Before getting too excited, please note this is for Gateway users only and it is not a perfect workaround. With this method you'll lose only a bit of progress if you encounter the bug instead of your entire save file.
There may be a workaround for Sky3DS also and if anyone figures it out I will add it here.
I was playing VLR on my N3DS XL via Gateway yesterday and I experienced the bug after putting in 16 hours into the game. But the thing is I was in the novel section and not in a puzzle room. So I firmly believe the bug can occur ANYWHERE in the game and not only in the PEC room as most people tend to believe.
What happened was after I got a 'Game Over' ending, I saved the game and clicked on a branch on the flow chart to jump to a new path I haven't been to yet. The screens went black as usual during loading but they stayed black. I waited for several minutes and nothing. None of the buttons including the Home button worked so I had to hold the power button to force shut down the 3DS. It's definitely not a contact issue with the Gateway because I've been using it for 2 years and never had a problem with it.
Now the cool part about this is, I lost only 2 hours of gameplay instead of the entire save file! Since I didn't press home and X, Gateway never wrote the bugged save file to the SD card. I lost only whatever progress I made in my current playing session.
So for Gateway users the save bug workaround is:
1) Save the game
2) Click on Quit to go to the game's home screen (NOT the 3DS Home menu!)
3) Load your save file
4) If the game black screens, force shut down the 3DS by holding the power button for 10 seconds. DO NOT click the home button and X to exit the game! O3DS users can additionally eject the SD card if the game freezes if you're paranoid.
You will only have lost whatever progress you made in your current session. It's better than losing the entire save file! You can also quit the game normally every hour or so after making sure the save file is good so that Gateway saves your progress.
There may be a workaround for Sky3DS also and if anyone figures it out I will add it here.
I was playing VLR on my N3DS XL via Gateway yesterday and I experienced the bug after putting in 16 hours into the game. But the thing is I was in the novel section and not in a puzzle room. So I firmly believe the bug can occur ANYWHERE in the game and not only in the PEC room as most people tend to believe.
What happened was after I got a 'Game Over' ending, I saved the game and clicked on a branch on the flow chart to jump to a new path I haven't been to yet. The screens went black as usual during loading but they stayed black. I waited for several minutes and nothing. None of the buttons including the Home button worked so I had to hold the power button to force shut down the 3DS. It's definitely not a contact issue with the Gateway because I've been using it for 2 years and never had a problem with it.
Now the cool part about this is, I lost only 2 hours of gameplay instead of the entire save file! Since I didn't press home and X, Gateway never wrote the bugged save file to the SD card. I lost only whatever progress I made in my current playing session.
So for Gateway users the save bug workaround is:
1) Save the game
2) Click on Quit to go to the game's home screen (NOT the 3DS Home menu!)
3) Load your save file
4) If the game black screens, force shut down the 3DS by holding the power button for 10 seconds. DO NOT click the home button and X to exit the game! O3DS users can additionally eject the SD card if the game freezes if you're paranoid.
You will only have lost whatever progress you made in your current session. It's better than losing the entire save file! You can also quit the game normally every hour or so after making sure the save file is good so that Gateway saves your progress.
Last edited by bowser,
