxROM (2) | 60.10 FPS |
| Metroid | MMC1 (1) | 60.10 FPS |
| Kirby’s Adventure | MMC3 (4) | 59.57 FPS |
| Donkey Kong | NROM (0) | 60.10 FPS |
As of now, Anemoia-ESP32 has implemented six major memory mappers:
- Mapper 0
- Mapper 1
- Mapper 2
- Mapper 3
- Mapper 4
- Mapper 69
Totalling to around 79% of the entire NES game catalogue.
If you'd like to check if a certain game is supported, visit
NesCartDB and search for the game on the
right-hand side of the site. Select the specific game version
and look for the iNES Mapper number in the cart properties.
The game should be supported if the iNES Mapper number is in the list
of implemented mappers above.
Feel free to open an issue if a game has glitches or fails to boot.
Anemoia-ESP32 requires a dual-core ESP32 with a minimum of 1 MB flash memory and NO PSRAM IS REQUIRED.
- ESP32
- e.g. ESP32-DevKitC or ESP32-WROOM-32
- A 320x240 SPI TFT screen (no touch needed)
- Either an ST7789-based screen as depicted, or
- an ILI9341-based screen with 320x240 pixels
- Audio Amplifier
- e.g. a PAM8403 or PAM8302
- Speaker
- MicroSD card module
- 8 Tactile push buttons, or
- Supported Controller
- NES controller
- SNES controller
- PS1 controller
- PS2 controller
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| MOSI | GPIO23 |
| MISO | -1 (N/A) |
| SCLK | GPIO18 |
| CS | GPIO4 |
| DC | GPIO2 |
| RST | EN |
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| MOSI | GPIO13 |
| MISO | GPIO34 |
| SCLK | GPIO26 |
| CS | GND |
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| Input | GPIO25 |
There are currently three input methods: Tactile push buttons, an NES/SNES controller, and a PS1/PS2 controller.
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| A | GPIO22 & GND |
| B | GPIO21 & GND |
| Left | GPIO0 & GND |
| Right | GPIO12 & GND |
| Up | GPIO15 & GND |
| Down | GPIO5 & GND |
| Start | GPIO32 & GND |
| Select | GPIO27 & GND |
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| Clock | GPIO5 |
| Latch | GPIO19 |
| Data | GPIO21 |
| Signal | ESP32 Pins |
|---|---|
| Data | GPIO5 |
| Command | GPIO19 |
| Attention | GPIO21 |
| Clock | GPIO22 |
Also connect the power and ground lines if using a controller. Most controllers should work fine from 3.3V power supply.
- Upload the
Anemoia-ESP32.inoprogram into the ESP32 - Put .nes game roms inside the root of a microSD card
- Insert the microSD card into the microSD card module
- Power on the ESP32 and select a game from the file select menu
Either use git clone https://github.com/Shim06/Anemoia-ESP32.git on the command line to clone the repository or use Code → Download zip button and extract to get the files.
- Download and install the Arduino IDE.
- In File → Preferences → Additional boards manager URLs , add:
https://espressif.github.io/arduino-esp32/package_esp32_index.json- Download the ESP32 board support
v3.2.1through Tools → Board → Boards Manager .
Important
Make sure to download version 3.2.1, as different board versions may have worse performance.
- Download the
SdFatandTFT_eSPIlibraries from Tools → Manage Libraries .
The emulator uses a custom display configuration for the ST7789 display.
- Navigate to your Arduino Libraries folder:
(Default location):
Documents/Arduino/libraries/TFT_eSPI - Open
User_Setup_Select.hin a text editor. - Comment out
#include <User_Setup.h>and any other setup includes and add<User_Setups/Anemoia-ST7789.h>:
// #include <User_Setup.h>
#include <User_Setups/Anemoia-ST7789.h>- Copy the provided
Anemoia-ST7789.hfile from this repository intoTFT_eSPI/User_Setups/. Optionally, edit the#definepins as desired.
Note
If using a screen with the ILI9341 driver, open Anemoia-ST7789.h in a text editor and comment out #define ST7789_DRIVER and uncomment #define ILI9341_DRIVER.
// #define ST7789_DRIVER
#define ILI9341_DRIVER- Locate your ESP32 Arduino platform directory. This is typically at:
\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\esp32\hardware\esp32\{version}\- Copy the
platform.txtfile from this repository and paste into that folder. This file defines additional compiler flags and optimizations used by Anemoia-ESP32.
Warning
Backup your platform.txt file if you have your own custom settings already.
- Connect your ESP32 via USB.
- In the Arduino IDE, go to Tools → Board and select your ESP32 board (e.g., ESP32 Dev Module).
- Click Upload or press
Ctrl+Uto build and flash the emulator. Optionally, edit the#definepins as desired.
Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3) - see the LICENSE file for more details.
