The COMPLETE History of Sonic VMU Gimmicks
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 พ.ค. 2024
- Let BetterHelp connect you to a therapist who can support you - all from the comfort of your own home. Visit betterhelp.com/chaomix and enjoy a special discount on your first month.
Let's dive into the world of the Dreamcast's Visual Memory Unit (VMU) and see how it tried to revolutionize an entire era of Sonic games with its in-game interactivity and portable mini-games!
Table of Contents
0:00 Intro
2:44 The VMU
3:58 Sonic Adventure
8:49 Chao Adventure
13:11 Sonic Shuffle
14:17 Sonic Adventure 2
15:37 Chao Adventure 2
19:46 Conclusion
21:03 End Screen
Intro song by Hyper Potions:
/ hyperpotions
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#sonic #sonicthehedgehog #sonicfrontiers - เกม
Be honest... have you ever used a VMU?
Also, huge thank you to BetterHelp for making this video possible! Let BetterHelp connect you to a therapist who can support you - all from the comfort of your own home. Visit betterhelp.com/chaomix and enjoy a special discount on your first month.
no i havent
no but ive seen one
Just as an FYI to anybody reading this, betterhelp allegedly:
Falsely advertised their service using paid reviews from actors
Lied about terms of service in previous sponsorships
Does not use licenced mental health professionals
Sold user data to Facebook and other companies
Hey, chaomix, you might want to do more research before you pick a sponsor since BetterHelp has had an extremely shady and controversial past.
I haven't, but I've always wished for the idea of it to be expanded further in newer consoles! (Switch successor, please!🙏)
The VMU is the most Nintendo thing Sega has ever done
stupid peripherals is the core of segas hardware market.
They literally found a prototype of a motion control controller for Dreamcast
Omg, i know you
Youre that guy from youtube
Imagine if you had to plug in a mini Gameboy into your Wii just to get the same experience as the GameCube's GameBoy Player.
Fun fact, I was playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon last night, and one of your party members, Zhao, has an optional conversation where he reveals he had a Dreamcast as a kid, and laments that his VMU broke. Seeing this video after seeing that in Like a Dragon is pretty cool tbh
Whats even weirder is i was playing the game earlier today and heard thst exact conversation and then read your comment
I mean, Yakuza is essentially the spiritual successor of the Shenmue series, so it's kind of fitting.
I can always trust chaomix to explain the history of sonic dohickeys and whatnots
Thank you for entrusting me with such a sacred task
the various whatchamacallits, doodads, and thingamajigs of the franchise
the gadgets, ladidadis, lallygags of the franchise
My grandpa died of cancer at the start of this month and he was my best friend. Thank you for helping me through this all this time. Please don't ever stop creating.
Rip
My condolences
I'm sorry for your loss 😞
I'm sorry to hear that. I lost my grandmother last month. They'll always be with us though in our hearts. 🩷
Only chaomix can explain interesting and obscure Sonic stuff and yet make it interesting lol
Fun fact: Maekawa also wrote the Chao Adventure stuff.
we need him back
@@lemon5000-tj6nv Don't worry, his best friend Toyoda is still at Sega and more than capable. Just read his short stories.
The Dreamcast really was such a cool and creative console. The fact it flopped is just too sad.
If it just had a bit more juice and was released worldwide in 1999 rather than coming out with 1998-era hardware, it could've remained competitive (yes, in the late 90s, even a single year meant a _lot_ in terms of computing power). However, even if the Dreamcast survived, considering the godawful decision-making of Sega of Japan and Sega of America's refusal to stand up to them, _something_ would've gotten them. Probably a Dreamcast 2 released in 2003, to be decimated by the 7th gen. Because once we had Xbox and PlayStation, there was no real point to a third "mature/graphics-focused" competitor (hence why Nintendo stopped trying). And I don't know if a "everyone/fun-focused" competitor to Nintendo would've had a chance either (but who knows, maybe each demographic could've had a main rival).
Also, fun fact, since it's a 6th gen console, theoretically Sonic Unleashed could've had a Dreamcast port, considering it did have a PS2 version. And all that could've been!
