How are your games with batteries in them holding up?

[shopkins]

Last time I checked I still had NES games with batteries that worked. I wonder how long they will hold out? What games do you have that have still working batteries and which ones have died? The only one I have that I know has problems is Mario's Picross for the GB, it's unstable with saves for some reason.

[dreamcaster]

Got dozens of the things and all of them still save perfectly fine. Oldest would be the NES Zeldas I have.

Got a dodgy N64 Controller Pak, though they were problematic even when they were new.

[obesolete]

I haven't had any die on me yet. *knocksonwood*

I had a Zelda 2 that I thought had a dead battery... but it turned out that every time it ran through the game genie it got wiped. =(

[dreamcaster]

Not sure if this is a problem in the rest of the world, but most of the Pokemon Gold/Silvers for GBC that got shipped to Australia have had their batteries die. Some of them died so early that people often claimed it on Nintendo Australia warranty.

I think Nintendo got a really bad batch of batteries for those carts.

[shopkins]

I'd always heard that, for example, the Zelda batteries were expected to last five years. Does anyone have an explanation for why they've lasted four times that? Other than Zelda magic, of course.

[Aussie2B]

Does anyone have an explanation for why they've lasted four times that?

Because it's just fear-mongering. When it comes from game companies, they just want to cover their asses and also to encourage people to buy the exact same game over and over every time it gets ported to a new system. When it comes from gamers, it's because they're only passing along whatever myths they hear without having enough actual experience with classic games to know that the vast majority of game batteries still work fine. I mean, every gamer big on collecting should prepare for the day in which they'll have to change a battery because it will come sooner or later, but it's not something to be worrying about whatsoever.

As for my own personal experience, I couldn't say how many games I have that have batteries, but with a collection of 1100+ games and over half those being carts (and most being post-crash), I'm sure I have tons. And out of those, I've encountered only ONE dead battery, that's it. It was also dead when I bought it, so who knows what it went through.

[Oldskool]

Yeah I can't believe that my Zelda 1 cart for the NES still saves. It's insane.

[jb143]

Because it's just fear-mongering. When it comes from game companies, they just want to cover their asses and also to encourage people to buy the exact same game over and over every time it gets ported to a new system.

I wouldn't say it's fear mongering. I seriously doubt that Nintendo planned on porting the Legend Zelda to future consoles at the time. From what I understand, at first they were actually a bit afraid of the game not even selling that well. Batteries, like other electronics parts all have minimum and maximum ratings and some fail prematurly for whatever reason. The batteries would have been rated to last at least that long but it's not like they had the ability or time to test it and see just how many years they would last. That would just be silly. 5 years would just be a best guess based on the info they had. Probally more, but theyprobally said 5 just to play it safe.

When I remember first reading the 5 years thing I don't remember thinking "Oh no! What Am I goign to do after 5 years?" but instead, something along the lines of "Cool! I'll still be able to play it in 5 years!"

Anyways, my original Mario Land 2 had it's battery die and a Legend of Zelda that I picked up years ago. My original Zelda still saves though.

[fairyland]

Not sure if this is a problem in the rest of the world, but most of the Pokemon Gold/Silvers for GBC that got shipped to Australia have had their batteries die. Some of them died so early that people often claimed it on Nintendo Australia warranty.

I think Nintendo got a really bad batch of batteries for those carts.

Those pokemons has an internal clock that is always draining off the battery and thus lowering the life of the batteries greatly. Nearly all of the used ones I find in the wild has dead batteries and won't keep the save. Outside of that, I never had any dead battery based games. The NES carts I find to resell are some 20 years old and are still going strong somehow. O_O I'm wondering WHEN they will EVER die out.

[pepharytheworm]

I have only had two dead batteries Secret of Mana and Yoshi's Island. I replaced them though.

[todesengel]

All my battery backed games still save fine as well. For when the do eventually go out though what would you guys/gals say is the best way of going about replacing them?

[jb143]

All my battery backed games still save fine as well. For when the do eventually go out though what would you guys/gals say is the best way of going about replacing them?

