Hardware to Play all NES games on MSX machines...

Hero (589)

17-05-2017, 20:10

Hello, i´m thinking if there is any cart to allow play NES games on MSX machines, if i´m right there is a cart called Zemina Family card, built in Korea to play NES games in MSX computers, but i never saw that cart, anyone have it? Is There any other way to play NES games on MSX? Any development hardware maybe? If i´m right Playsoniq can handle Sega Master System games on MSX, but NES...

By mars2000you

Enlighted (6570)

17-05-2017, 20:15

Try to find a Sakhr/ Al Alamiah AX-330

https://www.msx.org/wiki/Sakhr_AX-330

By Louthrax

Prophet (2497)

17-05-2017, 20:18

Mmm... the NES hardware is quite different from MSX (different CPU, PSG and VDP). Such a device might be hard to create. Only mapping the MSX joystick inputs to the NES CPU for example might be a (k)nightmare (NES games are doing hardware access to the joypads in a quite different way from MSX, this should be dynamically translated in a sequence of different OUTs and INs on the MSX ports...).

By Dhampird

Hero (589)

17-05-2017, 21:46

Thanks for replies, i just was reading the AX-330 specs, for like looks the NES board inside the AX-330, give desires to be ported to a common msx cart, if i´m right The Zemina Family Cart is all a brute NES piece of hardware, msx only to give power supply and joystick, obviously will be a lot of more software development things behind to make that Zemina work on MSX, we have Playsoniq for Sega Master System, now is time to NES...
Will be great get a Zemina and a AX-330 to study the hard, i suppose there is no service manual for those, right?

By AxelStone

Prophet (3199)

17-05-2017, 21:53

Thinking about a cartridge to play NES games on MSX? I suposse that Master System is more easy (in fact, already exists) since it's very similar to MSX.

By st1mpy

Paladin (947)

17-05-2017, 21:59

Zemina Family card type of hardware is quite easy to make nowdays I'd say, but what would be a cool hardware to have is if The vdp and the sound chip of the nes could be addressed from MSX side.

By syn

Prophet (2135)

17-05-2017, 22:23

A few years ago during the the nijmegen msx fair, GuyveR800 showed me MNESX , an unreleased NES emulator for msx (requiring GFX9K). It works with some games but slow and is obviously not as advanced as GEM (the gameboy emulator for msx)

By Dhampird

Hero (589)

18-05-2017, 00:08

And a cart that finally allow play Sega Megadrive and NES in the same hardware with 2 different cart slots? I know probably this will be like a big tower cart, but designed like a expansor slots...one slot for Megadrive, and the other for Nes = THE MSXMEGNES

AX330: Play Famicom
AX660: Play Sega Mega Drive
AX999: Play Famicom (+50 games installed)

By TaylorsEverythingChannel

Champion (415)

23-03-2020, 01:33

How do you know that the emulator is slow and played? You ever had it on real hardware? Just curious. I have GEM that works good for the MSXturboR.

By ducasp

Paladin (712)

23-03-2020, 19:10

what would be the real benefit? MSX wouldn't be doing anything other than supplying power and perhaps input... I personaly would rather grab a Famicon or a Famiclone and call it a day. Developers are barely using MSX2 VDP to be honest, 2+ and V9990 or Franky are less and less used....

I really don't see this as something that would be interesting as a whole, but, perhaps, as someone personal project that some others might like and get into.

By st1mpy

Paladin (947)

03-07-2021, 23:58

I've been thinking about this recently again and I think I have a design that isn't just msx supplying power and joystick. I made an arduboy cartridge for msx with msx joystick pressing arduboy buttons and i2c for communication. For nes version, I've got parts ready for dual port ram for nes which is also accessible from msx on cartridge, the joystick part would be the same as arduboy design (but there are 2 joysticks). With this design, both systems can interact with each other.