Evercade - 4 New Carts Reviewed (Tomb Raider / Legacy of Kain / Bitmap Bros / Thalamus )

[@MetalJesusRocks]

OOPS! I screwed up with Tomb Raider. It was CORE that made those games and not Crystal Dynamics. I know that and totally spaced it. Sorry!

[@mullenio4200]

And didn't you say Laura and not Lara or did I just miss hear that? 🤔

[@overlordalfredo]

@@mullenio4200 was looking to see who else caught this^^

[@danielsala81]

@@mullenio4200 yep, he just said Laura instead of Lara, you can turn on the subtitles and it will show the name he said.

[@worduprussia8298]

Are yall for real? Lol

[@KieranAPB]

I noticed that and was also confused why Crystal Dynamics is mentioned in the manual.

[@Atrus999]

I didn't play the original Tomb Raider for years because of the controls, but as you're playing through the game you realize the controls work perfectly in the context of the game. You can't go into Tomb Raider thinking you can mindlessly jump across ravines like you would in a game like Uncharted. The game world is designed using blocks and you have to carefully position yourself on each block before making a jump which is where tank controls are MUCH more practical. Now that I have the controls down I refuse to play those original Tomb Raider games any other way. After I read that people were having trouble playing the remasters with modern controls I was over here thinking, "well yeah obviously, the games were designed with tank controls in mind".

[@thereviewsbrothers3854]

This is what I always try to tell people. It’s the same with survival horror games. Those controls work well with how you interact with the environment and attack and so on.

[@SotNist]

The key to mastering Tomb Raider is realizing it's built on a grid. Use the walk button to approach a ledge all the way to the very edge, and you will never fall off. Then do the single back step that puts you at exactly 1 grid back. Run and jump from there to make all possible jumps. It is absolutely clunky, and was even for the time for teenage me trying to wrap my mind around 3D games in general, but that's the trick to it. That said, man... playing it back in the day was nerve wracking sometimes with all those death traps and extremely huge, long levels. Anniversary really made everything smooth in a good way, but it also changed a lot of things that don't give it quite the same experience.

[@lostsektor]

if u need how u really need to play tomb raider this jumps are easy. he is just playing a old game like a new mario.

[@brianthornton8522]

On the new remasters, they give you the option to play with new or old controls. I actually preferred the old tank controls

[@Stephen_Eee]

Releasing Blood Omen is a Boss move. Spinning around with axes was just perfected in that game. "Vae victis"😊

[@Stephen_Eee]

Woe to the conquered with a 😊 🤣

[@horror_punk_gamer9932]

ONE, LOADED, OVERKILL, ALUNDRA & TOMBA, TENCHU, SOTN, SILENT HILL, CROC, GECKO were ps1 greats

[@dwightdixon8508]

Just received my very first Evercade console the VS-R Tomb Raider Bundle a few weeks ago

[@arcademan8899]

Hope they do a port of Diablo 1 and Warcraft 1 to the Evercade ^^

[@aaronjess2235]

Im using this video to try and get more evercade players. Ive been collecting since your first evercade video.

[@KevinniveK2112]

2:15 Tank controls for life! I LOVE the original Tomb Raider tank controls! I even play the remastered TR trilogy with tank controls because I can't get my head around the modern controls they added at all. These games are designed and meant to be played with tank controls and they work just fine.

[@Azuris190]

I agree, it also feels very good after you have mastered them and you are jumping around

[@TyCowboy]

Super excited for the Legacy of Kain love

[@TimChuma]

Evercade does tend to skew more towards the UK and European releases. If you got the magazines from the UK that were popular around the time you would recognise the games.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

I’ve noticed that too. A lot of C64 and Amiga games that just weren’t popular where I grew up in the States.

