Evercade Alpha Bartop Arcade Review - An ALMOST Great Arcade Machine

[@cooltoy]

Evercade Alpha Street Fighter Bartop: amzn.to/49DnmnL Evercade Alpha Mega Man Bartop: amzn.to/49l4CZY

[@chilly6470]

I think it's a really nice product and they seem to be getting better with their products. And now, there's news of them working with SNK for their next products........ That sounds great to me!

[@jamisonballard3590]

I love mine, however I did opt for the Deluxe edition with full Sanwa controls. I agree ditch the extra marquees due to the machine being one particular theme, I will never use them either and I would've loved a protective overlay instead. Overall, loving the machine though. Great video as always.

[@cooltoy]

That's great to hear you are enjoying it! Deluxe control add on was a nice preorder option for consumers, wish more companies would do that sort of thing for early adopters.

[@brassmonkeymusic655]

This is such a great, honest, objective review. Very helpfull, thank you! 🙏

[@cooltoy]

@@brassmonkeymusic655 glad I could assist 👍

[@JPGamerRetroAnime]

That's pretty cool arcade for this Holiday Season thanks for the review.😊😊😊😊

[@cooltoy]

@@JPGamerRetroAnime my pleasure

[@mnomic8371]

Awesome t-shirt!

[@cooltoy]

@@mnomic8371 goonies never say die!

[@smog-097]

The lack of a deck protector is a huge oversight.

[@VGRobot]

They have a coating over it, jt just isn’t plexiglass.

[@cooltoy]

@smog-097 absolutely agree

[@Gametester110-qf8vs]

​​​@@VGRobotTell that to the Arcade1Up peeps. They tried this at first too, and we saw how THAT ended up. Besides, Plexi looks awesome and aids the unit, not just in long-term durability of the Artwork but, the overall presentation on the unit.

[@jaggedj2510]

That will be the main reason why I’m not purchasing this.

[@FloydWarren13]

I too chipped my deck graphics. I had to pop off the screw caps to remove the deck, so I could pull off all the screen protector. I wish companies wouldn't make it so hard to remove that protective plastic. I would never plug the Alpha into a screen, even if it had a HDMI port. I will never play the games on the Alpha or a VS. I have all those games, and many more, on an arcade machine with a much larger screen. I bought my Alpha's to put on a shelf and let them play their attract reels. I do agree with you on the extra marquee's. It is a waste to include them. Using one of the additional ones would only make the machine mismatch its graphics theme. Great video and fair review.

[@cooltoy]

They really should have saved their money on the extra marquees and put those savings towards something to protect the control panel art. An oversight for sure.

[@majinpowers]

Best review on the unit I have saw because it is honest and brings the short coming of the system out in the open. cooltoy is the only person I have saw talking about the lockups.

[@cooltoy]

@@majinpowers thank you for the feedback!

[@RichieCavsRetrocade]

I got the original Arcade1Up Centipede and Asteroids cabinets when they didn't have that protective control panel cover and stuff was rubbing away within weeks. But they did start sending out the plastic oberlays to buyers of those early games and even sent me new artwork covers to put under the new plastic oberlays for Centipede and Asteroids, so maybe these guys can send something like that out. I think for it's size it should be more like $149 and $249 for one with a bigger screen, IMO

[@cooltoy]

The price for these machines is a bit high, I agree. A deck protector is a definite need for these, otherwise people are going to suffer the same issues as those early Arcade1up units.

[@jasonmann3775]

Good point on the artwork. You only know that through experience! You could have been their consultant in hindsight.

[@cooltoy]

@@jasonmann3775 hopefully they learn from these early mistakes

[@HitnRunTony]

Those cartridges look fun

[@cooltoy]

@@HitnRunTony they are a great way to expand the game library. Great thing about them is they work on all of the Evercade products which is great for collectors already involved with their gaming ecosystem

[@HitnRunTony]

@@cooltoy That’s cool, especially with the news that they partner with SNK

[@sonarfreq]

I personally don't see the lack of HDMI as a big deal. The unit is purpose built to be an all inclusive item which I think it does quite well. Great review though!

