FF1 (NES) data corruption?

[Dark Jaguar]

Okay, this is a rather odd problem I've recently found in one of my original FF1 carts. I happen to have 2, for you see at a certain point I thought it would be smart to get a second game so I could have two save files. Cheap enough I suppose, and I don't really regret it, but back to the point.

You see, while the first cart always has worked perfectly when I can get my NES to cooperate, the second cart, just recently, has been screwing up the names of my characters. Basically, whenever I try naming a character anything that makes sense, the very last character is always corrupted. So, if I named my white mage "Sori", it would come up "SorC", or if I name my thief "Cid ", it would come out "Cid(insert that symbol for the shirt items here)". Now, it corrupts in a very predictable pattern, and I could probably make a table of how it corrups if I felt like it. Also, it ONLY corrupts the LAST character in the name, so a character with nothing but spaces in the name would only have the last character become that shirt symbol.

This is very annoying because I enjoy playing FF with decent names on my characters. My style isn't to just name everyone "AAAA", "BBBB" and so on. Also, even though I HAVE origins (very nice game I might add), I enjoy playing the original game now and again, and I ALSO enjoy being able to keep a perfect save file around while playing a new game (hence having two copies).

What I'm asking is if anyone has any idea what is wrong with my cart, and if so, if anyone knows how to fix it or if I'll just have to replace the game. What I'm NOT asking for is people to say "Just use an emulator and a ROM" or "Just stick with Origins or the working game". I am just wanting this particular copy of one of my fave classic games to work like it should really.

I imagine it might be corrupted save data, so I'd just have to open the game up and temporarily remove the battery to delete the old data completely. I would need to get that security bit to do this though. I've tried deleting it via repeatedly turning my NES on and off as fast as possible (which has worked for some SNES games I've wanted to completely wipe clean), but that didn't work, and I'm afraid of accidently REALLY screwing something up. What I'm really afraid of is that the game itself is somehow faulty, in which case I'd need to replace it.

At any rate, thank you in advance to anyone who has any advice on this problem.

[Dragonfire]

well it's most likely the game itself that got screwed up over time. though you may be on the right track with the battery. If it's still the original battery saving shouldn't even work by now anyway, since the game is roughly 14 years old here in America. Now I have heard a few times that the battery it if left in too long (meaning way past dead) could actually harm the game itself. I say try and replace the battery. See if that works. If it doesn't, just be happy that you have another original cart that works fine.

[Flying Mullet]

Just get an emulator and a ROM. :p

Seriously, I agree that it is probably the age of the game. Unfortunately the original FFI NES cartridges are getting old enough that they are going to start faltering now.

[Dark Jaguar]

Thing is, even though batteries are SUPPOSED to be dead by now, every single one of my old NES games with a save feature still work fine. This is a rather weird problem, but yeah I suppose it would be best to try a new battery. Actually I happen to have a few of the type they are supposed to use. I've heard soldering is involved, but the pics I've seen just show the battery as clipped in there rather than soldered. I'll find out when I open it up I guess. At any rate I'll need to order that special bit in order to get the thing open. If I can't get it working, I'll either sell it outright or trade it in somewhere for a copy that doesn't have this error.

[Dragonfire]

@flying mullet

emulator and ROM is good and all, but nothing beats playing it from an original cart. If I had the initiative to replace the battery in mine I would definitely love to play it on a big screen TV

[Dark Jaguar]

I'm fairly sure that flying mullet was joking and likely shares the same sentiment as us. Thanks anyway though.

Well, I've ordered that bit, and a second larger one for the system screws at that since they turned out to be quite cheap. When they arrive I'll tell you how it turned out and whether or not soldering actually is needed or if, as the pictures I've seen seem to say, it's just clipped inside the cart and easy to slip in and out.

[Dark Jaguar]

I got my special bit in the mail today, and immediatly went to work.

I just gotta say I'm creeped out right now. The battery isn't just clipped in, it's glued to the clips with a sort of conductive glue (not soldered though). I should be able to get it back in place easy enough.

Here's the freaky thing. After removing the battery, I can still save and load and it remembers! What's the deal? I have a hard time believing Nintendo would pay the costs of putting the battery in the cart if it was totally unneccesary. I'll leave the battery out for a few hours and come back to see if it takes time, but the mere fact that I could actually SAVE and RELOAD data without the battery says something...

[DJZen]

I will sum up my feelings thusly:

O.o

[Flying Mullet]

Yeah, I agree that the Tv is the best way to go, hence the ':p' and 'Seriously,...'

So :p :)

[Dark Jaguar]

Okay, I left the battery out of the cart overnight. When I got the chance, I turned it on again, without the battery, and found that it FINALLY forgot the saved data. Continuing led me to the new game screen.

This in mind, I opened up the cart and slipped the battery back in. One other thing. The battery wasn't actually glued in like I first though, it was actually POKED into place if you get my meaning. As in, the metal from both sides of the clips was stabbed into the battery itself, like a kind of staple, but using the already present metal. Thing is, it didn't really need to be because I slipped the battery back in and the clips (which I bent back into shape) held it just fine. It'll only come loose if I shake it up REALLY hard, so I'll leave it like it is for now until I find some tape, you know just to make sure.

Well, I started a new game after inserting the battery and the data was cleared, but it would seem the glitch is still there. Somehow, the data on the cart itself has become corrupt. I'm really not sure how that managed to happen though. I could probably play through it well enough, but it's just as likely that something other than the last character in my character's names is corrupted and I might encounter all sorts of bugs as I get into the game. I could try playing through just to check that out, and I might just do that. In any case, I'm afraid I'll end up having to sell it or something. I COULD try trading it in. I could just say I'm doing it for the superficial reason that I want a game with an unripped sticker and no stamp on the cart so they don't suspect anything I suppose.

[DJZen]

Dishonesty is very uncool. Imagine the poor person who gets this wonderful game, only to find out that it's damaged. How would YOU feel?

[Dark Jaguar]

Very well, I.. won't... do that... :D