What do you do for saves in games that don't let you save anywhere?

[EvelynW]

I was digging through my old stuff at my parents' place and found my original PlayStation, but the memory card is completely corrupted. I had a whole save file for Final Fantasy VII that was just gone. It got me wondering, for games that don't let you save anywhere, how do you all handle the commitment? I remember getting to a certain point in a JRPG and just having to leave the console on for days, which feels wild now.

[ScarlettAT]

that memory card crash must feel like losing a chapter of your own save data in a game you carried for years

[Kyle93]

older games stitched progress to sparse save points which makes each choice feel heavier and the commitment grows with time

[ScottLH]

so you could only save at fixed spots I thought most games let you pause and save anywhere that sounds rough

[LarryL]

i get the skeptical take but i wonder if the design itself was meant to teach you patience and test your tolerance for risk rather than demand unbroken endurance

[Ryan.J]

maybe the question is really about time and interruptions how long can you let a story sit before you forget where you were and why it mattered and what a save even meant in that moment

[LunaR]

save scumming is a cheeky term but it hints at how chasing the perfect save changes how you experience a stretch of the story

[Jack54]

maybe someday you start a fresh save on a new card and see which parts still pull you back into the world without feeling tethered to old rituals