Sega Dreamcast: Visual Memory Unit
October 30, 2008 - 7:51 am - Posted by Brandon W.
VMU stands for Visual Memory Unit. These little devices are the Dreamcast’s saving system, much like memory cards.
The VMU is unlike any other saving system. Each VMU comes with a little black and white LCD screen, a D-pad, A and B buttons, and Sleep and Mode buttons.
When taken out of a controller you can actually turn on the VMU. Once on, you can either manage files or access mini games. You can even plug two VMU’s together to transfer files.
Mini games become accessible once you save a file from your Dreamcast game. Much of the time, what you complete on the mini games effect your actual gameplay stats.
For example, on Sonic Adventure you can obtain little chao eggs. You can care for these eggs and once they hatch you can train them using your VMU. The better your Chao is trained, the more races he will win in the actual game.
Another wonderful feature of the VMU is its in-game capabilities. Once plugged in, the LCD screen becomes viewable through a little window in the controller. As you play the game you can see animations related to the game.
In Soul Caliber you can actually see the character you chose practicing moves. In some games, the screen is both functional and useful. In NFL2K you can pick your play using the VMU so that nobody can screen watch.
Many people would agree with me when I say that the Dreamcast has one of the best saving systems out of any console. What other memory card has a built in LCD screen that lets you play games? Besides, they just look so cool.
I didn’t realize how cool an official VMU really was since I only have an aftermarket unit. Now I need to get a real one so I can play mini games and have a LCD screen too.
Why don’t more companies do this? I mean, an Xbox 360 memory unit already costs a lot, adding a little portable gaming action to it would be pretty neat.
Imagine this: I’m going to visit my friend in Santa Monica for a while, so I move my saved games from my hard drive to my memory unit, then play games to level up my dudes or just keep myself amused for the train ride to LA, all in one unit. That would be awesome.
How cool would it be if an even better version came out for the PS3, XBOX 360, or Wii. One that had better capabilities, maybe better graphics or something. The only complaint that I have about the Dreamcast VMU is that battery life on the little thing is quite short. Which is annoying due to the $7 or $8 price tag.