How to Set Up Save States, Rewind & Fast-Forward in Any Emulator
Save states, rewind, and fast-forward are three features that make retro gaming dramatically better than playing on original hardware. Here's how to use them — and how RetroApp makes it effortless.
What are save states?
A save state captures the exact state of the emulated console at a specific moment. Unlike in-game saves (which only work at save points), a save state lets you freeze the game anywhere and resume exactly where you left off.
This is perfect for games with no save system at all (most NES/SNES games), or for saving right before a difficult boss fight.
How it works in RetroArch: Press F2 to save, F4 to load. Use F6/F7 to switch between save slots (0–9).
How it works in RetroApp: The save/load buttons are always visible in the game overlay. RetroApp also auto-saves a state when you quit, so you never lose progress.
What is rewind?
Rewind lets you go back in time, frame by frame. Fell into a pit? Missed a jump? Hold the rewind button and watch the game play backwards until you reach a safe moment.
There's a performance cost — the emulator keeps a rolling buffer of recent states in memory. For 2D consoles (NES, SNES, GBA), the impact is negligible. For 3D consoles (PS1, N64), it can reduce performance slightly.
How it works in RetroArch: Enable rewind in Settings → Frame Throttle → Rewind. Then hold the R key during gameplay.
How it works in RetroApp: Toggle rewind in Settings → Gameplay. RetroApp automatically adjusts the buffer size based on which console you're playing to balance memory usage and performance.
What is fast-forward?
Fast-forward runs the emulator at maximum speed, skipping the normal frame rate limit. This is essential for RPGs with slow text, grinding sessions, or any time you want to skip through unskippable cutscenes.
How it works in RetroArch: Hold the Space bar to fast-forward. Set the maximum ratio in Settings → Frame Throttle → Fast-Forward Ratio (0 = unlimited).
How it works in RetroApp: Hold the right trigger on your controller (or press the Tab key). The speed ratio is configurable per-game in the game settings panel.
Best practices
Save states are not a replacement for in-game saves. Some games behave unexpectedly when loaded from a state instead of a normal save. Always save in-game when possible, and use states as a safety net.
Don't overuse rewind in games with randomness. Some games re-roll random numbers when you rewind, which means you'll get a different outcome. Others don't — and you'll be stuck in an infinite loop of the same bad roll.
Fast-forward can break games with timing-sensitive events. Most games handle it fine, but a few (especially those with real-time clocks or network features) may glitch at extreme speeds.
RetroApp makes it automatic
The whole point of RetroApp is removing friction. Save states are managed automatically — no manual slot switching, no memorizing hotkeys. Rewind and fast-forward are preconfigured with sensible defaults for each console.
When you launch a game, everything just works. And if you want to customize it, every setting is accessible from the game overlay without pausing.