The GameCube has been dead for a long time now, no new games will come out so you might want to consider getting any and all issues out of the way. Memory storage for your precious game saves will be high up on your priority list so lets look at the options and prices you will have.
So you might be thinking how big are the saves ? Is this even important ? A standard card has 59 blocks...is that not enough ?
Well considering you now get preowned games for about £1/$2 many people will have lots of games. From my experience of having 2 kids no amount of cards is enough, try telling your kids they've got to delete some saves and see the reasction you get. Or if it's you...do you want to delete you effort and time ?
Also, some games take almost the FULL standard card to save (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Slot-Memory-Card-GameCube/dp/B00005QEFG" target="_blank">a standard card will cost you £10</a>) and some games don't even fit on one of these ! ! !
Nintendo have a long history of holding people to ransom over memory to save the user losing saves going back to the N64 and still continuing to the present day Wii. Often the official cards are the only "safe" option.
This topic aims to get you paying the least amount possible to backup and protect ALL your saves, give you options and explain some extra things to consider when dealing with GC saves and memory cards.
<b>How big are the saves ?</b>
<b>So what's the biggest memory card ?</b>
<b>What's the best memory card ?</b>
<b>Backing up and restoring saves</b>
<b>Converting between the formats, converting between the regions</b>
<b>Other things - cheats, editing saves, launching homebrew from a memory card + N64/NeoGeo on Wii uses blocks</b>
<b><!--coloro:green--><span style="color:green"><!--/coloro--><!--sizeo:2--><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->TO DO<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>
I will re-edit this post from time to time to try to keep this a handy source for info and links about GameCube saves and memory cards.
Host some tools for converting between formats and between regions. Also a tool that edits a save file to make a cheat file.
Test Cards - I've ordered the Datel card and the one from GPs link, will test them when they arrive in about a week, and test all 3 of the homebrew apps to see what works best.
Get a better app as all 3 have problems from what I've read (I think) It would be good if SaveGameManager had GC save handling added (I posted a request for this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /> )
GP said ... "dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too). "
Protect ya sh1t ! ! ! WODE (drive) + BIG MEMORY (saves, time) + WAVEBIRDS (controller ports) = WIN ! ! !
Thanks to those who contributed info...
especially giantpune for info and pics <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
So you might be thinking how big are the saves ? Is this even important ? A standard card has 59 blocks...is that not enough ?
Well considering you now get preowned games for about £1/$2 many people will have lots of games. From my experience of having 2 kids no amount of cards is enough, try telling your kids they've got to delete some saves and see the reasction you get. Or if it's you...do you want to delete you effort and time ?
Also, some games take almost the FULL standard card to save (<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nintendo-Slot-Memory-Card-GameCube/dp/B00005QEFG" target="_blank">a standard card will cost you £10</a>) and some games don't even fit on one of these ! ! !
Nintendo have a long history of holding people to ransom over memory to save the user losing saves going back to the N64 and still continuing to the present day Wii. Often the official cards are the only "safe" option.
This topic aims to get you paying the least amount possible to backup and protect ALL your saves, give you options and explain some extra things to consider when dealing with GC saves and memory cards.
<b>How big are the saves ?</b>
So to give you an idea of the sizes, here is what it took me a few seconds to see looking at one of my 64Mb cards (yes one of them I have a quite a few. Please note I have no idea if there are bigger saves, I'd guess there are.
These are from the PAL versions of the games, and some maybe have extra files too that I missed looking quickly through them.
Pikmin 1 = 19
Pikmin 2 = 27
Urbz: Sims in the City = 107
Tony Hawks: American Wasteland = 13 (per profile) + ?? per course
Tony Hawks: Underground 13 = (per profile) + 6 per course (I actually bought an official 251 card @ £35 "back in tha day" just for this game and yes it's full with one game)
Sonic Gems Collection = 27
Bratz Forever Diamondz = 19 (per profile)
Pokemon Colosseum = 48
Zelda: Majoras Mask (from collectors edition) = 21 (collectors edition takes almost a full card iirc)
Harvest Moon = 47
Doshin The Giant = 40
Mario Golf = 13
Paper Mario = 17
Beyond Good and Evil = 55
That just 14 games, I have... well too many games to be bothered counting.
