# Is there an attachment to let you save nes games **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 10, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464 "2017-02-10T14:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/1 "2017-02-10T14:50:51Z")
Someone I know bought one of those $20 top loading nes systems and an nes cartridge that has about 100 games on it. I don’t think there is a save option on the cartridge, so is there some kind of attachment you can put onto the game cartridge to let you save games? Something like the game genie? Do those exist? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/2 "2017-02-10T15:16:21Z")
IIRC, I thought that almost all of the NES games had no save feature except Legend of Zelda. The rest used codes that we would write down in a panic. (Side note: should this thread have been in the Game Room forum?) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/3 "2017-02-10T15:39:29Z")
Yup, wrong forum. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/4 "2017-02-10T15:48:18Z")
Thread relocated from Thread Games to the Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/5 "2017-02-10T18:06:29Z")
I believe every Mega Man game from 2 onward had a code system-- red and blue dots on a grid-- that you would write down and later enter to resume your progress. But a lot of NES games had no save feature at all. Most annoyingly: Super Mario Bros. 3. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/6 "2017-02-10T20:04:48Z")
As far as I can tell, there is no accessory for saving games using normal cartridges on the NES-101. If the games themselves don’t have built-in code systems, you’re probably out of luck. (And any old battery-save cartridges you find will probably need a new battery to work, too.) The closest I’ve seen is a sort of emulator-on-a-cartridge device that has a save state feature, but if you were going to go that route, you’d be better off just using an emulator on a PC–it’d be easier and much cheaper. Having bought the cartridge, and thereby owning legit copies of the games, I think your friend is covered morally, if not legally, on the copyright front. If that matters. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/7 "2017-02-10T20:28:05Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > IIRC, I thought that almost all of the NES games had no save feature except Legend of Zelda. A number of them did, via a battery. (Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, Baseball Stars, Baseball Simulator 1.000, Ultima III, Ultima IV, Maniac Mansion). This is just going by memory of the games I actually had. But, yes, the majority of games had the codes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/8 "2017-02-10T20:31:47Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I believe every Mega Man game from 2 onward had a code system-- red and blue dots on a grid-- that you would write down and later enter to resume your progress. But a lot of NES games had no save feature at all. Most annoyingly: Super Mario Bros. 3. See, back in the day, I didn’t think that was annoying at all. Part of the challenge of games back then was to get through them in one go. A save point would have made it a bit too easy. Besides you got the flutes for your warp zones and if you want, you can win the game in about 20-30 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/9 "2017-02-10T21:17:15Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > A number of them did, via a battery. (Dragon Warrior, Final Fantasy, Baseball Stars, Baseball Simulator 1.000, Ultima III, Ultima IV, Maniac Mansion). This is just going by memory of the games I actually had. But, yes, the majority of games had the codes. You’re right about this, I owned and/or played all of those games at one point and many others like them. Almost every RPG on the NES had local storage, and there were LOTS of those. I always wondered if the batteries in those old cartridges wear out eventually and can no longer save. You’d think so but I’ve never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/10 "2017-02-10T21:53:22Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > You’re right about this, I owned and/or played all of those games at one point and many others like them. Almost every RPG on the NES had local storage, and there were LOTS of those. > > I always wondered if the batteries in those old cartridges wear out eventually and can no longer save. You’d think so but I’ve never heard of it. It’s done. It’s [a moderately popular electronics DIY](http://www.retro-video-game-repair.com/nes_game_battery_replacement.htm), after you buy the “security bit” necessary to open the cartridge casing. I’ve never done it for NES cartridges, but I have done it for SNES and Game Boy cartridges (of varying vintages). Not particularly hard, although some of the soldering can be kind of fidgety. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/11 "2017-02-10T22:24:59Z")
yes they wear out all the time that’s why all battery saved games were and still sold "as is " by retro game shops infact the sega Saturn system used a battery as a hard drive … and when it went out the sega guy on the phone saved me 20 bucks and told me how to get the exact one at radio shack for 5.99 … ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/12 "2017-02-10T22:50:23Z")
oh and if you have a cartridge that wont save anymore [estarland.com](http://estarland.com) will do it for you for about 5-9$ depending on the system ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/13 "2017-02-11T12:13:30Z")
If you buy NES games in the eShop of your 3DS, they come with a save state. Same for GameBoy, GameGear, and other Virtual Console games they offer. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/14 "2017-02-11T15:36:23Z")
The problem with Super Mario 3 was that the warp flutes were the _only_ practical way to beat the game in one sitting, and so the majority of the game never got played by anyone. Though it’s amazing to realize that it ran on the same system as Super Mario 1, and to see just how much more the system was capable of once the game designers really started exploring the limits. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-an-attachment-to-let-you-save-nes-games/779464/15 "2017-02-11T18:01:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The problem with Super Mario 3 was that the warp flutes were the _only_ practical way to beat the game in one sitting, and so the majority of the game never got played by anyone. I seem to remember it taking about 2-3 hours to finish the whole game sans warps. The current record, amazingly, is just over 51 minutes, with no warps. (Not sure if that’s tool assisted, though.) This was also back in the day when I had the patience to sit in front of the NES for up to 8 hours grinding away at Ultima or Dragon Warrior, so it didn’t feel too bad. I don’t have that kind of patience anymore.