Kazuhiro Ayabe (NES Driver)

Kazuhiro Ayabe

Released 1987-10-13 Programmers Kazuhiro Ayabe, Kazunori Hideya, Shinichi Sakamoto Language 6502 Assembly

Kazuhiro Ayabe is an unofficial name of the sound driver that was used in all of NMK's NES-developed titles. According to various staff, primarily Sizlla Okamura, the driver was programmed mainly by Kazuhiro Ayabe, with initial coding by Shinichi Sakamoto. Okamura also explained Kazunori Hideya made adjustments to the driver when he joined the company.

The sound engine was primarily used by Sizlla Okamura, but other drivers such as Tecchan K and Kazunori Hideya composed on the driver as well. According to Okamura, he would write the music initially on the MSX computer using the YRM-15 device, sometimes convert the composition to sheet music, and finally input it in data into the sound driver.

Release History

The driver was used in NMK's first Famicom game, Esper Boukentai in 1987. It was used in a total of six games. Unfortunately, only two saw release outside of Japan, as they were released in North America. None of the games that used the driver made it to Europe, and as a result, the driver is likely not optimized for the 2A07.

Output

The driver outputs to the 2A03 of the Famicom and NES. It does not use the DPCM channel.

Games

Released	Title	Sample
1987-10-13	Esper Boukentai (FC)
1989-03-28	Jajamaru Ninpou Chou (FC)
1989-09-29	Okkotoshi Puzzle Tonjan!? (FC)
1990-06-??	Arkista's Ring (NES)
1990-12-14	Ninja Crusaders (NES)
1991-07-19	SD Keiji: Blader (FC)

Technical

Frequency Registers

D#6 = 2D
D-6 = 30
C#6 = 32
C-6 = 35
B-5 = 39
A#5 = 3C
A-5 = 40
G#5 = 43
G-5 = 47
F#5 = 4C
F-5 = 50
E-5 = 55
D#5 = 5A
D-5 = 5F
C#5 = 65
C-5 = 6B
B-4 = 71
A#4 = 78
A-4 = 7F
G#4 = 87
G-4 = 8F
F#4 = 97
F-4 = A0
E-4 = AA
D#4 = B4
D-4 = BE
C#4 = CA
C-4 = D6
B-3 = E2
A#3 = F0
A-3 = FE
G#3 = 10D
G-3 = 11D
F#3 = 12E
F-3 = 140
E-3 = 153
D#3 = 168
D-3 = 17D
C#3 = 194
C-3 = 1AC
B-2 = 1C5
A#2 = 1E0
A-2 = 1FC
G#2 = 216
G-2 = 236
F#2 = 25D
F-2 = 281
E-2 = 2A7
D#2 = 2CF
D-2 = 2FA
C#2 = 327
C-2 = 357
B-1 = 38A
A#1 = 3C0
A-1 = 3F9
G#1 = 435
G-1 = 475
F#1 = 469
F-1 = 501
E-1 = 54D
D#1 = 59E
D-1 = 5F4
C#1 = 64E
C-1 = 6AE

Addresses

Arkista's Ring: $4F8F-$500E
Esper Boukantai: $2D3D5-$2D454
Jajamaru Ninpou Chou: $A639-$A6B8
Ninja Crusaders: $C5FB-$C67A
SD Keiji Blader: $25E8-$2667
Oichi ni Puzzle Tonjan?!: $BE10-$BE8F