NES Toolbox

A curated list of useful links for NES development. I update this list regularly.

Last update: 2026-04-23

Emulators

• Mesen — one of the best NES/Famicom emulators; includes a debugger.
• FCEUX — my personal favorite; runs well on Linux and includes a debugger.
• iNES — a solid cross-platform emulator.

Compilers and assembly

• ca65 — the 6502 assembler from the cc65 suite; supports targets such as the NES, C64, and Apple II.
• Online 6502 Assembly Simulator — quick in-browser testing (by Tony Cruise).

Code editors and IDE

• My nes.nvim Neovim plugin for NES development.
• Visual Studio Code with 6502 extensions.

Graphics and CHR editors

• NEXTT — a great CHR and sprite editor for NES.
• YY-CHR — a solid ROM-hacking and sprite editor.

Sound editors

• FamiTracker — a simple, popular tracker for NES music.
• FamiStudio — a more advanced music composition tool.

Books

• “Classic Game Programming on the NES: Make your own retro video game” by Tony Cruise.
• “Programming the 6502” by Rodnay Zaks, ISBN 0895881357