Yoshiaki Inose (NES Driver)

Yoshiaki Inose

Released 1986-04-24 Programmers Yoshiaki Inose Language 6502 Assembly

Yoshiaki Inose is the unofficial name of the NES sound engine programmed by Tecmo programmed Yoshiaki Inose. It was used in only four games; Chester Field, Mighty Bomb Jack, Super Star Force, and Tsuppari Oozumou.

Though the driver was programmed by Yoshiaki Inose, he did not write music or sound effects, and therefore didn't use the driver. Keiji Yamagishi used it to compose his first game Tsuppari Oozumou, Michiharu Hasuya and Tsukasa Masuko both used it for Mighty Bomb Jack, and Mikio Saito used it for the games Chester Field and Super Star Force.

The driver was later modified and used by Michiharu Hasuya, which in turn was modified again for Advance Communication Company.

According to Yoshiaki Inose, the sound driver does not have a name.

Development

Composers had to write in 6502 assembly machine code to create music and sound effects for the driver. The computer they wrote the music on would be hooked up to a Famicom for audio playback.

Release History

The driver was first used in Mighty Bomb Jack for the NES. Tsukasa Masuko and Michiharu Hasuya used the driver to create music and sound effects for the game. Both would later go on to program their own sound drivers. The last game to use the driver was Tsuppari Oozumou (composed by Keiji Yamagishi), which would end the driver's short lifespan of a little over a year. With the exception of Mighty Bomb Jack, all the titles were exclusive to Japan. Super Star Force and Chester Field were composed by Mikio Saito.

Output

The driver outputs to the RP2A03 only, and doesn't take advantage of the DPCM channel or any Famicom expansion sound.

Games

Released	Title	Sample
1986-04-24	Mighty Bomb Jack (NES) (マイティーボンブジャック)
1986-11-11	Super Star Force: Jikuureki no Himitsu (FC) (スーパースターフォース 時空暦の秘密)
1987-07-30	Chester Field: Ankoku Kami e no Chousen (FC) (チェスター・フィールド 暗黒神への挑戦)
1987-09-18	Tsuppari Oozumou (FC) (つっぱり大相撲)

Technical

Frequency Registers

The lowest note in the driver unusually starts at D#1 and works its way up to the 8th octave. A G-8 is the highest note heard in the driver (from Chester Field), so it is unknown if the driver actually goes higher than that, as the ROMs the driver is used in only displays D#1 to D-2. An algorithm is used to divide each frequency by 2 to achieve higher octaves.

B-8 = 07
A#8 = 07
A-8 = 07
G#8 = 08
G-8 = 08
F#8 = 09
F-8 = 09
E-8 = 0A
D#8 = 0B
D-8 = 0B
C#8 = 0C
C-8 = 0D
B-7 = 0E
A#7 = 0E
A-7 = 0F
G#7 = 10
G-7 = 11
F#7 = 12
F-7 = 13
E-7 = 15
D#7 = 16
D-7 = 17
C#7 = 18
C-7 = 1A
B-6 = 1C
A#6 = 1D
A-6 = 1F
G#6 = 21
G-6 = 23
F#6 = 25
F-6 = 27
E-6 = 2A
D#6 = 2C
D-6 = 2F
C#6 = 31
C-6 = 34
B-5 = 38
A#5 = 3B
A-5 = 3E
G#5 = 42
G-5 = 46
F#5 = 4A
F-5 = 4F
E-5 = 54
D#5 = 59
D-5 = 5E
C#5 = 63
C-5 = 69
B-4 = 70
A#4 = 76
A-4 = 7D
G#4 = 85
G-4 = 8D
F#4 = 95
F-4 = 9E
E-4 = A8
D#4 = B2
D-4 = BC
C#4 = C7
C-4 = D3
B-3 = E0
A#3 = ED
A-3 = FB
G#3 = 10A
G-3 = 11A
F#3 = 12B
F-3 = 13D
E-3 = 150
D#3 = 164
D-3 = 179
C#3 = 18F
C-3 = 1A7
B-2 = 1C0
A#2 = 1DB
A-2 = 1F7
G#2 = 215
G-2 = 235
F#2 = 257
F-2 = 27A
E-2 = 2A0
D#2 = 2C8
D-2 = 2F2
C#2 = 31F
C-2 = 34F
B-1 = 381
A#1 = 3B7
A-1 = 3EF
G#1 = 42B
G-1 = 46B
F#1 = 4AE
F-1 = 4F5
E-1 = 541
D#1 = 591

Address Locations

Chester Field: $8467-$847E
Mighty Bomb Jack: $3540-3557
Super Star Force: $18457-$1846E
Tsuppari Oozumou: $28A9-$28C0