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Blaze Entertainment continues to its Evercade ecosystem of devices with new cartridges, supplementing the library of licensed retro games with even more weirdness! We’ve been able to check out the 10 latest releases, so we can let you know what’s worth checking out and why!

The heavy hitters: Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain 6b1v2a

Tomb Raider has served as Blaze’s cornerstone release of the year, with the collection of three PS1 games included in the bundles for both the EXP-R and VS-R hardware revisions. Lara Croft might be the most recognizable mascot character it could hope to license, and even the earliest games in the franchise are more sweeping adventures than have been available in the Evercade’s quick-fun-focused selection. (It also probably didn’t hurt that Tomb Raider began its life at British studio Core Design; Blaze has shown a lot of love for its home.)

Blaze connected with Crystal Dynamics a second time, too, licensing Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for a dual-pack. Of all five of these games, action-platformer Soul Reaver definitely holds up best for first-time players. The late-’90s theming that tries a bit too hard aside, the traversal and combat controls work totally fine today and it’s worth a play for Evercade owners! These two releases are the start of the “Giga Cart” line for the company. Essentially, these are cartridges with a slight price bump in exchange for higher storage capacity. That seems fine with us! Though we’re sure these games weren’t the cheapest to license either, and maybe that helps bring more publishers to the platform.

Japanese publishers redux: Sunsoft and Data East Collections 1jrh

Sunsoft Collection 2 arguably bests the first release’s lineup, starring NES platformer Ufouria: The Saga and Game Boy Color gem Blaster Master: Enemy Below. It even throws in some Evercade-signature weirdos, like head-to-head fighter Galaxy Fight and surprisingly compelling Game Boy puzzler Pri Pri Primitive Princess!, which in aggregate we think outweighs the first’s Mr. Gimmick.

We spent a lot of time playing Ufouria on this collection — it’s a great game — and were reminded how PAL games can cause some display issues due to their different resolution. As it stands, they’re stretched wider than they should be, and we wish there were a display option to force 4-by-3 and remedy this. Seems doable in a firmware update, right, Blaze?

Data East Arcade 2 offers a handful of fun Tate Mode options, as well as some great co-op beat-’em-ups. Edward Randy is a blast with unlimited credits, and stars an action hero that definitely isn’t Indiana Jones and why would you even bring that up? Trio The Punch brings a different sort of feel to the genre, with lots of super-short levels. Joe & Mac Returns tries a single-screen take on the caveman game, and can be fun to work through with a friend.

We have games at home: Piko Collection 4 1m4x62

Piko Interactive has embraced its niche of picking up licenses for games that feel like store-brand takes on big releases. But on Evercade, where their first-party siblings are likely never going to appear? That’s kind of appealing. Without Mario Kart, you may actually want to play Street Racer. Without a big-name puzzler, it doesn’t hurt to have Mermaids of Atlantis on the menu. Star X may be missing that F and O you’d want in the title, but it’s as close as you’re going to get here.

The centerpiece of this cart is Glover. We have a soft spot for the N64 platformer, and this version got a bit of development attention to make sure it works okay on the Evercade. It’s definitely a game that you want to play on the VS with a third-party controller so you can use an analog stick, but thankfully the system s that through an in-beta menu option.

Tate Mode showcases: Toaplan Arcade 3 and 4 486o2h

One of the coolest features of the Evercade EXP handhelds is the Tate Mode toggle, allowing you to play games vertically on the display. So it’s good to see some more Toaplan collections with a bunch of Tate Mode-friendly options. There are, of course, shooters — Batsugun, Truxton II, Dogyuun and more — but we’re particularly interested in games that use a vertical display and still offer genre variety.

Ghox is a take on the Breakout formula, with the sort of flash and intensity you’d expect from a developer that usually makes shooters. There are tons of collectibles falling at you, and it even starts with two balls to juggle by default! There are also Out Zone and FixEight, which are arguably still vertically scrolling shooters but on foot rather than flying around. This subgenre, perhaps most popularized by Pocky & Rocky or Shock Troopers, offers its own sort of fun and the ability to control the pace a bit more.

