Evercade

Hi everyone, you may have seen the Evercade pop somewhere before now but I thought it might be worth having a thread for as it looks like it's sort of the next step of the Classic or Mini console.

As it's a brand new handheld coming out in May this year from Blaze who made those okay licenced Mega Drive handheld things and this is sort of that but with actual game cartridges which have various games on which are all officially licenced.

I saw it first on a Metal Jesus Rocks video as he got one of the press review units (Chris Scullion is looking into doing stuff on the Evercade, seems it be after it comes out) where it's point outed with the games coming in clamshells with manuals and the thing collectors want but at a sensible price which these seem to be at £14.99 each cartridge.

These are the ten cartridges out in May at launch with the handheld

Atari Collection 1: Centipede (2600), Missile Command (2600), Alien Brigade (7800), Adventure (2600), Ninja Golf (7800), Food Fight (7800), Motor Psycho (7800), Crystal Castles (2600), Desert Falcon (2600), Tempest (2600), Asteroids (2600), Canyon Bomber (2600), Gravitar (2600), Double Dunk (2600), Steeplechase (2600), Video Pinball (2600), Night Driver (2600), Aquaventure (2600), Swordquest Earthworld (2600), Yars Return (2600)

Atari Collection 2: Asteroids (7800), Yars' Revenge (2600), Millipede (2600), Basketbrawl (7800), Centipede (7800), Solaris (2600), Sprintmaster (2600), Submarine Commander (2600), Haunted House (2600), Planet Smashers (7800), Bowling (2600), Desert Falcon (7800), Radar Lock (2600), Human Canonball (2600), Street Racer (2600), Air Sea Battle (2600), Realsports Tennis (2600), Dark Chambers (2600), Wizard (2600), Demons to Diamonds (2600)

Data East Collection 1: Burger Time, Fighter's History, Midnight Resistance, Burnin’ Rubber, Karate Champ, Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the tropics, Side Pocket, Magical Drop 2. Two Crude Dudes, Bad Dudes

Interplay Collection 1: Earthworm Jim, Clayfighter, Boogerman, BattleChess, Incantation, Titan

Interplay Collection 2: Earthworm Jim 2, Clayfighter 2, The Adventures of Rad Gravity, Claymates, Prehistoric Man, The Brainies, Super Castles

Mega Cat Studios Collection 1: Multidude, Super Painter, Coffee Crisis, Little Medusa, Tänzer, Old Towers, Creepy Brawlers, Almost Hero, Log Jammers, Justice Duel

Namco Collection 1: Pac Man, Galaxian, Dig Dug, Xevious, Star Luster, Libble Rabble, Mappy, Battle Cars, Metal Marines, Quad Challenge, Mappy Kids

Namco Collection 2: Galaga, Pac-Attack, Tower of Druaga, Phelios, Dragon Spirit, Dig Dug 2, Burning Force, Weapon Lord, Warp Man, Splatterhouse 2, Splatterhouse 3

Piko Interactive Collection 1: Brave Battle Saga, Water Margin, Magic Girl, Dorke and Ymp, Switchblade, Way of the Exploding Fist, NightShade, Top Racer, Tinhead, Radical Rex, Jim Power – The Lost Dimension, 8-Eyes, The Immortal, Dragon View, Drakkhen, Power Punch II, Power Piggs of the Dark Ages, Iron Commando, The Humans, Canon – Legends of the New Gods

Technōs Collection 1: Double Dragon, Double Dragon II: The Revenge, Crash ‘N’ The Boys: Street Challenge, River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball, Super Spike V’ball, Super Double Dragon, Renegade

Then sometime in 2020, these are coming out

Atari Lynx Collection 1: Scrapyard Dog, Basketbrawl, Missile Command, Awesome Golf, Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure, CyberVirus, Dracula the Undead, Gordo 106, Ishido: The Way of Stones, Jimmy Connors Tennis, Loopz, Malibu Bikini Volleyball, MegaPak, Power Factor, Remnant, Super Sqweek, Xump

Xeno Crisis & Tanglewood Dual Game Cartridge

---

Now some of these games are too retro for me especially the 2600 games but a few of the collections have games I'd like to play be it Earthworm Jim, Crash n the Boys, Midnight Resistance, all the Lynx games and can find odd thing even from 2600 like Tempest that I would play.  

Also, like it's not just retro games but retro-likes as the Mega Cats Collection has Coffee Crisis on it which is coming out in March on PS4 and Switch physical for £30-35 on its own.

ohh I'd also add that it can plug into a TV just with a cable like a SEGA Nomad or a PSP. That it sounds and looks good my only real issue is the price of the handheld which is £60, now it does have a few bundles and ones £115 but you get every game which means it's £1 per game which isn't expensive especially compared to the PC Engine Mini I'll be getting.

That even it flops after all these games it wouldn't have cost much but that it the off-putting thing as well, that it might just be these 12 carts then again if successful could we see a Master System Collection cart??

