Guide to Using Save States in PPSSPP

Save states in PPSSPP is one of the things you’ll need to familiarise yourself with if you’re just new to playing PSP games. This is a nice feature of the popular PlayStation Portable emulator. With it, you can save and load game progress instantly.

Imagine if you just got to install PSP games for the first time and you’d like to continue gameplay from where other players stopped. With the save state, you can just add it to your device and continue the game.

However, most people find save states a bit confusing and can’t even load or create one. In this guide, you’ll discover everything about using save states in PPSSPP, including how to create, load, manage, and much more.

Understanding Save States Works

Save states are emulator-specific saves that capture the exact moment in a game, including all data related to the gameplay session. Unlike standard in-game saves, which require save points or specific conditions, save states allow you to:

• Save progress instantly at any point in the game.
• Load your exact gameplay state instantly, even if the game does not allow saving at that point.
• Use multiple save states for different scenarios in a game.
• Avoid loss of progress due to game crashes or failed missions

How to Use Save States in PPSSPP on Windows & Android

Since the PSP emulator is widely used on Android and Windows. I’ll show you how to make use of the save states. First, it’ll be how to save your gameplay, then load other user’s gameplay on the emulator.

Saving Your Game Using Save States

If you want to create your save states on the PPSSPP emulator, here’s how to get it done.

On Windows:

1. Open PPSSPP and load your PSP game.
2. Press F2 to create a save state.
3. Alternatively, click on the File option, then scroll down and click on Save State.

On Android:

1. Open PPSSPP and start your game.
2. Tap on the PPSSPP menu to open the options.
3. Select Save State and wait while the game saves.

Loading a Save State in PPSSPP

Similar to creating your save state, the PPSSPP also allows loading one. In this section, you’ll get to know how to load a save state on the PSP emulator easily.

How to Load Save State on Windows

If you have any save state for any game you want to play on the PPSSPP for Windows, here’s how to load it.

1. Make sure to have the PSP game and the save state file ready on your PC.

2. If the save state is in a zip or rar format. Use WinRAR to extract it in a known location on your PC.

3. Move the extracted save state to where your PPSSPP folder is located. Place it inside the PPSSPP/Save State folder.

4. Now launch PPSSPP and open the game you want to play. Press F4 to load a save state, you can pick the newly added one.

Loading PPSSPP Save State on Android

Using save states on Android when emulating PSP games is quite common. Here are the detailed steps to follow when loading game saves on PPSSPP for Android.

1. Download the PSP game and its save state files on your Android device.

2. Use Zarchiver to extract the compressed save state file.

3. Move the save state folder to your Android device’s Internal Storage/PSP/SAVE STATE.

4. Launch your game in the PPSSPP emulator > Click Menu > Load State and select the save state from the available slot.

Troubleshooting Save State Issues

Perhaps you ran into some issues when trying to load a save state or create one. Here are the common troubleshooting solutions you can try.

Save State Not Loading?

• Ensure you are loading the save state in the same game version and emulator version where it was created.
• Try switching to a different save state slot and see if another save works.
• Restart PPSSPP and attempt to load again.

Save State Corrupted?

• Sometimes, save states can become corrupted due to emulator updates or crashes.
• If corrupted, try loading an older save state from another slot.
• Always use in-game saves as a backup method to avoid losing progress.

Save State Files Missing?

• Check the “PSP/SAVESTATE” folder on your device.
• Ensure you have storage permission enabled on Android for PPSSPP.
• If using PPSSPP on multiple devices, ensure you transferred both the .ppst (save state) and .ppst.cfg (config file) if moving save states manually.

Conclusion

The save state is an important feature implemented by the developers of the PPSSSPP emulator. Understanding how it works will make it easier for you to create or load one on your smartphone or PC. If you have any questions, don’t forget to leave a comment below.