The dream of having an arcade inside your home is now more attainable than ever, thanks to the rise of consumer-grade cabinets spearheaded by Arcade1Up. However, unless you have ample space and a generous budget, bringing the arcade experience home often means settling for one or two machines. Unlike traditional arcades, you're typically limited to a specific set of games; you can't simply switch machines when you crave variety. Multiple manufacturers have attempted to address the space and monotony issues by creating arcade platforms, but success has been limited—until now. The arrival of the Evercade Alpha Bartop Arcade could change this, offering one of the best pieces of gaming hardware in recent years.
Officially licensed by Capcom and crafted by Blaze Entertainment, the Alpha delivers an authentic arcade experience with full-sized controls in a compact design, priced at $250. An early-bird discount of $20 is available for preorders before its November 28 release. Two models, each featuring six preloaded games, will be available at launch: Mega Man: The Power Battle and Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. What makes these bartop cabinets particularly exciting is their support for the extensive Evercade library, which currently boasts over 535 games.
For those unfamiliar with Evercade, it's a line of cartridge-based hardware that debuted as a handheld in 2020. Today, there are multiple iterations of the handheld, as well as a home console. All Evercade devices share the same game library, meaning the Alpha launches with a vast catalog of over 60 cartridge collections featuring arcade, home console, and handheld classics.
The Alpha is more comparable to traditional consoles like the Switch and PS5 than to Arcade1Up. While it is themed around Street Fighter and Mega Man, it's not just a countertop version of Arcade1Up's Street Fighter II: Champion Edition standing cabinet; it's a home arcade platform that comes with a half-dozen games to get you started. Evercade hardware has always offered excellent value for money, but the Alpha's sturdy build quality, presentation, and overall feel still managed to surprise me.
Despite its relatively small form factor, the Alpha is an eye-catching piece of tech. Both the Mega Man and Street Fighter models feature artwork inspired by their original full-size counterparts. The control deck and bezel are brushed with a streaky mix of blue and white, and each model has a light-up marquee featuring the same artwork from the original release. The panel covering the art is so well integrated into the build that I wouldn't have thought the artwork could be replaced if no one told me.
The cabinet comes pre-assembled and carefully cradled by form-fitting foam inserts to protect the wood. Protective film needs to be removed from the screen and marquee before playing for the first time. The end result is all that really matters. Once I removed all of the film, the screen, just like the rest of the build, was in pristine condition.
Even more impressive than the beautiful display is the premium control deck. Both machines have identical layouts, just with different button colors and labels. Blaze smartly opted for the bat-top stick, which allows you to use a more relaxed grip than ball-top sticks. The stick and buttons feel better than any other home arcade cabinets I own. The Alpha's stick is fast and tight, with a satisfying click marking each input.
The Alpha takes a different, more versatile approach to multiplayer. Two USB ports flank the volume rocker, right below the cartridge slots. Though it's still listed as in beta, USB controllers can be enabled and fully remapped to your liking in the settings. In addition to Evercade-branded controllers, a wide variety of third-party controllers are compatible via a wired connection.
The Evercade Alpha is the best bartop arcade machine I've used by a wide margin. Thanks to the evolving cartridge-based library, it's quickly become one of my favorite gaming devices, period, which isn't something I could say for other home arcade cabinets. Each Evercade cartridge retails for $20-$25. The number of games on each cart varies; some have over a dozen, while others only have a few.
Source link: https://www.gamespot.com
