Evercade EXP features 18 built-in Capcom games

For a while now, the folks at Blaze Entertainment have been teasing some mysterious “bonus content” that will come with the upcoming new Evercade EXP retro gaming handheld, but have given no hint whatsoever as to what that might be. Well, today it’s finally been revealed: the console will ship with 18 built-in games from Capcom as well as the Irem and Toaplan arcade collections that will be releasing at the same time, the former of which is included with the standard release of the EXP.

The 18 games are pre-installed on the Evercade EXP rather than included on a cartridge, and they include 14 arcade titles plus four home console versions. Like the standalone cartridge releases, though, the Capcom collection on the EXP will come with a full-colour manual providing information on all the included games, plus artwork, screenshots and other background information.

The full list of arcade games on the Evercade EXP is:

• 1942
• 1943
• 1944: The Loop Master
• Bionic Commando
• Captain Commando
• Commando
• Final Fight
• Forgotten Worlds
• Ghouls’n Ghosts
• Legendary Wings
• MERCS
• Street Fighter II’: Hyper FIghting
• Strider
• Vulgus

And the home console titles included are:

• Mega Man
• Mega Man II
• Mega Man X
• Breath of Fire

Blaze is keen to stress that this isn’t a case of “redeem a code and get these games” — they’re pre-installed and ready to go straight out of the box the moment you get your new Evercade EXP. And a selection of them, including 1942, 1943, Commando, Legendary Wings, Vulgus and MERCS, are vertically oriented arcade games, making them ideal to try out the Evercade EXP’s special Tate mode.

The Evercade EXP is a significant improvement over the original Evercade handheld, featuring the same internal gubbins as the TV-connected Evercade VS console for some of the best emulation performance out there. It also features Wi-Fi connectivity like the VS, making the firmware update process considerably easier and allowing access to online features such as the “Game of the Month” indie game programme Blaze has been running throughout this year. And, perhaps most importantly for many fans, the screen has been upgraded massively, making this one of the most lovely-looking handhelds out there.

The Evercade EXP’s Tate mode allows you to press a button to rotate the screen sideways and hold the handheld vertically. Dedicated A and B buttons are provided next to the D-pad for when you’re playing a game in this way, so there’s no awkward “holding both ends” shenanigans like with the poor old Atari Lynx. Games don’t have to be specifically updated to support the Tate mode, so games in the existing arcade collections can all be enjoyed in this way if you so desire.

Like the original Evercade handheld, the Evercade EXP will also feature TV out via mini-HDMI, allowing you to use the handheld as a “console”. For those who have been hungering to play the Namco Museum Collection cartridges on your TV — Namco inexplicably only licensed them for the Evercade handhelds — this is how you do it.

We haven’t had an official word on this yet, but we can also likely assume that the Evercade EXP will be usable as a controller for the Evercade VS with the appropriate cable.

The Evercade platform is going from strength to strength, and has been continuing to grow in popularity and ambition since its launch in 2020. By the time the Evercade EXP releases, more than 350 games will be available for the platform, covering gaming history from the late 1970s right up until today — and making a point of highlighting overlooked and underappreciated games as much as the big names of gaming history.

The future looks bright for this spunky little retro gaming platform. If you want to get on board with the EXP, preorders will open on September 6, 2022 and the system will be with us on November 24, 2022, barring any last-minute delays. Thankfully, the global shipping and chip availability situation appears to be much better than it was back when the VS released, so fingers crossed we won’t see the new system get delayed too much.

You can find out more about the Evercade ecosystem and the new handheld over on the official website.

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Pete Davison

Pete is Rice Digital's editor, and a proud champion of any and all games involving pretty girls hanging out, saving the world or both. His first waifu was Rit from Rod Land.

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