The latest of Blaze’s Evercade-compatible Super Pocket consoles is here. With 14 games from Rare’s 80s and 90s output, across a variety of computers and consoles, there’s a genuinely excellent, diverse collection here with something to please everybody.

The star of the show, and the biggest hitter here in terms of content and tech, is N64 title Banjo Kazooie. It’s a great game, and its presence on the handheld is welcome, but it’s not without a glaring problem.

The original was built around smooth, brilliantly implemented analogue controls, and the same level of precision just isn’t possible with the Super Pocket’s digital, 8-way control pad. There’s some workarounds including using a button to shift between the various walking and running speeds, but it’s not ideal.

The button layout of the Super Pocket also causes issues; the buttons on the back of the console never quite feel like they’re where you think they are when you need them in a pinch, and that can definitely be a problem. Buttons can be remapped with different control schemes and options, however, and this is definitely recommended.

All that said, Banjo Kazooie is still worth your time, but it is also worth noting that a Banjo Kazooie cartridge is on the way later this year. So it may be worth holding out for that and using an analogue controller on the Evercade VS, or the upcoming, analogue stick-sporting Evercade Nexus.

Of course, the Super Pocket has 13 other games too! So it doesn’t live or die on Banjo Kazooie anyway.

Cute top down romp Atic Atac is incredibly dated, but definitely holds a lot of simple, immediately accessible fun.

SNES title Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is excellent, and the boost in audiovisual over the 8-bit original is very welcome.

That said, the original, maddeningly difficult NES Battletoads is here too, and benefits greatly from save states.

Combat boat racing is the order of the day in isometric NES game, Cobra Triangle. It’s pretty original, and good fun too.

Conker’s Pocket Tales is a Game Boy Color action RPG from the period when the titular squirrel was just another family friendly video game mascot, and not the foul mouthed, sex obsessed drunk he came to be. It’s not bad, and it’s good to have a game you can really sink your teeth into and explore, but it’s also not the best example of the genre.

Gunfright and Knight Lore are two more Spectrum titles from the earliest home computer days. Isometric adventures, they’re good if somewhat dated. Jetpac fares better despite being older; it’s a great, single screen arcade shooter/collect ’em up, and has aged beautifully.

I found the almost Moon Patrol-esque Lunar Jetman less satisfying, even though visually it’s a big upgrade over Jetpac.

RC Pro-Am II features smooth, isometric, radio control car racing. Like its predecessor, it’s excellent.

Slalom was Rare’s first NES game, and it shows. It’s interesting to have it included, but it’s far from essential.

Two absolute classics, in my opinion, close out the selection of games on the Rare Edition Super Pocket console. Snake, Rattle ‘n’ Roll is an isometric platformer in which you play as a very smooth-moving snake. It’s tough as nails, and the isometric view sometimes causes issues with the need for platform precison (particularly in the later levels), but it was a favourite of mine back in the day, and it’s still superb even now.

Finally, Solar Jetman brings the title character across from the Spectrum to the NES, in a Lunar Lander-esque, physics based adventure. It’s ridiculously challenging, but very addictive and very rewarding. Another game I played to death on the NES in the early 90s, I think I rate this a lot more highly than most people, but I still enjoy it a lot.

Though there’s a bit of overlap with the Rare Collection 1 Evercade cartridge, there are enough games here that you won’t find elsewhere on the Evercade (yet) that it is worth picking up this console if you’re a fan of old school Rare. It’s a really eclectic collection, and though not every game is a hit, there really is something for everyone here.

Of course, being Evercade compatible means you have a huge range of cartridges to choose from and play too; you’re not just limited to the 14 built-in Rare games.

Beyond the games, the console itself is no different from the last few Super Pocket consoles. Solidly built and reliable with decent USB-C charge and play time, featuring responsive buttons and an excellent dpad. The colour scheme is gorgeous, evoking the Banjo Kazooie logo and just being a satisfyingly vibrant combination.

This is definitely one of the very best Super Pocket consoles, but then again most of them are worth picking up anyway. I’d highly recommend the Rare Edition though, especially if you grew up with the NES, SNES and N64.

The Rare Edition Super Pocket console is available now from Amazon.

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