[ TRY ] The loss of a save file. Itâs something that sadly, probably all
of us can relate to. A save represents not only possibly hundreds
of hours of work youâve put toward completing a game⌠but also your history and memories. In a way, it's perhaps the most personal aspect
of a game. For some of us, our earliest games with save
functionality might already be over 3 decades old, and many saves may already be lost due
failing technology or cartridges having been sold or traded away. Lately weâve been thinking a lot about not
only how we can preserve our save files, but also what we can do with those saves that
goes beyond what you might expect to be possible. What if you could move a save from PC emulators,
flash cartridges, or even Virtual Console to a real cartridge, or vice-versa? Wouldnât it be fun to share your childhood
RPG saves with your friends, or to be able to change a Pokemon cartridge battery without
losing your team? Well, weâve figured out a few solutions
to all of these ideas, and more. [ MUSIC: âPrincipleâ by Matt McCheskey
] [ COURY ] When I was a kid, my friends and
I had an amazing experience playing through the first Phantasy Star on the Sega Master
System. It was the first game I have ever played where
you could save your progress to the cart, turn the system off, and come back to later. In the years since, Iâve played innumerable
games that utilized save files in various ways. I rarely, if ever, deleted or overwrote an
important save, but I wasnât aware of the long term ramifications until I returned to
that original Phantasy Star cartridge to find those save slots wiped away. Back in those days, seeing the words âbattery
backed saveâ on the box was a big selling point. These cartridges have a small coin-shaped
battery inside that makes it possible for data to be retained when the game is no longer
powered on. For the longest time, I believed that the
save files were held on the battery itself, which might sound a bit silly in retrospect. Rather, the saves are stored on a volatile
RAM chip on the cartridge PCB called SRAM or Static RAM. The batteryâs role is to provide a constant
3 volts to this memory chip, so that it doesnât lose information. Some people believe that the batteries recharge
when the game is running, but this is simply not true. While these batteries often do last for decades,
the truth is that they will eventually run low on juice⌠and the information within
the RAM will be forgotten. In this episode, we will be looking at the
various tools and techniques that you can use to backup, transfer, and preserve your
gaming history from cartridge-based game platforms. So first, letâs look at the process of replacing
dead batteries - in some ways it may be easier than you expect. Most cartridges can only be opened with a
screwdriver head that can be easily purchased online - often called a âgame bit.â If you have a multimeter, you can check if
the battery is still putting out the required 3 volts. If it's under that, your save files may already
be gone, and you should replace the battery before attempting to start a new game. Replacing a game cartridge battery is a bit
more involved than simply popping out the battery and sliding a new one in, because
itâs actually soldered to the PCB. Nonetheless, replacing batteries is a relatively
simple procedure - a great project for beginners at soldering, such as myself. Keep in mind that this is novice technique
on display here, but hopefully it demonstrates that this really is something that anyone
can do. For more information on soldering techniques,
tools and recommendations we highly suggest checking out Voultarâs YouTube channel. CR2032 batteries are used in NES, Master System,
Super NES, Genesis, and N64 cartridges. N64 memory cards - officially called âController
Paksâ - also use CR2032 batteries, and are required by many third party games for saving. However, not all Genesis or N64 cartridges
with save features require batteries, but more on that in a bit. 2032 is an abbreviation that indicates a 20
millimeter diameter and a 3.2 millimeter height. Thus, the cartridges for portable games, like
for Game Boy and Game Boy Color, generally use a smaller CR1616, but some might use a
CR2025, such as most Pokemon games. Most Game Boy Advance games do not use batteries
for saves, but for the few that do, a CR1616 is also used. While the third generation Pokemon games may
need a battery replaced for keeping track of the time of day, replacing this battery
will not wipe your save. Now, donât just buy any battery you find
online - specifically youâll want to get ones with solder tabs. Keep in mind the different types of tabs needed
between console and portable carts - console batteries are meant to go through holes on
