emulator: iNES
type: standalone
core_classification: other
source: "https://fms.komkon.org/iNES/"
upstream: closed-source
version_source:
  url: "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fms.ines.free&hl=en"
  pattern: '\[\[\["([^"]+)"\]\],\[\[\[\d+'
author: "Marat Fayzullin (Garage Research)"
profiled_date: "2026-10-20"
core_version: "6.1.12"
display_name: "Nintendo - NES / Famicom (iNES)"
cores:
  - ines
systems:
  - nintendo-nes
  - nintendo-fds
mode: standalone

notes: |
  NES and Famicom emulator by Marat Fayzullin, covering cartridges, the Famicom
  Disk System and the VS System. The build read here is the free Google Play
  package com.fms.ines.free, the package ES-DE launches, versionName 6.1.12
  versionCode 6112, taken as the Play app bundle drop, xapk sha256
  cddeedef6440eda7f18a389a7a5ea67e33fb8be21593aab93ab6b0fe10992496, base apk
  sha256 17577eced1829e0fe60ac128d94683d4bc1988c3ac627208e7de0e1e49a9abd8,
  native split config.armeabi_v7a sha256
  c7076c05aca28e38d0343fbea4c1b904e6d197e7d8fcbdc4e29c0278fef0f0db. Both splits
  are signed by the author's own key, CN=Marat Fayzullin O=Garage Research
  issued 2011, fingerprint
  d09469e9b550cbc9005d3bd089f3df5f0ba89cba71cdd3b33736a0382d6f9848, as the v1
  META-INF/BNDLTOOL.RSA and as the v2 and v3 signer, beside a Play distribution
  source stamp. The author's site still serves 6.1.4 as iNES-Android-6104.apk
  under package com.fms.ines, signed by the same key, and Google Play also
  carries the emulator inside VGBAnext as com.fms.ng, the author recording that
  Play removed the original com.fms.ines listing over its built-in cheats. The
  drop carries one native split, armeabi-v7a, whose libmain.so keeps its
  dynamic symbol table, so the readings below cite Thumb-2 offsets in that
  slice and Java lines in a jadx 1.5.6 decompile of the base apk. The free iNES
  6.1 builds for Windows and Ubuntu were read beside it and open the same files
  under the same names. No source has ever been published: the author releases
  ColEm and fMSX as source archives, while every iNES download on the same site,
  from 0.7 for AIX and SunOS through 6.1, is a binary package.
  ref: com.fms.ines.free.apk META-INF/BNDLTOOL.RSA, APK Signing Block,
       https://fms.komkon.org/iNES/, iNES61-Windows-bin.zip,
       iNES61-Ubuntu-x86-bin.tgz

  One directory holds everything the emulator reads. MainActivity hands
  EMULib.m to jniStart, which copies it into the buffer GetHomeDir returns and
  passes that same buffer to SetPrivateDir. Every open goes through mopen, which
  calls OpenRealFile: the name is tried as given and again as
  <PrivateDir>/<basename>, and when both open the larger of the two is kept. That
  directory is <ExternalStorage> joined with the application label up to its first
  whitespace, so iNES, falling back to getExternalFilesDirs(null) when the path is
  not a writable directory. mopen layers gzdopen over the result, so any of these
  files also opens gzipped, and a content:// name is routed to the Android storage
  framework instead.
  ref: MainActivity.java:1092-1105, EMULib.java:178, 315-361, 363-373,
       libmain.so jniStart 0x178b4-0x178f6, GetHomeDir 0x15490,
       libmain.so OpenRealFile 0x2fc94-0x2fdf3, libmain.so mopen 0x2fdf4-0x2fed7

  DISKSYS.ROM is the only filename compiled into the emulator. LoadFDS reads the
  disk image first, taking a bare *NINTENDO-HVC* header or the 16 byte FDS wrapper
  ahead of it, then opens DISKSYS.ROM and reads 0x2000 bytes into RAM at 0xE000. A
  failed open leaves the status at NOT FOUND and a short read at FAILED, and
  either makes LoadFDS return zero, so the disk never starts. Nothing about the
  image is checked past the length of that read. Cartridge titles never reach this
  path.
  ref: libmain.so LoadFDS 0x3a188-0x3a523, open 0x3a414-0x3a41c,
       read 0x3a438-0x3a45a, status 0x3a2a0-0x3a2ae,
       iNES61-Ubuntu-x86-bin ines 0x38165-0x381a9