[@ro0ody]

I have a business trip coming up and planned to take my Super Pocket on the plane - now I will have two sets of games to play as I ordered the Kain and Bitmap Bros. ones. Thanks for bringing them up, so far I only played the built in ones and Sydney Hunter 😀

[@davidscott9257]

i gotta get an evercade man. so frickin cool

[@casiobedroomguitarmusic6016]

I got into evercade after getting a super pocket for my 43rd birthday and I love the cartridges! I only have a couple but do own the tomb raider trilogy and I have to say it looks really good on the small screen. Glover is also very playable

[@andausschramlbauer7620]

Thanks for that video! We have the Evercade and collect all cartridges because they are really not expensive and there are many really nice games. We are not going to play all of them but we want to have the collection complete.

[@stratuvarious8547]

With the recent release of the first 3 Resident Evil games on GOG, it'd be cool to see a collection of the PS1 RE games for the Evercade.

[@pacmancdi]

That would be the ultimate evercade cart and they already have a relationship with Capcom so hopefully that's something that happens

[@kcadventures1454]

​@@pacmancdi that would make me get an evercade!

[@amazingeric97]

Getting collections of classic Capcom games on the Evercade would be great! Resident Evil, Mega Man, & Street Fighter collections would be great on the Evercade.

[@dan_evilrobot]

I'm loving the Evercade both the handheld and the console and I'm excited of the other game cartridges.

[@shezz0123]

1:04 Core Design made the original TR games, Crystal Dynamics only came in when they made Legend, around 10 years later.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

You’re right. I spaced that. LOL

[@danielsala81]

then check the video at 0:56, it says Crystal Dynamics in the manual, which means Evercade also screwed up/did a mistake.

[@usagiakimbo2506]

@@danielsala81 They didn't screw up. The article in the manual is about Crystal Dynamics (they've been in charge of the series for the last 20 years) but they say in the article that games in this collection were developed by Core Design

[@danielsala81]

@@usagiakimbo2506 I know about the 2 companies/know the history, etc., but because these are the OG PC/PS1 games, Core Design should be mentionned, because this is confusing.

[@ScrapKing73]

I didn't play Armalyte back in the day, but I played a lot of Delta (which Armalyte was a sequel to, and it actually says Delta II Armalyte on the box cover art). I friggin' loved Delta.

[@OceanLoader]

Think the whole "Delta 2" thing was more of a marketing ploy by Thalamus. Having said that, it was probably the best shoot'em'up on the c64 with great graphics, superb music and even a 2 player mode!

[@MVLGAMING]

I got the Tomb Raider cart already and did an unboxing. But I hope to get the rest as well! They're doing a great job with making new cartridges, its hard to keep up!

[@IRWPD]

Blood Omen is one of my brothers favourites from back in the day. Need to tell him about this device.

[@shoked99]

I love Blood Omen and Soul Reaver too. Good times back in the day. Thanks for sharing.

[@Nymunariya]

I highly recommend starting with Lara's mansion levels in the Tomb Raider games. She has an obstacle course that teaches you all the difference jumps and mechanics of the game, and what you need to do to accomplish them. The two jumps you showed yourself struggling with (large gap at 2:36, and short hop at 3:35) are both explained in the tutorial. I'd also recommend Lara's roll, to make her dive down and look the opposite direction. It's great once you've pulled up to a ledge you want to jump off of. No need to turn her slowly 180°.

[@yeismeload]

I'm collecting the Hyper Mega Pockets and just ordered the 2 new ones coming out next month. I also have about 6-7 carts too, it's really fun to collect for due to the prices being reasonable and the different hardware as well.

[@yandman26]

Are the D pads as awful as they look?

[@cyrollan]

@@yandman26 not as good as the Evercade VS controllers. but not a deal-breaker at all.

[@Gingervitus126]

Mannnn I keep seeing these evercades and you keep selling them for me! One day I’ll get one 😅😅

[@registerednerd9270]

Make sure you wait until they're not available anymore and have to pay a premium just to get something that's no longer produced! Game collecting at its best!

