One intrepid Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit homebrew developer takes it upon themselves to bring Pokemon GO over to the device, with a VMU port of the title in the pipeline.

Although Pokemon GO has rekindled the feeling of gaming on the go for many, it's far from the only time that video games have been playable while outside. Of course, the Pokemon franchise first made its appearance via Nintendo's classic Game Boy, while many other device creators have also taken a crack at handheld gaming. One of the most interesting handheld devices in video game history was Sega's Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit - and now, one homebrew creator has decided to bring the Pokemon mobile title over to the device.

The homebrew port comes courtesy of guacasaurus_mex, who shared the news of his upcoming homebrew release over on Instagram. As one might expect, the capabilities of the Dreamcast's VMU do not quite match up to those found on a modern mobile phone, so guacasaurus_mex has needed to cut down the content for this version of Pokemon GO. Rather than basing a player's location on GPS, which is understandably not possible with the Dreamcast VMU, instead the homebrew will randomly generate a map for the player to explore.

Alongside this random map generation, it seems as though the bulk of the gameplay will come from catching Pokemon. These Pokemon will be able to be caught using a timing-based minigame according to guacasaurus_mex, which could prove to be plenty of fun for those who still own the device - and perhaps avoid awkward moments such as thousands of people trying to catch a Snorlax at once. However, there is going to be a bit of a wait before the port sees release, with the creator suggesting that the VMU homebrew will launch in 2017 since it will "take forever" to draw all the individual Pokemon.

This is far from the only port that guacasaurus_mex has created for the Dreamcast VMU. The developer has also brought other games over to the now-defunct device, including a port of Flappy Bird. Dreamcast owners after these ports can find them on guacasaurus_mex's Instagram page.

For the uninitiated, the VMU was a multi-purpose tool for the Sega Dreamcast, functioning as a storage device, an additional display during home gaming, and also as a small handheld gaming console. The VMU was one of the unique selling points of the Dreamcast, and although the console did not succeed financially, innovations such as the the VMU - which can even be seen as a precursor to cross-play - have gained Sega's last outing in the console market a cult following.

Although this is an extremely fun project from guacasaurus_mex, this homebrew developer may need to watch his back given Nintendo's current mood when it comes to fan-made content. The publisher has forced fan title Pokemon Uranium to shut down, although the game's user base still remains strong at over 1 million active players. Hopefully, Pokemon GO VMU will also prove to have a loyal following among homebrew VMU culture.

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Source: Instagram (via Ars Technica)