  The startup palette is <HomeDir>/iNES.pal, assembled in Application from
  GetHomeDir and held in PalName, which StartNES loads when it is set. LoadPAL
  reads the first 256 bytes: exactly 192 is taken as 64 RGB triples fed to
  SetColor one at a time, anything else is parsed as text. A missing file leaves
  the built-in palette in place. The desktop distribution ships twenty candidates
  under Palettes/ to copy into that single name, the Android package none.
  ref: libmain.so Application 0x3818c-0x381b0, StartNES 0x38d9a-0x38da6,
       LoadPAL 0x38f6c-0x391f3 (read 0x38f94-0x38f9e, length 0x38faa),
       iNES61-Windows-bin.zip Palettes/

  LoadNES derives five companion names from the ROM path through MakeFileName:
  .sav, .ips, .cht, .pal and .sta. Started with no ROM name at all, Application
  substitutes CART.NES.
  ref: libmain.so LoadNES 0x39f5e, 0x39ff4, 0x3a05e, 0x3a094, 0x3a0ac,
       libmain.so Application 0x38278-0x38286

  Two package resources are read at runtime. assets/memfs.mp3 is passed whole to
  jniStart and mounted as an in-memory filesystem carrying one entry, CART.NES.
  assets/names.dat fills the title lookup and is then extended by
  <HomeDir>/names.dat, whose entries win on collision. The cheat browser asks the
  package assets for ROOT.chts first, and this build ships none, so Cheatopedia
  looks for it in the home directory and its subdirectories, then unpacks
  iNES-Cheats.zip from the Downloads directory into <HomeDir>/Cheats. A set that
  ROOT.chts names by a relative path is read from the directory where ROOT.chts
  was found, and a File= path starting with /sdcard/ has that prefix replaced by
  the home directory. The author publishes no iNES-Cheats.zip. The 6.1.4 package
  carried ROOT.chts and seven sets in its assets, and those are the files listed
  below.
  ref: MainActivity.java:1092-1105, libmain.so jniStart 0x17684-0x176a2,
       bi.java:183-213, Cheatopedia.java:195-202, 270-300, 335-344, 477,
       CheatHelper.java:16-49, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/

files:
  - name: DISKSYS.ROM
    system: nintendo-fds
    required: true
    min_size: 8192
    validation: [size]
    description: "Famicom Disk System BIOS"
    note: "Opened by bare name, so it resolves against the working directory and then against the home directory. Read as 0x2000 bytes into RAM at 0xE000. A missing file reports NOT FOUND and a short read FAILED, and either aborts the disk load. Only the length of that read is checked, so a longer file passes on its first 8192 bytes and no hash is compared. The open is gzip transparent, so a compressed copy answers too."
    source_ref: "libmain.so LoadFDS 0x3a188-0x3a523 (open 0x3a414-0x3a41c, read 0x3a438-0x3a45a), iNES61-Ubuntu-x86-bin ines 0x38165-0x381a9"

  - name: iNES.pal
    system: nintendo-nes
    required: false
    unsourceable: "any 64 colour palette the user picks, under the one name the code builds"
    description: "startup colour palette"
    note: "Built as <HomeDir>/iNES.pal and loaded at startup when present, otherwise the built-in palette stands. Exactly 192 bytes is read as 64 RGB triples, any other length as text. No single file answers to this name: the desktop distribution ships twenty palettes under other names for the user to copy over."
    source_ref: "libmain.so Application 0x3818c-0x381b0, StartNES 0x38d9a-0x38da6, LoadPAL 0x38f6c-0x391f3"

