RetropaRETROPA / Saves
Save States and Rewind in Retropa | iPhone & iPad
Three things in Retropa get called a save: the game's own save, a save state, and rewind. Each behaves differently and travels differently, so this guide sorts them out and shows how to keep backups that hold up.
Download for iOSFree to download. Optional in-app purchases. iOS 18 or later.
Three different things called a save
People say save and mean one of three things. The game writes its own battery save. A save state freezes the whole emulator at a single instant. Rewind walks recent history backward. They store differently, they travel differently, and renaming one file into another does not turn it into the other kind.
- A battery save is written by the game itself.
- A save state snapshots the emulator at one moment.
- Rewind replays recent history instead of reading a file.
Creating and using a save state
Save states earn their keep before a hard section, before you change cores, or before you try a new filter. Quick save and quick load exist for that short-term checkpoint, not for keeping a playthrough safe forever.
- Grab a state before you swap cores.
- States make quick work of comparing two presets.
- Let the game's own save carry the long-term record.
Moving a save between cores
A save state records the private internals of one core, so do not count on it opening somewhere else. Battery saves, since the game wrote them, move far more often. Copy both aside before you touch the core setting.
- Assume a state belongs to the core that made it.
- Battery saves stand a better chance of transferring.
- Take a copy before you switch.
When a save will not load
Ask three questions first. Is this in-game data or a state? Has the core changed since it was written? Has the app version changed? When a state refuses to open, fall back to the game's own save, which does not care about the emulator's internal format.
- Check whether the core changed.
- Know which kind of save you have.
- Try the game's own save next.
Keeping backups that survive
Spread the copies around. The game file, the game's own save and any states you care about should not all sit in one place. iCloud works, and a desktop copy works. The point is that one bad night on the device cannot take every copy with it.
- Copy the game file too, not just the saves.
- Store saves apart from state files.
- Keep one copy off the device.
Questions
What is the difference between a save and a save state?
The game writes a save in its own format, and it holds your progress. A save state lives in the emulator's world: it captures everything at one moment and stays tied to the core that made it.
How far can I rewind?
Rewind pulls from recent history held in memory, so the limit comes from the buffer size rather than a fixed number of slots. There is no stored file behind it.
Can I move a save to another emulator?
The game's own save travels best, because it follows the game's format rather than the emulator's. A save state is built on one core's internals, so treat it as staying put.
Retropa.
Free to download. Optional in-app purchases. iOS 18 or later.