If, when you first played Super Mario Bros. 3 or the original Metroid, you wanted to make music that rivalled Koji Kondo or Hirokazu Tanaka but also sounded just like it, well in 2022 you're finally in luck.

Available on itch.io and developed by user Avicr, SynthNes is a ROM that runs on an Everdrive N8 Pro flashcart. You can run this app on your PC to turn your little NES into a full-fledged MIDI music machine.

You can pay whatever you like to give SynthNes a go, and all you need to get started are a USB cable, a Nintendo Entertainment System, a PC (Windows only for now) and an Everdrive N8 Pro cartridge, which you can buy here. With all of these tools at your disposal, you can become a Nintendo maestro yourself! If you've held on to your childhood console, that is.

The app comes with a bunch of fun features that celebrate the glory days of '80s Nintendo gaming, and make creating music as simple as possible, which include:

  • Control all five NES audio channels via MIDI or included virtual keyboard
  • Expandable by connecting more NES's
  • Easy to use PC interface
  • PDF manual
  • Modulation
  • Automation
  • Presets
  • Polyphonic operation
  • Unison mode
  • Animated graphics
  • Hidden surprises

You can find out how to get the app working on Avicr's itch.io page, and get even more detail by reading the PDF manual. The manual looks adorable and is just like an NES one, complete with pixel art and character descriptions.

There's only an NES app at the moment, but can you imagine if an SNES-equivalent is developed? Yasunori Mitsuda, à la Chrono Trigger, eat your heart out.

Have you tried out the SynthNes? Drop us a comment below to let us know, and maybe even share your project!

[source avicr.itch.io]