the PCB, while portable battery tabs solder directly onto the top surface. Also, youâll probably want to avoid getting
no-name brands if possible - weâve heard that they tend to die prematurely. Console5.com sells some higher quality batteries,
which is what Iâve been buying for my own carts. In the case of Game Boy games that use CR2025,
Console5 also sells CR2032 batteries with the appropriate tabs for installing inside
Game Boy cartridges - as long as it will fit inside your particular cartridge, these are
perfectly fine to use instead of CR2025, and in fact should ensure a longer battery life. This can be particularly helpful for the second
generation Pokemon titles, which seem to drain batteries faster due to their internal clock. Alternatively, you could choose to install
a battery holder instead of a tabbed battery so you can easily swap normal coin cell batteries
in the future while only soldering once, but these donât always fit in the shell perfectlyâŚ
and you know, what if you dropped the cart and the battery popped out? An untimely end for some innocent save files,
right? I went with a typical soldering battery because
hey, Iâll most likely be well into my 60s by the time these might fail. When youâre ready to start the process of
actually replacing the battery, begin by heating up the solder around the battery tabs on the
back of the PCB. Some may be bent, so youâll want to straighten
them out with a pair of tweezers. If there is a ton of solder around the tabs,
suck it up using a typical solder vacuum tool. Sometimes you may need to improvise to work
the battery out - this can especially be the case with NES carts. Using tweezers helps a lot because the batteries
become hot to the touch real fast. Now that youâve got the battery out, two
holes are visible. The wider hole is for the positive leg, which
extends from the top of the 2032 battery. The leg extending from the bottom is the negative,
which goes in the other, smaller, hole. Once each side is in the hole, you can bend
the legs hold the battery in place or use some heat resistant tape. Apply some flux to the silver area around
each leg, put some solder onto the tip of your iron and touch that to the area around
each leg. The flux helps to attract the solder to the
metal and is extremely useful in every aspect of doing this kind of work. With games that require flat soldering tabs,
the batteries are usually installed upside down, so look for the positive and negative
descriptors on the PCB itself or simply remember the orientation of the battery youâve just
removed. If the soldering area looks like scorched
earth, take a toothbrush drenched in 99% isopropyl alcohol and clean it up. Guess, what? Youâre done! Be confident in yourself, and take your time...
be conscious not to let the battery get to hot or be too rough when removing it. It is filled with lithium, after all, and
it wouldnât be very fun to accidentally puncture the battery. As you get more comfortable with this, installing
a battery should only take a couple of minutes tops. Seriously, if I can do this, you got this. [ Music: NHL â94 Sega CD ] While there are some workarounds to keep power
flowing to the cart while you swap batteries, in most cases youâll lose your save the
moment you remove the old battery from the board. I say âmostâ cases because some carts
have capacitors on the PCB that help retain power flow to the SRAM for a short amount
of time after the battery is removed, possibly giving you enough time to replace the battery
without losing your save. Unfortunately, there doesnât seem to be
a definitive list of games that have these capacitors that I can find, and even then,
you have no idea how long the âgrace periodâ is, so it's best not to count on data retention
in the first place. When it comes to Japanese Famicom or Mega
Drive cartridges, this process can unfortunately end up being a bit destructive. Famicom cartridges donât use screws and
opening them runs a high risk of busting the cartridge shell. Mega Drive cartridges hide their screws behind
the rear cartridge label, although some people may not mind damaging it. And last but not least, make sure you dispose
of the old batteries properly. See if you can find a local battery recycling
program or facility - donât just throw them in the trash. Whether you choose to replace batteries on
your own, or get an experienced friend to handle it is up to you. But of course, if your cartridge still has
good saves, you might be reluctant to swap the battery and lose it - but if you do nothing,
all of these old batteries are at risk of dying at some point in the future. So letâs investigate what you can do to
preserve your saves before itâs too late. [ TRY ] A number of hardware and software
tools have popped up over the years that help back up saves for safekeeping⌠and in some