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD</b># Sortable list of game save sizes, either do an html or make a wiki<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
These are from the PAL versions of the games, and some maybe have extra files too that I missed looking quickly through them.
Pikmin 1 = 19
Pikmin 2 = 27
Urbz: Sims in the City = 107
Tony Hawks: American Wasteland = 13 (per profile) + ?? per course
Tony Hawks: Underground 13 = (per profile) + 6 per course (I actually bought an official 251 card @ £35 "back in tha day" just for this game and yes it's full with one game)
Sonic Gems Collection = 27
Bratz Forever Diamondz = 19 (per profile)
Pokemon Colosseum = 48
Zelda: Majoras Mask (from collectors edition) = 21 (collectors edition takes almost a full card iirc)
Harvest Moon = 47
Doshin The Giant = 40
Mario Golf = 13
Paper Mario = 17
Beyond Good and Evil = 55
That just 14 games, I have... well too many games to be bothered counting.
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD</b># Sortable list of game save sizes, either do an html or make a wiki<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<b>So what's the biggest memory card ?</b>
Standard GC card = 59 blocks - 4 Mbit/512 KB
Largest GC/Wii can handle = "up to" 2043 blocks - 128Mb (so these are 32 times the size of a standard card)
Please take note that a standard card is really 64 blocks, but each single GC card requires 5 blocks of system data you don't see or get to use, this means the smaller you buy the cards the more "wasted space" you are buying.
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bigben-Interactive-128Mb-Memory-Gamecube/dp/B000W9CLOM/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2" target="_blank">Bigben Interactive 128Mb Memory Card for £15.12</a>
128MB is the largest the GameCube or Wii can handle with a single card, you get various 3rd party ones like the one above. Be careful though as some 3rd party cards can corrupt easily, this is more common with memory that is "compressed" like the one in the link, however you get homebrew that can backup and restore most saves.
<a href="http://www.darkplanets.co.uk/product_info.asp?pid=886&ref=frg&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PPC" target="_blank">Datel GameCube Max Memory 128Mb for £17</a>
This one is made by Datel so should be much better quality. Also it states "uncompressed, super safe". These are know to not corrupt like the cheaper cards.
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/256-Mb-256Mb-MEMORY-CARD-Wii-Gamecube-Game-Console-/260601823865?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item3cad144279" target="_blank">256Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 2 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times two.
<a href="http://www.dinodirect.com/Nintendo-Wii-GameCube-Console-512MB-Memory-Gift-Card-for-Christmas-Holiday/AFFID-33.html?cur=GBP" target="_blank">512Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 4 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times a fooking massive four ! ! !
Largest GC/Wii can handle = "up to" 2043 blocks - 128Mb (so these are 32 times the size of a standard card)
Please take note that a standard card is really 64 blocks, but each single GC card requires 5 blocks of system data you don't see or get to use, this means the smaller you buy the cards the more "wasted space" you are buying.
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bigben-Interactive-128Mb-Memory-Gamecube/dp/B000W9CLOM/ref=dp_cp_ob_vg_h__title_2" target="_blank">Bigben Interactive 128Mb Memory Card for £15.12</a>
128MB is the largest the GameCube or Wii can handle with a single card, you get various 3rd party ones like the one above. Be careful though as some 3rd party cards can corrupt easily, this is more common with memory that is "compressed" like the one in the link, however you get homebrew that can backup and restore most saves.
<a href="http://www.darkplanets.co.uk/product_info.asp?pid=886&ref=frg&utm_source=Froogle&utm_medium=PPC" target="_blank">Datel GameCube Max Memory 128Mb for £17</a>
This one is made by Datel so should be much better quality. Also it states "uncompressed, super safe". These are know to not corrupt like the cheaper cards.
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/256-Mb-256Mb-MEMORY-CARD-Wii-Gamecube-Game-Console-/260601823865?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item3cad144279" target="_blank">256Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 2 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times two.
<a href="http://www.dinodirect.com/Nintendo-Wii-GameCube-Console-512MB-Memory-Gift-Card-for-Christmas-Holiday/AFFID-33.html?cur=GBP" target="_blank">512Mb MEMORY CARD</a>
This is a bit different, it is 4 cards in one and a switch to swap which you are using. So it's like the 3rd party cards times a fooking massive four ! ! !
<b>What's the best memory card ?</b>
Official memory cards are some of the most reliable. Nintendo have 3 sizes.
