Evercade - Irem and Toaplan collections, TATE handheld

[Turrican]

I was pleasantly surprised by the VS gamepad

Another advantage the VS surely has compared to the portable cousins: It supports several arcade sticks (8bit do, Hori Mini etc) and mapping buttons Is quite easy.

[Jonpachi]

Here's pics of the "mini interviews" included with the Evercade Toaplan Collection 1.

[Turrican]

So, how's the general feeling on these? Any hands-on impressions?

[Jonpachi]

I got the EXP about a week before the holiday break, so I've had some time with it now. As an upgrade to the previous Evercade handheld, it's a fantastic 2.0. The overall feel and quality are much improved, and the built-in Capcom collection is a great little bonus. The d-pad and buttons are leagues ahead of original, and the screen (though not OLED) is damn crisp and bright, with great color and decent black levels.

Then there's that Tate mode. It's... a really nice thought. It's amazing to think that after all these years of sideways, claw-hands PSP gaming, Flip-Grip joy-con woes, and so many other little wannabe band-aid solutions to handheld vertical gaming, that we finally have a real, dedicated piece of hardware specifically built JUST FOR THIS. It's like, "Wow guys, I feel seen."

And then you play it, and realize that while the EXP is an upgrade in nearly every way, it's also quite heavy for such a little unit. That would be fine except that their Tate solution was simply to put an extra A and B button next to the d-pad



All the upgrades to the EXP system seem to have come at the cost of WEIGHT, and all that weight then becomes a massive problem as you try to coddle the thing and find a finger placement that allows you to still use the now-awkwardly placed d-pad and buttons. It's simply not something you'll actually be able to spend real time with, as you'll soon have numb fingers and tired wrists from this tedious balancing act. At best, it's a gimmick that you'll maybe find a little bit of fun with at first but absolutely not something that you'll be dedicating any real sessions against.

This leads to a series of sad revelations, and highlights the major issues with the console's design choices:
1) Tate mode is a neat gimmick, but awkward d-pad and button placement mean it's too top heavy and uncomfortable for extended/real play time.
2) With only two buttons available in Tate mode (A and B) they have effectively knee-capped its ability to extend the library out into more complicated games. Two buttons is fine for a LOT of shmups, even more modern ones, but I cannot understand why there's not just 4 (or some sort of back panel or side button solution.
3) TATE MODE IS LOCKED TO THE HANDHELD - At some point you'll grow tired of the gimmick of the sideways Gameboy and want to just play these games on the TV. Hey, that's the whole USP right? It says right on the game boxes that they will play on the OG handheld, the VS console or the EXP... But no, there's no Tate mode in the options and no way to play any of these games as they were intended to be played outside of the EXP. So, yes, you have a physical cart with a copy of Cybattler on it, but you're stuck playing it in hyper-letter-boxed mode if you want to boot it to a TV.

Overall, as a base upgrade it's a high quality handheld with a pretty deep library of B-tier console (and now some A-tier arcade) games to mess around with. As a portable TATE solution, it's just a toy.

[Bassa-Bassa]

You can't say you weren't warned. They didn't want to even learn of something as old as the Wonder Swan, which did that better by sacrificing symmetry and by using a non-wide screen (who wants a wide screen for 4:3 games, I wonder. Is it for the new retro stuff?)

The no-TATE output is more unexpected, I guess, as it seems hard to justify. At least, it's something they can add post-release if they want to. Good luck, but likely they want more than a few petitions.

[Yoshi]

Then there's that Tate mode. It's... a really nice thought. It's amazing to think that after all these years of sideways, claw-hands PSP gaming, Flip-Grip joy-con woes, and so many other little wannabe band-aid solutions to handheld vertical gaming, that we finally have a real, dedicated piece of hardware specifically built JUST FOR THIS. It's like, "Wow guys, I feel seen."

The Lynx had this in 1989. It was ahead of its time in many ways.

[Steven]

I heard this thing doesn't have autofire. I imagine that can probably be patched in somehow, but no autofire on a console-style controller = do not want.

[Turrican]

I was kinda looking more about impressions on the two new cartridges (Irem & Toaplan). My interest for the new EXP hardware is really low. I don't think tate really works in a portable setting, and even without it, the VS with its four USBs and arcade sticks mapping support sounds clearly like a winner in comparison.

The DLC-only Capcom stuff... has really been milked to death by now. in particular, memories of the PSP Capcom Remixed & Reloaded really contribute to the feeling of "been there, done that".

[Jonpachi]

I was kinda looking more about impressions on the two new cartridges (Irem & Toaplan). My interest for the new EXP hardware is really low. I don't think tate really works in a portable setting, and even without it, the VS with its four USBs and arcade sticks mapping support sounds clearly like a winner in comparison.

The DLC-only Capcom stuff... has really been milked to death by now. in particular, memories of the PSP Capcom Remixed & Reloaded really contribute to the feeling of "been there, done that".

The collections are, as always, bare-bones but very solid. There's nothing more than a rom running on a cart, but the emulation is good and they feel generally about on par with a Hamster ACA release. Pretty hard to be mad at any part of them for the $20 asking price. Toaplan set comes with a nice little poster (just the box art blown up, but it's a cool image) and some "mini interviews" in the manual that I posted above.

I also wouldn't sleep on the Jaleco Arcade 1 set. Cybattler is a gem, and an Evercade exclusive for now.

[Jeneki]

I think Avenging Spirit was the exclusive, but has since been released on other consoles by City Connection as a stand alone release. Cybattler is on Arcade Archives. If there's one thing I'll give current-day Jaleco/City Connection credit for, they're licensing team is spreading the love.

I'd agree Evercade has a nice price, considering it's a physical cart with a case and color manual.

[BrianC]

Tate on Switch with a 3D printed holder and a skull & co. pad overlay for the arrow buttons is glorious.

[Jonpachi]

I missed the console release of Cybattler? I don’t know how this got by me. Thanks!