cases even restore them to their original home on the cartridge itself. But before we get into that, we should look
at the various types of save technologies that different cartridges may use, and why
that matters for backup. Often youâll find that certain devices may
create a .SAV. This tends to be a generic catch-all extension
- in other words, you may not know what kind of file it really is. It might be recognized by emulators, but oftentimes
a .SAV may be custom tailored to a specific use and you may need to tweak it before using
it elsewhere. So for some of the more nitty-gritty applications,
itâs best to be aware of and use the proper extensions for each type of save. Coury has already gone over the extremely
common battery-backed save, which stores data on SRAM. This technology is most commonly seen in Game
Boy and Super Nintendo cartridges. While save features are comparatively uncommon
with NES and Sega Master System games, battery-backed SRAM is also the hardware used on those platforms. Sega Genesis, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance
games on the other hand, use a mixture of save technologies. Most Sega Genesis games that support saving
do use batteries - including the Phantasy Star and Shining Force series. Only a small number of N64 games use batteries,
but a few notable titles are on that list, including 1080 Snowboarding, F-Zero X, Harvest
Moon 64, Ocarina of Time, and Super Smash Bros. The situation is similar on GBA, with the
limited number of battery games including some games in the Castlevania, Kirby, Mega
Man, and Metroid series, among others. You can find save files for battery-backed
SRAM games online, generally using a .srm or .sra file extension. Another common method for cartridge saves
are EEPROM - you probably donât need to ever worry about these files being lost within
our lifetimes. This was used in a number of Game Boy Advance
carts... most of the heavy-hitter N64 games, including
Super Mario 64 and GoldenEye⌠and believe it or not, a small amount of Genesis cartridges
use EEPROM in spite of SRAM batteries being the predominant technology of its time. This mostly applies to sports games, but notable
exceptions include Wonder Boy in Monster World and the European version of Mega Man: The
Wily Wars. Files for EEPROM-based save games are usually
accompanied with a .eep file extension. Most Game Boy Advance cartridges and a small
number of N64 games use more expensive Flash RAM to store their saves. The most notable N64 titles to use Flash RAM
include Majoraâs Mask, Paper Mario, and the N64 Pokemon games. Youâll normally see these with a .fla file
extension. And lastly, some Game Boy Advance carts use
another type of non-volatile memory called FeRAM - which is different than Flash RAM. Sonic 3 on the Genesis also uses this method
for storing save games. Despite being different technology, this hardware
is generally seen as .SRM on the cartridge, and in our experience is generally treated
in a similar fashion when dumping. Whether theyâre dumped directly from an
authentic cartridge... created on an EverDrive... extracted from Virtual Console save files...
or generated using a PC Emulator like in RetroArch, these are the types of save files that you
will generally be using across various platforms. So, equipped with that knowledge, you have
the power to ferry those saves between cartridges, flash carts, and emulators with relative ease
if you know what to look for. And just so thereâs no confusion: weâre
talking only about the saves supported natively by the games themselves. Not save states. So just donât forget that if youâre playing
say, Dragon Quest and are habitually using save states, you need to visit a church and
properly save your game to update a real save file. And needless to say, itâs always a good
idea to always keep a backup of your save exactly as it originally was just in case. To get us started, letâs examine some examples
of how you might move a save from an emulator environment onto a flash cartridge for use
on original hardware. One of the most exciting revelations for us
was that is possible extract save files from Wii Virtual Console games. Both of us played through many games for the
first time on Virtual Console, but now we want to enjoy our save games on original hardware. If your Virtual Console game is on an SD card,
take the SD card out of your Wii and load it up on your computer. Navigate into the âprivateâ folder, until
you reach the âtitleâ directory. There youâll see a number of folders that
consist of 4 character alphanumeric combinations, each attributed to either a Virtual Console,
WiiWare or Disc title that has been played or installed on the console. To find out which is which, I suggest using
