GumshoeNESRecomp

This recompilation is a byproduct of developing nesrecomp — the games are the proving ground, the framework is the goal. These are in-development previews, not finished ports — expect rough edges, and depth will keep landing over months, not days. My time for any one title is limited, so I ask for your patience. Contributions are welcome — testing, issues, and PRs to the game or framework all help and will accelerate this game's polish. More on the why at: Recomp + AI: 5 Months Later »

Static recompilation of Gumshoe (NES) for native PC. Built with the NESRecomp framework.

Status: Playable end-to-end with one known cosmetic bug. As of 2026-05-04 the game boots past the title screen, gameplay (Mr. Stevenson, balloons, scoring, Zapper input) works, but the top-left HUD elements (timer and shot counter) do not render — see ISSUES.md ISSUE-000. Gameplay itself is unaffected. If you find another bug, please open an issue.

About

Gumshoe is a side-scrolling action game for the NES that uses the Zapper light gun. Players shoot obstacles and enemies to help Mr. Stevenson navigate through levels, collecting diamonds along the way.

Special Feature: Mouse-as-Zapper

Gumshoe requires the NES Zapper light gun. This recompilation maps your mouse to the Zapper:

• Move mouse — aim the Zapper
• Left click — pull the trigger
• A crosshair is drawn at the aim point (white normally, red when firing)
• The OS cursor is hidden while in the game window

What Works

• Full gameplay with Zapper-as-mouse input
• Gumshoe jumping, obstacle shooting, enemy hit detection
• Bottle targets and entity scanning
• Round progression and scoring
• Save states (F6/F7)

Quick Start

1. Download GumshoeNESRecomp-windows-x64.zip from Releases
2. Extract and run GumshoeRecomp.exe
3. Select your Gumshoe (USA, Europe).nes ROM when prompted — the path is saved for future launches

Controls

NES Button	Keyboard
D-Pad	Arrow keys
A	Z
B	X
Start	Enter
Select	Tab

Action	Input
Aim Zapper	Mouse movement
Fire Zapper	Left mouse button

Hotkey	Action
F5	Toggle turbo (fast-forward)
F6	Save state
F7	Load state

Building from Source

Requires Visual Studio 2022 and CMake 3.20+.

git clone https://github.com/mstan/GumshoeNESRecomp
cd GumshoeNESRecomp

# Windows
setup.bat

# Linux / macOS
chmod +x setup.sh && ./setup.sh

This initializes the pinned nesrecomp submodule and links the Nestopia oracle core.

Then build:

cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release

Place your Gumshoe (USA, Europe).nes ROM in the build directory or select it at runtime.

Architecture

This is a static recompiler, not an emulator. The original 6502 machine code is translated to C at build time, then compiled to native x64. The NES PPU, APU, and mapper are simulated by the runner library.

• game.toml — recompiler configuration
• extras.c — game-specific hooks (Zapper init, debug server)
• generated/ — auto-generated C code (do not edit manually)
• nesrecomp/ — framework submodule (recompiler + runner)

Known Limitations

• Audio is basic (APU register writes are captured but full audio mixing is work-in-progress)

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