Old computer weirdness: Thalamus and Bitmap Brothers Collections 3ad3r

The selection in the Evercade library has always been tinted by the company’s UK origins, and nothing makes that clearer than the wide array of old computer game representation. Thalamus Collection 1 includes 11 Commodore 64 games from the late 1980s and 1990s. In our experience, the C64 library is a sort of “you had to be there” experience, with “there” meaning “Europe in the 1980s,” and it’s not the easiest to encounter for the first time today. Still, we did have some fun with action-shooter Retrograde.

The Bitmap Brothers Collection 2 offers a selection of Amiga games, which are certainly also quirky but a bit more palatable to modern sensibilities. The Cadaver games are isometric adventure games that take a bit of time to learn to control, but they’re charming. The Chaos Engine 2 is the top of the bunch for us, a top-down action game designed for co-op. And platformer Gods is worth it for the title screen music alone. Added to the collection, perhaps confusingly given the cart’s blue-line categorization, is a console game! The PlayStation port of real-time strategy game Z also makes the cut after missing out on the first, red-line compilation.

New-retro showpieces: Metal Dragon / Life on Mars 18682d

We’re on record saying that the greatest value of the Evercade is in giving modern retrogames accessible cartridge releases, so we’re happy to see that continue with the latest dual-pack. Metal Dragon is an ‘80s-inspired run-and-gun game that unfortunately makes the number-one mistake in games: falsely thinking it’s extremely funny. We wanted to enjoy its action levels and modern approach to controls, but its writing — a Metal Gear spoof seemingly penned by an “edgy” teen boy in detention — is pretty much insufferable.

Life on Mars fares significantly better, thankfully. It’s a Metroid-style exploration platformer, set on a Martian base where all the robots are attacking you as you land to re-establish communications and find out what happened. We wish the controls were a bit tighter — jumping in tight spaces can be particularly irritating — but there’s enjoyment to be found here.

Most of these Evercade cartridges are available now. The Metal Dragon/Life on Mars dual pack and Toaplan Arcade 4 are slated for release in December 2024. For more of Siliconera’s Evercade coverage, check out our archive.

The post The Best Evercade Cartridges of 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

Blaze Entertainment announced new versions of its Evercade EXP handheld and VS console, which are the Evercade EXP-R and VS-R. Both will appear in July 2024 worldwide, and the handheld will be less expensive than its predecessor. 

Both the new Evercade console and handheld models will look different than the original variants. Instead of red and white being the highlight colors, they are black and turquoise instead. They will also each come with a Giga Cart. However, Blaze didn’t note what the free games on the cartridge will be. 

As for the prices, the new handheld experienced the major price change. The Evercade EXP handheld is $149.99/£129.99/€149.99, and the EXP-R is going to be $99.99/£99.99/€119.99. The Evercase VS console starts at $99.99/£89.99/€99.99, and the VS-R will just be $99.99/£89.99/€109.99. 

Here’s the latest trailer going over the redesigned systems and showing how they look from different angles. It also lets you get a better look at the button placements and games running on the devices.

The Evercade EXP-R and VS-R will release in July 2024, and people can start placing pre-orders for the two of them on April 30, 2024. The previous versions of both systems are immediately available worldwide.

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Blaze Entertainment’s Evercade platform keeps on going, holding true (so far) to its promise to its hardware releases with a library of cross-compatible cartridges. We’re taking a look at the most recent suite of carts, giving you the lowdown on what they offer and who should consider them.

Indie Heroes Collection 3 4y6j6p

Always a highlight of the library, the Indie Heroes Collection installments batch together recently-developed retro games that cameo as a ed Game of the Month on the systems in the preceding year. A weird inclusion this time: Bubble Seahorse Adventures, which runs natively and sets off all sorts of uncanny valley signals in our brains when we see it running on a platform for retro games. Native ports can work well on the platform, when done right (like Cathedral), but this one feels off.

One of our favorites is Bone Marrow, which takes a very mobile-like slide puzzle and puts a fantasy dungeon-crawling skin atop it. Also a joy is Big2Small. In that game, you use the D-pad to slide animals until they hit an obstacle, using them as aids for each other to guide them each to particular squares. Generally, this cartridge works to mitigate the Evercade’s biggest weakness, which is slower-paced, thoughtful games. And we approve wholeheartedly.

