Growing up millennial means I was part of some of the best generations in video games. What was once a reprieve from enemies and danger is now just part of a menu, and the loss of having the visual refuge appear after a gruelling series of battles doesn’t go unnoticed.
Save points by now are considered archaic game design. For years, developers struggled with memory constraints that limited how much data they could store. Then, when the seventh generation of consoles came, it wasn’t long after we saw save points disappear. I can’t tell you the last game outside of Dragon Quest that had a mandatory save point, and frankly, that sucks.
I asked the community to tell me which save points they love and why. The responses are not surprising once you understand there’s a lot of nostalgia behind the replies.
What are your favourite save points in video games? Which sounds are embedded in your head that refuse to go away?Appreciate any replies because I'd like to include them in a piece I'm working on!
— Bobby Pashalidis (@bpashalidis.bsky.social) 2026-02-03T15:35:09.078Z
So Long, Save Points And Thanks For The Memories!
In recent months, I’ve talked about the lack of friction in modern games. Recent Pokémon games haven’t captured the magic of the older games. For example, one reason I feel the removal of save points is bad is that, without them, there is no tension or risk. In Resident Evil, you’re forced to manage resources and take on enemies before the reprieve of a save point, since dying causes you to lose progress.
If I can reach the next save point, I know I’ll be safe, but until then, I need to stay mindful and try not to die. And mostly, I can make it through, albeit not without some bumps and bruises.
I always considered save points strategic, especially when placed outside a boss battle or before an arduous task. It’s enough to keep you in the game without taking you out of it. As it turns out, that’s exactly what it was in older games — strategic placement. See, the strict constraints on memory and code meant that an SNES cartridge had 4MB of storage space, which made it easier to decide what to trim and where to place your save points. By creating a series of save points, the game could effectively look at when/where you saved and then load the rest of your data from there.
Coding in the 90s and early aughts meant developers needed to be smart about how they utilized every bit of code. Back then, there was no real standard for video game design, which meant things were not as easy to implement as they are today. So, developers created a way to save data in video games.
While cartridges helped soften the load for many games, it wasn’t until memory cards came along that games could go further. Offloading those memory constraints from the cartridges’ built-in batteries not only increased space for save games but, for the first time ever, also brought your saves with you to other consoles (like a friend’s house).
As time went on, so too did console manufacturers’ use of memory cards. Sony’s PlayStation switched to memory cards exclusively, and while this solution worked for a time, games grew larger alongside the memory requirements of save files. Mass Storage was the next viable technology that the industry looked towards, as memory cards capped out at 8 MB. Hard drives at the time could fill 40 GB, so it meant that you no longer needed to worry about which save files to keep and which could be erased — you could now simply save everything on one hard disk.
Video pulled from Facebook group JRPG Warrior.
The loss of save points comes at a cost: diminished stakes and consequences. Older save systems essentially required you to strategize, as death meant you’d lose significant progress. In modern games, you have quick save and auto save picking up the slack, so you can effectively save scum, leaving the intended challenge of a game behind.
Save Points Used To Help Tell A Story
What I’m trying to say is that as games evolved through generations, they lost some of their soul or the magic behind them. Save points are used to help tell a story through their iconography or naturally through the world. The video game experience is drastically different from what it was 20 years ago. It might be better in many ways, but in others, the allure has faded. The cost of convenience comes with a loss of consequences.
Sure, save points are still available in many games today, but the system is finer than it used to be. Some games save as you check things off from your challenge list, while others save based on your objectives, but again, the physical act of finding a save point within a game world, one that has an excellent audible tone denoting you’ve come to a safe haven, is like catching your breath after a long run.\
Final Fantasy 7’s ‘C’ Save PointBut there’s nothing iconic anymore to anchor those moments of reprieve against a challenging area or platforming section. In Star Ocean: The Second Story, I still remember the sound of its save points, which had a soothing, calm effect when touched. In Kingdom Hearts, the sound of a warm buzz as you interact with its save points, even Final Fantasy 8‘s bizarre but memorable garden logo save points, delivers a touch of nostalgia and a wave of memories. Final Fantasy 9’s save points let you interact with Moogles, and every time you meet one, they offer up humour and shenanigans.
A Mognet save point in Final Fantasy 9These games effectively use save points to anchor your nostalgia. I can recall things from my life when I sit down to replay Xenogears or in ICO when I sat on a couch to save my file, even when I think of Metroid: Zero Mission, I remember the save rooms, or the Records of Fate in Chrono Cross when I snuck down at 3 AM in the morning to save my game.
For me, the disappearance of save points in video games is a sign of an industry shift toward modern convenience. As games mature, we see bigger and better experiences, but it costs something, and that’s the important anchor, the sweet reprieve and breathing room a save point offers when I see it.
Now, though, it doesn’t feel the same, and it likely never will – I miss the dulcet tones of save points giving me the safety blanket modern games lack after a tough encounter, the little nod to prove I met the challenge and overcame it.