Probally the best place to start is by searching the "Technical and Restoration" forum way down there at the bottom for your particular game/cart. I know there have been many threads on it in the past and you can probally find something specific to your needs that way.

[pepharytheworm]

All my battery backed games still save fine as well. For when the do eventually go out though what would you guys/gals say is the best way of going about replacing them?

This is where I go to get replacement parts. They even come with a battery holder that lets you easily replace the battery in the future. no soldering anymore. it is only $3.99 w holder $1.49 for just the battery. You do need a soldering gun to get the batteries out and replace them.
http://www.nintendorepairhut.com/repairsupplies.html

But usually I get some crappy Super Famicom game I will never care about saving and its resell value is poor and take the battery from that game. Its usually some parlor game or board game.

[Gameguy]

So far every copy of Zelda I've come across works fine, and those are the earliest games that use a battery. I have to test a couple of games I have though, I have the original Final Fantasy(NES) and Secret of Mana(SNES) that don't have any saved games on the carts, but I haven't tried to save any games on them so I'm not sure if they're really dead.

I've come across several dead Pokemon Gold and Silver carts, I try to stay away from them. I might have come across a dead Donkey Kong Land cart that didn't save, but I really can't remember. The only other game I've come across with a non-working save feature that I can think of is Sonic 3, and that doesn't even use a battery, it uses an FRAM chip.

[jb143]

it is only $3.99 w holder $1.49 for just the battery. You do need a soldering gun to get the batteries out and replace them.
http://www.nintendorepairhut.com/repairsupplies.html

That seems awefully expensive. Digikey has CR2032's for 28 cents with similar holders being less than a dollar.

I also don't understand how their battery and holder together costs more than if you got them seperatly:?

I guess if that's all your buying though, then shipping will make it less.

[Emperor Megas]

When I remember first reading the 5 years thing I don't remember thinking "Oh no! What Am I goign to do after 5 years?"That's exactly the first thing that went through my mind when I first read it, actually. I believe it was in the manual for Phantasy Star.

[pepharytheworm]

That seems awefully expensive. Digikey has CR2032's for 28 cents with similar holders being less than a dollar.

I also don't understand how their battery and holder together costs more than if you got them seperatly:?

I guess if that's all your buying though, then shipping will make it less.

You should mention its 1¢. I don't know why places do that but I see it all the time in retail and fastfood. Laziness I suppose or they are charging a cent for them putting it in the holder for you.:) Never heard of digikey I will check them out, their shipping must be expensive if more.

[Aussie2B]

Another problem I've encountered regarding the reported lifespan of batteries is that often fledgling collectors deem a battery as dead when it isn't at all. Far too many times I've heard people talking about how they have several games that won't save only to have everything work perfect after they're educated as to how to clean their games and systems.

[PentiumMMX]

With all the games I have, aside from Pokémon G\S\C, I've only seen one with a genuine dead save battery, and that was my old copy of F-Zero. Not that saving was really necessary to play it; all it did was just save your best records in Time Trial mode, so the game was still playable. Everything else works great; all the way back to my copy of the first Zelda.

Also, I typically take information on "This battery will last X amount of years" with a grain of salt; my PC, which the manual stated that it's odd-ball CMOS battery would last 10 years before dying, is nearly 15 years old and still has the same exact battery on it.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

Just thought Id ad to this even though its not exactly game related batteries, all the rechargeable batteries in my NeoGeo Cd decks had started to leak, so I removed them all. Systems function fine with no batteries present, other then you cant save progress, ect. Might be a good idea for anyone with Neo Cd decks to start checking their batteries. If you actually care to replace them the type is the VG2430, rechargeable 3V lithium battery.
http://www.pchub.com/uph/model/0--2121-1/VG2430-parts.html

[gdement]

I've had 1 battery backed game give me problems - Crystalis on the NES.
I've had 3 failures with flash memory cards.