[@VGRobot]

I recommend getting a Hypermegatech Super Pocket. Dirt cheap console, really fun, and plays Evercade carts

[@Gingervitus126]

@@VGRobot oh wow that sounds great thank you!

[@p-chan3319]

​@@VGRobot100% better battery life, formfactor and screen on top of it. Than classic evercade & evercade xp. I have the 3 systems.

[@cyrollan]

i love my VS! people are going to try and discourage you, because there is a failure rate (i don't know what it is, but keep in mind many people become vocal when something fails, but remain quiet if it works). i have over 20 carts and have not had a single issue.

[@AyratHungryStudent]

Hey Mjr, Funny story, I saw a video where someone wanted to find a game from his childhood and he even made an animation how he remembered the game. I think he was looking for this Cadaver game. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I saw his video, probably YT or Reddit.

[@jonathanatkins3701]

Thalamus were massive in the UK in the 80s, they were one of the best game houses at the time. And we used Quickshot Joysticks they were amazing.

[@MelanieLucky]

If they release a Commander Keen collection on this thing I'll buy the console in a heartbeat. I miss these games so much and it seems to be the perfect system for a re-release.

[@CatFish107]

Agreed. They did a fantastic job with the original Duke nukem games. Very strange to play them with smooth scrolling.

[@KlingonGamerYT]

Bitmap Bros classic gaming

[@True-Faux]

And music!

[@bpb235]

Bitmap Brothers games on the Amiga had the best loading music, I loved both God's and Magic Pockets on the A500 back in the day

[@carrer9892]

Cool video special with Tomb Raider😊❤.Please more videos with handheld and games ❤

[@stevehalle77]

Hunter's Moon reminds me of Bosconian, one of my favorite early Namco shooters. You sold me on that Thalamus collection, MJR.

[@VGRobot]

The Thalmus games are really a step above most C64 titles. The graphics and gameplay feels “AAA”

[@crusherbad64]

My name is in the credits for the Evercade EXP 😅

[@24framedavinci39]

Blood Omen is one of the best games of all time. I recently played the ps1 version on my Vita.

[@kevintrjohnson]

My problem with the Anniversary version of Tomb Raider is that it made the T-rex into a mandatory boss fight. I spent probably 100+ hours just playing that stage and trying to find different ways of beating the stage, from taking no damage to pacifist runs or running up to the rope bridge and shooting the trex from up high. It was quite fun. I don't think I ever got much past that level.

[@OneManAndHisDogGaming]

I originally had a Spectrum gaming computer when I was younger. Such a huge amount of games on there and super cheap too. I managed to pick one up recently and although it does still have some decent games, pushing up to jump is just so so horrible to get back into. Also, a big shout out for the music on Gods. So iconic!

[@GhostFrequency2]

I think it's good that games that aren't universally loved get more chances to shine.

[@kolpik3708]

I recently replayed Syphon Filter and yeah, the tank controls took a while to get used to again. Still, a fun replay. I forgot how hilarious Logan looks when he runs.

[@acecarrera1]

I love level design in Cadaver, I can imagine making something like that with Lego. Lara Croft does have nice back...story.

[@NimhLabs]

Been trying to regularly grab carts for the Evercade. I have an Evercade-VS, Evercade-EXP and a Taito Super Pocket Been mostly playing Truxton, Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninjas, 1942 and Puzzle Bobble. I was playing a lot of Moon Patrol before as well. Been trying to get around to play some of the other stuff in my collection... it really is a great experience

[@OceanLoader]

One game you missed on the c64 collection was Retrograde. Takes a few hours to complete but was an interesting combination of shooting and platform action with some of the best music on the system. As for Creatures, while it was very difficult, players were rewarded with the excellent torture screens later on (and a great end sequence). Again, as with all Apex games, music and graphics were always top notch.

[@bradenalthaus2167]

I don't have the console or the handheld, but I think they are a cool idea especially if your progress is saved on the cartridges so you can continue where you are if you're traveling with the handheld.