Fans of the single-player puzzles of ChuChu Rocket! should check out the similarly-named Chew Chew Mimic, and VS owners can have some fun with friends in Chibi Monster Br4wl. For a full list of inclusions, you can check out the official Evercade page.

The C64 Collection 3 1a3i43

We’ll it to having less of a nostalgia for the Commodore 64, as American console-heads, but the love and attention that Blaze is giving to the platform is enviable. This third collection adds 13 more games, including ones as well-known as Boulder Dash and as obscure as… Break Dance? The latter’s a strange inclusion on the surface, but it’s one of the first attempts at rhythm gaming and has a Space Channel 5-like repeat-after-me structure.

The Commodore 64 doesn’t make for the most natural fit here — you’ll have to use a virtual keyboard sometimes — but it definitely could be worse. If you’re new to a game, though, we strongly recommend a thorough reading of its section of the manual to explain what’s going on and how to control it. More than consoles, these computer games assume you’ll do that and don’t bother explaining things on-screen.

If you paid any attention at all to the Evercade platform before this article, you probably know about these two Duke Nukem compilations. Launched alongside a commemorative version of the VS, they pull together titles from the franchise’s long history. Collection 1 is built around Duke Nukem 1+2 Remastered, a native port for Evercade of the original side-scrollers, and also adds Duke Nukem 3D: Total Meltdown, the FPS’ PS1 port, for variety.

The second collection has some deeper cuts. Time to Kill and Land of the Babes are PlayStation games with a third-person perspective and a lot of nods to Tomb Raider. Duke Nukem Advance is more of a technological marvel than anything else, getting the full 3D FPS experience up and running on the Game Boy Advance. It remixes a lot of Duke 3D assets to do its own thing, and… just don’t play this one on the VS. Your fun with this in 2024 is inversely proportional to the screen size you play it on.

Demons of Asteborg / Astebros 3l3a3l

We think the Evercade is at its best when it’s showcasing labors of love that wouldn’t usually otherwise carve out a spot on your shelf, and these indie two-packs do that well. Demons of Asteborg is a modern Sega Genesis action-adventure game, with exploration and platforming elements along the way. The animation is smooth and impressive, making for a game that makes you double-check whether it can actually run on original hardware. (Yep, it can!) Along with the gorgeous visuals comes a level of difficulty that is no joke. Perhaps understandably, it’s built for an audience that’s loved action games for decades and played the old ones so much that they needed something new.

Astebros, the included semi-sequel, ratchets down the barrier of entry a few notches, thankfully. It also brings in co-op and roguelike elements, and polishes some of the controls to feel more like its new-retro brethren. You can choose from three characters with different styles, and it’s an especially good time with an Evercade VS, a friend and some snacks. More than anything else in this lineup, this could lure in a pal who usually isn’t down to play older releases.

Goodboy Galaxy / Witch ‘n Wiz 6la3h

Witch ‘n Wiz is an NES block-pushing puzzle game in the vein of Lolo or Sokoban. Your goal is to defeat all the monsters by moving to the same square. There's lots of failure states, so there are two previous buttons dedicated to undoing and resetting the board. It's very much a game about gravity; pushing blocks off platforms and destroying temporary s is part of every solution, but you have to collect things in the right order.

Goodboy Galaxy, a newly-developed GBA platformer, stars a space-pup wandering about and retrieving gadgets and apps to unlock new abilities. The animation in the game nails a very GBA-specific brand of adorable. The environments are bright and colorful, if a bit utilitarian at the expense of world-building; you’ll find gameplay challenge, if not a believable biome. Also the dog is very good!

One cool thing about this release: it includes physical goodies! There are Goodboy Galaxy stickers and a hand-drawn guide map for Witch ‘n Wiz. We imagine this is the sort of thing that comes and goes based on Blaze’s profit margins for a given release, but we like seeing ‘em.

Evercade cartridges work on the Evercade EXP handheld, Evercade VS home system and even the budget-line Hyper Mega Tech! Super Pocket models. For more coverage of the platform, check out our archive.

The post Latest Evercade Cartridges Span Decades of Nostalgia appeared first on Siliconera.