the Games Database at GameTDB.com to look up what each gameâs code is. Once you find the VC game youâre looking
for, step inside the folder and youâll see two files per game - Content.bin, which is
the game itself, and Data.bin which contains the save data⌠as long as you have played
the game before and created save data. Using a PC homebrew program called FE100,
you can extract the contents of Data.bin to a folder - including the save files, which
is called savedata.bin. In many cases, all you need to do from here
is edit the filename and extension to meet the requirements of your destination system. For example, the SD2SNES flash cartridge uses
.srm files. So, to put a Virtual Console save onto the
SD2SNES, simply change savedata.bin to have the same name as the ROM file it is associated
with, and edit the .bin extension to be .srm instead. Drop that file into the appropriate folder
on the SD2SNES and... voila! Your SNES Virtual Console save, now playable
on original hardware! Of course, the Virtual Console is now defunct,
but hacked NES and Super NES Classic Edition consoles are now very popular emulation boxes,
and unsurprisingly, it seems that there are tools available to export and extract save
data from those as well. While we havenât tested this functionality
for ourselves, it does seem that it should be possible to move your saves to flash carts
or other emulators in a similar manner. Although youâll mostly be using the extensions
mentioned earlier, be mindful if it needs it to be something different for certain devices. For instance, certain EverDrives require the
save file to have the identical file name AND extension as the game ROM, in the appropriate
save folder. Because we canât go over every possibility,
there are times where you may need to be prepared to do a bit of detective work to get your
transplanted save file to work. For these situations, youâll want to familiarize
yourself with hex code editing, which you can do with free software like HxD. Hex is just a way to view data in a way that
is easier to spot patterns than raw binary data. For example, weâve found that NES Virtual
Console saves can add a 4-line âheaderâ to the file - several lines of code which
cause the save to not work correctly on real NES hardware. Delete those 4 lines, save the save, and you
should be good to use that save on another device. Fixing hex code anomalies like this doesnât
have to be that hard, actually, and itâs often easy to learn what to look for We havenât
run into this situation with other Virtual Console platforms, but just be aware that
these situations may arise. Similarly, the Mega EverDrive for Sega Genesis
adds padding to the end of save files that makes every save a uniform 64 kilobytes. This padding is easy to spot, being represented
by lines of Fs at the end of the code. I looked in-depth at the Super UFO Pro 8 for
Super Nintendo in an earlier episode, which does something similar, padding out save files
to 512 Kilobytes. Simply deleting the extraneous lines will
bring the file down to its natural size - but be aware that some devices may REQUIRE the
bloated lines. So for example if you downloaded or created
an emulator save and want to use it on a Super UFO Pro 8, you will need to manually pad out
the file to 512 Kilobytes, or use Artemio Urbinaâs UFO Manager utility. But the Mega EverDrive on the other hand,
pads out the files automatically. So the process is simply going to vary a bit
depending on the hardware in use, but as long as youâre willing to handle just a bit of
troubleshooting, almost anything should be possible. If youâre using a PC emulator, in most cases
theyâll generate an unmodified save file that matches what an original cartridge itself
would create. You might even be able to find save files
online that were created in emulators and use them on a flash cart with real hardware! Of course, some emulators may do this differently
- so you might need to do some additional research. So⌠about those original cartridge savesâŚ
if you were so inclined, how would you go about accessing them? Well, options vary from platform to platform,
and some methods are more reliable and streamlined than others. As we explore these options, we very much
recommend testing with non-sentimental save files first since you wonât know exactly
how things will go until you figure out the process. The Hyperkin RetroN 5, in spite of its flaws,
is one of the better-known and most commonly accessible devices that is capable of dumping
save games from the original cartridges, and subsequently restoring saves created on the
system back to the cartridge, for supported cartridge types. However weâve heard many stories of how
people have lost their precious save files by attempting backups on the RetroN 5, so