[alec006]

Depening on how much its played,what is envolved for saving,batterys can last a very long time. As others have mentioned,Zelda still has juice in it. The Sega CD even thou its recharable,mine unplugged still holds a charge after 3 months, can't say the same for the Dreamcast thou lol. My Super Mario World still saves along with RPG. Pokemon Red Blue and Yellow still save flawlessly. Gold Silver and Crystal however for me at least require a new battery every 5-7 years due to the internal clock. Heck don't ask me how,but I have a remote from 1980 with factory installed batterys which expired in 1990 accoring to the date on them,and they still work as well!!

[DefaultGen]

.....

[csgx1]

Only have had battery problems with Game Boy games.

Yeah, same here. My Donkey Kong Land 3 battery died but DKL 1 and 2 are still fine. Seems kind of random when batteries die.

[Rickstilwell1]

I had Donkey Kong Country 3 on SNES and my golden copy of The Legend of Zelda for NES have their batteries die on me. Luckily my gray Zelda battery still saves, although I always beat Zelda 1 in 1 sitting anyway. 1 hour 45 mins!

A long time ago my Sonic 3 game for Genesis surpassed its maximum write cycles so it stopped saving too, although that is not a battery.

[Famidrive-16]

Most of my GBC ones died. Also SNES Harvest Moon. That's about it, everything else is still excellent.

[Eyedunno]

I'd estimate that about half of my games with batteries won't save anymore.

[Shellshock!]

SNES Final Fantasy III, Chrono Trigger, and Breath Of Fire II still going...

[jordandavid]

my tecmo super bowl doesn't save, and every time you start a game the quarterback is playing all of the positions, so you have to reset all of the players in position.

also, i've reaplced a phantasy star 2 battery for genesis and i've seen SSB64 carts that don't save anymore, so luigi, jiggly puff, capt falcon, and ness aren't available...

[Seaquest]

My Legend of Zelda cart is very unpredictable. It will work for a while but when you really get into the game, BOOM. Your save goes out the window. But on the other hand Kirby's Adventuer saves like a charm (because the battery is about eight years younger).;)

[CapnCrunch53]

So far all my battery games that I can think of still save. 3 Pokemon games and Link's Awakening on GB are still good, and the oldest would be Zelda 1 and StarTropics on NES.

Actually, the other day Zelda did reset the saves on me after shutting it down, but today I noticed that warning that says to hold Reset while turning of the NES.. somehow I never noticed that. I guess I assumed it said not to turn off the system while saving.. whoops. So I think that's why it reset, its saving fine now. Just beat the 2nd dungeon too 8-)

[SEGA_Queen]

So far I've only had three cases where the battery had died in a game:

1) Pokemon Silver (GB) - I got someone to replace the battery for me, since I had no soldering experience. The funny thing is, when I went to pick up the game the guy said that even though he replaced the battery, the game still wasn't saving. He also mentioned that this was the first time he had experienced this kind of issue. Fortunately, after saving a couple of times I somehow managed to get it working properly again.

2) Kirby's Dreamland 2 (GB) - The same guy that fixed Pokemon Silver, also replaced the battery in this game. But again, it wouldn't save even after replacing the battery. I never was able to get Kirby to save after that. However, later I found a replacement copy that did work.

3) Breath of Fire (SNES) - When I first started the game, I discovered that there were no save files. I decided to test the cart for a couple of days to see whether the battery was actually dead. I found out that the battery would only hold a charge for a few hours, and then erase my saves. Luckily, the place I bought it at had another copy in stock, and they allowed me to do an exchange. The second copy worked fine and hasn't given me any problems yet.

[Red Baron]

Actually, the other day Zelda did reset the saves on me after shutting it down, but today I noticed that warning that says to hold Reset while turning of the NES.. somehow I never noticed that. I guess I assumed it said not to turn off the system while saving.. whoops. So I think that's why it reset, its saving fine now. Just beat the 2nd dungeon too 8-)

I was always curious as to how important the 'holding reset' instructions were.. Goodness knows a lot of people wouldn't remember how to do that all the time(myself included), and so many carts still have their saves all these years. Is this a habit I should get back into now that I have a Zelda cart again? Would it work on other NES games to help preserve saves? Or does it really not matter?

As for my own collection.. I haven't tried EVERY game this year, but most of my NES ones still have their save files.. Most SNES ones still have their files, and the only wipe I've ever experienced was my Earthbound saves during an accident.

