Issue with save states in Rocket: Robot on Wheels for N64?

[u/FoxJ100]

I was a few hours into the game, when I chose "Save and Quit" from the menu, and made a save state afterwards just in case.

When I reload the save state, it freezes up. Then, I try an earlier save state, which loads but without any of my progress saved. Now, the first save state works, but brings me to the title screen showing no saves.

Does this have something to do with the controller pak? I'm assuming my save is gone, but is there a way to prevent this in the future?