while it is an option in a pinch, the failure rate has us feeling skittish. The RetroN 5 does not automatically return
a save to the cartridge, but this is possible through the system menu. While the RetroN 5 does create saves with
a .SAV extension, the files seem to be built in a way thatâs unique to the system. Luckily, similar to Virtual Console, saves
created on the RetroN 5 can also be placed on an SD card and then extracted into a useful
form by using a PC utility called the Retron 5 File Converter, which can be found on the
Retro5.net forums. Apparently the Retro Freak is also capable
of dumping similar save files and can be converted using the same utility, but unfortunately,
we donât have a unit available for testing the reliability directly. But, if you want to get really serious about
save dumping, weâve found other tools to be far more reliable than the RetroN 5. Thanks to jailbroken firmware, some of the
FPGA consoles from Analogue can provide a method of dumping cartridge saves. While the jailbroken Nt miniâs CopyNES feature
may appear at first to only be for dumping game ROMs, any game that has a save feature
will include an SRAM dump as well, which can then be easily moved elsewhere as long as
you use the correct filename and file extensions. Know that dumping NES games does require you
to manually select which âmapperâ each game uses - this information can be fairly
easily found in various lists online. The CopyNES function of the Nt mini is actually
based on Kevin Hortonâs own NES dumping hardware. This was expanded upon by RetroUSBâs USB-based
CopyNES, but unfortunately, those seem to not be readily available at the moment. Simply put, there just arenât a lot of options
for dumping those original Nintendo saves right now, but RetroUSB does have a more readily
available option, which weâll look at a bit later in the video. The jailbreak for the Super Nt similarly offers
a âCopySNESâ utility that is simpler to use compared to CopyNES, and also includes
SRAM dumps. Although the jailbroken firmware doesnât
have the ability to play special chip games of the SD Card, it can still dump them - even
games with SA-1 chips like Super Mario RPG and Kirby Super Star. As for the Mega Sg jailbreak, unfortunately
there is no equivalent dumping functionality at this time, but we do hope that it could
eventually make an appearance, especially due to the possibilities afforded by the Mega
Sgâs adaptable cartridge slot. But yeah, the Analogue consoles? Maybe out of your price range. And really, the save dumping is just a bonus,
thatâs not what theyâre really about. So is it starting to feel like weâre not
really getting anywhere? I mean, itâd be nice if the process of dealing
with cartridge saves could just be drag & drop, but it would be impossible for it to be that
simple, right? Well⌠maybe not. [ COURY ]When I set out to find out a way
to a way to really manage my old cartridge save files, little did I know that a device
called the Retrode, which Iâd only heard of in passing, would become such an integral
part of what I wanted to do. The Retrode was developed by Matthias Hullin
in 2009 and connects to your PC via USB, allowing you direct access to the contents of Sega
Genesis, Mega Drive, Super Nintendo or Super Famicom cartridges via the two cartridge slots. Amazingly, itâs completely plug ân play
on a Windows PC, although it may need additional software on a Mac. When you connect it to your computer, it simply
shows up as its own drive in Windows Explorer. There are controller ports on the front and
sides of the unit because the main idea behind the Retrode was to let you dump the ROMs from
your own cartridges, so you could legally boot up your own games in an emulator and
play them through one easy to manage device. Although Hullin left the project shortly after
completing the Retrode 2, further production and distribution has been picked up by Dragon
Box. Theyâve continued to work with an active
fan community to release firmware updates and cartridge adapters that allow you to dump
and play games for the N64, Sega Master System, and Game Boy platforms. The Retrode and its various cartridge adapters
are available via Dragon Boxâs website. These have also been added to Stone Age Gamerâs
repertoire of retro game accessories in recent months, and is where I purchased mine. Now all of this may be exciting in and of
itself for emulation enthusiasts, but it was the access to the save files in my cartridges
that really had me intrigued. Once mounted, youâll see the contents of
the data on the cart - a ROM file and whatever style of save file it uses. These .SRM, .SAV, .EEP, and .FLA files can
be copied or deleted using typical OS functionality. Thatâs all it takes to move your precious
Pokemon saves to more reliable file storage. Well, the first and second generation games