[@Punisher6791]

on the original Tomb Raider you can quickly get through the first level by jumping horizontally at the passage that is blocked by a bamboo fence. you run at it and jump and grab at the same time aiming for where the wall meets the fence and if done correctly lara will faze through the gate and on to the other side allowing you to get through the level really quickly. the trick is to jump horizontally at the wall while grabbing which will cause lara to slide laterally along the wall and it will force lara's position to go through the fence ignoring the invisible collision barrier.

[@darthv72]

Im psyched for new Toaplan and Data East arcade carts coming in November. Pre-orders open for that on Monday Sep 30th. And yes, i have the full set of Evercade carts as well as all the variants of the hardware.

[@johangustafsson651]

Awesome as always! You are the best! But I miss DMP and his cocktail videos! Can you kick him into doing a couple? (Regular long length, we don't wan't some 30 second shot vids... at leasy I don't...) Thanks regardless!

[@HughFran10]

I have Z on Steam!! I'm one of those dudes that remembers it when it first came out! I adored this game (and still do), but it's really not well known! I don't own an Evercade but I'm so damn tempted to buy one!

[@StiffAftermath]

I love that the fully 3D games are on carts! So appealing to me, like SNES and PS1 had a baby! 😅

[@pnvgordinho]

In magic pockets you can charge the tornado and make a big one. You can step on it and it shoots you up.

[@willstrickland7110]

The way you pronounced Diablo at 5:27 gave me whiplash

[@brrzurk]

LMAO

[@ryanstewart4444]

I finally came aboard the Evercade Train and bought an Alpha (I know it's not for everyone, but I am the absolute definition of it's niche customer base). Really looking forward to it arriving. The Thalamus collection looks good, I'm going to have to get that one. Always makes me laugh when people call Lara, Laura.

[@zippobone]

This system is cool I like the cases and manuals I need to pick this stuff up.

[@darkdeity2012]

Oh man, Amiga graphics - got a lot of nostalgia for that style. They managed so much within the limitations of the system.

[@tdevaughan]

I finally bought a vs, I love it!

[@Azuris190]

Ahh the Tank Controls are perfect for those Games, you have to get used to it, but than its just perfect. I would love if they would implement a 16:9 Patch for the Tomb Raider Games, it just runs fine on the Mister for these Games :) Second Wish would be Cheats for C64 Games

[@chriswaters834]

Nice review!

[@markbutterfield5093]

It’s about time I bought one, it looks awesome

[@CasperEgas]

I am a Dutch gamer that started with the Commodore 64, but I haven't played any of these games on that collection either.

[@Uqwuq]

Same here

[@mattx449]

Same here. There were so many games for it. I think more than 5000. It’s likely most people wouldn’t have played or even heard of many of them.

[@yatoob]

Very neat, and nice game packaging. Interested in the original duke nukem widescreen exclusive, but honestly a hard sale with the steam deck and switch out there getting full remasters like tomb raider 1-3 and upcoming soul reaver

[@VGRobot]

The Duke remakes are only available on Evercade, and I highly recommend them. Never seen a dos platformer remade with such love

[@Thunderpuddle]

As a kid who grew up with Amiga 500, I used to find some games very frustrating back in the day. Glad to see it's not just me..

[@falksturmfels2737]

Armalyte and Hawkeye were two of the best looking c64-Games back in the day.

[@scissormandvd]

Great review.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@mtshark7]

Evercade has soo many great games that I never heard of.

[@daviddonnell2153]

Tomb raider original was fun to play and it was developed by core designs who also develop ninja shadow of darkness, fighting force, swag man and many other awesome titles but sadly they been out of the market for 15 years

[@thedude8128]

Hey MJR, great upload this week! I wonder though, will you pick up the soul reaver remastered collection and do a comparison? I think that would be dope from someone with your experience! Rock on bro! 🤘🤘

[@MetalJesusRocks]

That's the plan!

