Save point

The Save Point is used in the Final Fantasy series in addition to inns as a place to save and heal a party's MP and HP by setting up a tent, cabin, Cottage, or house. The World Map tends to be one huge save point, as it is possible to save at any time while on the map; however, towns and dungeons have specific save points which are clearly marked, which the player must activate either by touching it or standing on it.

A save point tends to be placed right before a particularly hard point in a dungeon, as a breather in a long run of battles, or before a boss battle. As of Final Fantasy X, save points automatically heal the entire party's HP and MP and fully cure the player of any status ailments, without the use of a tent. This effectively rendered the use of inns obsolete. In some games the player can also save at the end of each disc and during specific storyline points.

A Quicksave feature was an added to the portable remakes of the early Final Fantasy games as well as for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It allows the player to cease play at any point and resume when they wish, but the downside is that the save is only temporary (i.e. it is wiped when it is re-loaded). As such, if the party falls in battle, the game will not return to a previous Quicksave (as it has been permanently wiped), instead the player will either be forced to revert to his last actual saved game, or to restart from the beginning, if no prior saves exist.

Also, for the PlayStation versions of Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy II, as well as the fourth through the sixth installments, there existed a feature known as Memo Save. The Memo Save would save data to the PlayStation's RAM, and would stay intact as long as the PlayStation's power was not disrupted, through resetting the system, unplugging, and other methods. This was useful, as save points were sparse in the original games, and didn't even exist in the first three.

Final Fantasy IV
Save points (Special Fields in the SNES version) appear mostly as gray disks surrounded by three to eight pillars. In technological areas such as the Tower of Zot, they appear as black orbs set into the ground. The save points in the Feymarch and Sylvan Cave appear as a pentagram on a beige tile.

In the Easy Type, and North American Final Fantasy II releases, they appear as a large "S" in a circle on a beige tile, similar to the Feymarch's save point. Technological areas have blue glowing save points instead of beige.

Nintendo DS
The save point in the Nintendo DS release has an entirely new design. It is a blue glowing circle on the ground, similar to Final Fantasy V's save points, with star patterns within it.

Final Fantasy V
Save points are called Consecrated Circles, and appear as a round ring of light coming up from the floor. The party also can use a Tent or Cottage on a save point in order to restore HP and MP.

Final Fantasy VI
A sparkling, star-like light serves as a save point. The party can heal their HP and MP with the use of Tents. If the party loses a random battle, the game will not display a Game Over screen, but instead play a short animation where the topmost character in the party raises from the ground, and the game will begin on the last activated save point.

If the player is on Kefka's Tower, Phoenix Cave, and the Dragon's Den, there is a glitch involving these points.

Final Fantasy VII
The save point appears shaped as a purple/green floating "C" letter (standing for "Checkpoint") with a green fire base. It can be used by moving the character onto it and opening up the menu when a little box appears. Players can also save on the world map whenever they please. As with many games, Tents can only be used on save points. Save points can also be used to access the PHS. The Save Point Glitch can be performed to fool the game to think the player is on a save point when they aren't, essentially letting the player save their game almost anywhere on the field.

The item Save Crystal lets the player make a save point anywhere in the Northern Cave, although this can be dangerous as the feature is bugged.

Save points are largely removed from the game's demo versions. A save point can be found in the "Mt. Corel" PC version demo, but as the PHS and Save options are disabled, the player cannot make use of it.

Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-
Save points appear as the SOLDIER logo with a green mako base in the North American version. In the Japanese version, they have an S rather than the SOLDIER logo. They can also be used to access the Mission Mode.

Final Fantasy VIII
The save point takes the form of the Garden logo surrounded by two rotating circles. The game also has hidden save points that can only be detected and used if a party member has the Move-Find ability. Save points are only found in location areas as saving can be accessed via the menu screen when on the world map.

Final Fantasy IX
The moogles act as save points by bringing out a big leather-bound book to record the player's progress. However, moogles don't exist in Memoria thus, explaining the reason why Memoria has glowing spheres similar to Final Fantasy X's save points which allow the player to save, use a Tent, and change party members. The final save point also allows the player to warp out of the dungeon.

Final Fantasy X
The save point is a sphere surrounded by a ring. These heal HP and MP, thus making the inns rather obsolete. The player can also access the airship upon touching the save sphere, or use them to enter the Blitzball minigame. Notably, there are a couple of instances in which non-playable characters can be seen making use of these spheres in Final Fantasy X.

If the player purchases items from O'aka XXIII at Macalania Temple, then when the Guado begin pursuing them, the player can see O'aka giving a brief wave goodbye before apparently using the sphere to teleport away. Additionally, Braska can be seen using the one just before the Zanarkand Dome's Cloister of Trials in a flashback, possibly to restore HP and MP.

Final Fantasy X-2
As the sequel to Final Fantasy X the save points of Final Fantasy X-2 are the same, blue spheres known as Save Spheres, although this time they don't allow a player to play Blitzball. They can, however, allow the player access to the airship and can fully restore the party's HP and MP as well as curing all status ailments.

The icon for a Final Fantasy X-2 save in the system browser is a PuPu for a normal save, and a Cactuar for a New Game+ save. The icon for a third playthrough is a moogle.

Final Fantasy XI
Due to the nature of an MMORPG, progress is constantly saved automatically on the servers. However, if a player's HP reach zero and they decide not to wait for a Raise, they are warped back to their Home Point. This is either the Mog House where the player most recently changed their job or a blue crystal in certain locations of the world. The Warp spell will also return the player to his current Home Point.

Final Fantasy XII
Save points come in the form of Save Crystals that come in two colors; blue, the standard Save Crystal, and orange, a Gate Crystal that can also teleport the player to other Gate Crystals. They also heal HP and MP and status ailments and restore all knocked out allies to life.

A total of three Save Crystals take the form of Crystalbugs, monsters that attack once the player inspects the crystal. Upon defeat, they turn into real Save Crystals. Touching a Save Crystal breaks a battle chain.

Final Fantasy XIII
Save Stations appear as floating white consoles on the field map, and a chip icon with an "S" on the minimap. Players may also access the Retail Network and upgrade/disassemble equipment at Save Stations.

Final Fantasy XIV
Similar to Final Fantasy XI, large blue crystals called Aetheryte which exist in every major area and city serve as the point where the player is returned to when their HP reach zero.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
Save points only appear in Story Mode. They appear in the form of a large Crystals. They are usually in a area with no enemies and with a moogle nearby to give players a stamp. They heal all HP, SP, and status effects. In Multiplayer Mode, they become Checkpoints instead of Save Points. Players can only use it to heal and can restart here if they die in the dungeon but not return here if they turn off the game.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time
Save points appear in both story mode and multiplayer mode. They allow the player to switch between story and multiplayer modes freely. Along with the multiplayer menu the player can also access a friend list and edit they're preset phrases, usable to talk to partners.

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
The Adventurer acts as the save point in this game. He travels all over the world and his always accompanied by the Faithful Fox who can give gameplay advice if needed.