59 blocks (4 Mbit/512 KB, gray card), 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black), and 1019 blocks (64 Mbit/8 MB, white).
The bad point about these is that most Wii homebrew will not work with them.
Another thing to consider is if you are using an Acrtion Replay disc then the 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black) does perfect in slot B as a substitute for the Action Replay card.
Remember the Datel 128 card is just as reliable as the Nintendo card but much larger.
Going official is good, but you can go bigger and for cheaper......but you would be best to make backups from time to time.
59 blocks (4 Mbit/512 KB, gray card), 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black), and 1019 blocks (64 Mbit/8 MB, white).
The bad point about these is that most Wii homebrew will not work with them.
Another thing to consider is if you are using an Acrtion Replay disc then the 251 blocks (16 Mbit/2 MB, black) does perfect in slot B as a substitute for the Action Replay card.
Remember the Datel 128 card is just as reliable as the Nintendo card but much larger.
Going official is good, but you can go bigger and for cheaper......but you would be best to make backups from time to time.
<b>Backing up and restoring saves</b>
You have a few options when it comes to making backups of your saves. You must also consider that some saves can't be moved from one card to another and can't be put back on a card that has been formated, so these saves needed treated with extra care.
*WILL ADD HOW TO BACK THEM UP & RESTORE SAFELY (yes there "might" be a way but you need 2 specific cards)*
<b>Software to make and restore backups</b>
For making backups, homebrew is free but might not be 100% reliable, currently we have 3 homebrew options......
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Gamecube_Saver" target="_blank">Gamecube_Saver</a> <- Restore only, closed source ?
Only works with 3rd party cards. Writes to both slots. Saves need to be .GCI format *add links to convert tools
OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/GCMM" target="_blank">GCMM</a> <- Backup & restore, open source, delete from slot B
Shows info about the saves. Only works for slot B. Can create GCP raw format and restore them.
OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/NuGaSa" target="_blank">NuGaSa</a> <- Backup & restore, closed source ?
Works with official cards too but then crashes, doesn't work for all games either.
<b>Hardware to make and restore backups</b>
<a href="http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-26-49-en-70-1yg.html" target="_blank">USB Memory Adaptor 64M</a>
This is an easy way to plug and play, using a USB connection to a pc to make and restore backups
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too).<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
also...
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
As mentioned already some games can't be moved from one card to another or restored to a card that went corrupt. There is "maybe" a way, but I'll need to do some testing before posting.
Known protected savegames: Medal of Honor: Frontline, F-Zero GX, Pokemon Coloseum, Fire Emblem. (These cant be moved from one card to another and can't be restored to a card that's been formatted)
Maybe I should explain more info here too ? ... hmm
*WILL ADD HOW TO BACK THEM UP & RESTORE SAFELY (yes there "might" be a way but you need 2 specific cards)*
<b>Software to make and restore backups</b>
For making backups, homebrew is free but might not be 100% reliable, currently we have 3 homebrew options......
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Gamecube_Saver" target="_blank">Gamecube_Saver</a> <- Restore only, closed source ?
Only works with 3rd party cards. Writes to both slots. Saves need to be .GCI format *add links to convert tools
OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/GCMM" target="_blank">GCMM</a> <- Backup & restore, open source, delete from slot B
Shows info about the saves. Only works for slot B. Can create GCP raw format and restore them.
OR
<a href="http://wiibrew.org/wiki/NuGaSa" target="_blank">NuGaSa</a> <- Backup & restore, closed source ?
Works with official cards too but then crashes, doesn't work for all games either.
<b>Hardware to make and restore backups</b>
<a href="http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-26-49-en-70-1yg.html" target="_blank">USB Memory Adaptor 64M</a>
This is an easy way to plug and play, using a USB connection to a pc to make and restore backups
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too).<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
also...
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
As mentioned already some games can't be moved from one card to another or restored to a card that went corrupt. There is "maybe" a way, but I'll need to do some testing before posting.
Known protected savegames: Medal of Honor: Frontline, F-Zero GX, Pokemon Coloseum, Fire Emblem. (These cant be moved from one card to another and can't be restored to a card that's been formatted)
Maybe I should explain more info here too ? ... hmm
<b>Converting between the formats, converting between the regions</b>
This is really just a place holder until I get some time.
