On older games, how do you cope with not being able to save?

[5233]

This has become a problem for me these days. I know alot of the older games are relatively short, but it's still difficult to have to sit through and play the game nonstop for an hour so alot of games I have on SNES or Genesis tend to never get finished if they don't have a password or save feature. It also causes the game in question to become boring to me because I'm tired of playing through the same first few levels and never finishing it because I end up at the same point where I became fatigued the last time. Sure, I could savestate on emulators but that always encourages me to cheat and not get the full challenge, but the ones without save cause me to become exhausted.
Of course, I can take a break too but often I'd want to play other games inbetween.

How do you guys deal with such things?

[Knuckle Duster]

You missed the point.

Old games were a test of patience in memorization and reflex.
You had to 'earn' the endgame, and without the difficulty the endings usually felt meaningless.
Unless it was an RPG, unfolding a prose for you to 'slowly digest', the games were meant to be beaten in a single sitting while hopefully showing you something you've never seen before.
Regardless of genre, Most often, you effectively explored the games until a memorization occurs and then move on.

Most games now are either needless complexity built on broken fundamentals, or are soulless cinematic driven crap, a shallow game that doesn't engage you.

Rarely a good title, and even if good it expects you to be 'lazy' and just watch it happen.

[17daysolderthannes]

Eh, I don't think he's missing the point. Knuckle Duster, you're confusing dying/losing all of your lives and having to restart with the reality of not having a continuous hour to sit down and play a video game. I share this problem too. Sometimes you either just don't have an hour+ to beat the game or, as also happens to me, you literally start to fall asleep because you've been pushing your brain and reflexes to the limit and it gets exhausting.

I personally only play non-saving games on real hardware when I know I have at least about 2 hours so I can properly finish it if I get to the end. Otherwise, I play on emulators on my modded XBOX or on the computer.

The trick is to only allow yourself to save when you are genuinely done with the game for that sitting and then overwrite that save no matter what happens then next time you play (i.e. don't revert to the last save point because you died for a stupid reason). I guess that is one positive thing you can say about the Wii VC as it gives you the ability to stop halfway through a game and pick it up without being able to "cheat." Then again, I consider not being able to stop yourself from saving intermittently the same as someone that says they can't stop themselves from drinking. If its what you really want, you won't do it, I don't buy the psychological addiction excuse. Plus, at the same time, what's so bad about save stating through a game? I think of it like training wheels to learn the game so the next time you play it you know what to expect. These older games are notorious for cheap and unfair deaths, so save states let you recon the game before you try to commit to a genuine playthrough.

[5233]

Sometimes it can just be the genre of game, too. For example, I've played games that had a mix of both fun and incredibly dull moments which keep me from being fully engaged. Getting bored happens more frequently in that situation.

[Bablefish]

I play both new and old games and I am grateful I can save when and where I can. Because sometimes I just haven't the time to play a long game like Quackshot. I plain wish it did have a save, I find that more and more if say I want to play a long older game I have to make the time for it. Which sadly I don't most of the time.

[AD2101]

How do you guys deal with such things?

Cocaine? Not really, although if I ever wanna playthrough ZAMN in one sit down I'll probably have to bump some :|

[jesus.arnold]

A good game will have you playing it's levels again and again without boredom setting in, I'll frequently start playing Sonic the Hedgehog for instance and just get drawn into the experience, the same with Kid Chameleon, I never tire of it's levels and I'm always finding new stuff in it to this day, if on occasion I don't feel up to replaying certain levels of Kid Chameleon I can always choose a different route too.

[5233]

That's true, because for me it largely depends on the genre and my current taste. Some games that I used to enjoy are a bit dull to me now but they're mostly average platformers. But my recent obsessions for example have been run 'n gun, shmup, and puzzle games, basically games that are action intensive but also games that require logical contemplation like Lolo or Tricky Kick.

[TmEE]

I press start to pause the game, or find a place where there's no pessimum action going on and let things be. When I had no VMUs for my DC, my DC was on for about a week straight.

[Devil N]

Many older games have cheats that allow you to warp to a specific level. If you ignore the fact that they're officially called 'cheats', you can also see those codes as a makeshift save feature.

[Iced Snowman]

Pause button does the trick for the oldies but goodies.

[tomaitheous]

This has become a problem for me these days. I know alot of the older games are relatively short, but it's still difficult to have to sit through and play the game nonstop for an hour so alot of games I have on SNES or Genesis tend to never get finished if they don't have a password or save feature.

