New Neo Geo and Activision cartridges are coming to Evercade

Pre-orders are now open for the Evercade Neo Geo Collection 4 and Activision Collection 4 cartridges.

I have a complete Evercade collection on my shelf, and I am honestly more excited about the new Activision cartridge. We have had so much Neo Geo news lately that another SNK lineup feels a bit routine, even with some heavy hitters included. Blaze Entertainment has been steadily building out the Evercade library since 2020, and the system is at its best when it surfaces weird or forgotten pieces of gaming history.

Unreleased Atari prototypes

The Activision Collection 3 cartridge leans heavily into the Atari 2600 era. You get standard classics like Chopper Command, Ice Hockey, and Laser Blast. David Crane's The Activision Decathlon is here, which is notorious for destroying Atari joysticks back in the day due to its rapid side-to-side input requirements.

The real draw for collectors is the inclusion of Kabobber and Thwocker. Both were developed in the early 1980s but never saw a commercial release during the console's original lifespan. Kabobber was programmed by Rex Bradford and has a bizarre mechanic where you jump on enemies to absorb them. Thwocker was an early attempt at a physics-based platformer where you control a bouncing musical note.

The rest of the 13-game lineup includes Barnstorming, Bridge, Dolphin, Dragonfire, Kaboom!, Keystone Kapers, and Pressure Cooker. It is a solid cross-section of early console history.

Eight SNK arcade titles

The Neo Geo side of the drop brings eight SNK arcade titles to the system. Blazing Star is the standout here. It is one of the best horizontal shoot-'em-ups on the AES hardware. The game is famous for its pre-rendered 3D sprites and relentless difficulty.

Fighting game fans get Fatal Fury Special and The King of Fighters 2002. The latter is one of the most mechanically dense entries in the franchise and a staple of early 2000s arcade culture. Metal Slug 4 covers the run-and-gun requirement. It was developed by Mega Enterprise rather than the original SNK team, but it still delivers the chaotic pixel art action the series is known for.

The remaining slots go to 3 Count Bout, Baseball Stars 2, King of the Monsters, and Robo Army. Baseball Stars 2 holds up incredibly well today and remains one of the fastest, most responsive arcade sports games ever made.

Bundle pricing at Amazon, funstock and elsewhere

They are also available on Amazon right now.

The Evercade ecosystem relies entirely on emulation, but it handles the licensing and packaging in a way that appeals to physical media collectors. Each cartridge contains the ROM files and a custom emulator configuration designed to run on the platform's proprietary Linux-based operating system. This means you do not have to mess with configuration files or controller mapping. You just plug the cartridge in and the menu loads the games.

Both cartridges work across all Evercade hardware. This includes the original handheld, the VS home console, the EXP, and the newer Super Pocket devices. The cartridges come with the standard full-color manuals that Blaze includes with all its physical releases.