As far as flops go, it was pretty weird. It felt like it was doing great. Games were great. It was the only truly next gen console for a while until....PS2. Nothing could compete with the success of PS2, and DC didn't have a DVD drive when DVD was clearly the next new movie standard, so it never stood a chance. SEGA's sudden announcement that they were giving up hardware forever hit us like a ton of bricks. It was gut-wrenching.
My wife and I actually have a small group that still regularly play Chao adventure ! To answer your question in the video, both players do get the eggs when you choose the breeding option !
Great video but you should stop accepting sponsored from better help. They did some really bad things. Maybe you should watch soggy cereal’s video on it.
[ your memory card doesn't have enough memory to load this comment ]
NOOOOO
@@chaomix OHHH, Mine has enough, thanks for the useful information
This is some very helpful info, thanks for the tip!
A freesia flower represents innocent love.
Did you know?
A freesia flower represents innocent love
@@_sleepwalker23 Did you know?
A freesia flower represents innocent love
Yo, guys!
Fun fact!
A freesia flower represents innocent love.
@@mdnaz9889 I've come to make an announcement!
A freesia flower represents innocent love.
17:10 how Chaos are afraid of Amy? She loves them.
The thumbnail for this video looks AMAZING btw
I miss taking my Chao for a walk.
The VMU card mechanic in Sonic Shuffle was innovation Nintendo could be envious of
The Pocketstation for the PS1, which released only a few months after the VMU, was also capable of saving data from a PS1 game and then using it for interactive funtime and keeping track of various stats for your games and the characters you were taking care of. Surprised it wasn't mentioned in the video.
A couple of games that were compatible were Crash Bandicoot 3, Final Fantasy VIII, Metal Gear Solid: Integral, The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Ridge Racer Type 4, Rival Schools 2, Rockman Complete Works, Street Fighter Alpha 3, to name a few.
An example is in Rockman: Complete Works (PS1 ports of the NES games), where you could take any of the NES Mega Man bosses and Mega Man himself, and raise their health and attack power, and it would later be reflected into the PS1 ports where you can fight bosses with more health and attack, but it could also make Mega Man be stronger and survive longer too. Each of the PS1 ports also granted you two mini games each that you could download to the Pocketstation, which were all unique.
Ah yes pocketstation,the crap that wasnt even released in any other countries excrpt for japan
A really fun example for the pocketstation compatibility was yugioh forbidden memories, being the only way to get some really broken cards.
I love vmu. Also recommend no one using sponser. I get having sponsers etc but for anyone that really needs the help better help has been known to do more damage.
Bro you might wanna do some research before getting sponsor💀1:32
@@_sleepwalker23 I can't even comprehend this 11 year old comment
Why
@@Player_circle watch a video about better help
@@_sleepwalker23 dont get me wrong, i think betterhelp is horseshit in so many legal and moral ways, but i wouldnt say hes washed up, specially compared to other youtubers who have done multiple sponsor segments for betterhelp without caring for people's warnings
@@Player_circlethey’re documented for being terrible. One person had their therapist to busy eating popcorn, another had their’s talking to another person but kept trying to say no one else was there. Oh almost forgot one of the worst person was saying what they struggle with depression ext and theirs said they don’t think they have any of those issues it’s just because their a white male and all of todays world is against them. So ya wouldn’t recommend, especially for ppl that really need the help.
the vmu is one of my favorite (if not my favorite) pieces of SEGA history, something about it reminds me of the Pokémon Mini, and it is also just a small little guy that does small little things. its cute
Not only have I used a VMU, but I actually used to bring one of mine to school in my final year... In 2018-2019... I really like the Dreamcast.
7:54 he knows what you did to the chao care taker before you adopted it. I keep getting reminded of Senshion's comics.
Fun Fact: a freesea flower represents innocent love
I'm such a sucker for screen on your controller type gimmicks, there's so much cool stuff you can do with it
I found the way the VMU was implemented in Sonic Shuffle was super interesting! The only downside to it is that it makes porting the game to any future consoles really difficult since they would have to completely rework how people see their cards without others seeing them.
Imagine if they had a modern chao garden app? I would play the heck out of it
Chao Adventure 2 can only store up to two randomly-selected quests at a time. The next time Chao Adventure 2 gets overwritten a new set of two quests appear in the game.
