How Is Your SNES Gaming Going?

[o.pwuaioc]

Are you resetting before turning the console off?

[Sarge]

Holding reset on an SNES is unnecessary, they fixed the issue that would spike NES saves in that system. A full reset shouldn't be necessary either, and then powering off, but who knows? Sounds like a sketchy SRAM chip or something.

[o.pwuaioc]

Holding reset on an SNES is unnecessary, they fixed the issue that would spike NES saves in that system. A full reset shouldn't be necessary either, and then powering off, but who knows? Sounds like a sketchy SRAM chip or something.

I was thinking maybe early games did something different. No clue either, though. Just guessing.

[ElkinFencer10]

Have you tried sacrificing a virgin to Satan at exactly 3:33 am with the game cartridge in the middle of a pentagram drawn from your own blood? That's my go-to when things don't work.

[Xeogred]

I pretty much never used the reset button for anything.

[Tanooki]

I get games off an old board friend starwander aka Mortoff Games and his batteries are good stock, he doesn't go with the garbage level replacement parts/batteries for all his stuff.

I don't feel the SNES had that reset problem, and as bizarre as this will sound, the ONLY time (twice) I tried doing that for some games (both on NES) that is the time I had my save data erased. It happened with Final Fantasy and another, never again did I hit the reset button when turning those games off or anything after the fact and I've been save solid since.

I'm thinking sketchy SRAM chip too perhaps.

[Ziggy]

Holding reset on an SNES is unnecessary, they fixed the issue that would spike NES saves in that system. A full reset shouldn't be necessary either, and then powering off, but who knows? Sounds like a sketchy SRAM chip or something.

I was thinking maybe early games did something different. No clue either, though. Just guessing.

The hardware on the cart, regarding the battery, is most definitely different on early SNES games versus later ones. Earlier SNES carts used a circuit that appears to be exactly what NES carts used. Later SNES carts integrated this function into a proprietary address decoder. None of the above including carts with enhancement chips. All of the weird and unexplained save problems I've had with SNES carts have been on the old type, so that's where my suspicions come from.

So I've read for the NES, the CPU could randomly write to the SRAM while powering off the console, possibly corrupting the data. Holding down reset while powering off prevents this from happening. Apparently this is not the case with the SNES. But my suspicion is that the older SNES carts' battery circuit is somehow buggy. I have no real reason to think holding reset would help, but I figured it can't hurt.

Honestly, I don't bother holding reset anymore. Random save problems are so sporadic that I would never be able to tell if holding reset helps just from observations alone. That, and I've never held reset on my SMW cart since 1993 and I've never had lost saves on that cart. Hell, I never held reset on my Kirby's Adventure or LoZ carts and never lost a save on those either.

Have you tried sacrificing a virgin to Satan at exactly 3:33 am with the game cartridge in the middle of a pentagram drawn from your own blood? That's my go-to when things don't work.

Ah, yes. I've read that's the only way to get the true ending in the SNES Castlevania games.

I pretty much never used the reset button for anything.

The North American SNES reset button is kinda shitty, when you think about it. The SFC and PAL SNES reset is much better.

I'm thinking sketchy SRAM chip too perhaps.

It is possible, since the SRAM has a finite amount of times it can write. But (at least at this point in time) it's unlikely enough that it shouldn't be toward the top of your list of potential problems. Most SNES carts don't use SRAM as work RAM (I know the Super FX carts do) so they're not writing very often.

The backup memory in most game carts is fairly easy to replace though, so at least there that. In most cases you can use off-the-shelf parts and they'll be drop-in replacements. I've even seen people mod carts with non-volatile RAM, which means that game saves can be held on the cart without the need for a battery. Pretty neat. Sonic 3 used non-volatile memory for save data. I've thought about trying this on some of my SNES carts that have given me problems, but never got around to it.

[Tanooki]

If I could get that part and could solder something that small I'd probably do just that. ActRaiser is one of my absolute favorites. Once the (sounded then like) recoded symphony music started to play when music was discovered was stunning to me back then. The total unique of action/adventure and sim city-lite effects blended so well I love to replay it.

[Ziggy]

If I could get that part and could solder something that small I'd probably do just that.

FWIW, most SNES carts (including Act Raiser) use through-hole components. As far as soldering PCB stuff, it doesn't get any easier than through-hole as oppose to surface mounted.

[Tanooki]

Oh I know they're not surface mounted. I've done it on slightly older larger chips once before swapping a tengen crap board for a nice sega one for Grind Stormer.