v2026.04.02/emulators/nxengine.yml

emulator: NXEngine
type: libretro
core_classification: game_engine
source: "https://github.com/libretro/nxengine-libretro"
upstream: "https://github.com/Rox64/NXEngine"
profiled_date: "2026-03-24"
core_version: "1.0.0.6"
display_name: "Cave Story (NXEngine)"
cores: [nxengine]
systems: [cave-story]

notes: |
  NXEngine is an open-source reimplementation of the Cave Story (Doukutsu
  Monogatari) engine by Studio Pixel, authored by Caitlin Shaw. It is not
  an emulator but a source port that loads the original freeware game data.

  The core requires the freeware Cave Story distribution placed in
  {system_dir}/nxengine/. When launched without content, it looks for
  Doukutsu.exe there (libretro.cpp:254-259). When launched with a .exe
  content file, it uses the parent directory of that file (libretro.cpp:237).

  At startup (main.cpp:75-90), the core opens Doukutsu.exe and extracts:
  ORG music (extractorg.c), PXT sound effects (extractpxt.c), stage tile
  attributes (extractstages.c), 18 credit BMPs + pixel.bmp (endpic/),
  and the wavetable (cachefiles.c:464-485). All kept in memory.

  The data/ directory (399 files from the freeware release) is loaded into
  an in-memory cache at init (cachefiles.c:38-439, 497-540). All subsequent
  file access goes through this cache. The core verifies data/ by checking
  for data/npc.tbl (main.cpp:47-58).

  The font is compiled-in (bitmap_font.h). The upstream standalone version
  uses font.ttf via SDL_ttf.

  Valid content extension: .exe (libretro.cpp:109).

files:
  - name: "Doukutsu.exe"
    category: game_data
    system: cave-story
    description: "Cave Story freeware executable (data source for music, sfx, bitmaps, wavetable)"
    required: true
    size: 1478656
    md5: "38695d3d69d7a0ada8178072dad4c58b"
    sha1: "bb2d0441e073da9c584f23c2ad8c7ab8aac293bf"
    source_ref: "main.cpp:77-78 (opened for extraction), libretro.cpp:258 (existence check)"
    notes: "Placed in system/nxengine/. The core extracts ORG music, PXT sounds, stage tile attributes, BMP graphics, and wavetable from this binary at each launch."

  - name: "data/"
    category: game_data
    system: cave-story
    description: "Full game asset directory tree (399 files: sprites, NPC sheets, stage maps, scripts, backgrounds)"
    required: true
    source_ref: "cachefiles.c:38-439 (filenames[] array loaded at init)"
    notes: "Must contain root assets (Arms.pbm, MyChar.pbm, etc.), Npc/ (36 sprite sheets), and Stage/ (333 map/script/tileset files). All files from the original freeware release."

  - name: "data/npc.tbl"
    category: game_data
    system: cave-story
    description: "NPC attribute table (entity behavior flags, HP, damage, display rect offsets)"
    required: true
    source_ref: "main.cpp:50 (existence check for data/ directory), ai/ai.cpp:56-59 (loaded for NPC properties)"
    notes: "Located in system/nxengine/data/. Used to validate data directory presence and to load NPC behavior attributes."

  - name: "data/sprites.sif"
    category: game_data
    system: cave-story
    description: "Sprite information file (sprite positions, sizes, animation data)"
    required: false
    hle_fallback: true
    source_ref: "cachefiles.c:101 (in filenames[]), cachefiles.c:515-521 (compiled-in fallback from sprites_sif.h)"
    notes: "Not shipped in the freeware distribution. If missing, the core uses a compiled-in copy (sprites_sif.h)."

  - name: "tilekey.dat"
    category: game_data
    system: cave-story
    description: "Tile attribute lookup table (maps tile codes to collision/behavior attributes)"
    required: false
    source_ref: "map.cpp:290-303 (loaded at init, hardcoded default if missing)"
    notes: "Not part of the freeware distribution. Generated by the standalone NXEngine extraction tool. The libretro core has hardcoded defaults in map.cpp:30."