Speaking of the quests, you get nothing for bad endings, and a random tree seed for a good ending. Some quests lack a good ending, and I tried everything I can in the "Pumpkin Hill" quest, but no matter what path I pick, I'm always presented with a bad ending.
The Dream Cast was way ahead of its time.
The VMU is the most Y2K thing Sega has ever made.
I just bought a modded Dreamcast and was playing SA last night watching the VMU, it’s awesome. Always wanted a Dreamcast as a kid, happy to finally have one
16:39 I like how this and Cheese’s response to Cream after the Egg Albatross clearly shows Chao were once intended to speak.
11:03 "Neither" omg, enby rep in 1998?! THAT'S NUTS! 😄 So cool!
That Big sprite art looked like the scene from the intro where he's looking into the sky
The Chao Adventure VMU thing reminds me of the Pokewalker.
I like how the GameCube ports/remakes..? couldn't have VMU support so they just made you use the Game Boy Advance with a game of Sonic Advance to bring your Chao on the go
Well timed. I got a Dreamcast recently and have Adventure 1. I really need to replace the VMU battery as well as the RTC battery but I'm pretty proud of it.
If only Adventure 2 wasn't so expensive, then I could've found out whether or not the freesia flower truly represents innocent love.
I remember playing Chao adventure 2 and I was able to clone my Chao. Also you can breed Chao in adventure 2 as well as I had the ability to.
Nice, but can the VMU run DOOM?
y'know.... i dont know but that would be sick as heck
Of course it can. You can run DOOM on the oscilloscope that ran _Tennis for Two_ these days. Just wait, one of these days, someone's going to port DOOM to the Antikythera Mechanism.... somehow.
@@Yuli_Ban Wait until they port it to someone's brain
I always loved these little details, I’m glad someone actually documented them
You know, you're one of the people I trust when it comes to Sega's line of consoles.
Not like Bingus or whatever, clowning on it while ignoring what made it special.
1:57 simmilar to digimon or tamagotchi
I want a VMU. I never had any SEGA console, but the VUM is such a cool and cute idea! Sure it was gimmicky as all hell, but it was also the early 2000s. Even PlayStation thought it was a fun idea, because they did the same thing for the PS1 (which I also missed out on) PocketStation... which sadly never left Japan.
Actually, fans managed to bring the VMU back with a crowdfunding campaign; I haven't managed to find a way to buy one myself, though...
Keep up the great work and videos chaomix love the video
Amazing Video.
Dude u didn't even watch the whole video yet
Bro watched it for one minute 😭😭
@@Intel_the_dude he just knows
Great video! Always like to see the Dreamcast get some love. One more little VMU thing with Sonic Adventure is that if you have a second controller plugged into port D with a VMU in it you can play the Chao puzzle game while somebody else plays the main game. Presumably waiting your turn or something.
Been playing Dreamcast sonic Adventure for years and I’ve never realized the VMU chao animations reacted to your characters actions
POG video, per usual!
Both players get an egg if you breed Chao with the VMU.
I don't know if the stat transfer and appearance stuff work the same way as in game but I'm guessing probably, just both players get an egg.
I didn't even didn't know this existed , thanks chaomix
the "neither" gender selection in the sa1 chao game is so sick
Always a good day when mix uploads
On the steam deck if you emulate the Dreamcast you can choose to display the vmu while you play. Brings me right back
another banger!!! i actually had no idea this existed and it was super interesting to learn about
Yay more Chaomix. My main memory of the VMU is the battery always dying...
Tiny Chao Garden is the poor mans VMU experience. (I've never used a VMU before)
I actually had a interesting experience a while ago playing the Sonic Adventure games. I was playing in a multi-tasky way where I'd get the Chao boxes and raise the Chao stats every stage...in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle.
Sonic Adventure DX on the other hand makes it really hard to multitask with many roadblocks through out the story preventing you from visiting Chao garden, and barely any content beyond the story, it really did give me the impression the game was maybe intended to be played alongside the VMU.
Also keep in mind you don't really get access to Tiny Chao Garden in the HD ports either.
I really wish they did more with the HD ports like letting people trade and battle Chao online or releasing a Sonic Advance port collection and letting you transfer between the games.
