The first Evercade cartridge to feature Spanish arcade developer/manufacturer Gaelco’s games (Gaelco Arcade 1) emerged as an unexpected must have in the retro console’s arcade range.

That’s despite being loaded with games that you probably won’t have heard of – or played – before.

As with the first cartridge, part of the appeal comes from discovering unfamiliar titles, but of course that’s pretty meaningless if the games aren’t worth playing.

Though there’s a rather thin selection of games on Gaelco Arcade 2’s cartridge, all of the games are worth playing. So let’s check them out!

First up is Big Karnak; a hack and slash platformer in the Rastan vein. The Evercade isn’t short of titles like this – even the Jaleco Arcade 1 cartridge, released just before Gaelco Arcade 2, featured something similar – but its Ancient Egyptian setting and aesthetic, not to mention a neat weapon power meter, sets it apart.

Nice pixel art and massive bosses also help to give this some appeal, though I’m not a fan of the slightly delayed jump the main character has.

TH Strikes Back: Thunder Hoop 2 is a sequel to the run and gunner that appears on Gaelco Arcade 1; this time, the action seems heavily inspired by the Dragon Ball saga – your character can even go Super Saiyan!

Though enemy design feels a bit disparate and inconsistent at times, the sprite work here is lovely and it plays really well too.

Another sequel to a game that appeared on Gaelco Arcade 1, World Rally 2 is an isometric racing game that has a great sense of speed and excellent visuals too (slightly awkward digitised inter-level screens aside!). It plays beautifully and is another game that’s well worth your time.

Maniac Square looks like the kind of puzzler that would be right up my street, with clear and colourful visuals married with a straightforward, match 3 premise.

It took a while for me to warm to, as it’s less Puyo Puyo and more Columns, requiring three colours in a row before disappearing, rather than combos of colours touching in any shape. It’s certainly not bad, but probably the weakest game featured here.

Lastly, two sports games. Anyone who’s read any of my reviews before will know that I’m not a fan of sports or sports games in general – but the arcade simplicity of Squash (no prizes for guessing what sport it features) and Touch and Go (a one button beach volleyball title) really drew me in.

Squash is the faster paced of the two game and it’s immediately fun and responsive, with enemy AI that isn’t overly intimidating.

Touch and Go feels almost like a slowed down NBA Jam, albeit transplanted to the beach and with volleyball rather than basketball. The one button for both jump and shoot makes this an immediately accessible game – and, like Squash, the AI seem tuned just about the right side of challenging for it to still be a fun experience.

So this is another excellent collection of games from Gaelco, with the added bonus of not being mired in brain-tricking nostalgia for most players.

For the most part, you’ll be coming to these games fresh – and each one offers a pleasant surprise with surprisingly excellent gameplay that’s easily stood the test of time.

You can purchase the Gaelco Arcade 2 cartridge from Amazon here.