You can save on the HuCard itself, plus I'm pretty sure you can save files via Tennokoe Bank 2, Booster or, if you have a CD, the built-in RAM. I'd have to go hunting through many boxes to find my copy, but I just wanted to tell you that you can save. HOWEVER, if the battery has failed, then you can go through all of the proper steps (it might even register as "Saved"), but when you turn the console off, your file will be gone. This has happened to me with Gameboy carts whose batteries no longer work -- there is no way to test the battery until you actually turn off the system.
Anyway, I actually spent all my time playing the PC version of Populous, back in the day, and I didn't know about the PCE versions till a few years ago. I still want to get the CD version of the game! Hopefully, it will be cheap.
While we are on the subject, I thought I'd share a little excerpt from some of the stuff I've been writing. If there are any errors, or confusing parts, please tell me! For example, I know I have to update some of the info on the CD version of Populous (Black_Tiger, I think, recently mentioned that there is a Bomberman-themed bonus level in it, IIRC)
VOICES FROM HEAVEN & ROMRAM HuCARDS
Ten No Koe Bank was another "oddity" profiled by Mr. Ireland in this issue. In modern parlance, Ten No Koe Bank is an 8K RAM "memory card" for backing up save files from the console's internal memory. The PCE CD-ROM peripheral contained 2K RAM internally (as did the later DUO console). Believe it or not, prior to the Ten No Koe Bank, players had no means of backing-up their save files. Once the 2K of RAM was filled, folks were forced to permanently delete existing files in order to make room for newer games. While the thought of deleting your high scores for Wonderboy III: Monster Lair might not have been too upsetting, the prospect of erasing your save files for Ys Book I & II would have been downright heart-wrenching. Now you could avoid the heartache:
"Ten No Koe means "voice from heaven," and this card is truly heaven-sent for PC-Engine CD owners ... This battery-backed HuCard (the first) contains 8K of RAM, allowing the user to store the entire 2K of backup RAM in one of four "boxes" on the card. The card allows you to store, retrieve or swap data between the CD unit and the card. This is also an excellent way to transport saved game locations to a friend's CD unit without bringing over your whole system."
In the excerpt above, Mr. Ireland states that Ten No Koe Bank (released on 09.06.1991) was the first HuCard to feature battery back-up (Hudson referred to this as a "ROMRAM HuCARD"). He was mistaken: Populous -- which appeared five months earlier on 04.05.1991 -- was in fact the first ROMRAM HuCARD. Populous contained a lithium battery for storing files directly on the HuCard itself. (EDIT: ... but files could also be stored the traditional way -- via the console's 2K internal RAM -- if it was available... this is confusing since I haven't discussed boosters yet, hmmmm.... ).
As it turns out, Ten No Koe Bank was the second -- and ultimately the final -- ROMRAM HuCARD ever to be released. It is not known how long the lithium batteries used in the ROMRAM HuCARDs will remain viable, but here we are, 15 years later, and they seem to be functioning as well as ever. When these batteries do fail, it will be interesting to see if they can be replaced without damaging the HuCard itself.
TRIVIA: Since Ten No Koe Bank is a file management utility, Populous bears the unique distinction of being the only HuCard game to ever feature battery back-up. Also, on 10.25.1991 Hudson released Populous: The Promised Lands (CD) -- an expanded follow-up to the Populous HuCard which offered five new worlds to conquer.
ABOUT POPULOUS
Originally an Amiga game (though soon released on Atari ST and IBM PC platforms), Populous (1989) was a huge commercial success and prompted Bullfrog (developer) and Electronic Arts (distributor) to release two expansion disks (also known as "data disks") with additional worlds to conquer. The first expansion disk -- The Promised Lands -- offered five new worlds: Silly World (populated by slimy green blobs), Blockland (any resemblance to Lego Land is purely coincidental), Wild West (yes, the American west theme, replete with "cowboys and indians"), Revolution Francaise (think "Versailles"), and finally the Bit Plains (a computer nerd's wasteland of coffee cups, cigarette butts and computer hardware). I am assuming that the PCE CD version of Populous includes these five additional worlds. The second expansion disk -- The Final Frontier -- offered only one new world (Crystal Land).
SAVE FILES & TURBOBOOSTERS
Now, PCE consoles, by themselves, did not have internal RAM for storing files, but this feature could be added by attaching optional hardware to PCE's rear expansion port. Essentially, this mimicked the 2K of internal RAM that owners of the CD-ROM unit enjoyed. You see, although save files were initially designed for CD format games, software developers soon began creating HuCard format games that supported save files. For folks who were unable (or unwilling) to splurge on a pricey PCE CD-ROM system, NEC's Booster and Hudson's Ten No Koe Bank 2 attached to the back of the of a PCE console to provide backup RAM for HuCard save files.
NEC's Booster came in two models: BB1 and BB2. BB1 included composite A/V output and was designed for owners of the original white PC-Engine (to upgrade the RF output). BB2 omitted this A/V output, since it was designed for owners of the later CoreGrafx I / II models (which already had A/V output). Like NEC's BB2 model, Hudson's Ten No Koe Bank 2 also lacked A/V jacks.
Although it wasn't mentioned in the article, Ten No Koe Bank could be used with all of the aforementioned devices. This meant that, theoretically, you could transfer save files from CD games onto a basic PCE console. There would be no reason for doing this, of course, but it illustrates the breadth and flexibility of the file management system. In short, Ten No Koe Bank was compatible with a wide range of products, and not simply the CD-ROM (and the later Super CD-ROM) hardware.
The only products to make it to North America were revised versions of NEC's BB1 hardware. The TurboBooster attached to TG-16's expansion port and provided composite A/V output. The more expensive TurboBooster Plus also included 2K of internal RAM for HuCard save files. At the time, there weren't many HuCard games that supported save files, so when NEC marketed these products, the emphasis was on upgrading TG-16's RF output to composite A/V jacks.