Add some info EG: .GCS to .GCI -> <a href="http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610" target="_blank">http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610</a>
Host some tools.......
Add some info EG: .GCS to .GCI -> <a href="http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610" target="_blank">http://forum.wiibrew.org/read.php?17,1599,1610#msg-1610</a>
Host some tools.......
<b>Other things - cheats, editing saves, launching homebrew from a memory card + N64/NeoGeo on Wii uses blocks</b>
This is really just a place holder until I get some time.
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<b>N64 Emulation using Zelda Collectors Edition</b>
Lots of people talk and talk about N64 emulation on the Wii. We have some options for this including Virtual Console (only a few games have been released). Custom injects of Virtual Console, again not many exist and compatibility is low. We also have the great Wii64 emulator, but again compatibility is low so we NEED as many options as we can.
This is where GC mem cards come into play. You can get Zelda Collectors edition the GC game and replace game dols on the disc with other game dols (compatibility is low) but it gives us more options, however each save takes (iirc) 21 blocks because you replace the Majora .dol. Please not anyone trying this you need the 1.1 version (sometimes called V2) of Collectors Edition for best compatibility and the ability to save to the GC mem card.
Sorry been a long time, so I'd need to take a bit of time to remember all this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />
I did find these though incase anyone wants to experiment without a guide.
<a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/G6UPFPcw/N64_emu_v2_EUR.html" target="_blank">EUR V2</a> + <a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/ynXveUDF/N64_emu_v1_USA.html" target="_blank">USA V1</a>
Also NeoGeo is something people might want to do......
There is a NeoGeo emulator for GC that has better compatibility than anything on the Wii, but again it uses GC mem card blocks for the bios and save files. I'll dig up info one day when I get time incase anyone is interested. Sorry been a long, long time from I played about with it tbh.
<!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro--><b>TO ADD INFO ABOUT</b>#Max Drive Pro by Datel##############<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
<b>N64 Emulation using Zelda Collectors Edition</b>
Lots of people talk and talk about N64 emulation on the Wii. We have some options for this including Virtual Console (only a few games have been released). Custom injects of Virtual Console, again not many exist and compatibility is low. We also have the great Wii64 emulator, but again compatibility is low so we NEED as many options as we can.
This is where GC mem cards come into play. You can get Zelda Collectors edition the GC game and replace game dols on the disc with other game dols (compatibility is low) but it gives us more options, however each save takes (iirc) 21 blocks because you replace the Majora .dol. Please not anyone trying this you need the 1.1 version (sometimes called V2) of Collectors Edition for best compatibility and the ability to save to the GC mem card.
Sorry been a long time, so I'd need to take a bit of time to remember all this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />
I did find these though incase anyone wants to experiment without a guide.
<a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/G6UPFPcw/N64_emu_v2_EUR.html" target="_blank">EUR V2</a> + <a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/ynXveUDF/N64_emu_v1_USA.html" target="_blank">USA V1</a>
Also NeoGeo is something people might want to do......
There is a NeoGeo emulator for GC that has better compatibility than anything on the Wii, but again it uses GC mem card blocks for the bios and save files. I'll dig up info one day when I get time incase anyone is interested. Sorry been a long, long time from I played about with it tbh.
<b><!--coloro:green--><span style="color:green"><!--/coloro--><!--sizeo:2--><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->TO DO<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec--><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--></b>
I will re-edit this post from time to time to try to keep this a handy source for info and links about GameCube saves and memory cards.
Host some tools for converting between formats and between regions. Also a tool that edits a save file to make a cheat file.
Test Cards - I've ordered the Datel card and the one from GPs link, will test them when they arrive in about a week, and test all 3 of the homebrew apps to see what works best.
Get a better app as all 3 have problems from what I've read (I think) It would be good if SaveGameManager had GC save handling added (I posted a request for this <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" /> )
GP said ... "dont forget to add geckoOS to the list of apps. with a usb gecko, you can backup saves directly to a windows PC (and if somebody writes a linux/mac client, it will works there too). "
Protect ya sh1t ! ! ! WODE (drive) + BIG MEMORY (saves, time) + WAVEBIRDS (controller ports) = WIN ! ! !
Thanks to those who contributed info...
especially giantpune for info and pics <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />