DF Retro Hardware - Evercade Review: The Cartridge-Based Retro Handheld That Works

We've had a ton of requests to take a look at Blaze's Evercade - a cartridge-based retro handheld. It's certainly a fascinating device with a unique game delivery mechanism, and the emulation is strong. DF Retro's John Linneman gives the device a thorough road-test.
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[@EvercadeRetro]

Thank you for taking the time to review our console. Great to see it put through its paces. 😊

[@ApexLodestar]

The little retro booklets it comes with in each collection really makes me want it more. These days console gamers get just a thin sheet with warnings printed on them or DLC codes.

[@SoftOtaku]

Or more often, NOTHING AT ALL. Even in special editions. Here is all this KAK but we can’t be asked to even give you a single piece of paper showing the controls. Just a blank empty space. Boo.

[@spunkyfidget70]

I watched a few videos regarding the Evercade, and yours was by far the best one and super informative. You just got another subscriber. Thanks for the helpful video!

[@MisterDrumsNoob]

I can't get enough DF retro! Thank you, John

[@aaliguy9986]

Being a collector of physical games, I'm actually intrigued by those cartridges :)

[@jonasking9587]

Yes.

[@matmacsug]

The ad worked. You've sold another Evercade. Thing looks really good!

[@pferreira1983]

The Evercade was quickly dismissed by regular people and KZbinrs when it was first announced but now Blaze are smashing it out of the park. Great stuff. Also Boogerman is totally underrated.

[@voteDC]

Many still are dismissing it. Why? Because when you can pay $80 for a RG350 that will play games from far more systems, why would you pay that same amount for a far more limited handheld? Then you have the pleasure of having to pay $20 for each game selection that is curated solely on if they could get the licenses for them. The device may be well built with very accurate emulation but most people aren't going to notice that difference.

[@TheGrackler]

I know you did a livestream on the VS, but with the updates and the EXP, I'd love to see a follow up one day. I think it's in a great place, and detailed feedback like this video helped it get there.

[@ElectroPotato]

They should have added an Evercade logo to the place of the Nintendo one in Earthworm Jim, cuz this looks a bit awkward.

[@rade-blunner7824]

I don't imagine this thing selling very well but God damn do I love the visual design of the console and the packaging of its games.

[@lwaves]

Seems more of a niche thing to me. Although, if they did a cartridge with a large Speccy or Amiga collection I'd be highly tempted to get one for it's price.

[@MudSluggerBP]

lwaves that’s the great thing about it, if they can get the license they could release a pack for any system 👍🏻 Yeah would love an Amiga, Atari ST, Neo Geo if it’s powerful enough. Though highly doubtful I’d love some 3DO games like PaTaank, Return Fire or PO’ed 😁

[@hb1949]

If someone could do a cartridge with sd card slot and free to load any game... one can deam

[@jokerzwild00]

@@hb1949 If you want that there are better handhelds out there for less money, that emulate more systems. This one's main selling point is the cartridges. The Evercade is not bad at all, but the cheap Chinese handheld market has really gotten much better over the past year or so.

[@LSOK38]

If you don't want it fine! It'll make it easier for me to get one! I'm definitely buying one!

[@BrunoFonsecaPT]

Ordered mine... thanks for the review!

[@scootakuh3142]

Got an Evercade for Christmas and I own all 14 cartridge collections. I absolutely love it. It does have some minor issues such as the screen viewing angles being limited, and very sensitive shoulder buttons, but honestly for a £60 system it is excellent. I am looking forward to the other collections due this year, and then the announcement of the Evercade VS on 23rd April. Good times :)

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

Really cool little handheld, I’d love to get one but I know I’d never use it, so it’s not really worth the investment, but the idea of a cheap, high quality Lynx option is really enticing

[@mauryj.3415]

It's worth the investment for others

[@UltimateAlgorithm]

Buy it but never play it. Just like most Steam games I own.

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

blitzcaster i know the feeling

[@Drinkabeerandplayagameofficial]

Maury J. For sure

[@alanandfriends-s2o]

@@UltimateAlgorithm I was thinking about the hundred or so dollars on spent on mini consoles. I'd rather not think about the huge amount of money I wasted on steam games, even with the sales...