Did you have this problem BITD? Quite a few games I don't play through to the end because I don't have the same drive anymore. Save states are no different than leaving the system paused for days or such. Like TmEE, I used to do the same thing from time to time.



It also causes the game in question to become boring to me because I'm tired of playing through the same first few levels and never finishing it because I end up at the same point where I became fatigued the last time.

Probably simple as don't play those games anymore if it's that bad. A game shouldn't be a chore/no fun. But like I've said, save states can help. It's not cheating if you don't use them as cheating. If you no longer have that drive you used to, but still want to have some fun with the game - save states can help out with that.

For Sonic 2, I only play the first half of the game because the second half is boring to me. Shooters are different. I like to play through complete each time. Adventure or RPG games, I usually play half way through. Zelda on SNES I get about 2/3rds through and stop. Castlevania games I play all the way through (be it metroidvania or pre-metroidvania). Just depends on the game.

What games in particular are you referring to?

[5233]

Did you have this problem BITD? Quite a few games I don't play through to the end because I don't have the same drive anymore. Save states are no different than leaving the system paused for days or such. Like TmEE, I used to do the same thing from time to time.

Back in the day my taste was different then than it is now. Some platformer games that were colorful and easy are no longer very fun since my taste has changed. I still respect the original Sonic and Mario games, but have played through most of the old ones so much that they no longer seem fresh and can't hold my interest anymore. Though there are some exceptions as I recently got into Mickey Mania, Socket, and Tinhead.


Probably simple as don't play those games anymore if it's that bad. A game shouldn't be a chore/no fun. But like I've said, save states can help. It's not cheating if you don't use them as cheating. If you no longer have that drive you used to, but still want to have some fun with the game - save states can help out with that.

Good advice.


For Sonic 2, I only play the first half of the game because the second half is boring to me. Shooters are different. I like to play through complete each time. Adventure or RPG games, I usually play half way through. Zelda on SNES I get about 2/3rds through and stop. Castlevania games I play all the way through (be it metroidvania or pre-metroidvania). Just depends on the game.

What games in particular are you referring to?

Like you, I am a shmup addict but that was more a recent development. I mean I always liked some games like Parodius and Twinbee, but I only began to embrace them on a much wider scale because I was looking for games that have oldschool accessibility but would be challenging to even the most advanced gamers, which is why I became a fan of the more modern Shikigami series. But the games that I'm talking about for example are ones like Decap Attack, Trampoline Terror, Bubsy, and sometimes even Dynamite Headdy which all have a sense of fun that sadly wears off very quickly, but unfortunately alot of my Genesis library was purchased from thrift shops and during Gamestop's liquidation of older games, so while there's some excellent finds, it's also kind of a mixed bag.

I also note that your avatar is from Target Earth, part of the Assault Suits series. I have that and Cybernator for SNES (also part of the same series) and both are great games. :D

[tomaitheous]

Back in the day my taste was different then than it is now. Some platformer games that were colorful and easy are no longer very fun since my taste has changed. I still respect the original Sonic and Mario games, but have played through most of the old ones so much that they no longer seem fresh and can't hold my interest anymore. Though there are some exceptions as I recently got into Mickey Mania, Socket, and Tinhead.

What about systems you never had BITD? Be it 8bit or 16bit. While you'll never find that "Genesis" feel on any other system, IMO, there are some great games to be had. I never had a SMS, so there's a gold mine there for me. I also never got to played the late generation titles for NES that came out. Some nice stuff there too (like Isolated Warrior, etc). And of course PCE/PCECD games (quite a bit of shooters).




Like you, I am a shmup addict but that was more a recent development. I mean I always liked some games like Parodius and Twinbee, but I only began to embrace them on a much wider scale because I was looking for games that have oldschool accessibility but would be challenging to even the most advanced gamers, which is why I became a fan of the more modern Shikigami series. But the games that I'm talking about for example are ones like Decap Attack, Trampoline Terror, Bubsy, and sometimes even Dynamite Headdy which all have a sense of fun that sadly wears off very quickly, but unfortunately alot of my Genesis library was purchased from thrift shops and during Gamestop's liquidation of older games, so while there's some excellent finds, it's also kind of a mixed bag.

Even some shmups I don't do complete run throughs anymore. But I still get the enjoyment of playing them non-the-less.



