KickMaster NTSC-U: independent reverse engineering

This project analyzes only the supplied ROM identified in manifests/rom_identity.json. The original ROM is not included in checkpoints. Its separate attachment identity is in RESUME.md; recover that exact file after a reset, or supply it again if the attachment is unavailable. The project specification is preserved in project_specification.md.

Start with RESUME.md, reports/stages/SESSION_REPORT.md and reports/subsystems/ENEMY_AI_DEATH_AND_REWARDS.md.

Current snapshot: Stage02G kind00 AI, ordinary drops and special-death object lifecycles. Prior stages00..02F are retained;02F was freshly verified at resume without CPU/build reruns. Comprehensive reverse engineering is not complete:274 code ranges,130 data ranges,139 RAM roles. Stage02G adds15 CPU groups/4050 saved observations with11437 trace rows, no ROM patches or callee stubs. Tests cover explicitly scoped AI/death paths, not full enemy terrain or all other AI bodies. The input-dependent ca65 scaffold matches all262160 bytes;19838 PRG bytes have reviewed local semantics. Portable exports contain543 symbols and383 indirect table edges. Native NES and Ghidra/MesenCE imports remain NOT_TESTED. Full AI, geometry and32-scene to8-sector mapping remain open. Original guide/maps are unchanged in research/originals/; earlier map-access failures are historical. PROJECT_UPDATES.md records later source-preservation/checkpoint instructions. Historical reports remain.

Evidence classes: FILE (direct bytes/hashes), STATIC (decoded instructions and checked control flow), DOCUMENTED (external source only), CPU_TEST (isolated execution with stated stubs), EMULATOR (full NES runtime observation), HYPOTHESIS, UNRESOLVED. CPU tests are not NES emulator validation. Automated reachability is not semantic understanding. No prior user reverse-engineering notes were consulted or imported.

All offsets and CPU addresses in datasets use explicit 0x hexadecimal notation. Bank IDs are hexadecimal. Human-readable bank-qualified notation is PRG0F:$F010. Values in prose are identified as hex or decimal. Address intervals are half-open unless a table explicitly states inclusive limits.

python3 scripts/build.py "/path/to/KickMaster (USA)(1).nes"
python3 scripts/checkpoint.py --verify /path/to/checkpoint.zip

The checkpoint excludes input ROMs, local rebuilds and previous checkpoint ZIPs. All included files are covered by manifests/SHA256SUMS, except that manifest itself (to avoid self-reference). Archive hashes and post-upload readback receipts live alongside the ZIP, not inside the file being hashed.

Reuse saved CSV/JSON reports instead of rerunning completed analysis. Run cpu_stage02g.py only for a concrete validation need; its recorded results are already included. prepare_sources.py intentionally regenerates the assembly scaffold; do not use it as a build command after edits. MLB syntax was checked against source, but actual MesenCE/Ghidra imports are untested. In banks.csv, payload_offset is relative to type (PRG or CHR), not the combined file.