Issue:
So, when I try to load a save file for Citra, it just doesn’t load and crashes Citra.
System Information
Diagnostic Log
citra_log.txt (4.0 KB)
The log file is incomplete. Make sure you follow the steps carefully:
File>Open Citra Folder (Citra>Open Citra Folder if on MacOS) and open up the log folder. Now keep that open in the background.citra_log.txt (4.0 KB)
Here ya go! Sorry if I didn’t do it properly, or I didn’t respond quickly enough, highschool has been pretty rough!
Are you sure you followed the steps I gave you to the letter? It appears that Citra was either relaunched before you uploaded the log file (which wipes it) or you had the log file open whilst running your game (this prevents Citra from writing information to it). Please go through the steps again and follow them closely.
I’m so sorry for the super late reply, I totally forgot about this.
But I didn’t really understand your instructions, I can’t really comprehend much so can you please explain it very specifically? I’m sorry if that puts a lot of strain on you, I just really want to get my save files back, thank you.
I’ve basically explained it as clear as I could earlier:
Is there a step in here that you don’t fully understand? If so, please point me to it and I’ll explain that more thoroughly.
I’m genuinely sosososo sorry if this doesn’t work again, I can’t exactly understand things very well.
citra_log.txt (28.4 KB)
Right. Something you should know, save states are not a replacement for in-game save files. They’re a lot more unstable and tend to break over time, as well as after certain Citra updates. This means that their optimal use is within single gaming sessions, and not beyond them. With that out of the way, lets recover the data first by using an older Citra build for loading the save states on:
Download citra-windows-mingw-20221023-a2daef2.7z from Release nightly-1800 · citra-emu/citra-nightly · GitHub
Extract using Winrar or 7zip, then run the citra-qt(.exe) found inside of the extracted folder. Now load your game and load your save state. Once loaded, save in-game. Now you can exit out of this build, delete it, and return to the latest Citra version. Remember to always save using your in-game save file(s) at the end of each playing sessions to avoid losing progress in the future. We all know that sucks after all 
Thank you so much !!
My precious children are saved <3
I’m sorry for this but could you please do me one more favor? How does the in-game save function work? I’m scared I’ll do the same thing again and mess it all up, so could you please explain it to me? That’s the last thing I’ll ask of you I promise, thank you so much !!
In-game saving is the same save system you would use on the 3DS. So for most pokemon games, it’s in the overworld menu (X to open).
it doesn’t work for me
That doesn’t surprise me, given that post’s instructions were not meant for you. The build I linked there was based off of the log file of the user I was responding to. The log file records the commit hash of the Citra build that the save state was created on. So, if you’re in the same situation as the OP, upload a log file. Then I’ll see if I can find the correct version for you: How to Upload the Log File
Download citra-windows-mingw-20230616-38435e9.7z from Release nightly-1921 · citra-emu/citra-nightly · GitHub
Extract using winrar or 7zip, then launch citra-qt(.exe) found inside of the extract folder. Launch your game, load your state, then save in-game. Now you can continue playing on the latest Citra Nightly builds using your in-game save file.