How to Make Esp32 Based Nes Emulator in 2026

ESP32-S3 NES Emulator

Build a fully functional, pocket-sized NES emulator using an ESP32-S3 and a TFT display. I am telling every detail inside the tutorial. Please be watch before

In this project I had used of materials

Esp32-S3 Development Board (16mb Flash, 8mb Psram)

1.69" st7789 Display (280*240)

Sd Card & Reader

8* Tactile Push Button

Max98357A I2S Amplifier (Optional for a now)

1. Download your legally obtained NES ROMs, ensuring the file extension is '.nes'.
2. Rename the files to be shorter so they display cleanly on the game selection menu.
3. Format your SD card to FAT32.
4. Copy the game files and paste them directly into the root folder of the SD card.

1. Ensure you have Arduino IDE version 2.3.7 and ESP32 boards version 3.3.7 installed.
2. Download the project source code (.zip) from the provided GitHub repository.
3. In the Arduino IDE, navigate to Sketch > Include Library > Add.ZIP Library, and select the downloaded file.
4. Open the project by going to File > Examples > Esp32NofrendobyDSN > Dsn_nes_Emulator.
5. Note: The code includes a custom TFT display driver, so no external display libraries are required.
6. 
   

Source File : https://github.com/derdacavga/Esp32-S3-nes-emulator-by-DSN

Before clicking upload, you must configure your board settings exactly as follows:

1. Board: ESP32S3 Dev Module.
2. USB CDC On Boot: Enabled.
3. CPU Frequency: 240MHz.
4. Flash Size: 16MB.
5. Partition Scheme: Huge APP (3MB APP, 1MB SPIFFS).
6. PSRAM: OPI PSRAM (This is the most critical setting; missing this will prevent most games from running).

1. Navigation: Use the UP and DOWN pushbuttons to scroll through the menu. * Selection: Click the SELECT button to open a game, and START to begin playing.
2. Audio: Sound support is currently a work in progress. It is disabled (set to '0') in the hardware config file by default. Changing it to '1' enables audio, but the quality is currently very poor.