As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/

Tell me about the oldest save game you've got

SLyMSLyM Registered User regular
edited September 2022 in Social Entropy++
So I was going through some old games and I came across my copy of Final Fantasy Tactics A2 for the DS. I fished out my 3ds, tried to boot it up, and after cleaning some old gunk off the connectors, managed to boot it up. What do I find but what must have been my original save game with about 204 hours of playtime on it. And that got me wondering, is it usual that people have save games that old? What does it say about me from 2008 (though I think I was probably playing it for years afterwards) that basically every character is a ninja who can be one? Who are all these unique characters that I don't remember? Why did I keep the default clan name but name the main character after someone from another game? Do all 400 slots in the quest report contain a quest, or are some empty? And if there are that many quests, how did I manage to play for more than a week of actual time and not even get to three quarters completion?

And I'm curious if other people have saved games on old systems (or their computers) from when they were teenagers or even younger. Dare you look into the depths of your past and see what the you of yesteryear wrought?

My friend is working on a roguelike game you can play if you want to. (It has free demo)
SLyM on

Posts

  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    I think I have some genesis carts with save games, the battery's probably dead and the data's lost though. Same with my gameboy and GBC carts I bet. So earliest thing around is probably something from the GBA era at the latest, if those batteries haven't died.

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    I boot up my complete Pokemon Blue cart every now and then. Only finished it in 2014, but! The battery is original, never been replaced since manufacture.

    Oh brilliant
  • WhippyWhippy Moderator, Admin Emeritus Admin Emeritus
    from my childhood I have n64 carts with my deadname on them from the mid/late 90s. every time I boot up mischief makers I’m like. oh honey. sweet baby. precious little creature

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    I have a PlayStation one "mega memory card" where you had to flip through 19 'pages' of memory slots. It has my original run of Soul Reaver on it.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • Houk the NamebringerHouk the Namebringer Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    Two PS1 mem cards with various nostalgic saves - original run of FF7, Suikoden 1 and 2, Monster Rancher, all that good shit

  • MidniteMidnite Registered User regular
    Yeah, the oldest save still on my PS1 memory card is probably Jumping Flash 2 which came out in 1996. Maybe there's a chance the batteries in my carts of Landstalker or Gunstar Heroes still work but I doubt it. Anything older than that is long gone.

  • TNTrooperTNTrooper Registered User regular
    Not the oldest since I have some N64 and Game Boy cartridges and some old memory cards from the PSX and Dreamcast from my teenage years but I saved my old flip phone from like 2008 cause when I worked at Wal-Mart I would sneak in some Tetris in between getting carts and I had a saved game that was over 40 hours.

    steam_sig.png
  • miscellaneousinsanitymiscellaneousinsanity grass grows, birds fly, sun shines, and brother, i hurt peopleRegistered User regular
  • PinfeldorfPinfeldorf Yeah ZestRegistered User regular
    I still have my Ocarina and Starfox 64 carts, though I'm well past reasonably sure the in-cart batteries are dead. I've also got my old GC memory card from 2004 or whenever with my Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn saves on it. And I still have some WoW characters from, also, about 2004.

  • SkeithSkeith Registered User regular
    I think I've got GBC cartridges from the late 90s with saves on them.

    aTBDrQE.jpg
  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    Probably Pokemon Red, unless theres a cart older than that... maybe Kirby's Dreamland 2?

    Steam: Polaritie
    3DS: 0473-8507-2652
    Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
    PSN: AbEntropy
  • evilmrhenryevilmrhenry Registered User regular
    This was more complicated than I thought. I've been gaming since the DOS era, but it's not like I kept backups from that long ago. I have some newer backups from 2003ish, but most of them didn't have actual save games included, just documents and photos and the like, because disk space was precious. I still have the PS1 memory card I bought with my PS1, but I tended to delete save games after beating the game, as I only had the one memory card.

    I finally found a save game for Freelancer, dated 2004. I might have something older hidden somewhere, but that's a reasonable first try. This was from a first playthrough that went all the way through the game. I think I got that game from a Gamestop/EBGames, back when they sold games.

