The pseudo-turn based, comedic war chaos of the Worms games has always appealed to me – and two of the three games on this cartridge hold such incredible, long lasting nostalgic memories for me that you’d think this would be one of my favourite Evercade collections of them all.

So why isn’t it?

Before we get into that, let me tell you a story.

I first encountered Worms on the PS1 in the mid-90s, shortly after I started dating someone slightly older than me.

At the time, she had quite a wide circle of friends and I really didn’t (nothing’s changed there for me!); we’d often find ourselves going to the pub for hours on end on Fridays and Saturdays, getting a bit messy before coming home – usually with a few stragglers – and playing video games for another few hours.

The best drunken video game sessions we’d have would be because of Worms. Four players, passing the controller, each eager to decimate the enemy with their own team of annelids – which we’d usually named after friends, family or favourite fictional characters.

It was one of the most fun and carefree times in my life.

I didn’t get into any other sequels, until Worms Armageddon hit the Dreamcast – and then Worms was definitely back on the menu for me.

Though by then, sadly, I’d split up with my previous girlfriend. Note that it did all work out for the best for both of us though – and we’re still in touch to this day!

Anyway, Worms Armageddon was a revelation – with a frankly astonishing array of weapons and tools, many of which were either useless or just there for comedy value; this only added to the appeal of getting more chaotic multiplayer action underway.

Oddly, I never really clicked with any of the Worms games past Armageddon either; nor have I enjoyed the many forays into 3D that the series has attempted.

I didn’t ever give Worms/Bust-a-Move puzzle hybrid Worms Blast a go back in the day either, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what it was – nor any nostalgia for it.

Clicking the Evercade cartridge into my handheld, VS or EXP provided an instant and potent hit of nostalgia when I loaded Worms and Worms Armageddon though.

I’m so familiar with the music, the amazing sound effects and the array of weapons and equipment in both games – it was a joy to play them again.

They do feel old however – and, in terms of the between levels menus and options, very dated indeed. Naturally, saving game setups, voice bank choices and team names feels like a little bit of a faff when you have to remember to save via the Evercade’s save states rather than the in-game save options – but it is manageable.

The controls also feel clunkier than I remember too, though again this could just be the aura of rose-tinted specs making me feel as if they were smoother experiences back in the day.

Not to mention the fact that I often played the original, at least, through beer goggles.

With only three games on the cartridge, it’s arguable that the original Worms didn’t need to be here alongside the more fully featured and aesthetically consistent Worms Armageddon, which adds a more comically cartoony, cutesy look to the annelids, which previously looked more serious, if still tongue in cheek of course.

It’s a lovely, warm bath of nostalgia to have both games here – and with 4 player multiplayer support; thanks to pass and play you can even take advantage of this on the usually single player only handhelds – but the inclusion of both does feel a tad unnecessary once you’ve revisited it and then headed back to Armageddon.

So then there’s the third game on the cartridge: the aforementioned puzzle game, Worms Blast.

It looks like a Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move style game, in which you fire at coloured shapes and make combos to remove them.

However, as you have to also control a fiddly, inertia-prone boat at the bottom of the screen in order to aim and shoot at the right areas, it’s actually a lot more frustrating and painful to play than the games it takes inspiration from.

It’s also incredibly ugly on a modern TV; this is definitely a game that your Evercade CRT Filter was made for!

Played on the Evercade VS, it can be played in split screen mode with a second play, which is marginally more fun than playing against the stage itself – if only because both players are likely to struggle with the boat at the same time.

However, Worms Blast was a massive disappointment for me – and it’s a shame it was chosen as the only other game on the cartridge, especially as there’s numerous other titles, such as Worms Pinball for example, which could have been added here instead.

So really, we’re left with Worms Armageddon as the hero of this cartridge and – while it hasn’t aged in terms of its gameplay – there’s a few niggling design decisions that make it a bit awkward and slow to set up and play in the modern era.

Despite it still being among my favourite games of all time, it does feel a bit pricey to be buying an Evercade cartridge pretty much just to play Worms Armageddon – especially if you won’t be able to play it in four player multiplayer mode very often.

One of the very best party games of all time, however – along with its predecessor and a forgettable puzzle game spin-off – may just be enough to tempt you back to the soil once more.

Holy Hand Grenades ftw!

You can purchase the Worms Collection 1 cartridge from Amazon here.