You may not know this, but Retro Gamer is always watching. Not in a creepy way – we only use our long lenses for bird photography, thank you very much – but we do tend to hang around in Facebook groups and Discord servers, quietly observing the mood of various retro gaming communities. We particularly enjoy watching the Evercade scene, in part because the regular new developments tend to keep discussions fresh, and in part because a dedicated retro-gaming console with its collectable cartridges is still such a unique offering. As the platform’s second anniversary was approaching earlier in the year, we saw an interesting split of opinions emerging. Some Evercade fans were beginning to voice the opinion that Blaze Entertainment really needed to sign some big-hitting games in order for the platform to reach that next level of growth. Others were pretty happy with what the platform already had to offer and simply hoped for a refresh of the handheld hardware, a kind of Evercade Pro.
In the end, Blaze came up with something that would theoretically please both camps. The Evercade EXP is intended as the next major step for the platform, a new piece of handheld hardware compatible with all existing Evercade cartridges, and designed to offer an improved user experience. However, the biggest buzz around the handheld concerns its built-in bonus games, which really do threaten to overshadow everything else about the console. Every Evercade EXP will come with 18 Capcom games, including instantly recognisable games like Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Final Fight, Commando, Strider and Mega Man 2. These are pre-loaded games licensed to the device, with no need for any downloads or activation, nor any way of being deleted. In terms of mainstream appeal, it’s easily the biggest acquisition for the Evercade since the Namco Museum cartridges that helped to launch the platform in 2020.
When we visited Blaze Entertainment