These days, the Evercade game library’s depth and variety are starting to rival many of the full libraries of the consoles the platform emulates. The latest cart, Indie Heroes 2, is a great example of that, showcasing creativity and variety from a slate of hobbyist developers. Want to know more? Hey, great! Conveniently we have more article to read if you just keep scrolling a little bit.

The Evercade Indie Heroes Collection 2 cartridge compiles games that appeared on the Evercade VS as monthly bonuses. While that was a nice little digital treat, Evercade fans (and the games’ developers) probably appreciate the more permanent physical nature of a cartridge release. (Also, it’s entirely possible that this was the plan all along? In which case the Game of the Month thing seems like savvy marketing.)

Our favorite title in the bunch might be Lowtek Games’ Tapeworm Disco Puzzle. In this game, you’re extending and maneuvering a worm to collect various items. It felt a lot like Blazing Rangers without the time pressure. And in a compilation with nearly a dozen options for action? It was nice to catch our breath and think through solutions.

While all the games have ended up on the Evercade, they were built for a variety of retro platforms. This includes two Game Boy titles: Lunar Journey and Gelatinous: Humanity Lost. These especially test the creators’ ability to build within constraints, as already-limiting old console specs are about as simple as they can get on the venerable green-tinged brick. Lunar Journey is essentially a point-and-click adventure. In it, you find items to solve whimsical problems and let you progress on your mission to collect resources on the moon. Gelatinous is a platformer with some real Metroid II vibes, in of ability acquisition, level design and Game Boy-era “cinematic” presentation.

On the other end of things, no included title pushes visuals as much as Eyra, The Crow Maiden. Which is weird, given the game’s origins! What was once an NES project also saw ports to 16-bit systems through crowdfunding stretch goals, and the Genesis build is what appears in this collection. We suppose this meant the focus really was on the visual differences. The result is a very saturated, detailed world for some very classic-feeling platforming. It’s interesting to see a game look like this but deliver more plodding, NES-style movement and attacks! It worked enough for us, though.

The game count gets a little fuzzy with the inclusion of the Cowlitz Gamers Adventure and Gruniożerca trilogies. These two “games” from developers Lukasz Kur and M-Tee each offer a variety of experiences within the same shared theme and world. We’re particularly fond of the second and third Gruniożerca games! These are two very different approaches to block traversal puzzles. You hop around as a guinea pig, placing and removing limited blocks in 2 and stepping on them a certain number of times in 3. The Cowlitz games are screen-based collection platformers, with the scale and co-op approach of the last two feeling quite Bubble Bobble-like.

It will surprise absolutely no one to learn that many people who love retro games enough to make one of their own are big fans of Zelda. Two games in the collection, Anguna: Scourge of the Goblin King and Reknum Souls Adventure, seek to iterate on those sorts of ideas. Anguna takes the dungeon format and adds stats and experience. Reknum has a full Hyrule-esque overworld, as well as some side-scrolling sequences. If you’re more into the exploration and mysteries part of Zelda? Reknum has you covered. Less talking, more slashing? Try Anguna.

Nix: The Paradox Relic could be of interest, too, which we’d quickly describe as NES Metroid starring the Star Fox cast. Also included in the collection are Nessy the Robot, Beer Slinger, and Yeah Yeah Beebiss II.

As with other Evercade carts, Indie Heroes 2 includes a full-color manual explaining the games’ basics and developer origins. With a pack like this, that’s especially nice! Often, knowing the story behind an indie new-retro game makes playing a lot more fun. Also, the extra bit of credit for the people who did all the hard work? It’s probably appreciated.

The Evercade Indie Heroes Collection 2 cartridge launches January 31, 2023. It s a library of dozens of compilations for the platform. Want a closer look at those? Check out our Evercade archive.

The post Evercade’s Indie Heroes 2 Puts the Spotlight on Creativity Within Constraints appeared first on Siliconera.

A little over a year ago, we took a look at the games available on the Evercade platform at the time of the launch of the Evercade VS home system. Since then, there’s been a big focus on arcade releases in the Evercade lineup, as almost a dozen cartridges have ed the library. We’ve been checking out the most recent collections, and we’re ready to guide you to the best Evercade VS and Evercade EXP games to start in 2023!