[@Jambobist]

Hey John, can remember some comments you made in the past about feeling unsure about continuing to make video content because of people making negative comments about your appearance. Just wanted to say you're looking great, don't know if it's the haircut or you've been losing weight or something, but whatever it is is working.

[@thatryeguy6145]

People who take the time out of their day to intentionally insult someone based on how they look are insecure twats. Low tier trash. John should ignore them. He is a fine looking gentleman.

[@gehtdinichtsan309]

i dont get why some folks would do that.. the passion for video games should bring us together; no matter how one does look

[@CharlesRoyaleGaming]

Who gives a shit about how he looks,we are all here for the games

[@UltimateAlgorithm]

Is this really a thing? Why would anyone do that? This is a gaming channel not a beauty contest.

[@grawman67]

The people who take the time to judge others' looks aren't worth it. John looks like a perfectly fine normal dude and he does amazing work.

[@brian9670]

I just don’t understand the lack of button mapping. That is a huge overlook IMO and a deal breaker.

[@monkaWGiga]

Just a heads up they have now released a button mapping update. If this was a deal breaker hopefully this gets you to give it a second look.

[@samuelstinson3274]

@@monkaWGiga It only swaps x with y and a with b. And if you want to switch back, you have to downgrade the firmware. And, for the Sega games, it does not have new mapping at all.

[@richardg5301]

they fixed the sega buttons shortly after your comment

[@EugenioAngueira]

Excellent review! I've ordered the black version of the Evercade and I'm looking forward to receiving it. :)

[@Toschez]

The background music makes me smile. John seems to really really like Cho Aniki :)

[@Nickthegamingnerd]

John have you ever done a room tour, would be cool to see your setup, tv, reciever speakers etc

[@XDLugia]

That's a great idea! Showing an ideal setup for retro gaming.

[@rowanunderwood]

If he's anything like me, a tour would be out-of-date within a few days :)

[@davegray7450]

Informative review.Mine's ordered.Its correctly priced.The possibilities are endless for this handheld

[@DenkyManner]

Are updates to introduce new settings impossible due to the emulation software being on each cart?

[@deterlanglytone]

something I wonder is the fullscreen mode, how would the scaling hold up if I used my tv to force it back into 4:3 or whatever the proper term was?

[@extofer]

Another great John Linneman video from DF!

[@MagisterHamid]

Great in depth video!

[@MudSluggerBP]

Yeah I’m definitely picking one of these up now. Hadn’t considered the physical collecting aspect of it before 👍🏻

[@ryanturfrey3435]

Excellent content as always!

[@kranibal]

Absolute blast watching. I’m now definitely interested. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@arthurcuesta6041]

Nice camera, man. Very high quality DF Retro. This actually got me interested. Would there be world wide shipping?

[@virginiacharles5357]

Thanks. Informative without exaggerating the positives or negatives.

[@BFBeast666]

Is there a list with all cart contents anywhere?

[@farmerbb]

That Midnight Resistance music is an absolute banger

[@LogainAblar]

Dude, you sold me when I saw Weapon Lord. That was the game that prepared me for Soul Caliber. Ahead of its time indeed.

[@kslick4048]

Thanks couldn't remember the name of the game. Remember having the game but not the title.

[@alephnole7009]

Does anyone know the name of that song in the beginning?

[@AintNobodyAtAll]

For the Nintendo games, do the buttons correspond to their original layout, or do they go with the button labels? In other words, are the buttons reversed relative to the original layout?

[@mrnelsonius5631]

The Genesis audio emulation is by far the best I’ve heard on one of these handhelds. Coming from a profession musician who ADORES the original genesis sound engine. I will pick this up if it adds first party SEGA games. I need the Sonics, Toejam and Earl etc. fingers crossed!! I love the design, even the cartridge packaging takes me back. Do the box instruction manuals have that smell?? That new cart smell? That’s what I’m really after 😂

[@wp2746]

On what evercade cartridge is titan overdrive please ?

[@nitmare64]

I remember back in the days when Blaze used to do realistic like light guns.

[@Venserql]

Never heard of it before but after watching I'm considering ordering one.

[@oldnewpixel]

Watch a few more reviews. There's a lot of problems, sound issues, game crashes, etc. I cancelled my preorder

[@leaderx7547]

I'll wait for the Analogue Pocket that is out later this year.

[@braillynn4903]

Haha October 2021 now.

[@eponymous7910]

That d-pad looks awesome! It's the one controller component which has clearly regressed since the 16 bit console era (genesis/japanese saturn the clubhouse leader)

[@Mr_Wheez]

Joe from GameSack mentions quite a few emulation issues and problems with custom button layouts. Did you experience the same flaws, did you even test in that depth or did you just forget to mention it?

[@acertainshape]

I find this DF review fishy.

[@brandonowens3561]

I've been using mine for a little while now with no issues.

[@werewolfy6]

Nice handheld, didn't know about this one. When do you review the MiSTer? 🙂

[@glennshoemake4200]

Am I correct in understanding that all of these releases, including the Namco Museums are the home console ports and not the Arcade ports?

[@shazzbutter]

The everCADE with home console ports instead of the arCADE versions. Ummm. Anyone see the problem here?

[@Skelta75]

I don't get the problem with the button layouts...the handheld has shoulder buttons, right? Are they not used in every emulator? Having A and B and right shoulder button as C should work for Mega Drive stuff like Tänzer or Splatterhouse 2 even better than on real hardware. Am I missing something?

[@SiGeTVee]

0:55 Wow, which version of Magical Chase is this John?

[@jc_dogen]

savaged regime's mega drive cover

[@enthusiasticgamer88]

I love how you slipped in Old Towers. That game is pretty sick, short but a solid feeling puzzle game.

[@OuhPii]

stumbled upon this system just today and it seems very intriguing (especially with the new firmware update for button mapping)

[@acwbit2368]

What was the genesis music in that intro

[@elimalinsky7069]

Would love to see some love for the Master System. Hope they include some Sega Mark III collections in the future.

[@deterlanglytone]

The same, I would love that.

[@OoviokuoO]

Do you still work on the retro episode about Final Fantasy?

[@deterlanglytone]

I actually like the Play choice 10 palette over the more accurate one, it just pops more. Depending on the game of course.

[@PurushNahiMahaPurush]

Man, Earthworm Jim still looks gorgeous after all these years

[@RubyRoks]

to my ear, the audio from the Evercade has less dynamic range/more compression than the real hardware, however the Analogue consoles seem to be in the middle regarding this.

[@mateusferreiramoreira5147]

Does anyone know what game is that at 4:26?

[@kratosgow5010]

Midnight Resistance OST Flood Of Power is such a phenomenal Soundtrack. thanks John, now this music is playing on an endless loop in my head :)

[@Daniel-it1dp]

I relate to your game overload paralysis from typical emulation systems.

[@MarceloTezza]

John have been training some hand and head gestures from the legend itself

[@gc3k]

1:15 Skull Fang! What a kickass soundtrack

[@peachflavored]

I had some concerns about this before but after watching this video I think it looks pretty decent and with a fair price point.

[@Clouds4Cheap]

I'm going to ask, did you guys have a video on the polymega console? I could have sworn that you guys did a video on that but then immediately pulled it from the channel for some reason

[@deterlanglytone]

I've seen it before myself, but I can't seem to find it either? Maybe there was a issue with it and they pulled it.

[@Clouds4Cheap]

@@deterlanglytone yea i thought i mistook it for another channel, but i recognized the font DF uses for its thumbnails, i also got a notification about it but it was early and didnt get to watch the video til later when it was gone. i saw a preview on modernvintagegamer and with the issues of loading ROMs and number of emulators i can see why they pulled it, also, the console is still in beta and maybe the manufactures werent pleased with DF's assessment, it could be a number of things and it would be great to hear from DF about this, at its core, DF is an evaluation channel and im sure they did nothing wrong intentionally.

[@terrortone44]

The background music under Jon sounds like my phone alarm and it's giving me flashbacks lol

[@rowanunderwood]

This is awesome! Will you be reviewing the upcoming Analogue Pocket also?

[@hashvendetta7226]

Is there a savestate on this?

[@Itsmuchmore]

We've made a video on our channel if you're experiencing issues when using HDMI mini cable on the Evercade. So audio and video issues are resolved , hope it helps anyone

[@mogo2433]

I've wanted to download mame for a while. I've watched a video or two, but am leery of what websites are safe and which I should avoid. I know that there are dozens of games I've recently discovered but never played. Not sure if anyone could give me an idea of how to download mame safely.

[@kevindilworthno1]

BlAZE are fully smashing it with this one, I just might pull the trigger on one

[@biglevian]

I don't get why they didn't use a 4:3 screen ratio (or I do get it, 16:9 doesn't need to be custom made), for the 5 Lynx games that use a wider screen?

[@StigMug]

What was the Atari Lynx game shown?

[@LtSlapnutz]

Doom 3 Retro please! Especially curious to see how they were able to get it running on the Xbox. Also its a cool idea for Evercade cartridges having the 'brains' so to speak. Reminds me of the DSP chip on Virtua Racing back on Megadrive/Genesis

[@jose26]

I'm sorry if this has already been done but would you mind doing a room tour? That setup of the tv's look cool

[@stevesstuff1450]

Nice review which I originally watched back in April 2020.... a couple of firmware updates have fixed a few bugs, and added button mapping to certain games. However, I think that certain issues you brought up such as changeable scaling options are more for the companies behind the cartridges to sort out if they feel it necessary, as that's the medium where the emulator for the particular collection of games lies..... The cartridge needs to set the resolution/scaling as it's surely emulator bound, whereby the Evercade console is just the medium for those emulators/games to play within...? Maybe as more games get released these things will improve.... I got my Evercade Premium pack a few days ago, and I must say that so far, I'm very impressed - just using the built-in screen - and have a couple of extra cartridges bought seperately, and should have the new Xeno Crisis/Tanglewood tomorrow. It's a great 'retro' system, at a good price, and with a great tangible way to collect both old and new games. :-)

[@djorgen]

Love it. Ordered it!

[@zipzeolocke2]

I'm not a fan of constantly having to switch cartridges but I wouldn't mind having a cartridge for each system I wanted to play. Like a NES cartridge or a SNES cartridge with a large assortment of popular games. What would be really cool is if there was a website where you could custom choose the games you wanted to be on the cartridge and they would put them on it for you and you could purchase a custom-made cartridge with all the specific games you wanted to be on it

[@KannX]

This device is magnificent!

[@afistfulofpimples1745]

So are my pimples.

[@pecet]

What's the title of jumping ball game around 16:00?

[@mbsfaridi]

pecet Check the console’s library and search the games.

[@furballbear]

The Namco Museum Collection 2 Evercade cartridge will include the cult classic fighting game Weaponlord.

[@spotthedogaye2921]

Joe over at gamesack just dumped all over this. Sound issues, high price and wrong button layouts. I'm confused

[@Altseinx]

Spot the dog aye John actually went over control layout issues in his video. As for the sound issue Joe had, it does sound (heh) like he had a defective unit.

[@Butt_sects]

Maybe quality control isnt great where they build the evercade, or maybe it just doesnt bother this guy, or not every cart has the same emulator versions. It could be a lot of things.

[@brian9670]

He did not dump on it, he just told the truth. He did have some good things to say. But there obvious flaws with this product. Glaring flaws.

[@Tailslol]

yea i was thinking this review was weird digital foundry ignored quite a lot of issue. i tested the genesis emulator on pc and man this emulator is unstable.

[@jwill7998]

@@Altseinx If Evercade watched Game Sack, they would know sending them a defective unit is suicide. I can't wait until he gets a Turbografx Mini to hear an honest review of the system.

[@LearnWithTheBest]

Hey Digital Foundry, have you ever played Earthworm Jim?

[@Minmataro718]

I pre-ordered one with all the available carts. I don't know if i will continue collecting the carts as they release but i think this is a nice way to play old games in a very focused way. With emulators i get easily distracted and never beat any thing. Here i can focus on a few games at a time and beat the games that can be beaten. Its cheap too. $20 per cart, $80 for the device. I can cherry pick future carts if i want.

[@miamc4602]

I wonder why it has the snes version of earthworm jim 2 instead of genesis

[@DespyCL]

Some people find the snes version of earthworm jim 2 better than the genesis one. The sprites despite being smaller/stretched, the team that worked on the snes version put a lot of more effort onto the overall backgrounds, effects, palette, music and controls response. It is kinda what happened on earthworm jim 1, where the genesis was clearly superior to the snes version.

