NESticle is a
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
emulator, which was written by Icer Addis of Bloodlust Software.
Released on April 3, 1997, the widely popular program originally ran under
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
and
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
. It was the first
freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
NES emulator, and became commonly considered the NES emulator of choice for the 1990s.
[Kuchera, Ben, ed.]
Accuracy takes power: one man’s 3GHz quest to build a perfect SNES emulator
. ''Ars Technica
''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...
''. 9 August 2011. Initially offering few features and only supporting a handful of games, development proceeded rapidly and to expand usability such that NESticle is today credited with introducing the concept of
recordable playthrough for emulation,
[Turner, Benjamin.]
Smashing the Clock
." ''1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
''. Pg.2. 10 August 2005. as well as providing the capacity for users to create their own
graphical hacks via an integrated graphics editor.
[Ragan, Jess.]
Singing the Brews: The History & Philosophy of Homebrew Game Development
" ''1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
''. Pg.8. 20 March 2006. In pioneering this heightened level of access for users, and providing the tools for fans to hack and remix familiar classics, NESticle has been credited by ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' as representing a milestone toward the development of
video game music as a genre.
[Schone, Mark. "The Cartridge Family." '']Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
''. Pg.86. September 2004.
While the emulator is no longer updated and has become obsolete as other emulation projects have developed and improved, NESticle remains frequently listed among prominent top tier emulators and it is still regarded as a good choice for emulation on older (
486
__NOTOC__
Year 486 ( CDLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basilius and Longinus (or, less frequently, year 12 ...
and earlier) computers.
[Kohler, Chris. ''Retro Gaming Hacks: Tips & Tools for Playing the Classics''. ]O'Reilly Media
O'Reilly Media (formerly O'Reilly & Associates) is an American learning company established by Tim O'Reilly that publishes books, produces tech conferences, and provides an online learning platform. Its distinctive brand features a woodcut of an ...
. Pg.165. 2011. .
In January 2022, the source code for a
Super NES version of the emulator, SNESticle, was released by Addis after a programmer attempted to reverse-engineer the code, which had been released in a
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
game,
Fight Night Round 2
''Fight Night Round 2'' (also known as ''Fight Night 2005'') is the sequel to Electronic Arts' Fight Night 2004. It was released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube consoles in 2005. It was the only Fight Night game in the series to be releas ...
. In February of that same year, Addis began work on a follow-up to NESticle, an experimental
macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
-based application based on transistor-level simulation of the NES chipset, called metalnes.
Development
NESticle offered its initial release as NESticle v0.2 on April 3, 1997. Its name is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[NES
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...](_blank)
" (the
console it emulates) and "
testicle
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...
". The program originally ran under
DOS and
Windows 95
Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...
, offering few features and only supporting a handful of games. It was one of the first
freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
NES emulators, and soon became more popular than
shareware
Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...
rivals such as iNES.
NESticle was coded in C++ and assembly using Microsoft Visual C++ 4.10. Part of the emulator's appeal was performance: its system requirements capped at around 25MHz
[ enabling it to run on modest Pentium and 486 DX2 PCs. Its GUI was colorful and easy to use, featuring numerous utilities that allowed user to view, edit, and save custom graphics, palettes, and the like. Within two months of its April release, NESticle could take screenshots mid-game, pause and resume progress at any point using save states, edit in-game palettes and graphics, play games online, save audio output, and record and playback gameplay movies. NESticle, as its name implied, also had a dash of lowbrow and morbid humor. The mouse pointer, for instance, was skinned with a bloody, dismembered left hand extending its pointer finger.
The source code for NESticle was illegally copied from Addis's computer by a code cracker named Donald Moore (also known as MindRape) of Damaged Cybernetics, who accessed its network shares with ]Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
. Because of the incident, Addis decided to discontinue NESticle. August 1998 saw the final NESticle release, version x.xx, and support for the emulator was discontinued. This version featured noticeably improved emulation, especially audio emulation (the triangle wave was correctly 4-bit quantized, the 50% pulse wave had the correct duty cycle and the noise was corrected). It was also DOS only.
NESticle eventually became obsolete as other emulation projects continued to develop and improve. In particular, NESticle has been criticized within modern emulation circles for an overwhelmingly aesthetics-based philosophy making heavy reliance on emulation quirks which resulted in game images that would only work on this emulator specifically. Nevertheless, it continues to be noted years after its obsolescence for its speed, particularly on lower-end computers.
Influence
As one of the more popular early emulators, NESticle's influence on the emulation scene has been far-reaching. Its innovative development of 'NES movie' playthrough recording,[ and its use as a tool for homebrew graphical hacks][ enabled it to influence the development of even tangentially related fields such as the video game music genre,][ and console case modding. The emulator has been noted as an influence in the gaming backgrounds of video game collectors like Pat Contri (known as "Pat the NES Punk"), ]Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
's Samit Sarkar, and indie video game music
Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...
ians, The NESkimos
The NESkimos is an independent American video game music cover band from St. Augustine, Florida. It is known for songs based on video game music, and covers of songs from popular television shows and movies.
The name is a portmanteau combinin ...
.[North, Dale. ]
Pre-PAX Primer: Destructoid interviews The NESkimos
'. Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
' ...
. 17 August 2007.
See also
* List of NES emulators
References
External links
The story behind the end of NESticle AND Damaged Cybernetics
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesticle
Nintendo Entertainment System emulators
Windows emulation software
Proprietary video game console emulators