Namco System 11 for MiSTer

Supporter & Public / Github Editions — September 11, 2026

Starting with this release, the Namco System 11 core is available in two editions:

Public / GitHub Edition — built to the standard MiSTer-devel core team specification for distribution through update_all. (submitted and pending acceptance)

Supporter Edition — the same System 11 core support, with additional cabinet-focused features that are not supported in the "Public / Github" build:

• DB9/DB15 arcade joystick support through the User Port

• CRT Adjust geometry controls

• Supporter credits / pause screen

• "Arcade/XelaNotPu" default directory for "Supporter Edition" releases so both "Supporter Edition" and "Public / GitHub Edition" can co-exist for users that use "update_all.sh"

• XelaNotPu-DB will launch soon and offer supporters a "download.ini" solution to deploy the latest supporter builds via update_all.sh.

• XN* .rbf filename prefix returns to identify "Supporter" and "Public / Github" builds

All game, sound, compatibility, and input fixes are shared between both editions. The difference is entirely in these additional cabinet and supporter features.

This release also improves DB9/DB15 handling so that it now behaves appropriately for each type of game.

WHY THERE ARE TWO EDITIONS

The MiSTer-devel project has requirements for cores distributed through update_all. The public System 11 build therefore stays within the standard MiSTer feature set.

Three features from the Supporter build sit outside that configuration:

• DB9/DB15 joystick support, using the MiSTer-DB9 User Port implementation

• CRT Adjust, providing additional analog display geometry controls

• Supporter credits / pause screen

The split is intentionally simple.

The Public / GitHub Edition omits those features, along with development/debug tooling, for compatibility with the standard distribution.

The Supporter Edition retains the additional cabinet features.

Both editions contain the same System 11 core support, twelve supported titles, and all of the game-specific fixes described below.

DB9 / DB15 — NOW CORRECT PER GAME

The previous release fixed a major DB9/DB15 issue: the button remapping matrix was powering up empty and the mapping stream was never being sent. As a result, previous DB9 builds could detect the D-pad while the buttons remained inactive.

The core now programs the appropriate button map automatically at startup through the framework loader. No additional configuration is required.

This release takes that work further by making DB9/DB15 support game-aware.

Standard joystick games

For:

• Tekken

• Tekken 2

• Soul Edge

• Xevious 3D/G

• Dunk Mania

• Prime Goal EX

• Dancing Eyes

• Star Sweep

• Kosodate Quiz My Angel 3

DB9/DB15 joystick support remains available for two players.

Pocket Racer

Pocket Racer retains DB9/DB15 support for its digital steering and throttle controls.

The core also feeds the arcade's analog steering ADC from a standard USB analog wheel or gamepad axis.

Both input paths remain active, so players can use either digital joystick controls or an analog USB controller.

Point Blank 2 / Gunbarl

For the actual light-gun titles:

• Point Blank 2

• Gunbarl

DB9/DB15 joystick support is hidden and disabled.

On these games, the User Port is reserved for light-gun functionality rather than a conventional digital joystick. The UserIO Joystick option therefore disappears and the Light Gun configuration page is presented instead.

The core determines this from flags supplied by each game's .mra.

All four Point Blank 2 regional versions plus Gunbarl have been verified to carry the light-gun flag, while the remaining titles do not.

CRT ADJUST — SUPPORTER EDITION

CRT Adjust provides live geometry controls directly through the OSD:

• H-Size

• H-Position

• V-Shift

Native synchronization is maintained while adjustments are made, helping prevent the display from losing sync.

CRT Adjust defaults to Off, so the core behaves normally unless the feature is explicitly enabled.

This makes it possible to dial in an arcade monitor or PVM directly from MiSTer's OSD without repeatedly entering the monitor's service menu.

Credit to rmonic79 & Andrea Bogazzi's MiSTer-CRT-Adjust for the underlying implementation.

PER-GAME FIXES & FEATURES

Included in Both Editions

Everything in this section is part of the System 11 emulation itself and is included in both the Supporter and Public / GitHub editions.

Tekken 2 — Earlier Revisions

The six earlier TES1/TES2/TES3 VER.A/B/C sets stored under _alternatives previously displayed corrupt graphics.

These revisions use the earlier COH-100 board configuration with different GPU register decoding.

The core now selects the appropriate GPU behavior from each .mra.

All six revisions have been re-verified.

Soul Edge

DB9/DB15 users this should be fixed now.

Pocket Racer

Pocket Racer has progressed from a black screen to full gameplay.

This includes:

• KEYCUS C432 handling

• Analog steering/throttle through the arcade ADC

• Digital joystick fallback

Dunk Mania

Full four-player cabinet input is now supported, including:

• Players 3 and 4

• Independent coin input per player

A phantom Player 3 input issue affecting base-layout titles has also been corrected.

Sound

Several C352/C76 audio issues have been fixed:

• C352 music pitch/distortion caused by the inferred-M10K memory implementation

• C76 sound MCU stuck-note issues

• C76 dead-button hangs

• Missing M37702 multiply-page implementation

• Selective one-shot SFX drops affecting sounds such as coins, kicks, and floor impacts

Light Guns

Light-gun functionality is exposed only for actual light-gun games.

Point Blank 2 and Gunbarl now provide:

• Trigger mapping

• Crosshairs: On / Off

• Dedicated Light Gun OSD configuration

NVRAM

EEPROM settings and high scores persist across resets for every supported title.

The core begins with a genuinely blank, all-FF EEPROM. No captured NVRAM data is distributed with the core.

Cabinet Accuracy

DIP switches use their MAME-defined names.

For example:

• DIP1 (Test) enters the game's SELF-TEST mode

• DIP2 (Freeze) freezes the game

The cabinet Service button is also exposed as a mappable input.