  - name: CART.NES
    system: nintendo-nes
    required: false
    bundled: true
    category: game_data
    size: 24592
    md5: c1db31a2aa8a12432705fc8bd3c1156a
    sha1: 486eede1bb748d95efc8a2a3d46ef1a530100559
    crc32: "2e03cb7f"
    description: "sample ROM image started when no game is given"
    note: "The only entry in assets/memfs.mp3, which MainActivity reads whole and jniStart mounts as an in-memory filesystem. A 16 byte header plus one 16 KB PRG bank and one 8 KB CHR bank. Application passes this name to StartNES when it is invoked without a ROM, so launching through ES-DE never reaches it."
    source_ref: "MainActivity.java:1092-1105, libmain.so jniStart 0x17684-0x176a2, libmain.so Application 0x38278-0x38286"

  - name: names.dat
    sha1: bb1a86caeb1b6351da6e7d46ed2051e8e5ec5a15
    required: false
    bundled: true
    category: game_data
    size: 21390
    description: "title database keyed by system and CRC32"
    note: "Parsed from assets as lines of key colon title, keys reading NES-4C629A95. The copy at <HomeDir>/names.dat is read straight afterwards into the same map, so user entries extend and override the packaged ones."
    source_ref: "bi.java:183-213"

  - name: ROOT.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 27447
    md5: f8a3b82f873132e312764807346182c6
    sha1: dbbaa1e149d1e3bbf62b1b16c9e23ecf5924636d
    crc32: "d2814640"
    description: "cheat database read by the Cheatopedia browser"
    note: "This build ships no cheat set in its assets. Cheatopedia looks for the file in the home directory and its subdirectories, and otherwise unpacks iNES-Cheats.zip from the Downloads directory into <HomeDir>/Cheats, an archive the author does not publish. The directory where it is found becomes the cheat directory for every set it names. The copy here is the one 6.1.4 carried in its assets, and its File= lines pull in the seven sets below and /sdcard/iNES/custom.chts."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:195-202, 477, 527-547, CheatHelper.java:16-49, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/ROOT.chts"

  - name: battle-toads.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 2768
    md5: 579c461a0060eae90c4f350e32dc6e56
    sha1: fc59b7662bdf8b888e4de42f788ac989fe6fab2a
    crc32: "d8b4ca90"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/battle-toads.chts"

  - name: dragon-warrior.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 1617
    md5: 9dcd487b3c3c0b18a5264285e3c9868c
    sha1: 47767cd5557c166b2bd5255a9a2857a4a1288e03
    crc32: "56462991"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/dragon-warrior.chts"

  - name: dragon-warrior-2.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 5596
    md5: 3231f15a1434d039aeb101801a9ab807
    sha1: c7199183d8f392bda14a8f8765bc6b3dd1951475
    crc32: "1d7327b8"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/dragon-warrior-2.chts"

  - name: fceu.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 2295
    md5: 80ba1e0d24df2ae8a334492fcdf80ac9
    sha1: 7eac0cb88829e5d89645803fd6256049348ab593
    crc32: "8a6d479b"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/fceu.chts"

  - name: final-fantasy-2.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 1399
    md5: 9f5604c53f5e61611e0f5fc86bd12eda
    sha1: 5d467c4da5bd62051b1732351ecb1bfb8ad2bf69
    crc32: "0b26c1d3"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/final-fantasy-2.chts"

  - name: final-fantasy-3.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 6189
    md5: d5e68a35ac2d17b48bf1604d03e4602d
    sha1: a76c50557b35cf28b2f7456ac9f282ab3a0af3ae
    crc32: "f1060bef"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/final-fantasy-3.chts"

  - name: super-mario-brothers.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 1999
    md5: 51beb6f9722b3c8a22f9d97c1401622c
    sha1: c1116b7e520541cf2925b30053106d85a4bae62e
    crc32: "42e09138"
    description: "cheat set reached from ROOT.chts"
    note: "Named by a File= line in ROOT.chts and read from the same cheat directory. Carried in the assets of 6.1.4 and absent from this build."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-344, iNES-Android-6104.apk assets/super-mario-brothers.chts"

  - name: custom.chts
    required: false
    category: game_data
    unsourceable: "cheat codes the user writes, in the format the documentation prints"
    description: "user cheat sets added to the Cheatopedia menu"
    note: "Pulled in by the File= line that ROOT.chts carries, written out as /sdcard/iNES/custom.chts. The browser swaps the leading /sdcard/ for the home directory, so the set is opened as <HomeDir>/iNES/custom.chts, an absolute path read straight from storage."
    source_ref: "Cheatopedia.java:270-300, 335-341"