[@nasman7492]

If you can maybe mention to them if the can add the Mega Man soccer for a extra bonus for us

[@Tim_York]

Hopefully someone will make an aftermarket deck protector. My deck chipped too when I removed it to take off the screen protector film.

[@cooltoy]

Yeah that’s a real bummer they didn't include one. Really big oversight on that.

[@videogamevegas]

CoolToy, Man, if this thing came out before the 3/4 scale size, I would've been all over it. Unfortunately for me, after I bought my first Arcade1Up countercade, I found I didn't like playing on that form factor, too small for me. However, could you imagine if Evercade decided to make this machine in a 3/4 scale sized form factor now that Arcade1Up is floundering? If you remember back in the day, I recommended Arcade1Up make a Neo Geo cabinet with swappable 4 game cartridges and Evercade has that tech, so they could 1Up Arcade1Up :) I understand that the leap to 3/4 scale size can be risky, but I think Evercade would've gotten a lot more excitement going straight to that larger size and skipping the countercade form factor. Thanks for the review! vgv

[@cooltoy]

Problem with that is I know a lot of the A1Up licensing deals were made with verbiage that prevented other competitors from releasing certain games in a scale close to or similar to 3/4 scale. So they would have to avoid certain licenses or wait out contract expiration dates. I agree Evercade would have made a bigger impact with a larger product for sure, I really like their concept, but I'm not sure the current bar top execution is going to make a big enough impact to grow their business this late in the home arcade game.

[@JonLeung1]

11:31 - right after you showed it locking up, my computer (that I was watching this on) coincidentally ALSO locked up (the same way, too, with a similar noise). o_0

[@cooltoy]

it's a curse! 😲

[@itsmrotaku]

Would be ideal if I had kids but I'll wait till two player one is out

[@NathanHewitt-dj2qt]

Can you find out if the control deck will rub off the paintwork when your hands are on it?

[@ShabazzJones-lv8qf]

The fact of what he said about the device rubbing off over time is unacceptable for a 200 plus soon to be 300 plus device unacceptable I got 5 super pockets from Amazon an a 6th coming that being said the evercade alpha looks awesome but that one flaw is unacceptable

[@cooltoy]

Evercade really needs to ship this out with a protective overlay for the control panel. Otherwise there is going to be some really unhappy consumers after a month of use.

[@punaforager]

It does power from a power bank, since it’s using a usb cable with an included wall adapter.

[@cooltoy]

I showcased that it powers from a power bank, but I wish it came with it's own internal battery so a power bank wouldn't be necessary for portable gaming.

[@JeffYPbPr]

Finally. An honest review of this product. The 1up shills weee blowing this thing as if it’s the second coming of Christ.

[@cooltoy]

@@JeffYPbPr glad you liked it 👍

[@KeenRetroGames]

I have a hundred carts (one and a halfish full sets) and none of them have ever had broken cases. That's weird.

[@cooltoy]

My postman must have been having a bad day then 😂

[@KeenRetroGames]

@ to be fair, it IS that time of year

[@atulshrivastava2235]

Great video man! Is there a pack for mega man and capcom games? i have the street fighter version but want those games you showed.

[@cooltoy]

Nope, the Capcom games don't have Evercade carts for sale as of right now. Only way to play them is through these two alpha arcade units currently.

[@kjhoskins]

Great review. A nice device. Not perfect but pretty close. Thanks for the video.

[@cooltoy]

@@kjhoskins glad I could help 👍

[@majinpowers]

I got the Mega Man Deluxe one and have done nothing but test my cartridge collection to see if everything worked. I have experienced lockups and the unit refuses to play Atari Lynx Collection 1 completely. inserting the cart causes the unit to lockup. The cart updating feature also does not work on the unit I have.

[@cooltoy]

It's unfortunate that you're having issues, have you contacted the company at all about it? Did they suggest anything?

[@majinpowers]

@@cooltoy Yes I did contact them. The Atari Collection 1 locking up is a known issues and should be fixed in the next patch. They also stated that the patch would also cover some of the other issues, but no real details other than the locking up will not hurt the carts and should be fixed next patch.

