Customer Reviews

Visual Memory Unit - Blue

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, there's not too much to say about the VMU. This is the Sega branded VMU, which I always recommend for memory cards. Third-party cards tend to be too unreliable to trust with hard-earned game data. Anyway, this baby has 200 blocks of memory and comes in a sort-of-clear blue casing that is drool-inducing--if you really, really like blue. Definitely better than the regular grey VMU because . . . well, it's grey.

So buy this VMU, save your game data, and enjoy your Dreamcasting.

The VMU is not only a very cool idea, it's essential if you want to play just about any game on Dreamcast. If you're used to a cartridge-based system, allow me to explain. Unlike on a cartridge, there is no space to store any save data on a CD-ROM (or GD-ROM).. the ROM is Read-Only Memory, meaning you can't write. So, you're playing ... Sonic Adventure, or Shenmue, or any game that lasts more than about two hours.. and you've been playing for a long time, you're tired, you want to do that unknown thing called sleep. You go to save.. and scream. It says that you need a VMU to save. AAaaarrgh! Some features of games can also only be unlocked using the VMU - you can download minigames to it, and play them like a Game Boy. If you examine it closely, it kind of looks like a Game Boy, actually..

Now, let's say you have a VMU. Not the Sega one, mind you, but a third-party one that has about 100x the memory. Great! ..Till you wake up in the morning, and it says "Save file corrupted". This time, you scream so loud you can hear it in Russia. I can't stress this point enough - ALWAYS get first-party memory cards. They're much more reliable .. and that 100x Super VMU Bango Whiz Gee Oh! that you bought doesn't have a screen to play games on. - Again, you also fall in love with that COOL blue color :P

what can you say about a VMU.

first, always buy the real deal, not a third party product. i've seen so many other bad reviews about 3rd party vmu devices that i wouldn't consider getting a non-sega. go buy them now though, because hardware will soon be "hard" to come by. i've still found several of these in retail stores, but nowhere online unless you get used. unfortunately it looks like people selling used are asking over twice the normal price.

yes it holds 200 blocks we all know that, and we all know that it shows little pretty pixelated icons to represent the game you are playing.

maybe i'm the only one who tried this, but if you are playing a two player game, and you have your vmu in the 2nd controller, you can't see an icon on it or access it. as soon as i moved the vmu back to the first controller, voila, the icon and the option to access it.

personally i haven't played any little tiny games on it, but i have taken my saves with me to other units with ease. if you are going to play games on it, just get a game boy! atleast they have colour screens and you can SEE them :)

anyway. the only downside on this is that i have lost the little cap that goes on the end of it, because, the controller doesn't have a little place on it to store the cap when you have the VMU installed...

so...the lesson learned is that if you remove the blue cap, don't forget where you put it while you are using the vmu, because it's good to protect the connectoids when transporting it to and from.

so far i've used the same VMU for 4 games, and no issues with saving, retrieving or accessing. they should make this in other colours like grape, or aubergine.

Considering past memory cards for past systems may not have had all the memory one could have hoped for, Sega decided to change things up when they released the Dreamcast. The Dreamcast VMU (Visual Memory Unit) is a step ahead in designing home system memory cards. Included is a small LCD screen with working buttons to play mini-games along with other features (for example raising Chaos in Sonic Adventure or playing a Pac-Man type game with Namco Museum). You can take the top off the VMU and transfer files into another VMU or link it up to play mini-games together. The VMU can hold up to 200 blocks of memory, and while this may seem like a lot, most of Sega's 2K2 sports titles take just about 200 blocks of memory just to save options let alone a team season. Not to mention that after a while the battery life of the VMU LCD screen will die, and that happens quicker than expected, but the LCD screen isn't necessarily needed if your just using the VMU as a memory card and nothing more. All in all, I would recommend at least 3 or 4 VMU's for Dreamcast owners; they're cheap and affordable and you can still find them at game retailers.

the visual memory unit (vmu) for dreamcast is one of sega's greatest achievments. it lets you display secret data during head-to-head matches with other players. it also doubles as a mini gameboy,only cheaper. it only has one flaw:only 200 blocks of memory. and with games that take up 180 blocks you'll have to buy lots of 'em if you are a serious gamer. but overall it's a must buy for dreamcast gamers.

It's easy. You want reliability, buy this VMU made by Sega. If you want to see hours and hours of bad-guy bashing go to waste, buy an unreliable memory unit from Interact or other Generics... ...see? Easy. BTW, these memory units are probably going to be cheaper than the generic ones also.

On the down side, its memory capacity is rather limited (200).

This is OK and the bad thing is sometimes you have to replace the battery which allows you to play the mini games.

V ery
M uch
U nbeatable

The VMU is the best memory card I have ever used. I have not had any trouble saving data. The only problem is that it only has 200 blocks of memory. It has a very good price. It has a built-in screen that displays the game you are playing. You can also use it as little gameboy. Just download a game to it (from Sonic Adventure for example), take the VMU out and play the self-contained game.
V ery M uch U nbeatable!!!

It was a great product until a couple I used, it broke. when I tryed to use it when it was not in the controller it did not turn on. But I can still save like any other memory card but it wont be a vmu it would be a mu.

The Sega Dreamcast VMU is one of the coolest things ever to hit consoles- it put a screen in your controller, held your files, acted as a clock, and held games that you could take on the go. You can also transfer files without a console. However, the quality of the games is poor, and they typically take up 128 of your available 200 blocks, which means that you need either another VMU or a 4X card if you want to store your saves and have a game.