[@nowonmetube]

Why not both

[@nowonmetube]

@@DespyCL then why has the Genesis version one more level, almost the same graphics and one of the few / only games that has better sounding music? Also it has more sound effects for Jim than the SNES version! Edit: Oh I was referring to Earth Worm Jim 1. Don't know about 2 though.

[@DespyCL]

@@nowonmetube Yup lol, that was 1. Earthworm jim 2 on the genesis only has better sprites/animations (a few extra frames on every sprite in comparicion to the snes ones) and higher resolution (whereas the snes one is stretched to fill a ctr screen). But again, the team worked better on the snes version, even more, it seems like the snes version was worked on first and then ported later to the genesis.

[@alanandfriends-s2o]

@@nowonmetube Not enough room on the carts!

[@CurtMudgeon]

Cool. Kinda reminds me of a Tiger Electronics Handheld. I am grateful for this channel and all of the content you guys give us. Thanks. Actually, I'm getting Famicom vibes. Game and Watch too. I like it.

[@thismeinteil]

These companies need to start using 16:10 ratio as the fullscreen setting. It only puts two tiny bars on each side of the screen and the stretching is minimal.

[@msd5808]

thismeinteil do those come in mobile size? I think iPads are 4:3

[@monoespacial]

I wish you'd include a list of the games demo'ed. What's the game @ 12:58?

[@gc3k]

Prehistorik Man. But yeah there's a few games in this video I don't recognize

[@monoespacial]

@@gc3k thanks, I used to play that and forgot about it completely.

[@T3hKaiser]

Yo, shoutouts to that first stage theme from Burning Force.

[@CZpersi]

Later iterations of this console fixed many of the issues, you are mentioning, including the video output format. Perhaps it could be worth a re-visit.

[@Elonma397]

What gpu does this console have ?

[@aesop666]

I got very distracted when you started using music from the amazing double dragon neon soundtrack

[@SuperHydroThunder]

Got me interested in the BlastEm emulator, but it doesn't work on Windows 64 bit. :(

[@GeoNeilUK]

ARM SoC in the console, emualtion and games on the cart. I'm now wondering how long it'll be before someone crafts up a homebrew cart. Still will be waiting for Modern Vintage Gamer to get his hands on this! All in all, I'm very tempted!

[@st0nedpenguin]

I was cleaning my glasses while John ran the side by side comparison and I was thinking "How on earth doesn't he see that the emulated image is WAY brighter?" before I put them back on and realized it was just to make it clear which was playing. I thought John's eyesight was failing him.

[@Djay0Epizode]

Love that DF retro, do anyone has a good site to find emulator like higan and blastem i always have a hard time on finding accurate or usefull information on emulator performance &/or accuracy for a given plateform , thank :)

[@angelssonico]

JUST ...

[@jawnsunn]

I saw these at my local dollar market and didn't realize that they were really good?? Jeez, wow these are really cool.

[@TR-cp1fo]

Have they released to the general public yet

[@gregwalsh2354]

It hasn't been released yet and if anything the release date has now changed to a launch window of 22nd May - 6th June.

[@agentmorgan487]

You're definitely right in saying that there'll be an audience for this but for me, the Vita is the way to go for what I'd like to emulate on the go. Lovely direction though!

[@voteDC]

There will be an audience but is it going to be large enough to make it a success? You can pick up an RG350 from Aliexpress for around the same money and it can play games from far more systems, and the games aren't going to be limited because of the licensing issues that the Evercade has to deal with.

[@Elazam]

If the emulator is on the card, does that mean that other indie games not released on retro-consoles could be ported to this, like for an example...I don't know, Celeste, or even shovel knight (not that it really needs to be ported to yetanother system)?

[@avifb]

What is the game in 16:10 ?

[@STP.83]

Love the idea of this handheld. But not sure if I would really use it or if it would only be a dust collector like my Mega Drive Mini. And god, I was so hyped for the Mega Drive Mini in before.

[@icecube1158]

16:00 What game is this?

[@rolandsmash]

Finally some Lynx love. Such an underrated console. (Albeit a little googling reveals their first Lynx collection is super-random and doesn’t contain any of the system’s most iconic or launch titles. We need Electrocop, Gates of Zendocon, Chip’s Challenge et al.)

[@clinch2k]

Lynx collection 2 announced for evercade. Later this year.

[@retractingblinds]

Midnight Resistance? Now we're talking. An audible delight on the Genesis.