History Main / JustifiedSavePoint

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill'': Most titles' save points are not quite justified, but the playable characters still do note that being near one does strange things to their heads.

Related to DiegeticInterface. Compare JustifiedExtraLives

* Save Points in ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' are public computer terminals where characters update their status in the ship/colony's computer, logging their health (also measured digetically, the [[TronLines glowing, segmented tube on the spine of their suits]] are for the benefit of everyone else), their location, and what they have on them (it's not called "Resource Intergration Gear" for nothing, and this feature is used to check for stolen goods and contraband). Industrial areas often have notices reminding people to "Remember to synch your RIG," which comes accross as telling the player to "Save early, save often."

* ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'''s Mirror Room, a strange and out-of-place pocket dimension, acts as a breather episode between waves of fighting obsessed undead from the pits of hell. You can save, talk to the receptionist, upgrade your abilities, the good stuff. The nurse who attends the room lampshades how such a merciful place exists in a world where everything and their mother wants to kill you, which alternate dimension is the 'real' one, and whether or not the save room will one day get infected/betray the residents and become just another hellhole in this alternate dimension (yes, it eventually does).

* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' had typewriters that acted as save points. It also had (exhaustible) ink ribbons, because it was just that mean of a game. With ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', the ribbons went away.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'' justifies its save points as Harry's notes of the bizarre goings on around him (said save points are even designed as notepads). This gets a nice ContinuityNod in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' when Heather comes across one of said notes. (The other games' save points are less justified, but the playable characters still do note that being near one does strange things to their heads.)
** ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' has the best example, in that there is literally only one save point, a journal Henry keeps in his living room. You have to go back there every time you want to save.

* In ''[[https://nomnomnami.itch.io/her-tears-were-my-light Her Tears Were My Light]]'' you play as the MoeAnthropomorphism of Time which justifies your ability to "rewind" events, "warp" to memories you remember, and "reset" the timeline you're in. [[spoiler:Which makes it all the more chilling when Nil takes away your ability to rewind.]]

* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Chulip}}'' uses bathrooms to save. In the areas beyond Long Life Town, the bathrooms are too dirty, and so you can't save until you've completed a subquest for a specific NPC (and kissed him, because this is [[WidgetSeries that kind of game]]) to clean things up.

Sometimes, nbecause gamers these days expect higher amounts of realism, video game designers try to justify standard game mechanics. This is easier with some functions than others; game mechanics may be explained by story easily, but [[SavePoint save points]], not so much. Many times, this is an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break From Reality]], because, hey, you want to be able to save, no?

Sometimes, because gamers these days expect higher amounts of realism, video game designers try to justify standard game mechanics. This is easier with some functions than others; game mechanics may be explained by story easily, but [[SavePoint save points]], not so much. Many times, this is an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break From Reality]], because, hey, you want to be able to save, no?

---> "A story is a series of memories. Memories are remembered with other memories, and in turn become memories themselves. If you don't take care to preserve your memories, you'll forget them. So, please tell us frogs your memories of everything so far... That is what people refer to as "saving". Now, then... [[CatchPhrase *hop* Save your game?]]"

*** Before the coffin pops up, a floating, decorated, 3D polyhedron appears. In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance Harmony of Dissonance]]'', Juste uses the polyhedron to save (given that he's Trevor and Sypha's son, maybe he has Alucard's explicit permission).

* ''Brahma Force'', a mecha-themed action game set in a space stations, uses control panels for recording video logs as save points.

* In ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', where the game takes place on space stations that probably would have locations to perform specific functions, woice recordings in the latter game refer to the act of saving as "data recording and shield restoration sequence." ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' does something similar, as some save rooms also serve as communications rooms between Samus and ADAM, helping them stay connected while she's trying to return to her ship and he provides updates and warnings of what lies ahead.

* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series generally doesn't even attempt to explain away its save points. Better justified in ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'', where the game takes place on space stations that probably would have locations to perform a, as voice recordings in the latter game refer to them, "data recording and shield restoration sequence." ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'' does something similar, as some save rooms also serve as communications rooms between Samus and ADAM, helping them stay connected while she's trying to return to her ship and he provides updates and warnings of what lies ahead.
* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, having NoFourthWall, gives control of saving the game to the VoiceWithAnInternetConnection. HilarityEnsues in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' if you piss off Rose enough--she doesn't allow you to save the game until you apologize to her.
* ''VideoGame/{{Outcast}}'' has the Gaamsaav, a large diamond-shaped jewel that imprints your essence on the world, allowing it to be restored later. You have to stand still and hold it in your hand for several seconds whereupon it emits a lot of light and noise, so you have to be far enough from your enemies or it'll alert them.
* In ''[[VideoGame/LegacyOfKain Soul Reaver 2]]'', the player character Raziel can "preserve his soul" when he reaches particular shrines. However, the shrines are very far apart and it is often necessary to dedicate several hours to completing a phase of the story, because you cannot save until you return to one of these shrines.

