A Link to the past won't save

[sonofa]

So recently I pulled out my old snes to play with my kids and played A Link to the Past with my daughter. After playing a few hours we saved and quit. The next time we came back our game wasn't there, and found that no matter what I did, my games wouldn't save once I shut down. I seem to recall something like there is a battery inside the game that helps store the memory. Would that be the problem? Anyone know of any tricks to get this to work? Thanks.

[humulos]

The battery is indeed most likely the problem. When games are left without play for a while the battery will lose its power and not be able to process that information any more. It is important to play battery games at least once a year to charge them. I actually have all my old systems plugged in and play each game usually every two months or so. Also, if you do store them when not in use, be sure to store them very well. A garage is not a good idea, as oftentimes they will get very hot there. Try to find just a room in your house to keep them, and do try to play your games still. Just bust out your machine your out every now and then.

Old games need love too.

A solution though, I have none myself. I really feel for you though, and will research a way to recharge batteries.

I do have a far fetched idea though. Try just turning on your SNES with Zelda in it for an hour, turning it off for 15 minutes to cool down, and repeat the process. This may effectively get the battery running again, though it is mostly a shot in the dark.

[Zeldadudetp]

What battery? Where is the battery? Is it just used for the SNES? Wjat about the NES?

[humulos]

The battery is how the game saves. With cartridge games and many other electronic devices, there is a small battery to keep memory stored by. It keeps the games always running at a VERY low wattage, just enough to store data. If this battery dies, though, Data is no longer able to be stored. I luckily have never had this happen to me, and I hope it never does.

[Bane]

Funnily enough, I had my original LoZ for NES in storage for years. Probably 10 or more, without playing it at all. When I pulled it out and played it again, it saved just fine. However, it may be that I just, without meaning to, stored them in the perfect place to keep the battery life up. Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the battery life of the NES games was just over 10 years or something like that. I don't know if that means that it will keep things saved for 10 years and then it will lose those, requiring you to charge the battery back up to save again later, or if it means for 10 years that game can be played and saved, but once the 10 years is up you can never save again.

[me_just_in]

This happened to me with Pokemon Ruby, which I believe has a section of memory devoted to you actual save, but my clock would reset, and daily events would no longer reset at the end of the day. Luckily, I have the Gamecube Gameboy Player, which I put my game into, and left it on for a couple days, it seemed to function properly thereafter. So, as humulos said, you might want to try putting the game in the NES with it on, (be sure to turn it off from time to time, the NES is a finicky piece of equipment, [although my adapter is held together with electrical tape...long story ]). I'm not sure if it will work with an NES cartridge, however.