I know my Pokemon Red and Blue had their file a year or two ago, not sure about now. Sadly it sounds as if my Gold cart is probably toast by now, although at least I didn't transfer my collection to it before I stopped playing. (Although since my Pokemon Stadium transfer cart no longer recognizes my games, it sounds as if most of my old Pokemon will vaporize once my GB carts or the N64 cart bite the dust, tragically.)

Anyway, has anyone had issues with old batteries in games leaking or exploding? I heard this with some old game boy games, and it's gotten me feeling a bit paranoid now.

[rik1138]

Just curious, has anyone found that they have a battery that's corroding?

I wonder how this will affect sealed game collections in the future... These batteries will corrode eventually and start destroying the cart's circuit board... Fortunately the batteries are small, but it could still render a cartridge unplayable if it corrodes onto critical circuitry.

(Heh, posted this first and then read Red Baron's last question above... :) )

Rik

[imanerd0011]

My Legend of Zelda cart is very unpredictable. It will work for a while but when you really get into the game, BOOM. Your save goes out the window. But on the other hand Kirby's Adventuer saves like a charm (because the battery is about eight years younger).;)

I had the same problem with a Crystalis cart. I got nearly to the end of the game and then the save file was gone (son of a BI*CH!).

I'm actually playing Super Metroid right now, and so far the save file is working fine. Let's hope it stays that way!

[RASK1904]

I have bought 3 different Kirby's Dreamland 2's and none of them have been abel to save. This is the only game I have had trouble with finding one that still works!? Anyone else have this same problem? Bad batch of batteries?

On the Nes it is always a good idea when turning off a save game to hold reset. Small price to pay to be a little safer. Losing saves suxxxxx!

[jb143]

It should also be noted that heat is a batteries enemy. Storing a game with a battery in it in an attic or some other hot place is likely to lead to earlier death than if it were stored in a cooler place.

Also, lithiums are less likely to leak or explode than alkalines and generally happens after it fully discharges. I've never seen it happen on a backup save battery but I see it all the time in devices where someone left the batteries in something and left it on. Not much you can do about save batteries since they are always on other than chage them out when they no longer save.

[Nintega Grafx-16]

Is it just my bad luck or do a lot of Phantasy Star IV carts have dead batteries in them? I owned the game twice BTW.

[jonebone]

So far I've never encountered one and my collection is roughly 600 or so games across NES / SNES / Genny / N64. I've also sold large volumes on eBay (1250 feedback now) and still have never encountered one.

[gdement]

I was always curious as to how important the 'holding reset' instructions were.. Goodness knows a lot of people wouldn't remember how to do that all the time(myself included), and so many carts still have their saves all these years. Is this a habit I should get back into now that I have a Zelda cart again? Would it work on other NES games to help preserve saves? Or does it really not matter?

Not certain, but this is my guess:
The low-power type RAM used in these carts needs +5V to operate fully, but if it's inactive then it can retain data at a lower voltage. When the system voltage drops below the battery (about 3V), then the battery will take over. But at that reduced voltage, any attempt to actually *use* the RAM would fail and maybe corrupt it. Also, the battery might not support the current draw when the chip is active.

My guess is that holding reset is to prevent the RAM chip from any chance of being enabled when the voltage drops.

However, if that's the only issue, then it seems the game could just have a screen where it never accesses the RAM and says "SAFE TO POWER OFF".

[Sonicwolf]

Oldest I have that is still working is my Zelda I gold cart for the NES. Newest and only one in my collection to die so far has been Yoshi's Island for the SNES... Well... its almost dead. Savings dodgy at best. 1 in 10 times it will keep the save.

[Baloo]

The only two games I've have lost saves on were Game boy games, and they were Pokemon ones.

I had a copy of Pokemon Yellow that corrupted the save literally right after I got beat by Gary of the Elite 4. I only had a Lvl. 100 Butterfree and the rest of my Pokemon had been transferred over to my copy of Pokemon Crystal. I managed to beat all the leaders and all but one of Gary's Pokemon with that Butterfree. I even got Jolteon down to it's last smidgen of HP. But then I lost, and turned it off. And then the voltage died. I was so pissed.