Each .mra uses game-appropriate button labels, including:

• Tekken — LP / RP / LK / RK

• Soul Edge — Horizontal / Vertical / Kick / Guard

• Point Blank 2 — Trigger

OSD Pause Behavior

Opening the OSD no longer pauses gameplay by default.

A new:

Pause when OSD is open

option restores the previous behavior when desired.

Default: Off

A LEANER RELEASE CORE

Development instrumentation has been removed from the release editions, including:

• Debug OSD pages

• JTAG probes

• Diagnostic monitors

• Development counters used during bring-up

Timing closes positive across the core clocks, including healthy margin on the SDRAM domain.

For players, the most visible result is simply a cleaner OSD.

SUPPORTER FEATURES

Everything expected from the Supporter Edition remains present.

DB9 / DB15

Two-player DB9/DB15 joystick support is available through an Antonio Villena User Port splitter and is now enabled or disabled appropriately per game.

Two important notes:

• Joystick-driven OSD navigation requires MiSTer-DB9 firmware. Start+C opens the menu.

• Using the eighth User Port line means the uncommon secondary SPI-SD add-on remains unsupported.

CRT Adjust

Live:

• H-Size

• H-Position

• V-Shift

Native synchronization is maintained and the feature defaults to Off.

Supporter Pause Screen

The supporter credits have been refreshed for this release:

• Gold — Hall of Fame

• Cyan — High Score

• Green — Insert Coin

If your name is there, you're now part of the core running on real hardware.

Thank you for the support.

WHAT'S SUPPORTED?

12 System 11 Titles

• Tekken

• Tekken 2

• Soul Edge Ver. II

• Xevious 3D/G

• Dunk Mania

• Prime Goal EX

• Dancing Eyes

• Star Sweep

• Kosodate Quiz My Angel 3

• Pocket Racer

• Point Blank 2

• Gunbarl

One featured .mra for each title is placed at the top level of _Arcade.

Regional and alternate versions are organized by game under:

_Arcade/_alternatives/

There are 35 game versions in total.

This release cycle was also tested on a physical MiSTer. Tekken, Point Blank 2, and Pocket Racer were confirmed to boot and run using the Supporter build.

Family Bowl remains outside the current scope.

QA NOTES

The new per-game DB9 behavior has been verified at the source/build level, and the resulting core has been confirmed running on hardware.

Known Issue

• Tekken attract mode camera loses anchor.

  • Gameplay state is unaffected.

INSTALLATION

1. Copy the release's Arcade folder to the Arcade directory on your MiSTer SD card.

   The core is installed as:

   Arcade/cores/Arcade-SYSTEM11_20260907.rbf

   The .mra files are installed alongside your existing arcade definitions.

2. If upgrading from a pre-August build, remove old XNSYSTEM11* cores and MRAs. They reference the retired core name.

3. Supply your own ROM ZIP files under:

   games/mame/

   No ROMs are included with this release.

Thanks, as always, for the support.

The public edition gets System 11 into the hands of more MiSTer users.

The Supporter Edition keeps the additional cabinet features for those building MiSTer into the kind of hardware these games were originally meant to inhabit.

More to come.

Disclaimer

All product names, company names, project names, platform names, hardware names, game titles, logos, trademarks, registered trademarks, copyrighted materials, source code, and other intellectual property referenced in this post are the property of their respective owners.

This includes, but is not limited to, MiSTer, MiSTer FPGA, MiSTerFPGA, MiSTer-devel, PSX_MiSTer, Analogue, Analogue Pocket, openFPGA, MAME, The MAME Project, GitHub, Intel, Altera, Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment, PlayStation, Namco, Namco Limited, Namco Hometek, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Bandai Namco Holdings, Namco System 11, Axela, MOSS, Mitsubishi Electric, and Renesas Electronics.

Referenced game titles include Tekken, Tekken Ver.B, Tekken Ver.C, Tekken 2, Tekken 2 Ver.B, Soul Edge, Soul Edge Ver. II, Soul Edge Ver. III, Dunk Mania, Xevious 3D/G, Prime Goal EX, Dancing Eyes, Pocket Racer, Family Bowl, Star Sweep, Kosodate Quiz My Angel 3, Point Blank 2, Gun Barl, and Point Blank 3. All associated characters, artwork, audio, game data, regional versions, revisions, prototypes, undumped and unreleased builds, hardware designs, software, and derivative works remain the intellectual property of their respective rights holders.

References to SYSTEM11 MOTHER PCB, SYSTEM11 MOTHER(B) PCB, SYSTEM11 ROM8 PCB, SYSTEM11 ROM8(64) PCB, GP-11, GP-13, COH-100, COH-110, KEYCUS, C406, C409, C410, C411, C430, C431, C432, C442, C443, C76, C195, C352, C384, M37702, R3000A, GTE, CXD8530AQ, CXD8530BQ, CXD8530CQ, CXD8538Q, CXD8561Q, CXD2923AR, AT28C16, JAMMA, SNAC, HDMI, DDR, SDRAM, FRAM, EEPROM, NVRAM, M10K, altsyncram, FPGA implementations, emulation behavior, source-code repositories, hardware specifications, software cores, compatibility research, and related technologies are provided solely for identification, technical documentation, commentary, interoperability, preservation, educational, and research purposes.

This is an independent, non-commercial hardware-preservation and interoperability project. The use of any names, titles, trademarks, or technical materials does not imply sponsorship, authorization, endorsement, affiliation, or association with this post, its creator, the MiSTer project, or any related development project. No ownership of third-party intellectual property is claimed. No copyrighted game software, ROM images, BIOS files, MCU program data, security-chip key data, encryption keys, or other proprietary game data is provided with this post.

All rights are reserved by their respective owners.

Source: Github