* Modern ''{{Franchise/Castlevania}}s'' usually have their save points in front of a statue of an angel or the Virgin Mary. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since it'd have to be sanctified ground and thus [[GoodHurtsEvil repel the monsters away.]] What sanctified ground is doing in Dracula's castle, on the other hand, is anyone's guess.
** In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'', it's a coffin because Alucard is [[{{Dhampyr}} half-vampire]].
*** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaAriaOfSorrow'', you can clearly see Alucard's save coffin collapsed behind Soma's save Virgin Mary statue. It has a reason for being there, possibly because [[spoiler:Genya Arikado is Alucard and is also traversing the castle]] or because [[spoiler:Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula but hasn't given in, giving symbolism to the Virgin Mary being in place of the collapsed vampire coffin.]]
*** Before the coffin pops up, a floating, decorated, 3D polyhedron appears. In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance Harmony of Dissonance]]'', Juste uses the polyhedron to save (given that he's Trevor and Sypha's son, maybe he has Alucard's explicit permission).
** And in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Curse of Darkness]]'', it's a CoolChair because why not?
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' where there's NoFourthWall. Travis saves by ''going to toilet to drop a save''.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Chulip}}'' also uses bathrooms to save. In the areas beyond Long Life Town, the bathrooms are too dirty, and so you can't save until you've completed a subquest for a specific NPC to clean things up.
* In the ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'' games, you save by talking to Data, Mega Man's pet robot-monkey. [[spoiler: He's also Mega Man's "peripheral memory storage device", and keeps a backup of Mega Man's original memories.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Aquaria}}'', save points are crystals that store Naija's memories, allowing an outsider (you, the player) to experience them.

* In ''VideoGame/AxiomVerge'', the save pods [[spoiler:are revealed to double as cloning chambers, though they also do regular regeneration considering one of them fixed the BigBad's initial injuries]].

* In ''VideoGame/FireWarrior'', your suit's telemetry sensors (read: cameras and motion-capture thingamabobs) record everything you do, and after about 15 minutes it has to upload the data to TheMothership. While doing so, it locks Kais in place and blacks out his armor's face camera, leaving Kais stuck in place and staring at an ''actual in-universe loading screen''.

* You find a diary early on in ''VideoGame/MansionOfHiddenSouls'' which becomes your method of saving.

* ''VideoGame/{{VVVVVV}}'' makes this a DefiedTrope. Professor Vitellary draws attention to a {{check point}} and suggests that if it were brought back to the ship, he could figure out what it is and how it works. Captain Viridian, evidently fearing for the [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall integrity of the fourth wall,]] awkwardly asks him to JustIgnoreIt.
* ''VideoGame/ClarencesBigChance'': Televisions store a copy of Clarence's soul whenever he walks by them, apparently.
* ''VideoGame/RobotWants'': Robot encodes his robot pattern at every Transmatter Computron he walks by, where he'll be reassembled if he takes critical damage.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tanzer}}'': The savepoints are charging stations that allows you to remain in a dormant state until your next activation.

* Celestial mirrors (which serve as a symbolically important item for the protagonist, the goddess of the sun) in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. You also learn a spell that allows you to use the mirror as {{Warp Whistle}}s.
* Mirrors serve a similar purpose, with a similar justification, in ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}}'' games.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonView'', a priest will heal you and record your journey, so if you fail the gods can return your lost soul.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', the "Memory Cube" is largely [[HandWave handwaved]], until you get to Solaris and find out [[spoiler: that they're mind control devices]].
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', the save points are "Records of Fate", and in one town, several [=NPCs=] can be seen using one. [[spoiler:They are later revealed to be the objects that FATE uses to keep tabs on and control humanity. As ''Chrono Cross'' had the same core team as ''Xenogears'', you can see they like this one.]]
* Save points are also used as spying devices in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', the save points don't seem to be justified at first, but when the school's under attack, you run across a student crouching next to one. She stands up and tells you, "Save point up and running, sir!".
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', all of the save points (except the ones in the final dungeon) were moogles, who would chronicle your journey in a giant journal. The final dungeon, meanwhile, had a running theme of storing people's memories, thus handily explaining why the non-moogle save points existed there.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' the save points were recording spheres; theoretically someone recounted what happened since the last save. This even shows up in the main plot multiple times including [[spoiler:the sphere where Seymour's father reveals his true nature]].
* The save points in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire 3'' are usually journals. One is a dragon statue that is said to be a local shrine, where you pray for safety.
** That shrine is a callback to the first two games, where praying at a Dragon Shrine or St. Eva Church was the only way to save.

