Cartridge battery database
N64 games with save batteries
1996–2002 · Typical cell: CR2032 · 15 of 29 listed cartridges carry a battery
The Nintendo 64 is where the simple rule — saves mean a battery — stops being true. Nintendo shipped three different save methods on N64 cartridges: EEPROM, Flash RAM, and battery-backed SRAM. Only the last of those contains a cell, and it's a minority of the library.
That matters when you're diagnosing a fault. Ocarina of Time keeps its files in SRAM backed by a CR2032, so a flat cell means lost saves. Majora's Mask uses Flash RAM and has no battery at all, so a save problem there is a different fault entirely. The table below separates them.
Battery purpose
Showing 29 games
Dead save battery?
If your retro game no longer saves — or you're worried about losing a decades-old file — I can replace the cartridge battery properly, with a tabbed cell soldered to the board and save-tested afterwards.
N64 battery questions
Does Ocarina of Time have a battery?
Yes. It stores saves in SRAM kept alive by a CR2032 on the cartridge board. When that cell goes flat the three save files stop holding, which is by far the most common N64 save complaint.
Does Majora's Mask have a battery?
No. Majora's Mask uses Flash RAM, which keeps data with no power at all. If a Majora's Mask cart is losing saves, replacing a battery won't help because there isn't one to replace.
Why do wrestling games lose saves so often?
The THQ/AKI wrestling titles use battery-backed SRAM and store a lot in it — created wrestlers, season data, the lot. They're the same age as everything else, so their cells are equally flat, but the loss is much more noticeable.
Looking at another system?
The full database covers NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Genesis and 32X in one searchable table.