From the weird title onwards, something feels off with this particular Evercade cartridge. Why isn’t it called Data East Arcade 3? Only five games feels especially stingy too, and given that a few of them haven’t exactly aged gracefully, it makes this collection somewhat of an acquired taste.

That said, sports title Windjammers, a Data East game originally published on the Neo Geo, is a beloved mid-90s arcade game that’s original, fast-paced and great fun. At least in multiplayer mode anyway; the computer players don’t seem to play fair at all.

Karnov and Atomic Runner Chelnov, both side-scrolling action titles (the latter with forced scrolling, which is an unusual touch) have aged really badly, with incredibly uninspiring visuals even by the standards of their era. They’re not exactly amazing in gameplay terms either, though they do each have unique and distinctive touches.

Shoot ’em up Vapor Trail: Hyper Offensive Formation is pretty good, but pseudo-sequel Rohga: Armor Force is really cool, with a great system in which you create your own, customised mech from a variety of parts. It’s fun how your tiny little mech pilot can survive and continue the fight when the mech explodes too.

All in all though, despite a few interesting touches, this is a rare misfire from Blaze; it’s likely to draw the curious in with Windjammers, but unless you’re planning on playing the two player mode, it’s really not worth it. Rohga: Armor Force is superb, but again: is it really worth the cost of the cartridge? A very disappointing, and unusually lazy collection.

You can buy Windjammers, Karnov & Friends from Amazon.

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