I also note that your avatar is from Target Earth, part of the Assault Suits series. I have that and Cybernator for SNES (also part of the same series) and both are great games. :D

I was a huge fan of Target Earth when it first came out. The music, graphics, story/dialog, gamplay, everything. Everything except the difficulty. I never did beat it without the invincibility code, but that never distracted from the fun factor. I must have beaten that game, literally over 50 times BITD with the code. Sadly, I never played the sequel on the SNES BITD. Not sure why, the game looked awesome (and I had a SNES since release). I have it now, but put it on the back burner until I'm serious about playing it (I've played the first few levels a handful of times). Never played the saturn one. I bet it's badass.

[Black_Tiger]

Sometimes when I plan on learning/mastering an old game again, I'll do my first play through with infinite continues or lives (whether through in-game setting, game genie, etc). Pretty much just to learn all the cheap hits and/or stuff that's less about skill and more about memorization (like boss paterns). It's also a good way to get a feel for the gameplay again, instead of playing over and over the first few stages just figuring things out. In theory ypou could do this until you no longer take any hits or deaths or whatever, but I always only do it once (if at all) before normal runs.

[5233]

What about systems you never had BITD? Be it 8bit or 16bit. While you'll never find that "Genesis" feel on any other system, IMO, there are some great games to be had. I never had a SMS, so there's a gold mine there for me. I also never got to played the late generation titles for NES that came out. Some nice stuff there too (like Isolated Warrior, etc). And of course PCE/PCECD games (quite a bit of shooters).

NES was one of the first systems I played, and I had an SMS years ago but it died and I got rid of it, but I could just use the Power Base Converter. Also, I recently got a Turbografx16 because I was a fan of it through emulation for a while but never had one back in the day, and it seems decent so far except that the games are a little bit more hard to find for it, but I'd like to get more. And yes, I know Isolated Warrior and it's a pretty good game, and I also own The Guardian Legend. :D



Even some shmups I don't do complete run throughs anymore. But I still get the enjoyment of playing them non-the-less.

Yeah I can understand that.


I was a huge fan of Target Earth when it first came out. The music, graphics, story/dialog, gamplay, everything. Everything except the difficulty. I never did beat it without the invincibility code, but that never distracted from the fun factor. I must have beaten that game, literally over 50 times BITD with the code. Sadly, I never played the sequel on the SNES BITD. Not sure why, the game looked awesome (and I had a SNES since release). I have it now, but put it on the back burner until I'm serious about playing it (I've played the first few levels a handful of times). Never played the saturn one. I bet it's badass.

Didn't know there was a Saturn one. I'll have to check it out.

[Milkymagic]

Aside from the occasional game that did supply some battery backup, and before the days of the Sega CD introducing a memory card for saves along with the internal system memory being something different for a console (the 3DO improved this formula), there was that period where consoles had plenty of games that you had to run through like a gauntlet just to complete.

For me, I basically played the game over and over, memorized level and boss patterns, and made sure to start with the easiest difficulty before moving myself up. Even when I had to play older shmups back in the day, I roughed the conditions of memorizing bullet patterns and timed my usage of special weapons accordingly.

I agree with the idea of time being of the essence. I usually play through games without save feature on my days off, as opposed to a night after I'm done with work. After all, everything takes time, especially if you have plenty of levels to wade through.

I also agree that there's no harm in a state save, simply because it should be seen as a luxury to help you experience the game in a smoother manner if it's proving to be too tough, and it helps if you intend to marathon through a variety of games in wake of its completion. Plus, it does help you practice, should you want to beat the game in one shot.

I know mastering Rocket Knight Adventures took me a good while during my childhood, especially when I found all the potential ways to end my life quickly and adapted to those situations the second time through. Gunstar Heroes took some effort after figuring out certain bosses and weapon combinations even. As a kid I mastered Sonic 2 by getting as far as I could the first time, and then continued the second time riffing off that previous level/boss knowledge and advanced further into the game. Mastered plenty of enemy layouts in Panzer Dragoon Zwei, and I had to make sure I knew where to apply my special weapon during a boss fight as well.

I could go on, but I've definitely soldiered through plenty of games on consoles, though I've state saved in a few games on compilations because they were seriously that hard for me (I'm looking at you Comix Zone).

Games back then were definitely harder, but if you look closely today, there's still a challenge to be found right under your nose. :D

[runback22]

Back in the day, this wasnt a problem. Now, with limited gaming time, I find myself playing just the first couple of levels of a gamer over and over and over....