[@eelobrian6727]

What is that wire is thst wire hanging from those headphones? Is that a Bluetooth antenna?🤨😉😆

[@DeVstatrOmga]

I like the games, just not the form factor it's delivered on. It's too small. Street Fighter Alpha officially licensed is a plus but still not enough for me to buy. I'm just saving up to keep building my own custom arcade build with a Tank Stick and PC unless someone comes out with something mind blowing.

[@sullister]

Are the MegaMan The Power Battles available on anything else?

[@cooltoy]

@@sullister Nintendo switch e store i believe

[@maddmig3598]

Looks cool but i think if instead of a bartop evercade produced a 3/4 scale arcade same size as A1UP with 2 player control panel. I think consumers would've been more excited about it. But the fact thats its a 1 player Bartop small scale its more of a novelty piece that will sit in a shelf collecting dust. 3/4 scale and i would've been all over it. Day 1 buy. Hope the alpha 2 is 3/4

[@cooltoy]

@@maddmig3598 it wouldn’t really make sense for them to do 3/4 machines seeing is that’s Arcade1up’s world. Evercade would just look like a copycat if they just did the same thing Arcade1up already does at that scale. Not to mention the fact that Arcade1up has certain licenses locked up at the 3/4 scale so no competitors can even try to duplicate their offerings.

[@bond008a9]

Would this be easy to put Sanwa in? Is it double 4 plug on board?

[@KeenRetroGames]

Yes, you can even get them with Sanwa components preinstalled from Funstock.

[@cooltoy]

yes, a Sanwa JLF joystick would be easy ti drop into this

[@dwightdixon8508]

MegaMan soccer would be a PLUS. Built in China batteries go bad in a year anyway. But why oh why no HDMI out?! So close, perhaps Alpha 2 will correct that. It’s $200+ so it’s different class than the VS-R so not sure why they feel having HDMI out would cannibalize VS-R sales

[@cooltoy]

@@dwightdixon8508 mega man soccer in an under appreciated game, would have been nice to see it here. Really hoping the company learns from this release and makes improvements toward the future with arcade machines.

[@Evilkingus]

I don't get why everyone wants this to have HDMI-output. It is a miniarcade WITH a screen, for crying out loud. Think about how clunky it would be to use as a console. No the real issue is that you cannot connect two together for some two-player action - it will not feel the same with another player using a gamepad or sitting by the side with a huge arcadestick. It could be half decent with two similar machines side-by-side.

[@cooltoy]

@@Evilkingus people want the hdmi out because many feel the 8” screen is too small. It’s one thing to play gameboy games on a small screen, it’s something entirely different when you’re playing arcade games on a screen that small. Especially when our first experiences with these arcade games were on 20 and 25” arcade monitors back in the day.

[@dwightdixon8508]

Options, options, options, sometimes you may just want to play on a larger screen plus if that built in screen ever fails (and they do fail) it be usable to hook up via HDMI

[@ac4054]

I agree HDMI out on this doesn't make sense. I get what people are saying is that it's too small of a screen to play two players. But how often are people really going to play two players on a counter top arcade that's meant for one player? I will say it's nice that the USB ports are there for the second player though.

[@Mike-B-Jackson]

I really wanted to want this ... does that make sense? I'm a lifelong Mega Man fan, and the arcade boards are very collectable. But this, this is so meh. There's no room on the left side of the stick to actually play. It's smaller than it needs to be, and it's just.. a dust collector if I'm being honest.

[@cooltoy]

I know exactly what you mean, I'm hoping that Evercade learns from this and comes out with a better arcade product later down the line.

[@edwingonzalez2436]

The buttons and joystick are very cheap. I also had an issue removing the protective layer on the screen lens and now have a small chip on the deck trying to pry the plastic caps off. The sound is also not great on all the games.

[@KeenRetroGames]

If you want something with HDMI out, the VS-R is a lot cheaper. I don't want something like this sitting next to my TV taking up space.

[@cooltoy]

See I'm the opposite, I don't want the VS-R and I rather have something like this taking up space. I like the aesthetic of an arcade machine much more than another console box. To each their own.

[@dwightdixon8508]

It’s all about having options and the more the merrier IMO

[@MobileDecay]

I guess I should get this and another Light Saber. Lol jk. 😂

[@cooltoy]

you can never have enough light sabers 😉