    For my second try, I booted up my Win98 computer that I keep around because that era has poor emulation. That gave me Jazz Jackrabbit ('99). I had files from both that game and the sequel, because I bought Jazz Jackrabbit 2 at a Fred Meyer and it came with the complete version of the first game, though the files from the first game were a year older; not sure why; I'm pretty sure I played JJ2 first. Maybe it was a save from the shareware version? Anyway, there was plenty of stuff from the '99-2000 era on there, with a scattering of stuff from '98, but no actual saves I could find for '98.

  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    I still got my copy of Pokemon Blue, that's probably the one.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    I destroy all my game saves to be free of their influence. I will not be beholden to the whims of nostalgia! I do not need the validation of a 100% completion screen! And with this space I shall download a new game! I shall download a new game!

  • SorceSorce Not ThereRegistered User regular
    I would imagine it's probably an OG Game Boy game, but I don't know where in my apartment it is.

    sig.gif
  • PeewiPeewi Registered User regular
    The save on my Pokémon Blue cart isn't even mine. It's from when I let someone borrow it and overwrite my save. It's played 11 hours and has 4 badges and a level 40 Charizard.

    My The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening cart has all 3 save slots filled (and named Link as is proper). The first two have finished the game and the third has completed two dungeons. The death counter on the first save is 111.

    The save battery in my Pokémon Gold cart must have died, because there's no save on it. I had completed the Pokédex.

  • SLyMSLyM Registered User regular
    I know that my oldest save game that I no longer have access to was my pokemon blue cart where I named my squirtle after my cousin. I've also got a goldeneye cartrage I got from a friend once he upgraded to an xbox, but I haven't plugged that in for years so I don't know if any of that hardware works anymore.

    My friend is working on a roguelike game you can play if you want to. (It has free demo)
  • cursedkingcursedking Registered User regular
    My son found my original Pokémon Blue cart, and it still had my save on it with glitched infinite rare candy. Save file name/character I called myself? Aragorn of course I was a very cool kid

    Types: Boom + Robo | Food: Sweet | Habitat: Plains
  • SLyMSLyM Registered User regular
    I was too young when blue came out to know about Aragorn. I was too young to know about basically anything which is why I named things after the coolest person I knew, my 9 year old cousin.

    My friend is working on a roguelike game you can play if you want to. (It has free demo)
  • Mortal SkyMortal Sky queer punk hedge witchRegistered User regular
    my oldest save game that i actually still play once in a while is my Pokemon Ruby cartridge, bought it on release day and still give it a runaround from time to time

  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    Ultima Underworld

  • DisruptedCapitalistDisruptedCapitalist I swear! Registered User regular
    I have my old 8-Bit NES cartridges around here somewhere and assuming the batteries are still good, I still have save files for the original Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) on one of them. That's older than the original Final Fantasy, right?

    "Simple, real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." -Mustrum Ridcully in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather p. 142 (HarperPrism 1996)
  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    How long do batteries in sealed/mint GBA cartridges last

  • Captain InertiaCaptain Inertia Registered User regular
    I have a sealed copy of basically every jrpg for the GBA…..

    Lol I wonder if my Boktai sun-collecting cartridge even works

  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    like many, i still have red/blue/yellow gameboy carts with saves...

    but chances are strong somewhere in some box in my garage i still have a SNES cart from 91 or 92 that might still have its saves... like a Super Mario World or FF2

  • BahamutZEROBahamutZERO Registered User regular
    The watch batteries used in cartridge battery-backed memory typically last for at least 10 years, but after that it's a real crapshoot.

    BahamutZERO.gif
  • PolaritiePolaritie Sleepy Registered User regular
    Yeah, accounting for save battery failure, the oldest saves I know still exist are probably GBA stuff or something.

    Steam: Polaritie
    3DS: 0473-8507-2652
    Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
    PSN: AbEntropy
  • DisruptedCapitalistDisruptedCapitalist I swear! Registered User regular
    I have no way of checking my 8-bit NES cartridges since I haven't had a NES in years. I gave my old one to my niece about 20 years ago and I have no idea what she did with it. Occasionally I contemplate looking to see if I can get a new NES but I just don't know if spending 20+ dollars on nostalgia is worth it. Some of those games haven't aged well.

    "Simple, real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time." -Mustrum Ridcully in Terry Pratchett's Hogfather p. 142 (HarperPrism 1996)
Sign In or Register to comment.