VMU 4X vs regular VMU

F8 · Post by F8 » Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:06 pm

What's the difference between the 4X VMU (i.e. the one with a button on the top that toggles between 4 different save areas) and the regular VMU? The only obvious difference I'm aware of is that the regular VMU actually has a screen.

I have never owned the regular VMU, only the official 4X VMU. Am I missing out on a lot? I know some games supposedly use the VMU screen. Is it worth getting one? How many games make use of the VMU screen?

ace · Post by **ace** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 1:36 pm

No, its not worth getting. The games that the VMU runs aren't incredible. You are better off with the extra space you have on the 4X.

Nico0020 · Post by **Nico0020** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:11 pm

Id just say get a 4X memory card, or even one of the 8X cards that FatheadPI is selling here for pretty cheap. Its cool to have at least one VMU though IMO.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:49 pm

I agree with Nico. A VMU is nice for the games--some games you can unlock extra stuff. But for saving, they aren't practical (anymore), as larger, cheaper alternatives can be found.

Hobbes T Tiger · Post by **Hobbes T Tiger** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 4:40 pm

VMU's are nice and if you can get them cheap get a couple, but stick to 4x for daily use.

I've had mine for years, and while the VMU was a brilliant idea in practice it never became essential.

Hobbes T Tiger · Post by **Hobbes T Tiger** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:44 pm

Drinkcast wrote:I'm selling my regular VMUs for $80 each. Those are my collection, which is why the price is high.

And are people buying them at that price? Just in case they are I won't say how much I pay for them...

Clessy · Post by **Clessy** » Mon Jan 31, 2005 8:57 pm

I have 4 vmus now all full.

Ironically the offical ones are
Red
White
Blue

and my 4x is black.

Nico0020 · Post by **Nico0020** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 1:03 pm

hehe I have 21, lol.
3 Official sega VMUs
1 Blue 4X card
1 Black 4X card
1 Orange 2X Card
and 1 Black 8X card with PC link.

I use the 2X for NES/GB and SNES emulation
The 8X is used for PSO ScreenShots and 4X4 Evo Track downloads.
The others are just for games.

Bertrude · Post by **Bertrude** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 7:08 am

The regular VMU's eat the batteries for breakfast too if you have the little games on them.

I do like watching the animated tennis whilst playing Virtua Tennis 1 and 2 - the way it pans round in Virtua Tennis 2 is quite cool really and the little Soul Calibur characters are nice.

But like what's said above, nothing particularly essential and as a portable gaming device is pretty poor despite the neat idea. Tetris for it would have been a good idea though, great for those boring bus journeys.

Segata Sanshiro · Post by **Segata Sanshiro** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:27 am

While, the 4X memory card is 4 times as usefull as the VMU

having atleast 1 VMU is OBLIGATORY.... why?
- Well, without VMU you cant develop your chaos in SOA1 & 2, meaning you cant get all the emblems, meaning you'll never see the secret level in SOA2 (if you dont get the save file off the net that is).
- If you dont have a VMU (+puru puru pack) you wont be able to find chams, thus you cant level-up Cupil in Skies of Arcadia, that actually is a very important part of the game... also you wont be able to play Pinta's quest, which is really good!
- In RE games, you can see your status, weapon and bullets on the VMU and dont have to access the menu so often.
- In Dynamite Cop the secret artwork is found thanx to the beeps of the VMU.
- VMU is also very usefull for Sports games, not to speak of the countless minigames almost every title has.
- You get all sorts of cool logos and images while playing in almost every game, and while not vital, its part of the game!

These are just some examples.... bottom line:

With the prices of VMUs now (10$ new on liksang)... or 2~3$ second hand right here on the forum, you must have atleast 1. If you're a fan of the DC, the use of VMU will add atleast a little more to your games.

Sir Savant · Post by **Sir Savant** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:31 pm

Crap, and all I have are vmus.

63 to be exact. Saves from around 100 games, those nasty sports ones. At least I labeled them. I color coded them too. Black is rpg, red is sports, blue is adventure..... and green is fighting.

me? · Post by **me?** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:47 pm

I've got a 4X memory card but it doesn't work so I'd have to say go with the regular one.

fatheadpi · Post by **fatheadpi** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:22 pm

8x Massive Memory Card all the way!

nightstalker100 · Post by **nightstalker100** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:37 pm

For those fans of ikaruga, your chain is displayed on the vmu screem. therefore using a 4x theres no possible way of knowing your chain number till the end unless you manually count it during the game!

DeAthWaGer · Post by **DeAthWaGer** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:42 pm

You gotta play games with a VMU... no doubt about it. So fun to see what extras appear on screen, not just playing the minigames on them. Yeah battery life on DC VMUs is pretty bad, but not nearly as bad as the one for Playstation...
I'd say since VMUs are so cheap (that is, if you live in the US and find stores that still have them), buy as many as you can gather. If they are new, DO NOT remove the battery tag, just leave them in the box until you need fresh CR2032s... I picked up a few VMUs for $1 each!!!

I seriously don't trust third party memory cards in any way, shape, or form since I was experimenting on PS1 and losing tons of saves. I think losing save games to third party memory cards is why I eventually bought so many cheat devices for all my game systems to gain back what I lost...

However, most people have had much success with the more popular DC memory cards, so I don't see a problem using them for backing files up for games you don't really play anymore (especially if you have the transfer device that lets you move/copy saves that are copy-protected... I really should have picked that sucker up when it was $12 at a local EB

)...

DeAthWaGer · Post by **DeAthWaGer** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:48 pm

btw

http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/dreamcas ... compat.txt

there are some compatibility issues

fatheadpi · Post by **fatheadpi** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 11:59 pm

I've had no probles with V8:SO or NesterDC 7.1 using the SEGA 4x, interact 4x, or interact 8x cards.

F8 · Post by F8 » Sun Feb 06, 2005 2:13 am

so lemme figure this out....the VMU requires batteries? AA? AAA? Or are the batteries built in (rechargable)?

Bertrude · Post by **Bertrude** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 5:57 am

The VMU require 2 CR 2032 lithium batteries - the kind you put in calculators/watches etc.

It doesn't need them when in the controller for saving but if you want to use it out of the controller to play the mini games it needs the batteries.

DeAthWaGer · Post by **DeAthWaGer** » Sun Feb 06, 2005 12:31 pm

Yeah, that's what I meant. I also ripped out the battery in every used PS2 I had that didn't work correctly before I returned them