Pokemon Silver, I got a copy at a video game store some time back for $10, played it and saved, but it wouldn't save. Forgot to return it, the store ended up closing a few months later ended up selling it for like $3-4 dollars at a flea market :/. I've heard the batteries on these games are notoriously bad though.

[Famidrive-16]

it's weird how all the gb/gbc pokemon games had bad batteries yet my copy of Pokemon TGC still works fine. it even had my first save from ten years earlier.

[Haoie]

I figure 1 reason emulation is popular is the dead battery problem.

To say nothing about dead memory cards. Sheesh!

[mevsplanetearth]

oldest is my zelda I gold cart
i have my snes yoshi´s island battery dead, so it doesnt save at all
and my super mario world, donkey kong country 2, and mario allstars sometimes just wipe out and i have to do everything all over again, dont mind, i really enjoy those games
but i dont play yoshi story at all anymore because of the save issue :(

[wingzrow]

Only pokemon gold/silver/crystal, which I STILL solder new batteries onto since every copy i've ever found had a dead battery. They're always getting drained because the internal clock runs off them and drains the power over time. I suggest deleting your save if you want your battery to last longer ( up select b at title screen? )

Other than that though, all my games have full batteries. I've run testers on old carts like zelda and they all come up with 100% power. Blows my mind that they last as long as they do.

[jb143]

I figure 1 reason emulation is popular is the dead battery problem.

To say nothing about dead memory cards. Sheesh!

The #1 reason for emulation being popular is free gamez!!! Like most people on here have been saying, the batteries in many games last surprizingly long.

[Casati]

None of my NES carts have a dead battery, but the vast majority of my "tested and works great" EA Genesis sports titles, bought on Ebay, have dead batteries.

[MrNelson]

The only games that I know of that have died are mine and my brother's copies of Gold and Silver. I found a copy of Actraiser (so awesome) that had a dead battery, but I replaced it. The oldest game I have that's still alive is Dragon Warrior (also awesome).

[CelticJobber]

My Super Mario World for SNES no longer saves. The battery in my copy of NBA Jam TE on Sega Genesis has never saved; I bought it at Blockbuster in late 1994.

[obesolete]

I've yet to have any problems with any of my games, but now that I've said that we'll see which goes first...

[Enigmus]

The Legend of Zelda - No problems, sans forgetting to hold reset down when powering off.
Pokemon Gold/Silver: All fine (leading me to believe the "dead battery" thing is just a myth for right now).
Super Mario World - Working properly.
TLoZ: Link's Awakening - Has had problems with save wiping.

All in all, the batteries are doing their job.

[Orion Pimpdaddy]

I have a ton of old games, but have never had a battery save problem until last week. That's when Harry Potter on the GBC forgot it's save file.

The surgery was a success and now the sucker is good for another 10 years.

[Eleuthria]

I have yet to have a battery go out for any legit copies of games I own. I'm probably very lucky, since 90% of the games I owned were RPGs, so they ALL had batteries. My Zelda games, Dragon Warrior 1-4, and Final Fantasy are all working as well as the day I first bought them, as well as the dozens of SNES games.

My first dead battery game was actually a copy of Pokemon Ruby (and later a copy of Sapphire) for GBA. Turned out they were bootleg copies, but I would have never known. The carts were perfect copies, with the exception of the lack of the (Nintendo) logo at the back of the cartridge contacts. Upon opening them, it was much more obvious.

[Nesmaster]

I've had 1 battery backed game give me problems - Crystalis on the NES.

Same here. Lost my complete game save. :(

[fairyland]

Yesterday I just took two leaked ones out and I intend to replace them soon. SNES Super Mario RPG and GBC Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages. Whatever was in the GBC battery leaked all over the cart and made such a mess. It also ate at the wafer and left it looking a little odd (see image). I'm hoping it's still OK. I did manage to clean most of the goo off though. The SNES one seemed to suffer no damage from it's leaking.

[geekstreat]

Some last longer than others, but while were on the topic, has anyone had a problem with corrosion?