  - name: Controls.png
    required: false
    category: game_data
    size: 22587
    md5: d10635cb6f101ed733f3d1133bc78f61
    sha1: 14c4ab8ccc8ecb81ebf99fec336a3e872c13aabc
    crc32: "dc9da322"
    description: "virtual joystick skin"
    note: "Read as <HomeDir>/Controls.png by the overlay button loader when the custom skin is selected, and by the layout editor. A built-in drawable stands in when the file does not load. The author publishes the template to draw over at fms.komkon.org/EmuAndroid/Controls.png."
    source_ref: "MainActivity.java:1589-1600, LayoutEditor.java:226"

  - name: Backdrop.png
    required: false
    category: game_data
    unsourceable: "any picture the user places behind the emulated screen"
    description: "backdrop drawn around the emulated screen"
    note: "Read as <HomeDir>/Backdrop.png while the decorum option is on. A built-in drawable stands in when the file is absent."
    source_ref: "MainActivity.java:1720-1745"

  - name: "<game>.back.png"
    required: false
    category: game_data
    unsourceable: "any picture the user places behind one title"
    description: "backdrop for one title"
    note: "Named from the loaded ROM path and preferred over the shared backdrop for that game."
    source_ref: "MainActivity.java:1734-1736"

  - name: "<game>.ips"
    required: false
    unsourceable: "a patch the user supplies for one title"
    category: game_data
    description: "IPS patch applied to the loaded ROM"
    note: "Named from the ROM path by MakeFileName and applied by ApplyIPS when present. A file chosen by hand that starts with the PATCH signature goes to LoadIPS from LoadFile."
    source_ref: "libmain.so LoadNES 0x39ff4 (ApplyIPS 0x3a02c), LoadFile 0x392ac-0x392c4"

  - name: "<game>.cht"
    required: false
    unsourceable: "cheat codes the user writes or collects per title"
    category: game_data
    description: "cheat codes for one title"
    note: "Named from the ROM path by MakeFileName and read by LoadCHT when present. Distinct from the .chts sets of the Cheatopedia browser. A file picked by hand whose name ends in .CHT reaches the same loader through LoadFile, and so does the menu handler."
    source_ref: "libmain.so LoadNES 0x3a05e (LoadCHT 0x3a06a), LoadFile 0x392e2-0x392ec, Joystick 0x388d2"

  - name: "<game>.pal"
    required: false
    unsourceable: "any 64 colour palette the user picks for one title"
    category: game_data
    description: "colour palette for one title"
    note: "Named from the ROM path by MakeFileName and read by LoadPAL when present, taking precedence over the startup palette for that game. A file picked by hand whose name ends in .PAL reaches the same loader through LoadFile."
    source_ref: "libmain.so LoadNES 0x3a094 (LoadPAL 0x3a09e), LoadFile 0x392ce-0x392d8"

exclusion_note: >
  Left out are the files iNES writes and reads back itself, which are emulator
  state rather than anything a user obtains: <game>.sav holding battery backed
  cartridge RAM, <game>.sta and the desktop builds' DEFAULT.STA holding saved
  emulation state, and LOG.MID, the soundtrack the emulator records when the MIDI
  log is toggled on. libOpenSLES.so is left out as the Android audio library the
  system provides, dlopen'd by name from InitAudio and the only other literal
  filename in the binary. The twenty palettes under Palettes/ in the Windows and
  Ubuntu distributions are left out as the shipped candidates for iNES.pal, which
  the emulator never opens under those names. Four of them are the VS System
  chip palettes, RP2C04-001, RP2C04-002, RP2C04-003 and RP2C05-004, and they
  reach the emulator through the palette entries above rather than a path of
  their own. Neither the VS System nor the FamilyBASIC keyboards need a file:
  DISKSYS.ROM is the only image the binary names.
  ref: libmain.so LoadNES 0x39f5e, 0x3a0ac, libmain.so InitAudio 0x18250-0x18252,
       iNES61-Ubuntu-x86-bin ines DEFAULT.STA, iNES61-Windows-bin.zip Palettes/