this post was submitted on 20 Dec 2024
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Help with Game Saves vs States (self.retrogaming)
submitted 2 days ago by sic_semper_tyrannis to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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I have the Miyoo Mini+. I originally used MinUI and it saved games like a normal GBA and loaded the game to the menu everytime I started it, again like a standard GBA worked. I switched to OnionOS to have a nicer interface with boxart and now it only uses save states and auto starts from said state when opening a game. Not an authentic experience.

I have learned there's a difference between game saves and save states but don't know how to switch my handheld to use only game saves. Is it based on the core used maybe? Can anyone help me out?

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[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 3 points 2 days ago (2 children)

A core is just a fancy name for an emulator, like an "app" or "application" is for "program". And a save state is a full dump of a given program's memory and that can be reloaded later. A game save is, to my knowledge, a checklist for the game to load onto memory.
Save states are good if you can't rely on game saves, like if your device has low battery and you're far from any save spots, if you're in the middle of a very hard section, etc.
Meanwhile, as memory is physically located in a given device, it can be found in a different place if you use another update of the program, another installation, another OS, and perhaps even another hardware. And if a piece of memory isn't where the program expects it to, the program won't load at best.

[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 2 points 2 days ago

Also, though rarer nowadays, some older games had bonuses if you had the game saves, the sole save format back then, of others (usually previous) games from the franchise. Naruto Ultimate Ninja 5 and Dragon Ball Budokai Tenkaichi 2, for example and if memory doesn't fail me, gave you money if they detected saves from, respectively, Ultimate Ninja 4 and Budokai Tenkaichi, while Persona 3 FES allows you to carry over the compendium of Persona 3 saves and Final Fantasy X can bring over from other saves of the same game items needed to understand the language of a group in the story.

[–] sic_semper_tyrannis 1 points 2 days ago

Thank you, that makes sense. I can see the benefit of a save state if you're low on time and can't make it to a save location, otherwise I fell that it takes away from how the game is meant to be played. Also I miss booting the system everytime, it takes away the nostalgia.