that is. Although ROM access is possible for Game Boy
Advance games, save files arenât supported right now. Hopefully this could be added in a future
firmware update. These saves can then be migrated over to your
favorite flash cart, emulator, or FPGA system. As always, just make sure you apply the right
filename and extension for destination. Now you have the benefit of using your established
save files without putting any more wear and tear on the original carts⌠or... you can
do some fun experimentation. Saves from one region coupled with a ROM from
another usually works, although certain character names can get pretty jacked up. I tried renaming my childhood Final Fantasy
2 save file so it would load up with a ROM of Final Fantasy IV - the non-easy type. [ Game Audio ] To
my surprise it worked and gave some interesting results. A copied Japanese Final Fantasy V cartridge
save file also loads when using a hacked ROM that puts the Game Boy Advance English script
into the Super Famicom version. [ Game Audio ] Obviously your mileage may vary when it comes
to importing saves into various hacks, but there is certainly a lot of potential here. [ Game Audio ]
Now this is cool and all, but there is one more important feature of the Retrode which
was, quite honestly, an absolute game changer for me in determining its overall usefulness. When you have the Retrode connected to your
computer, you probably noticed the Retrode.CFG file just sitting there. Opening it up in notepad reveals various device
settings that you can tweak - and this one down here, lets you turn off the read only
attribute of Save files. Thatâs right. You can write save files...BACK to the cartridge. As soon as I heard about this, then the gears
in my brain really began to turn⌠The most immediate and obvious use for this
functionality is if youâre changing the battery in a cartridge. Use the Retrode to backup your save file,
swap in the new battery, and restore the save file back. But what else could we put on our cartridges? How can we utilize the knowledge of what weâve
discussed up to this point to do something really interesting? There was a point in my life where, due to
various circumstances, I found myself mostly playing classic games on the Wii Virtual Console
instead of original hardware. While I didnât own a cartridge for A Link
to the Past at the time, I did complete a playthrough using the download version. But these days I much prefer a physical game
collection - if only I could merge the two together... Would I be able to extract my complete save
file - my personal digital history with the game - and put it on my cartridge - in a way,
bringing it into the real world? Using the Retrode, yep. [ Game Audio ] This isnât limited to Virtual Console games
either. Imagine playing through a game using the modern
conveniences of RetroArch, a flash cart or heck, even a SNES Classic Edition, and then
being able to commit that save file to your own cartridge after you finish. The possibilities are nearly endless as long
as you keep in mind the tips Try spoke about earlier, being proactive in identifying the
needs of your saveâs desired destination. Edit filenames and extensions as needed, and
donât be afraid to look at the hex code to add or remove padding and headers. Of course, there are some other considerations
you should keep in mind, because there are a few limitations of the Retrode at this time. First, this is probably obvious, but I should
state it regardless: make sure your carts are clean, OK? If the connectors are dirty then the saves
may have corrupted data in them when you copy them over. When copying the save back to the cartridge
with the Retrode, the file name is not important, but file extensions do matter... so make sure
you match it to the save technology used by that cartridge. The file size also has to match - for example,
the padding that certain flash carts might add⌠weâre going to have to remove that. The files must be the save data in its purest
form. Certain types of saves or cartridge hardware
present limitations as well. Beyond the previously mentioned lack of Game
Boy Advance save support, the Retrode will also not see Sega Genesis EEPROM save files. [ Game Audio ] This limitation extends to 32X games, although
battery games - yâknow, all three of em - can supposedly be dumped using the 32X as
a passthrough, but I donât have any of them on hand to try. There is also no way to access SNES games
that use the SA-1 chip. While a homebrew adapter has been developed
for this, it only allows for accessing the game ROM and save file - not writing back
to the cartridge. Oh! And this is important and easy to forget! On the inside left of the SNES cart slot is