I remember these, but could never figure out how to raise my chao with them. How in the world were you even able to capture VMU footage without just having the camera fixed on your controller the whole time?
As convenient as console-integrated save memory is, I’ll always prefer memory cards for being more versatile and having cool console save file icons and animations.
Also I never knew until now just how much of the Chao Adventure content was remade in future games (Vs. Bully Chao is a precursor to Chao Karate and the fruit matching game remade in Sonic Advance)
I remember the VMU! I had all three of these games, but I think the only one I ever really used the VMU with was Sonic Shuffle...
I did train a chao to max stats in Sonic Advance and transfer it to SA2:B though!
19:12 I thought it was flipping us off for a second lol
the punching/kicking chou + the chou garden in adventure 2's chou lobby in the English translation on GameCube and pc there was a lick or lyric that made me laugh it sounded like "something" then "something" then I clear remember hearing the words "THEN HIT IT IN THE SACK" or what sounded like it. i might have found something here fr.
O.B.T.W thanks for your vids makes me feel SOOO much less cringe for enjoying sonic to the degree that I have in my childhood which was in the 1998 till now and i had to quit because the new games hit me in such a weird way and i was super hyped for unleashed and still enjoyed it despite the very las level you have to play LITERALY Took me 5 HOURS TO GET ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH!!!!
then see this...
SONIC AND THE BLACK NIGHT.
over the shoulder out the window into the pool then eaten by a bird and shit in crocodiles' mouth CAUSING IT TO GAG AND PUKE ON IT. would be my only description of that game.
YEEEEESH...
peace.
I have never heard of a vmu lmao
Ooooh, you're in for a treat
I just bought a Dreamcast today what great timing! Still looking for both sonic adventures though
You can burn a version of SA1 that has 60 FPS with a burned action replay.
The VMU looked really cool
I always wanted the ability to control the VMU mini games with the dreamcast controller. It would help with comfort and save on batteries. Is there any homebrew that does that?
This makes me want a chao adventure mobile game with the story elements of chao adventure 2 and a little chao garden to manage like the zen garden from the first PVZ game.
I’m sure you had nothing but the best intentions in mind, but… maybe don’t take any further sponsorships from betterhelp? ^^;
What is wrong with betterhelp
@@nevrodrain The rumor-fueled zeitgeist says that they're a unreliable, poorly run company that lets down both doctors and patients... or something. Further research necessary.
@@nevrodrain They’re REALLY shady and don’t seem to have any level of give a shit for the people they say they want to help
Imagine a Chao Adventure app for Sonic Adventure remake that would be cool, and with QR codes it’ll definitely be easy to do in a modern game.
Oh yes, some VMU love!
11:03 chao garden supporting enbies since 1999
Yo! I wanted to know if you're going to continue developing your sonic adventure engine. I really liked that video, (Since I dabble in game design lol), and I wanted to see you finish and polish it to (maybe) near perfection!
6:05 chaomix has Amibo Collection?
A new Sonic Adventure 3 game and a Chao app for your phone would go so hard
You know that's the most amazing thing about technology: if Sega released a proper Dreamcast 2 and it had a VMU successor with the same form factor as the original, _the VMU would easily be dozens of times more powerful than the original Dreamcast_
Imagine playing a fully ported Sonic Adventure on a VMU 2. Heck considering that modern smartphones are comparable to the PS4/Xbone, you could probably run the HD Sonic Unleashed on a VMU 2.
@Yuli_Ban What a reality that would be. I don't think Sega will go back to making hardware consoles like they used to, but if they did and made the Dreamcast 2, it could probably rival the Switch when it comes to hybrid consoles imo. They just gotta have enough exclusive 1st party games, Sonic as their proper mascot, and a good amount of 3rd party games.
Hey, you might wanna vet your sponsors a bit better... BetterHelp is known to be really shady.
Lame comment
@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259 How very insightful, firstname bunchofnumbers
@@SafetyServbotInfernoOmni has integrity with his sponsors. He mentioned he turned down Temu and BetterHelp despite them offering a ton of money. The only one he made a mistake with was that “Become a lord/lady” thing, but he even admitted it was a mistake when he did more research.
