How to Use Save States in Delta

Unlike a normal in-game save, which is tied to the game's own save system and only writes at specific points the game allows, a save state captures the emulator's entire memory at the exact instant you trigger it — mid-battle, mid-jump, anywhere at all — and Delta gives each game several numbered slots to store them in.

A regular save (a .sav file) is portable and permanent by design, meant to survive across emulator versions and even different emulators entirely. A save state is tied specifically to Delta's own internal format for that console core, so it's built for quick, temporary checkpoints rather than long-term archiving.

That makes save states useful for practicing a tough boss fight over and over, testing a risky choice before committing to it, or simply picking a session back up instantly next time without navigating through an in-game menu first.

Save states aren't a substitute for a real in-game save before quitting for good — they can occasionally become incompatible after a Delta update, while .sav files never do.

Use a save state right before a tough boss or a one-time story choice so you can retry instantly without a long reload from your last proper save point.

Want your progress backed up somewhere permanent? See how to backup Delta saves to iCloud.