The Best New-Retro Evercade VS and Evercade EXP Games 4m6p2g

One great er of the Evercade has been the new-retro community. And with good reason! More players and a physical cartridge release have undeniable appeal. Picking the best example of this is a tough choice with so many options. Still, we think the Alwa’s Awakening / Cathedral dual pack is the best place to start. The two are a good pairing for a number of reasons, starting with both appealing to the same sort of player. They’re about exploring and collecting and generally spending time in an action platforming world.

How they get there is different, though. Cathedral, which has seen release on modern platforms as well, is the Evercade’s first and so far only native port. The emulation on the Evercade devices is fine, but seeing something run natively and fill the screen shows just how good things could be. We know the work is probably a real barrier. Nevertheless, more native ports of games with old aesthetics would be wonderful.

Alwa’s Awakening gets there the other way around. Rather than a native port, the version here is the one developer Elden Pixels crafted specifically for the NES. The original game certainly felt like it wanted to be like those games! Building specifically for that spec, though, gives it just a bit more authenticity.

For more: We talked about it in our previous version of this guide, but Mega Cat Studios Collection 2 continues to find its way back into the cartridge slot through its innovative ideas and pure gameplay variety! And stay tuned for our focused look on the first new collection of 2023, Indie Heroes Collection 2, soon.

The Best Japanese Evercade VS and Evercade EXP Games 5c351l

This is one area in which Blaze Entertainment’s licensing team has really been putting in some work. And, of course, around here? We’re grateful for that. It’s been great to see the continued dedication to preserving and showcasing the platform’s local United Kingdom developers, but adding more Japanese studios broadens Evercade’s appeal.

They’re still doing things the Evercade way, though, with libraries full of games unlikely to get these collections elsewhere. It’s certainly hard not to miss some bigger releases, but those are far more likely to be on Nintendo Switch Online or dedicated microconsoles. A great recent example: Jaleco Arcade 1! You may have played a few of these, but 64th Street: A Detective Story has a hard time making compilations over something like Final Fight and Rod Land has to deal with competition like Bubble Bobble. Here, though, they feel special. And they also bring the distinctive Japanese feel that a retro platform needs.

For more: We took a deeper dive into Irem Arcade 1, Toaplan Arcade 1 and the EXP’s built-in Capcom titles in our review of the new handheld. The Technos and Data East arcade collections also have a lot to like. And, well, there are some interesting ones in our next pick...

The Best Single-Player Evercade VS and Evercade EXP Games 1o1z2j

With both quality and variety in spades, Renovation Collection 1 is arguably the best cartridge available for the Evercade platform. The publisher is known for picking up and releasing many of the deeper cuts of the Sega Genesis library. These came both from its parent company, Telenet Japan, and other developers. With a few small exceptions, this collection is dedicated to solo play, with a host of shoot-’em-up and RPG titles to keep you playing for quite a while.

Included in Renovation Collection 1 are some choice titles from revered studio Wolf Team. Like RPG Arcus Odyssey! And action-platformer El Viento! Oh, and Dino Land, a quirky pinball game that’s a lot more fun than you’d think? There’s a reason people love the Wolf Team library so intensely, and though we love the Tales franchise around here, it’s nice to see the genre variety of the studio’s early days.

For more: The library is expanding and covering up a lot more of its genre weaknesses, but Codemasters Collection 1 and Piko Interactive Collection 1 still offer a good variety. There are also some fun inclusions in the new Gremlin Collection 1, even including a soccer management game.

The Best Multiplayer Evercade VS Games 53p6a

There are tons of great two-player options for Evercade VS play, bolstered by the growing Arcade cartridge line. Somewhat more elusive is a good four-player centerpiece for party play. Enter Morphcat Games Collection 1, with its two Micro Mages campaigns.

While Micro Mages’ aesthetic may initially remind players of TowerFall, its dedicated co-op approach lends it a different feel. Those titular “micro” mages aren’t just personality; making them so small lets worlds be much larger than you’re used to seeing from an NES game, and two whole campaigns mean you’ll be playing for a while.

For more: All the Arcade collections offer some fun titles! And you can’t go too wrong with a few rounds of Worms.

The Evercade EXP handheld retails for $149.99, with the IREM Arcade 1 cart and built-in Capcom titles. The Evercade VS home system is also still available. For more coverage on the Blaze Evercade ecosystem and its games, check out our archive.