[@rossvegas7]

Looking forward to the evercade alpha. I've ordered the streetfighter 2 one, any idea when you will review it? Love the channel, love Reggie, love Rebecca love you!😂 Keep up the good work mate.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Yep! I’ll review it soon. 👍

[@jerminator0688]

Whaaat?! I had one of these and sold it because I felt like it would just be old school arcade style games released for it. But TOMB RAIDER AND LEGACY OF KAIN! May have to buy another one!

[@guyinapandasuit2691]

I love retro gaming. I really want the Evercade but idk if it would be worth the investment for me right now. I would play it once in a blue moon. However, There is quite a lot of games on it i have never played, so the temptation is real.

[@jimmedia10]

Love the boxes and manuals, I feel like the specs need a little boost though

[@ant1977ad]

The cutscenes on Z are hilarious. A fantastic game as well.

[@marklawson2004]

Creatures and Armalyte were huge on the C64 in the uk so I totally get it if they didn't make it over to the US.

[@noeldoesthings]

0:13 Yaay Goodboy Galaxy. I'm so ready to play it but the GBA cartridges still aren't ready ): Rick, Jeremy and the rest of the team have done everything they could. Since this problem comes from outside and is not their fault, it is extra fustrating for everyone. They've kept us updated and still are to this day over on Discord and Kickstarter which has been an amazing experience despite that the physical should've been shipped december 2022. But again the dev's are champions

[@Vinicius_Berger]

Playing a game that uses tank controls with an analog stick is the worst decision you could ever make. Tank controls work perfectly with a d-pad. Also, given the footage you showed, the controls are not to blame, but yourself. You tried to do a running jump without space to run. You did a stand-still jump while running, etc. Is like trying to turn right on a racing game while moving the wheel left and blaming the game for it.

[@jason160uk]

He's wrong about many things in this video. I thought he was into retro games but clearly not as he keeps bashing them as being too dated to play and acts surprised they are still fun 🤷‍♂

[@JeffsToyReviews]

With legacy of Kain Blood Omen, did they fix the long load times?

[@alexanderdorsey6400]

I like rough polygons dude ❤😊❤

[@ScrapKing73]

Given they're a British developer, it's likely that Z is pronounced "zed".

[@MattWiggyWiggins]

Whoever designed the leg probe plants heat draining game was definitely on the GOOD drugs. lmao

[@cusernament]

I need to dig into all their Atari Lynx games. I'd buy this thing just for those games.

[@jason160uk]

Original tombraider is the best version but each to their own. Played it a few months back on my ps1 and crt tv and its amazing!

[@MyName-nx5il]

Anyone complaining about the controls clearly didn't grow up when this was cutting edge technology.

[@ytthrowaway4584]

Legacy of Kain looked way better on the Dreamcast.

[@ItsEricSmart]

I Like It But I Already Have A Target Collection I’m Going For HAHA

[@kumarp3074]

I don't collect game cartridges but I do for the Evercade. I've gotten every cartridge so far and also most of the hardware they've released. Also I remember playing Gods on my DOS PC. I always found it strange playing a platformer without music and also the DOS version didn't have all of the sound effects the Amiga version had. Still a great game though.

[@grzegorz__]

