Steve 'Flash' JuonAs a life long gamer and someone who is passionate about the Mega Man franchise, ordering the Evercade Alpha was basically a no brainer. Had they offered me a review unit I would have happily accepted, but the good news about not getting one comped despite the cost (more on that later) is that you can take my word for it on anything I say here. Neither Blaze Entertainment (parent company of the Evercade) nor Funstock (the distributor for all orders of the Alpha) has any influence over my opinion here, positive or negative — all thoughts are my own.
First I should get my only major gripe out of the way — the state of the box the unit came in. While all of the sides featuring Mega Man artwork were in tact, the back side had two notable gashes in the cardboard at the very bottom. This is most likely from being bounced around in transit or in the back of the delivery truck that brought it to my door, but at little more cushioning inside the shipping box or a protective layer of padding around the Alpha’s box inside that shipping box would have helped. The actual bartop arcade INSIDE that box was just fine. No cracks, no damage, nothing faulty. As I said in my video it’s like winning the crappiest lottery — 98% of your purchase is fine but the least important 2% is damaged. If I can get a replacement box I will but otherwise I’ll have to live with it.
Removing the protective film on units like this always seems to be a pain in the ass, but I’m not registering that as a complaint because it’s better to have it than not, so that the marquee and the screen are not blemished before you even unpack it. Speaking of that marquee if you order the “deluxe” version of an Alpha cab (which I did) you get upgraded buttons and sticks along with a set of five additional marquees that you can swap in to change your display. Previous mini cabs I’ve purchased such as the Astro City or Neo Geo Mini have not had a changeable marquee, and since this one is lit up from behind when you power on the unit, it really adds to the feel of the experience. It’s as easy as popping the front plate off, putting a new marquee in, and popping it back on. Brilliant!
Now some will and already have groused about the selection of Mega Man games on a Mega Man themed unit. I won’t for one simple reason — the two games of the six built in were arcade games that didn’t have home console ports at the time of their release. Both Mega Man: The Power Battle and its sequel have popped up sporadically on compilations this century, but in at least one case I can think of they were a hidden addition you had to unlock by completing other achievements first. Here they are available right from the go and they’re one of the few Mega Man games I actually enjoy playing with an arcade stick and buttons. Most Mega Man games are home console games designed for a controller you hold in your hands that has a D-pad, but The Power Battle lives up to its name by being a BATTLE where you basically do a “boss rush” collecting powers along the way.
As for the other built in games, I can take them or leave them. Carrier Air Wing is a decent shoot ’em up but nothing I’ve ever considered an all-time classic. It’s a good time killer, I’ll give it that. Strider is more my speed but I’m so used to home ports of this game that playing the arcade version actually throws me off a bit. Over time, I’ll adapt. The clear winners here are Final Fight and Knights of the Round; the former is a belt action title that takes cues from Double Dragon, and the later is a fantasy romp where you beat down hordes of enemies solo or with a friend. Since you have “unlimited coins” with this bartop arcade unit there’s no shame in running it solo, but it’s definitely better together.
Now this is where the Evercade Alpha shines the brightest. Aside from being an aesthetically pleasing miniature cab with a light up marquee, a pseudo coin slot as a power button, and a nice built in screen and speakers (no HDMI output for obvious reasons), there are two USB ports and two cartridge ports down by the aforementioned coin slot. One blue USB controller was included in the box, so you’re ready to go for two player action if one person uses the stick and buttons and the other uses the second controller — or if you’re playing games that work better with a D-pad you just use that instead of the arcade stick. The cartridge ports allow you to plug in a vast library of Evercade titles, and from the jump Evercade’s gimmick has been to give you physical releases of classic games and a variety of ways to enjoy them. Handheld? Put your cart in an Evercade EXP. Console? Evercade VS. Bartop? Evercade Alpha. With collections for major publishers like Data East, Namco and Atari plus indie developers like Mega Cat Studios and ports of franchises like Tomb Raider, there’s no shortage of options to expand your library beyond the six built in games.
The biggest negative is going to be the price point. At a bare minimum you’re going to spend $239 before shipping and tax, and that’s if you don’t get a deluxe version with the upgraded buttons and sticks and the interchangeable marquees. When I purchased my pre-order I used “pay in four” to soften the blow a bit, but you’re spending close to what an Xbox Series S goes for or perhaps more and you’re locked into the Evercade ecosystem once you do so. If there’s a way to sideload games I’m not aware of it nor do I endorse it. If you want an all digital gaming experience this isn’t the way to go. If you want to buy games that are a cartridge and a manual in a box at $20 a pop (occasionally more) then you get an average of 4-10 games per cart — sometimes just two if they’re a big deal for one reason or another (such as Tanglewood and Xeno Crisis, two indie darlings on one cart).
If you’re a Mega Man fan, the Alpha is an obvious choice whether you get it standard or deluxe, even though you might save up for it first. If you want to play on a big screen TV, get the Evercade Vs instead. If you want to play a portable handheld the Evercade EXP is a fine system and the most budget friendly of the lot. I recommend the Alpha for arcade enthusiasts who already own Evercade releases to begin with. Other people may want to wait until there’s a sale or someone who owns one gets tired of it taking up space. It does chew up quite a bit of real estate.
PS: I contacted Funstock about the damaged packaging and this was their response — and keep in mind I offered to pay for shipping for a replacement box. I didn’t request a new unit. “We always strive to deliver our orders in perfect condition but unfortunately we do not have control over the way the courier handles our orders. Once the goods leave our warehouse, it is out of our control. We are glad to hear that your Alpha Arcade has not been damaged due to this. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide replacement packaging, as we do not have stock of replacement packaging and since the product itself is undamaged and fully functional, we are unable to offer a replacement under the manufacturer’s warranty.” I think for almost $300 they can do better than that.