a switch that changes the Retrodeâs voltage between 5 volts and 3.3 volts. Most supported carts use 5 volts, but the
N64 and Game Boy Advance use 3.3 volts. If you boot up the cartridge using the wrong
voltage, they will show up on your PC just fine, but the ROM and saves will be read incorrectly,
resulting in invalid data. So if youâre left scratching your head as
to why your dumps arenât working, make sure the voltage is set correctly. The Retrode is easy to use and has really
opened up for me a world of save management possibilities that Iâve always dreamed of. While it doesnât yet support NES games,
we were told that an adapter for that system is currently being worked on. But as it is, the Retrode by far the easiest
way to handle saves for the systems that it does support right now. [ TRY ] Of course, the Retrode is not the
only option. Particularly for those who might be disappointed
by the Retrodeâs current lack of GBA save support, hereâs are a few alternatives that
you might already own, but maybe didnât know they could also be used to manage your
saved games. Weâve talked at length in previous episodes
about the Game Boy Interface homebrew software for the GameCube Game Boy Player hardware. This is a vastly superior alternative to the
Nintendo developed software for playing Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games on your TV,
although it does require a method for launch homebrew, such as an Action Replay disc along
with an SD card adapter for the memory card slot.. GBI has a hidden menu that allows you to dump
save files to the SD Card. Simply boot it up the software without a game
inserted and hold down Start and Select - the latter of which is assigned to either Y or
Z on a GameCube controller. From here, you just insert a cart and navigate
the menu to dump or restore the appropriate type of save. Just make you sure you keep track of the file
name, because it doesnât have the game name in the title. This does not work with original Game Boy
or Game Boy Color games, since the Game Boy Player immediately boots into GBC mode the
second one of those carts is detected. These dumped saves did work when we transferred
them to an EverDrive GBA, although we donât have the means to test other GBA flash carts. On the other hand, we didnât have any luck
transferring save files that were generated on an EverDrive to the cartridge. Thatâs not to say it couldnât be done,
but we havenât yet figured out the trick on that one. The GBI software isnât the only solution
like this - thereâs even homebrew dumping software that simply uses a GameCube Link
Cable. Sometimes it seems like there might be more
options for dumping Game Boy family saves than any other platform, probably because
of Pokemon. If youâd prefer a fully-featured Game Boy
solution more akin to the Retrode, you should also look into the GB01 from the Amsterdam-based
SubModule. Currently available as a bare PCB, the GB01
is capable of dumping ROMs and saves from Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance
games using an easy to navigate application available on PC, Mac and Linux. Of course, it can also upload saves back to
the cartridge as well. All of this functionality utilizes the unitâs
USB-C connection. Submodule sent us this unit so that we could
test it out for this episode. Putting a cart in the GB01 and booting up
the application presents a streamlined interface. It detects what cart is inserted, and even
gives a little background on that game - neat! Moving saves to and from the cartridge is
pretty self explanatory with the software usually detecting what type of saves that
game uses. But, in some cases you might have to select
the save type from a dropdown. Iâm not sure where the software is pulling
this information from, but it seems likely that the details for every game could be accounted
for eventually, and require no additional input from the user. We were able to quickly upload save files
generated on an EverDrive, or the files that we had dumped using GBI, back to cartridges
with the GB01. The software does not discriminate between
file extensions and seems to automatically handle that when sending a save to the cartridge. Dumped saves from the GB01 also work fine
for us on an EverDrive. One pretty neat thing that goes beyond simply
backing up saves is that the GB01 is able to transfer all of the photos stored on a
Game Boy Camera and save them as .png files. Sure, people probably have smartphone apps
to create similarly lo-fi photos, but thereâs nothing quite like using the real thing! The PCB version of the GB01 sells for 35 euros
on Submoduleâs website. If you feel like you need something a bit
more rugged, a protective shell is expected to release down the road. Back on the console side of things, hereâs