I am a Polish guy who had C64 (and Amiga) in Poland. At that time, Poland (as communist / former communist country) was 100 % into piracy xD, that's why C64, Zx Spectrum, Atari, Amstrad, Amiga were so popular, while nobody heard about SNES, Megadrive, NES (ok there was a clone called Pegasus but still, like 90 % of people had micro-computers). So, all games were pirated, you could go to so called "giełda" where sellers were pirating everything, copying floppy discs or creating their own tapes with game collections and nope, i don't remember any of these games. Maybe Creatures is recognizable, but other games, I didn't play a single one. It was more about: - Command - Green Beret - The Last Ninja - Giana Sisters - Saboteur - River Raid - Ghost n Goblins - etc. That's, to be honest, my main issue with Evercade. I mean, I also collect the cartridges just for fun, but yea, a lot of these games are not even good for nostalgia factor. I know that it's not easy to get the game that's 40 years old licensed, but yea - I would say C64 had great SID, and as a kid, music was really a factor (because honestly NES graphics was so much better) that helped a kid imagine that i'm a real green beret or command or last ninja. I don't know if there is a SINGLE ONE c64 game from whole Evercade collection that actually has great SID music. Come on, this is the C64 trademark. MUSIC. Example: The Last Ninja 2 - it had a full sountrack , like 13 songs for one game. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rl6ag5uPbJh7f8U I wish they actually DID make a cartridge - C64 SID Masterpiece ;) with games that were amazing, better than on the other systems, mostly because of awesome and unique SID music. Not a single one C64 cartridge shows what this computer was about, in my opinion!!! :(((

[@Ruudos]

Cybernoid 1 and 2 are on Evercade and have great music.

[@optimalkfrt]

Hungary here, while I agree 80s were all about piracy, the 90s was different, I had consoles and it was very easy to trade games among classmates/friends, and the local flea market was also great to buy/trade games on the cheap. These days I'm pirating way more than in the 90s. :)

[@Spikeland]

We need teddy boy for the Sega Master System

[@sergeleon1163]

I had a great time playing Z back in the day

[@rheck86]

Torn between picking up Legacy of Kain on Evercade or waiting until the PS5 ports come out. Was pretty close to picking up the Thalamus one, now I might want the Bitmap Brothers one instead. Definitely considering upgrading to an EXP-R when it is available.

[@Mockingbird650]

Does the Legacy of Kain cart work on the original handheld?

[@XanYT]

Totally with you my man. TR Anniversary is the much superior version of the original game. Which I would take any day over even the remasters. Hopefully those Amiga games don't take too long to load, because there's fan conversions to cartridge for Amiga games that eliminate the loads. So if they didn't put in the work to get loads drastically lower, for shame.

[@Treychik]

GODS is an awesome game. I played DOS version of it and it was blue-purple, lol. They did a great remake for PC and consoles. Delisted, unfortunately...but I have it on steam ^^ cool thing about it is that you can play both old and new version visuals

[@silverian]

From these Playstation Evercade games looked interesting! But tank controls always demand patience :-) And I remember how horror games usually felt more challenge, because of controls.

[@iamatlantis1]

Metal Hay-zeus.! 💪🇺🇸

[@obsoleteworlds]

I was a bit saddened to see they had to explain and almost apologise for loading screens in the manuals to home computer carts. These screens often have iconic art and music and were a big part of the experience. I hope Blaze understand this and don't try to remove them.

[@kylecooney353]

Evercade is great for a collector on a budget

[@DaBigCheeso]

I loved Z! Not sure how well it controls on Evercade, I feel like I used it with a mouse on PC

[@cyrollan]

Z is awesome, i played it on DOS back in the day

[@Leprechaun33]

& Tomb Raider Raider was also on Sega Saturn as well

[@pendragofan]

Why havent you announced that you and reg will be at torg??? Im in ohio what dates will you be there i must meet you

[@MetalJesusRocks]

This --> kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2qze4d6mMqUpbs

[@michaelcutler6118]

Do you think Evercade will release Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 for their consoles? I'm considering getting the Pocket version of the Evercade system. Does it have a headphone jack? It's pretty amazing and cool how they're reviving cartridge-style games. Also, are there any cases available to protect Evercade games?

[@kropking]

Are you ever going to do any more "Let's Play" videos?

[@Cloud92390]

TR is muscle memory and this point. The levels especially In most cases are designed well around the controls.

[@curtisspivey234]

LOVE you said the tank controls its not good. I tried to have my kid try it and she hated it and gave up bummed me out but its how they are.