CONSOLES COMPARED

While the Evercade VS offers a number of steps up from the existing Evercade handheld experience, the new console is very much meant to complement the existing hardware, rather than replace it. If you already have the handheld, you won’t need to purchase the Evercade VS to benefit from a significant chunk of the improvements it brings, as a version of the new user interface will be coming to the handheld via a firmware update. “It’s almost like for like,” says Amy McHugh, head of creative at Blaze. “There are some layout adjustments to work within the smaller handheld screen size. Display options will include bezels, aspect ratio and scanlines. Themes for handheld are currently not planned. Controller mappings are designed in a table format as opposed to the diagram you see on the VS, to keep the text at a legible size.”

However, having both pieces of hardware does give you some nice benefits. For a start, Blaze is releasing a dedicated link cable that connects the Evercade handheld to the Evercade VS, for use as an extra controller. Additionally, as well as the games being designed to work across both systems, the save states are too – since they’re stored on the cartridge, you should be able to load your game regardless of which system you last used. “It was really key to make sure all those that had bought carts already didn’t have to buy them again for another type of system. Compatibility of our cartridges is very important,” says Andrew. “We liked the idea that you can play the handheld on the move or in bed, away from a TV and then when you