a great way to manage NES and Famicom saves⌠I was surprised to find that RetroUSBâs
FPGA-based NES and Famicom console, the AVS, has a nifty feature that the Analogue Nt mini
jailbreak does not - the ability to copy saves back to the cartridge, although it's virtually
hidden. Using the AVS Scoreboard software, which has
several functions available when youâve connected to your AVS to a computer via USB
- such as updating the system firmware - has a drop down menu called âTransferâ that
has options to read and write .sav files to and from a cartridge. The process is easy and works with a good
number of games on the system, although the mappers used by certain games may limit your
success. For instance, we couldnât get either of
the StarTropics games to work, for dumping or writing. For Super NES games, the Super UFO Pro 8 is
appealing because of its ability to backup game saves to an SD card and restore them
back to the cartridge... Unfortunately, while the Super UFO Pro 8 was
a surprisingly useful budget flash cartridge just a couple of years back, now itâs actually
quite difficult to get a hold of one at a decent price. The Ultra Save from RetroActive is a dedicated
save file dump and restoration tool for Nintendo 64 games. If the name RetroActive sounds familiar, thatâs
probably because youâve looked into the incredible Ultra HDMI mod for N64 - both were
created by Marshall Hecht. To be clear, rather than a standalone device,
the UltraSave is more of a companion accessory for RetroActiveâs own flash cart, the 64Drive,
which is required for the device to operate. When inserted into the first slot, the 64Drive
serves as the brain of the unit and utilizes its USB port. You can then insert any cartridge that uses
internal saves - doesnât matter which type. Youâll also need a 12-volt DC power supply
to power on the Ultra Save. Running the UltraSave graphical interface
on your PC is pretty self explanatory. You can dump ROMs and save files from your
carts or restore saves back to the cart very quickly. If you want to import a save that was generated
in an emulator, you may need to use the Endian Swap function in the settings menu. The endianness defines the order of the bytes
in the code, and itâs important here because many emulators generate their save files as
Little-Endian, while N64 carts, the 64Drive and EverDrive64 Version 3 all use Big-Endian. In fact, even if youâre using an EverDrive
instead of a 64Drive, you can still use the UltraSave software to convert a Little-Endian
save to a Big-Endian save. So, if youâre having trouble with a save
file from an emulator not working⌠this might be the culprit. But when it comes to saves generated by Virtual
Console versions, no such fiddling is necessary. RetroActive sent us the 64Drive and the UltraSave,
and both have been wonderfully reliable tools. However it should be noted that RetroActive
is for all intents and purposes a 1 person show, so an opportunity to order these devices
may not always be available. As for N64 Controller Paks⌠well, of course
those are important too since many games donât support internal saves. But memory cards as a concept also represent
a uniquely versatile save medium - one not bound to a singular cartridge or console. And that⌠that is a discussion for our next
episode. [ Game Audio ] [ COURY ] Preserving my childhood save files
has been one of my biggest concerns over the last few years. It's been a relief rescue my childhood Final
Fantasy 3 and Chrono Trigger saves from the fate that befell Phantasy Star and Secret
of Mana. But being able to take the games I played
on Virtual Console and apply them to a real cartridge is something that I never truly
expected to be able to do. Iâm sure there are plenty of methods for
retrieving and restoring save files that we didnât have a chance to feature here as
well as a number of devices in development, such as the INLretro Dumper and Db Electronicâs
Mega Dumper, that we hope will further streamline and improve the process in the future. But now you have a good starting point to
rescue your personal history contained within those cartridges from certain, eventual, doom.
Haven't even watched it yet, but it's reminding me that I should probably take all of my living dex pokemon into SuMo and back them up (via homebrew.)
Love these guys so much for all they do. They alluded to a second part to this series. I'm hoping there is a way to save and preserve my PS1/PS2 memory card data. I've poured more time into those consoles than any other.
I have a Retrode 2; I can speak firsthand for how convenient it is to use (for what it supports, anyways...). I didn't know that there was an add-on to allow the dumping of ROMs for certain games like Super Mario RPG; I'll need to look into that :) (even if I can't back up those games' saves still...)