The post Evercade VS and Evercade EXP Games: The Best of the Platform So Far appeared first on Siliconera.

In an end of year letter from Blaze Managing Director Andrew Byatt, the company committed to regular Evercade EXP firmware updates and teased more cartridges for the system. Exact names weren't mentioned for the additional games. There's also no roap or schedule for patches. However, both came up during the statement. People can apparently expect at least 11 more

Here is Byatt's exact statement regarding the Evercade EXP firmware updates and cartridges.

Now the EXP has released we are working on updates and improvements to make your experience better. We will have regular new Firmware over the coming months to address bugs, improve stability and add fun features that you will enjoy. If you have questions or problems we are here to help. Just email @evercade.co.uk for assistance.

Onto 2023, I have signed 11 new cartridges as of today with several more deals being negotiated as I write. We aim to bring you more variety, more big names, more hidden gems and games from other systems we have not yet seen on Evercade. We have some exciting things coming your way.

As a reminder, the Evercade EXP is an upgraded version of the original handheld system. It features a redesign, a USB-C charging port, wi-fi , and tate mode .

The Evercade EXP debuted on November 24, 2022, and it and the standard Evercade and Evercade VS are available worldwide.

The post More Evercade Cartridges, EXP Firmware Updates on the Way appeared first on Siliconera.

The Evercade library has been growing steadily over the past few years. Both software and hardware! But as new licensing deals broaden player options and the Evercade VS home system makes multiplayer more feasible, one piece of the equation felt a bit limiting. That’s the original Evercade handheld.

It’s... fine? We still enjoyed it when it launched in 2020. But as a first foray into making this sort of device, and one that really put a on keeping costs low? It isn’t ideal long-term. The more robust menus and features of the VS simply couldn’t work on the old system, and the materials and system angles could maybe use some help.

Compounding the issue? The proliferation of many handheld platforms, as big as the Switch Lite and Steam Deck or as niche as new emulation-focused devices, that have refined and set new standards for build quality and comfort. These refinements have extended down to the lower price points as well, to the point at which we’re talking about whether button springiness is exactly what we want. It feels like we’re past “this feels cheap” being a reasonable choice for a product on the market.

Enter the Evercade EXP.

The new hardware 72255q

This new device fully replaces the original Evercade, with a look and feel that feels a lot like a Switch Lite. It has wi-fi and system features on par with the VS. There are some elements of the hardware design that just can’t change with the cartridge shape defining a few color and curve dimensions, but what was done here? The changes help a lot.

The original’s buttons felt clicky and cheap, while the EXP ones are more what you’re used to with systems. The glossy plastic surface attracted smudges quickly, so the EXP has a textured matte finish. It’s still affordable, so it doesn’t feel like an Xbox Elite controller or anything, but it’s a huge step forward from the design that plagued both the original portable and the packed-in VS controllers. The charging port upgrading to a more modern USB-C is nice, too, as many already have moved on to that standard.

In the rotation 1x4oc

One special feature of the Evercade EXP hardware is a dedicated tate mode. Popular with fans of shoot-’em-ups, tate mode allows for a vertical display closer to the original arcade by rotating the screen 90 degrees. With a configuration similar to the Bandai WonderSwan, the EXP has dedicated extra controls for holding the device sideways and playing titles with the press of a mode button.

In practice, the mode’s somewhat limited right now. There are a few games in the library to it, and we’re sure that number will grow once the hardware’s out in the wild! Thankfully, the new Toaplan compilation offers a few nice choices for the function. The software side of things work well, though we have a gripe with the real-world physics: holding the device in this configuration makes it really top-heavy, with the controls at the extreme bottom to keep you from offering that yourself.

Also... there’s one thing. And we have to say it! This makes us really want a WonderSwan collection. There’s simply no other device out there with such natural for that library of vertical and orientation-swapping titles. Our hesitation? It comes from licensing. It’s clear that negotiations for the Namco Museum titles, which still only work on the two handhelds, indicate that Blaze hasn’t had the best luck working things out with Bandai Namco. And yeah, a lot of the titles aren’t playable in English. But Judgment Silversword and Klonoa and such? They’d be a huge sell for the hardware.