* Throughout the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series, you save your game by having records made of your journey. The king served this purpose in the first three games, and in later games, this was done by the priests at churches of whomever the Supreme Deity Of The Week is. This even applies in spin-offs.
** The original Japanese versions of the first two ''Dragon Quest'' games used password saves, dubbed as "Spells of Restoration", given to you by the king. Accepting the Dragon Lord's offer to rule alongside him at the end of the first ''Dragon Quest'' has him give you a unique Spell of Restoration that puts you back at level 1 with no equipment.
* Because ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi'' only allows you to save your game at the castle, there are Memory Boxes in the more distant regions of the game world that serve as a temporary save point (more like a checkpoint; if you reset or power off the console, it's lost). The in-game explanation of these is that they preserve Musashi's memories.
* ''VideoGame/CostumeQuest'''s DLC, Grubbins On Ice, has spots where you can speak into a speaker to alert the "Trowbog Historical Society" that history has been made. Your character will occasionally [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] the saving by remarking "We just walked around some more. You'll probably want to write that down."

* ''VideoGame/{{Faxanadu}}'' for the original UsefulNotes/{{NES}} had [[PasswordSave save codes]], presented in the game as "mantras"; you went into a temple to obtain the mantra for your particular save point.
* In ''VideoGame/IMissTheSunrise'', the Typelog database that functions as a save system is a key element of the setting; it's part of what allows immortal society to function properly.
* ''VideoGame/{{Meritous}}'': Save tiles:
--> These tiles use their own supply of PSI to record your current state, allowing you to come back to the dome if you decide to leave for a while. They do this upon activation with the Enter key.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** In the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'', the save points are the Agastya Trees which appear to be sentient and ask if the protagonist would like to record their journey so far on them. An earlier comment from an NPC encourages you to talk to the new tree she put in the school hospital, stating that it [[LampshadeHanging is good for you]]. Considering that [[spoiler:there is an entire forest of them in Maki's Dream World, they're implied to be products of Maki's mind]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has the Blue Butterflies, which are representations of series-wide GreaterScopeParagon Philemon, who was explicitly shown to have the power to pull a CosmicRetcon in ''VideoGame/Persona2: Innocent Sin''.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', you use an activity log you're supposed to keep as part of your probation to save your current progress, meaning you can save anywhere it's safe enough to take it out and write down what you're doing. During in dungeons however, this means you can only save if you find one of a small number of safe rooms where enemies won't attack you.

* In most ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'', saving is handled as a function of innkeepers, Neko the travelling salesman, or statues of the Mana Goddess; in ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', these statues are made of gold and usually placed in the vicinity of Mana Stones to ward off outsiders. There are one or two statues in the final villain's lair, but they're made of stone and headless, placed there in direct mockery of the Goddess. They also don't refill your energy.

* In ''5 Little Lights'' you can save your game at any computer in the big spooky house the main character wakes up in.
* In ''Dawn of Darkness: Legends'' you save by talking to one of the Watchers, who record events for posterity.
* The ''Franchise/DotHack'' games give a rather obvious explanation: you're playing a person who is ''playing a video game''. When you save the game and log off for a while, that's what the character is doing in-game as well.

* The ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series allows you to buy salvage insurance, whose FlavorText says it "allows a recoverable programme to be put into operation that will enable the pilot to retrieve vital data and credits they have amassed so far." What this means is, you can save your game in flight at the cost of one unit of salvage insurance.

* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'': In all ''Animal Crossing'' games, the player character is depicted as having been staying inside their house inbetween saves. That means if you don't PlayEveryDay and stop for periods of time, your player character is [[TheShutIn stuck in their house]] for that period. It gets noted by villagers and, starting with the Wii title, you'll even get Bedhead when you start up your file after at least a week of no activity. In certain games, the player can invoke a save by laying in a special bed at home and falling asleep, however in others it's off-screen.

* ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'' justifies its save points as Harry's notes of the bizarre goings on around him (said save points are even designed as notepads). This gets a nice ContinuityNod in ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' when Heather comes across one of said notes. (The other games' save points are less justified, but the playable characters still do note that being near one does strange things to their heads.)
** ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' has the best example, in that there is literally only one save point, a journal Henry keeps in his living room. You have to go back there every time you want to save.
* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' had typewriters. It also had (exhaustible) ink ribbons, because it was just that mean of a game. With ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'', the ribbons went away.
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'': Being a Police officer, Aya often calls into her superiors back at the station to report on what's happened. [[spoiler: Who she's calling when the station is under attack and everyone's dead or unconscious, is left unexplained.]]
** Oddly, one of the most used save points is [[FridgeLogic in the station itself, right outside her boss's door]].
* Tuurngait artifacts in ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'', which only vaguely hint themselves as save points when touched. ''I feel like I left a part of me inside.'' They also serve the purpose of [[spoiler: spreading the Tuurngait infection]] in the game storyline.
* The Bucket Knight of ''VideoGame/RuleOfRose'' is just one of many pieces of overt symbolism throughout the game. The whole game is essentially Jennifer recovering her lost memories, and she 'saves' her progress by telling him her tale so far.

* Richard uses phones in ''VideoGame/EchoNight'' to save the game. Begging the question who's on the other side of the line when he calls in...

* ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'''s Mirror Room, a strange and out-of-place pocket dimension, acts as a breather episode between waves of fighting obsessed undead from the pits of hell. You can save, talk to the receptionist, upgrade your abilities, the good stuff. The nurse who attends the room lampshades how such a merciful place exists in a world where everything and their mother wants to kill you, which alternate dimension is the 'real' one, and whether or not the save room will one day get infected/betray the residents and become just another hellhole in this alternate dimension (yes, it eventually does).
* Save Points in ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' are public computer terminals where characters update their status in the ship/colony's computer, logging their health (also measured digetically, the [[TronLines glowing, segmented tube on the spine of their suits]] are for the benefit of everyone else), their location, and what they have on them (it's not called "Resource Intergration Gear" for nothing, and this feature is used to check for stolen goods and contraband). Industrial areas often have notices reminding people to "Remember to synch your RIG," which comes accross as telling the player to "Save early, save often."

*** Before the coffin pops up, a floating, decorated, 3D polyhedron appears. In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance Harmony of Dissonance]]'', Juste uses the same thing without the coffin, with no justification for why a Belmont is using a [[{{Dhampyr}} half-vampire]]'s save point.

*** In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'', you can clearly see Alucard's save coffin collapsed behind Soma's save Virgin Mary statue. It has a reason for being there, possibly because [[spoiler:Genya Arikado is Alucard and is also traversing the castle]] or because [[spoiler:Soma is the reincarnation of Dracula but hasn't given in, giving symbolism to the Virgin Mary being in place of the collapsed vampire coffin.]]

* ''VideoGame/YumeNikki'' is titled after its save mechanic: it's Japanese for "dream diary," which the protagonist can wake up to record her adventures in.

* Savepoints in ''VideoGame/ShadeWrathOfAngels'' are magic circles, which "records your soul's progress" and activates to save a portion of your soul to respawn should you die because the Angel of Faith made you TheChosenOne.

* In the InteractiveFiction game ''VideoGame/SlouchingTowardsBedlam'', the player character is infected by some sort of metaphysical [[TheVirus virus]] which is naturally capable of manipulating reality to the extent of "saving" and "loading".
* You find a diary early on in ''VideoGame/MansionOfHiddenSouls'' which becomes your method of saving.

* Save Points in ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'' are public computer terminals where characters update their status in the ship/colony's computer, logging their health (also measured digetically, the [[TronLines glowing, segmented tube on the spine of their suits]] are for the benefit of everyone else), their location, and what they have on them (it's not called "Resource Intergration Gear" for nothing, and this feature is used to check for stolen goods and contraband). Industrial areas often have notices reminding people to "Remember to synch your RIG," which comes accross as telling the player to "Save early, save often."

* The ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, having NoFourthWall, gives control of saving the game to the VoiceWithAnInternetConnection. HilarityEnsues in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' if you piss off Rose enough--she doesn't allow you to save the game until you apologize to her.