What do you guys think? I feel this isn't for Balla but more the Jim, Cappa or gJones but you never know.

It's quite tempting actually - any previews out there on build quality and of gameplay quality? Good screen/sound or no?

I've been quite interested in this for a while, tracking it's development progress over on Evercade's Twitter page for a good six months now. I love the idea of having physical retro collections stuffed full of games that don't commonly crop up everywhere else - I could definitely see myself buying most of those cartridges that are listed up above, especially at fifteen quid each. 

That said, I'm a certain type of gamer with certain types of taste, and I can't imagine that there'll be many folk getting diamond hard at the thought of Mappy Kids and Fighter's History. These are quite cheap licenses for good reasons. Also, despite the videos from the likes of Metal Jesus Rocks, there's still lots to learn about the Evercade, such as more detailed specs, and the emulator being used. Nobody's saying much about the manky-looking D-Pad either. 

I'm not sure about this. Truthfully, I think it'll bomb: I don't think there's much of a market for this thing, and I don't think this'll create that market either. I'd like it to do well though.

Here's the video from MJR for you OR a few others have popped up but does seem to be very little in the way of review units about, that maybe got to ask why? It might just be Blaze is a small company and just can't put many out for free


I'm with ya Cappa, I want it to do well as maybe could get an N64 Mini with lots of different carts that be neat but overall I feel it won't do well because how many retro collectors this is aimed at wanting these games on a new system. I'm not bothered about the specs per se but do hope especially that it has 16-Bit games now on it that it runs well.


Still for the money might worth taking a punt and even the collection's such as the Data East Collection 1 that has someone games I don't care about I would still play about 5 of them: Burger Time, Fighter's History, Midnight Resistance, Burnin’ Rubber, Karate Champ, Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the tropics, Side Pocket, Magical Drop 2, Two Crude Dudes, Bad Dudes

Maybe thinking about this could become ironically a collector's item if it flops look at the R-Zone.

I'm sort of interested to see how many of these they'll make. I seen that Funstock were partnering with Evercade to make a limited edition Premium console, with three thousand being made. They're sold out, but I'm not thinking that they'll sell thousands more of the Standard edition than that. 

The PC Engine Mini, I think that's the one that'll become rare and collectable - it's a niche console, for collectors, marketed in a country where it didn't originally come out.

We did get a verison of the TG-16 here and virgin sold a verison of the PC Engine well but not a lot of people would have known and if you did, surely you'd import.

That I think you're right those mini's will become rare as half the games are in Japanese, only sold via Amazon and tad expensive.

I've not much interest in this, but I would love to see one of these with Amiga games. That feels like a popular system in the UK that is largely forgotten. Sensible Soccer on the go? YES PLEASE.

NLife have just put up a review of the Evercade, does seem more about info on it then if any good but they do talk about some stand out games & some oddities which does make it interesting.

There's been a final update as regards the release date - quite surprised that they're managing to get this out so soon, I was expecting another long delay:

https://evercade.co.uk/release-date-update/ 

Units are getting to the likes of Digital Foundry and Eurogamer too, and the reviews are positive. I've had the Premium Edition pre-ordered for months, but now I'm thinking about upgrading that to the All-In edition, with the case and nine cartridges. Seems to be the best value. 

https://funstock.co.uk/collections/evercade-bundles

Yeah, the All-In bundle seems a decent deal as the games are £15 each which would be £120 (the 8 extra carts) and the system is £60 (comes with 1 cart), no idea about the case.

I would have ordered on Friday but as my pay was messed up I'm seeing what happens with that as if I'll get soon or it is next payday in 4 weeks time.

Also depends when funstock take the money out as if it's not till it's shipped then would be fine regardless whenever I get paid.

Edit

Just spoke to funstock and they take money right away that I'm going to wait till launch more than likely to order.

Also, you can get the 10th cart with Double Dragon etc on which is missing in the All-In Bundle for £10 extra on top, giving you everything available.

Having thought about it, I'm not that arsed about having everything available on Day One. I'd get the Premium bundle, and maybe add the Namco Museum Collection 2 (with some cracking games on it) and the Piko Interactive Collection (with loads of stuff I've never played before) to my order. 

Whoever's running their Twitter is beginning to open up about what's the come from the Evercade in 2020. They're announcing another collection in May, and then again in June. After release, there's four more carts coming out in 2020, and then at least four more on top of that for 2021. Non-disclosure agreements mean that they're quiet on specifics, but they've basically just told someone that there'll be a second Atari Lynx collection. They're planning on multiplayer support, but that'll likely depend on how well this sells in the first place.

Seen they've asked about some sort of fan club bonus if you pre-order the future games etc like the old Activision 2600 games.

This was the Evercade review I was waiting for:



No other YouTube reviewer has created a review as comprehensive as this. Game Sack makes two big issues crystal-clear here, points that nobody else highlighted. Firstly, the button-mapping issues illustrate how many of these games have been ported with little-to-no thought or care with regards to their playability. Secondly, that games list; seeing it all mapped out like that makes me a lot less exited for what's coming out later this month.

