Retro gaming hardware manufacturer Blaze Entertainment has unveiled the Evercade Alpha: an upcoming arcade machine that will be fully compatible with Evercade game cartridges.
The Evercade Alpha will be available in two distinct versions each offering six distinct built-in games. One is covered in Street Fighter decals and contains Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition, Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors Dreams, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter 2: Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and my personal favorite Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo.
The other has a Mega Man-inspired design and features Mega Man: The Power Battle, Carrier Air Wing, Final Fight, Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Knights of the Round, and Strider.
You can see the designs of both models, plus some glimpses of a few games in action, for yourself in the brand-new reveal trailer below.
Of course, you’re not only restricted to the built-in games library as both models will be fully compatible with the over 50 Evercade cartridges that are currently released. This opens up access to hundreds of games ranging from retro classics like Dig Dug and Pac-Man to modern indie titles such as Big2Small.
The Evercade Alpha is a convenient bar-top size and features USB controller ports for local multiplayer, an 8-inch IPS screen, a light-up marquee bar with three interchangeable designs included in the box, stereo speakers, a 3.5mm audio jack, and, of course, authentic arcade controls built-in.
It is currently available for pre-order for a discounted price of £199.99 / $229.99 and will be released in November this year. After release, it will cost £229.99 / $249.99.
You can also splash out for the deluxe edition, which is available to pre-order for £249.99 / $289.99. It comes with an exclusive poster and certificate of authenticity, plus three additional interchangeable marquees and significantly upgraded arcade controls manufactured by Sanwa. It’s a bit more expensive, but the Sanwa controls should make it the way to go for true arcade enthusiasts.
Regarding the reveal, the CEO of Blaze Entertainment Andrew Byatt said that he is “thrilled to introduce Alpha Arcades to our customers, providing the ultimate Evercade Arcade gaming experience for our fans.”
“This continued collaboration with Capcom brings an incredible lineup of arcade classics to Evercade,” he explained. “We believe fans will love titles like Mega Man Power Battle and the Street Fighter Alpha series. After that, they can play hundreds of other games from our Evercade library simply by slotting in a cartridge.”
I’ve been particularly impressed with recent Blaze Entertainment products, especially the Super Pocket that was released last year. I awarded the handheld a rare five out of five stars in our Super Pocket review, praising its fantastic selection of in-built games, robust controls, Evercade cartridge compatibility, and simply incredible value for money.
I still use it to play a few rounds of Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting from time to time and consider it to be one of the best retro game consoles right now. If the quality of the Evercade Alpha is on par with the Super Pocket, it could easily become a new favorite for retro gamers.
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