Choose a save file for original Secret of Mana
Create a save-state file or load one before playing, then receive a confirmation naming the file after a verified save.
The original Secret of Mana player now asks you to create a new save-state file or load an existing one before starting. Restart first offers Save first, Choose without saving and Keep playing, then returns to the same file choice. Canceling keeps the current game and selected file.
With browser-supported write access, a completed original in-game save updates the selected local file. Save session now also captures your current position. A message names the file only after the writer closes and every byte reads back correctly. Canceled choices, denied permission, conflicting changes, failed writes and downloads never produce a successful file-save notice.
Existing files can be loaded read-only. The current in-app browser may deny permission to update a reopened file; use Save as with a NEW filename or Download a copy and keep that latest copy. Use Load for existing files. Create and Save as require a new filename: confirming Replace in this browser's file chooser can erase an existing file before the player receives its handle.
New files use .snessave and bind the cartridge, retained core, snapshot and checksums. Earlier raw .state files remain usable after you confirm which game they belong to. Updating a writable raw file preserves its raw format; Save as creates a new game-bound session. These are emulator snapshots, separate from the Java rebuild's checkpoints and the walkthrough checklist.
The player consistently uses the already-retained nonthreaded legacy Snes9x binary and verifies the actual loaded WASM and cartridge bytes before saving or restoring. File dialogs hold game input, ordinary pauses preserve the save baseline, and loading an earlier state rebases the observer without pretending the game made a new save. The original ROM and vendor binaries remain unchanged.
This release keeps the existing controller recovery, trigger time controls, optional cheats, walkthrough IDs and manual choices. Shadowrun and Chrono Trigger receive their own integrations and dated notes using the same shared file controller. The separate editable Java reconstruction remains unfinished at version 0.16.0.
What changed
- Added create/load selection before startup and a restart choice that retains the current session until replacement succeeds.
- Added confirmed same-file writes, Save as with a new filename, read-only loading and a separate downloadable copy.
- Added actual runtime identity checks, resumed-frame restore witnesses, input holds and rollback handling.
- Added detection of committed original saves, including repeated saves to the same slot and saves made immediately after a verified load.
What we verified
- The shared file controller passed 69 tests and 212 assertions; the shared view passed 196 checks, and the Mana adapter passed 94 checks. File failure, permission, conflict, compatibility and restart cases remain separate from actual browser evidence.
- Actual browser testing created a new local file, saved a changed original-game position back to the same file, restored an older raw state, saved to a new file and reloaded its bound snapshot from a fresh page. Read-only saving correctly refused, backup download completed without claiming an overwrite, normal controls responded after loading, and canceling restart preserved the selected file.
- Genuine original inputs reached Potos inn and saved the same slot twice in the unchanged retained core. Fourteen gameplay checks confirmed counters 1 to 2, exactly two observer events, no event from an earlier load, and unchanged native bytes during repeated read-only observations. Additional checks covered 48 detector cases, nine ROM bindings and both retained core variants.
- A separate private browser-storage integration connected an actual original save through the real adapter and observer to the same file's close and complete readback. Browser-owned storage evidence is distinct from native OS file-picker evidence.
- The bounded release gate preserves all ten prior Mana journal records and article bytes, eight walkthrough assets, 267 Java files, four frozen downloads, original cartridge/runtime and controller assets. Public delivery is checked separately against actual HTTPS bodies.
What remains unfinished
- The editable native Java reconstruction remains unfinished at 0.16.0. This release updates the separate emulated original player.
- Same-file saving requires writable browser file access. A read-only reopened file needs a new filename or downloaded copy for further progress.
- Wait for the confirmation naming your file before leaving. Downloads request a copy and cannot confirm that you kept it or replaced an older copy.
- The full campaign and every browser/controller combination have not been replayed. No human save file is used in private testing or included in this release.