I'd accept the odd bit of screen blur and the occasional and slight audio problem. But careless controls and a fairly weak line-up of games is perhaps a deal-breaker for me. I might change my mind again, but right now I'm wondering if this is a good use of my money.

I'll have a proper watch later but think you're right about the games.

Like if a cart has 10 games on, I actually I might only want to play 2 or 3 of them that are those worth £15, maybe due to packaging etc from a collectable standpoint.

There’s a lot of negativity surrounding this after that Game Sack review. In response, Evercade announced a Day One firmware update that lets you customise the button layouts. Can’t say fairer than that.

I felt that the Game Sack review especially highlighted the relative weakness of that launch-day line-up. So, they’re also announcing a new cartridge on Friday. They’re not giving any clues on Twitter as they’ve been quite easy to suss out before. Yet somebody asked if it was either an Atari Lynx Collection Volume 2 or a Capcom Collection, and they’ve replied somewhat sheepishly. Frankly, I don’t think the former is a big enough deal at this important stage of the Evercade’s life, I think the reaction would be of disappointment and apathy. 

They’re needing more big players on this. Atari and Namco are a good start, but more developers of that calibre is needed. Capcom would be a grand addition.

I did watch that video and watching the games even less than I thought I'd want to play.

It was another Atari Lynx collection. I'm unmoved.

It's a curious one as I technically have owned a Lynx when I had the market stall and played it for a bit but overall much like the PC Engine recently not played much of the Lynx.

That these games being available and preserved is great, just I've had a look at the best Lynx games are nothing seems that exciting.

To be honest the killer app for me is the first ever official english translation of mappy kids!

The megaton game here is clearly Pac-Man, which has never been ported to any other system before now.

I've had this for a couple of days now. I got the Premium Edition, which comes with the white console, a USB cable for charging as well as 37 games across three compilations. Here's my immediate thoughts:

• It's quite nice to hold. The buttons are satisfyingly clicky, and the D-Pad is firm and responsive. The curvy edges on the system rest nicely in the palm of your hands. All in all, it's comfortable.
  
• The screen isn't anywhere near as bright as the Switch, and maybe not even the PSP either, but it's good enough for it's size. The viewing angles are fine, no issues there. The sound input is passable, it's definitely good that there's a headphone jack.
  
• The packaging and manuals are quite nice. There's a little bit of history about the developer and each game in the instructions, which I'd say is probably the nicest aspect of the whole thing's presentation, because...
  
• ...there's bugger all going on in the menus. This is really basic stuff, not that much better than how the information was presented on my mate's old PSP when he'd download Mega Drive ROMS. 
  
• Thank buggery there's a patch for the button mapping. I played a bit of the Interplay Collection #1 before doing the firmware update, and it was all wrong, just not feeling natural to play at all. The update took me three tries, for some reason, but it's done now, and the games are much better without this nonsensical button mapping problem.
  
• The emulation seems reasonable enough, probably not up to standard of the original hardware but still, no glaring issues.
  
• Although there's 37 different games bundled, there's not very much playability on offer, at least in my opinion. The Atari Collection 1 has some interesting historical artefacts, but some bondfide filler that simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny after five minutes of gameplay. The Namco Museum Collection 1 has Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Xevious and the like, which are always going to be decent games, yet I don't think I can extract any more enjoyment from them than I already have. The Interplay Collection 1 has the very good Earthworm Jim, the okay-ish Clayfighter, the average Boogerman and some other stuff that didn't grab my attention. What I'm saying is that it's not a very good showcase of the 8 and 16-bit eras that the Evercade is heralding. I'd argue that they're actually three of the weaker collections - the Namco Museum 2, Technos and Data East are all much better.
  

All things considered, it's all right. I'm not wowed by any aspect of it, but it's a decent retro gaming option. Shame it arrived two days after the Coregrafx Mini though, that just horses the Evercade's collection of games.

Interesting as I know EofGiz has picked one up, why I tagged the three of you (Jimbob) in the post about Dizzy, and he seems to like it but did also picked up the Mega Cat collection.

So maybe that's what he's enjoying playing.

That's probably it. I've played through Clayfighter (a 6/10 game) and I'm playing through Boogerman and something called Battle Cars on the Namco Museum Collection. I also started Quad Challenge, a Namco-published Mega Drive game, but it's mince. 

I wasn't going to, but I went and bought the Namco Museum Collection 2 earlier on - it's only £12 at Argos and it's got more playable and interesting games.

Something called Tanzer is what he seems to like on his.

I'm still tempted to get and should come into a bit of money soon which most should just go into the bank but I may buy this as after 3 years of saving feel I should get something not just it's in the bank.

I don't think there's much stock still kicking around, and Evercade are saying on their Discord and Twitter pages that the next batch of consoles and cartridges are due for restock in late August. 

They've also said that they're announcing a cartridge from a Japanese publisher later in June, and that they're planning to launch fifty cartridges in the next three years.