Topic: Fire Emblem Fates: transferring between physical and digital?

Okay, Fire Emblem Fates. Everybody knows about the two versions. But is there any way to transfer save data if one version is physical and one is digital? Not DLC, but a separate version of the other game from eShop. So let's say I have Conquest on physical, and Birthright on digital, is there any way to move the save data from one to the other? (Presumably, from physical to digital?)

Do you already have both games?

Because you can buy alternate paths as DLC in either version of the game. Your save data would then be consolidated into one title. I have three save files on my "Birthright" game, one for each Birthright, Conquest, and Revelation.

If you already bought them separately, I don't think you can transfer, no, because of them being different SKUs. Worth a shot to use the Save Data Transfer Tool from the eShop though.

No, I don't have both, I have the cart and I'd like to get a full digital version for convenience's sake, but the "information" that's out there about saves, transfers and compatibility is really confusing.

DLC doesn't have that, it's limited to whatever version you buy it for. If you buy DLC for the cart, it's tied to the cart and you'll always need the cart, even to use the DLC game. And if you buy DLC for the digital version, you can't use it with the cart even if you have it on the same system and same NNID.

@Mahe
You can't. The save in the physical version is in the cart, so you can't transfer that info to a digital version, even if it is the same game.

@Mahe @Luna_110
Yes, actually, you can. Normally you can't do stuff like this but with FE Fates you can, and here's how.

You have to have at least one other path purchased as DLC. You only need to do it once, and it will work for both the physical and digital copies. So let's say you have Birthright and you purchase Conquest for $19.99 as DLC, it will work on either the digital or physical cart, given you play the cart on that same 3DS (but DLC is tied to the hardware anyways so, you'd have to do that regardless).

Anyways, for each path you have unlocked in addition to your main game, you receive 3 extra save slots. But these are not just ordinary save slots, these are "Extra Data" save slots and are specifically stored on your SD card. As a result, all you need to do is copy your save from either version (whichever save you're trying to transfer) over to one of the extra data saves slots, then fire up the other copy (be it physical if you copied save from digital, or digital if you copied save from physical). Go into your saves and you'll see the save you want to transfer in the exact same Extra Data slot you copied it to (because both copies of the game store their extra data on the SD card- therefore they share the same save slots).

You can just load up the save from that slot, or, you can then copy it over to one of your main 3 save slots if you wish.

It's a cool trick. If you have all 3 paths you get 9 save slots (6 Extra Data save slots).

@JaxonH

But he asks about transfering save data feom his physical copy to a digital copy bought apart, not as DLC. I don't think he can transfer data from a physical version of, say, Birthright to a digital version of it.

@Mahe
And I should clarify- I've never actually tried it using two separate paths (i.e. Birthright physical and a Conquest digital) only the same path (Birthright physical, Birthright digital, with Conquest DLC that works for both).

edit
I take that back, I have transferred from a digital Birthright to physical Conquest. As a fan and collector, I bought all three paths on two separate 3DS, and 2 physical copies of the LE triple path cartridge, and a physical copy of each standalone game- one physical Birthright and one physical Conquest. And I do recall copying my saves to all my cartridges and from those cartridges I copied them to my other 3DS, which basically served as a digital to digital transfer. All of that worked- it's all treated as the same game.

However, I have done it using the special edition triple cartridge physically, and just a simple copy of Birthright digitally. The triple cartridge basically is just Birthright with its 3 main save slots, 3 Extra Data slots for the included Conquest and another 3 Extra Data slots for Revelation. That's 9 slots. Which, if lets say you copied to slot 7, 8 or 9, but didn't have all 3 paths digitally, you wouldn't be able to access it from the digital copy because you'd only have access to slots 1-6.

I was able to transfer saves to my standalone physical copy of Birthright though, and to my standalone physical copy of Conquest, despite them being "different games". Because the digital game and DLC basically provided Extra Data save slots for all my physical copies no matter which version of the game I popped in, be it Birthright, Conquest or the LE triple cartridge.

@Luna_110
But you can. That's what I'm saying.

Digital to physical, physical to digital... you can do it all.

The only thing is, as I was explaining above, you have to have Extra Data save slots to do it with (because both the physical and digital copies share those Extra Data saves regardless of what version of the game it is or whether one is physical, other digital). So it will require having the other path as DLC to unlock those 3 Extra Data save slots.

But once you gain access to those SD-based Extra Data save slots, you can transfer saves between digital copies and physical copies, between Conquest and Birthright and the LE triple cart, you can copy and paste saves among any copy of the game no matter what format it is no matter what path it is no matter what version it is.

How about physical to physical, I have birthright and want to buy physical conquest. Can I transfer my save between them?

This sounds promising. Thanks for the advice!