The Capcom collection 4u3p2y

Adding value to the Evercade EXP is a collection of built-in games from Capcom. Alongside the IREM pack-in cartridge, these 18 games give players a solid start to their library with a variety of genres. Most of the games are arcade versions, like the 1942 trilogy and Street Fighter II. Its console selections, though, may be the most important. Mega Man, Mega Man 2 and Mega Man X are here to give that franchise a presence here, and they’re fun on the go. Last, and perhaps most important to us, is Breath of Fire. We’ve been asking for more robust RPGs and strategy titles on the Evercade, and we’re happy to be thrown a bone here. (Even though we’d rather have had the sequel.)

This Capcom pack does come with some noticeable gripes from the community. As built-in games, they’re not playable on other platforms, nor do they match with the Evercade’s ethos of the fun of physical cartridges. They’re locked on this device, for now and forever. Blaze has been upfront about the difficulty of negotiations, saying it was this method or nothing.

And between this and the Namco Museum difficulties, it feels clear that Blaze is well aware of the gaps at the top of the Evercade library. There’s a lot of niche stuff, and a lot of representation from European studios near the company’s home in the UK. But the big Japanese titles? There’s less. The bending here lets them get Street Fighter and Mega Man on the platform, which is a big deal for the vast majority of players who aren’t exactly satisfied with Fighter’s History.

Evercade EXP: The verdict 5b5r3z

The better build quality and more robust tech of the Evercade EXP are a huge benefit to those who’ve already invested in the ecosystem, and may attract new fans who were holding out for the polish of second-generation hardware. We already liked the project as a way to enjoy some less-celebrated games of the past, but the burgeoning library and hardware upgrade is making it both more appealing to people and appealing to more people.

The Evercade EXP handheld is available for $149.99, with an official release date of December 15, 2022. It comes bundled with the IREM Arcade 1 cartridge, as well as built-in Capcom titles. Stay tuned to Siliconera for a closer look at the latest Evercade cartridge releases soon! For more coverage on the Blaze Evercade ecosystem and its games, check out our archive.

The post Review: Evercade EXP Handheld is a Huge Hardware Upgrade appeared first on Siliconera.

Customers that ordered a Limited Edition Evercade EXP handheld retro-console will have to wait longer to get their hardware. According to developer Blaze Entertainment, they were stolen. The company said that much of the stock of the Evercade EXP Limited Edition was stolen in "a suspected targeted robbery."

On the Evercade official website, Blaze Entertainment CEO Andrew Byatt informed customers of the theft, which reportedly took place on early on December 7, 2022. He said that no one was hurt in the robbery, but much of the Evercade EXP Limited Edition stock destined for the UK, USA, and other global customers was taken. EU stock arrived successfully at the European warehouse for distributor Funstock.

The Evercade EXP is a handheld retro gaming console designed to play classic games. It comes with 18 Capcom games built-in, and takes special cartridge-based game collections. It costs $149.99 USD and went on sale on November 24, 2022.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXOZhBngnE0

Byatt said that Blaze Entertainment is working with UK police and creating a plan of action to compensate for the loss. He expressed sympathy for fans and customers "who are the victims of his theft." Though they hope to recover the stolen stock, Blaze has "immediately started production on replacements" and get them into customers' hands. Sales for the Evercade EXP Limited Edition, which were exclusive to the Funstock website, have been discontinued. Byatt said that any other sources "are likely stolen goods".

It will take some time for replacement units to be manufactured, though. To recognize the patience of customers affected by the theft, Blaze is creating a list of "Heroes" to be added to the EXP console credits. The replacement units will also have a free screen protector set included, alongside a 20% off voucher on a future order.

Funstock will customers whose orders were affected and instruct them on the next step. Orders of the Evercade EXP Limited Edition from EU countries are not affected, as the stock was not stolen. The standard white edition of the Evercade EXP is also not affected, so orders placed will ship as planned.

Byatt closed the message by encouraging fans to Blaze if they see "suspicious stock" and reiterated that any third-party listings of the Limited Edition may qualify, as orders are exclusive to Funstock.

The post Evercade EXP Limited Units Stolen in Robbery appeared first on Siliconera.