Anyway I’m sure that ChaoMix didn’t mean to pick a shady company. He likely genuinely didn’t know, considering that they don’t openly broadcast, “Hey we’re a shady company!” I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
@@anotheryoutubeaccount5259 you dont even know what hes saying
@@cashier-plays Crazy how every TH-camr's viewerbase comprises a bunch of manchildren who try to force themselves into the creator's life when they feel offended by what they're doing. They could just, you know, find another one to latch on to, lol.
6:40 looks like a chao fruit
I hope when they make a Remaster of Sonic Adventure one and two you can't shoes between the two Chao adventures. Cool video by the way.
Hey Chaomix where did you get that shirt from?
My SA1 Chao, was 999 in all his stats until I forgot to put him back into the chao garden before changing the battery in my VMU. Poor T.K.B., lost to the void beyond the Chao Walk forever.
Sick long sleeve bro
6:39 maybe its a fruit from chao garden
12:10 THE perfect place to add the FBI meme!
Sony did that with the ps1
ye but the pocketstation was japan only
im pretty sure the japanese versions of the spyro games had something similar to the chao vmu where u could raise ur own dragondly
@lemon5000-tj6nv it's doesn't change the fact that was also both a memory card and a stand-alone portable console, and that happened before the dreamcast was released.
Chao Adventure 3 when, Sega?
...eh, that's somehow even less likely than a hypothetical Sonic Adventure 3. In any case, 'twas nice looking back at how the VMU was utilized with regards to these games!
Will you post more to game garage?
I remember downloading a vmu emulator when i played sa2 on a mobile dreamcast emulator just so i could raise my chao
Yuji Naka is one of the greatest minds in video game history
And one of the greatest criminals too. (in the gaming industry)
@@just-dashin insider trading is one of the lightest and most common 'criminal' offenses out there. You must be pretty sheltered. Naka is the GOAT
*Balan wonder world has entered the chat*
@@isaiahscobel Naoto Ohshima is half responsible for Balan but no one wants to mention that
@@Brian-bw9fhI don't think it'd be fair to blame the people under the director more than the director themselves, especially when it's known they're a pain to work with.
I think conceptually the vmu is awesome and something we'd unfortunately never see again because of phones (also unrelated plese don't advertise betterhelp, ironically their help would be worse than anywhere else)
Where did you get your shirt? It so cool
You forgot to talk about the vmu features for sa3
15:56 Actually, you could increase the luck and intelligence stat by giving the chao animals in the gamecube port. There isn't any way to check it, though.
Los Chao te preguntan tu tipo de sangre porque es una trivia común en Japón
Asi como la gente sabe de memoria su número telefónico, dirección o fecha de nacimiento, sabe de memoria su tipo de sangre
Cosa que deberia volverse popular en todo el mundo, te obligan a aprenderte tu numero de seguro social cosa que usarás 3 veces en tu vida y puedes perfectamente escribir en una nota para llevar en la cartera, pero nunca te dicen tu tipo de sangre, cosa que LITERALMENTE te salvaria la vida
Saludos desde México, gran contenido Chaotix!
The Dreamcast era truly was Sonic's last great era, at least for the game series.
This is reminding me of the Pokewalker gimmick from HGSS.
Hi chaomix what is the background music I just from sonic the hedgehog but which game it is from
1999 was like a totally different dimension man.
How do you have a new hairstyle like every single video
I can't believe that chaomix is able to drag me to a video topic that I dont care
5:51
Or maybe they used unreleased art as samples for the sprites. It’s more likely since the rest aren’t new.
Wtf is a VMU?
the coolest thing ever
@@chaomix YOOOOOO ITS U!
@@chaomix which version of SA2 do u like more? The og version or the GameCube one?
I’m surprised sonic adventure 1 and 2 didn’t come out for PlayStation 1, 2 maybe frame rates couldn’t be able to be compatible for ps2 and ps1 when this games came out
PS1? Definitely not. PS2, maybe. Judging by the PS2 versions of Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, it'd be the same game with half the frame rate.
My battery always died right before I got to play any of these cool VMU games 😩
I missed out tremendously, I never had a VMU that actually worked as a secondary handheld
In hindsight, it's probably cuz I never put the battery in...