How do VC save games work?

[Goemon]

There is a save state, right?
Is there anyway to retain this so you can go back after moving on?
When do the save states save?
What about games that save as part of their system do they save as normal?

[importaku]

Depending on the game theres 2 methods.

If the game had battery backup then the vc game will save using that just like you were playing the original cart. In your save file menu there will be a file created by your wii that has all your save data on it. You can copy these & send them to friends if you want to swap save, i have done this before so i know it works.

But you can also use the home button, if you quit the game using the home button it remembers where you were & creates a save state however you can only use it once. When you go back to the game it will take you to exactly where you pressed the home button. You cant go back like an emulator & retry if you die its there to bookmark your game. But you can keep doing it to bookmark your game everytime you need to stop playing.

[Goemon]

So the home menu save doesn't appear as a visible save? So you could, say, copy it to an SD and use it again?

Old games are generally rock and it would be nice to be able to retain save states.

[importaku]

Nope the home button save state dosent appear in your save data section (well i have never seen it) im guessing it stays in the system memory.

[MattyD]

The save states *do* appear as files on the memory. I've just looked at mine and I have 1 block saves for games like Super Mario Bros that don't have battery back-up. If you look at the data for a game that does have battery back-up it says GAME DATA under the title.

[importaku]

Ahh cool ill go have a look, thanks for clearing that up