NES Game Saver

[grandta13]

I would like to ask if there is any device that will let you save your game state on the NES and/or Famicom.

This question comes from necessity; there are a number of long games for the NES that don't have any type of resume system, which means if I have to turn off the system or it freezes, then I will have to start over from the beginning.

My main problem is that I don't have enough time to play many games in one go, which reduces the playability of many NES games for me.

[Gunstar Green]

Something that works on the actual hardware? Not that I know of.

The only thing like this that uses physical carts is the Retron 5.

[ninjainspandex]

The Everdrive N8 allows for savestates on actual NES hardware, and it is awesome.

[Gunstar Green]

The Everdrive N8 allows for savestates on actual NES hardware, and it is awesome.

Yeah I didn't think of that, but then it's the other way around where you can use the console but not the cartridges.

That's probably the better choice though if the original hardware is what's important.

[Ziggy]

The Everdrive N8 allows for savestates on actual NES hardware, and it is awesome.

The NES PowerPak does as well (with custom mappers). Although, it doesn't support as many games as the N8, last time I checked.

[BoneSnapDeez]

Retron 5.

This is like the go-to answer for all these problems people seem to be having lately.

[Gunstar Green]

Retron 5.

This is like the go-to answer for all these problems people seem to be having lately.

It's unfortunately not an ideal answer in this case but it's certainly one of the main reasons I got a Retron 5.

[Snatch1414]

I know little about Everdrives other than their general purpose but it looks like price-wise you might as well get a Retron 5. Seems like it's only a few bucks more for a lot more value.

I will say personally though that it would be great to have something that physically resembles a Game Genie or Fami adapter that has one function: to provide NES save states.

[ninjainspandex]

I know little about Everdrives other than their general purpose but it looks like price-wise you might as well get a Retron 5. Seems like it's only a few bucks more for a lot more value.

well depends if you want to emulate or not, the Retron 5 is simple a fancy emulator

[Ziggy]

I will say personally though that it would be great to have something that physically resembles a Game Genie or Fami adapter that has one function: to provide NES save states.

There's something like that for the SNES. I had it some years back but got rid of it. It was pretty much this: http://www.stoneagegamer.com/nakitek-game-saver.html

Mine had a label on the front that said "SNES Game Saver +" or something like that. I was not impressed with the quality of it. I used it to play through Super Star Wars, then got rid of it.

I don't know of such a device for the NES, I don't think one exists. But even if it did, such a device has definite draw backs. One, you can only save the state of one game at a time. You cannot save a state in one game, switch to another game, then back to the first game and resume where you left off. Also, it will not protect you against the game freezing. There's no "save current state" option that you can load back. It just saves where ever you currently are in the game. Also, it's clunky as hell.

Using the PowerPak or N8 flash carts to save states works just like in an emulator. You have save state slots that you can save to and load back. So you can switch games and not lose your states. And if a game freezes, you can just reload a state. I'd imagine the Retron 5 works much the same way.

I know little about Everdrives other than their general purpose but it looks like price-wise you might as well get a Retron 5. Seems like it's only a few bucks more for a lot more value.

well depends if you want to emulate or not, the Retron 5 is simple a fancy emulator

Right. The Retron 5 will do more things than the flash cart, but it IS an emulator. I guess you have to ask yourself: Do you want to emulate the console, or the cart? Personally, I'd much rather go with the flash cart rather than emulate the console.

If you're interested, I wrote up some info on the PowerPak and N8 here: viewtopic.php?f=44&t=36353

You might find some interesting things about the NES flash carts, like being able to play Famicom Disk System games on your NES.