Evercade Alpha review: authentic countertop arcade fun

Evercade Alpha: one-minute review

If you’re looking for a way to replicate that classic arcade experience at home, then the Evercade Alpha is very easy to recommend. This bite-sized countertop arcade cabinet comes in two flavors, each with its own set of classic Capcom arcade titles. There are also two slots for existing Evercade cartridges – all of which are compatible with the Alpha in addition to the Evercade EXP and Evercade VS consoles.

The cabinet itself is awash with delightful design flourishes, from the swappable marquee cards up top to the official artwork which wraps around the central 8-inch IPS screen. Said screen is simply gorgeous, too; its 8-inch size and 4:3 aspect ratio proved to be perfect for most of the games I tested. Controls are also responsive, whether that be via the onboard arcade stick and buttons or through a third-party controller via the two USB ports on the unit.

It does err on the expensive side, though, making the Evercade Alpha a bit tougher to recommend for folks who aren’t enthusiasts for this kind of thing or don’t already have a decently-sized Evercade cartridge collection. It’s also worth mentioning that most of these games lack any kind of difficulty options, which especially makes fighting games exceptionally hard to clear. You do of course have infinite continues via free play, but this will be irksome to players after a quick, casual arcade session.

Even still, the Evercade Alpha is one of the best retro games console units released this year, and I highly recommend it to anyone chasing a nostalgic arcade experience. Especially with all its quality-of-life additions.

Evercade Alpha: price and availability

• $229.99 / £199.99 pre-order price
• Will be $249.99 / £229.99 after launch
• Available from November 28, 2024

The Evercade Alpha launches on November 28, 2024, coming in at a retail price of $249.99 / £229.99. However, those who pre-order the unit will be able to get it at the discounted price of $229.99 / £199.99. You can purchase one from a variety of big box retailers including Amazon and Best Buy in the US as well as Funstock, Argos, and Game in the UK.

An Evercade Alpha Deluxe Edition will also be available exclusively at Funstock in the UK. Coming in at £249.99, this version features industry-leading Sanwa arcade buttons, an Evercade Alpha controller, and various goodies including a certificate of authenticity, a poster, and five marquee cards.

You’ve got the choice of two separate units for the Evercade Alpha. The Street Fighter model includes Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo. Meanwhile, the Mega Man model packs in Mega Man: The Power Battle, Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters, Carrier Air Wing, Final Fight, Knights of the Round, and Strider. 

Evercade Alpha: specs

Evercade Alpha: design and features

• Exceptional cabinet-like build
• Has options for controller play and a headphone jack
• Small enough to fit on a countertop

If you’ve ever laid eyes on a traditional arcade cabinet at any point in your life, then you roughly know what to expect from the Evercade Alpha. The unit replicates that angular silhouette, albeit small enough to comfortably fit on top of a counter or a decently-sized gaming desk.

There are lots of lovely design flourishes on the Evercade Alpha. The power switch (situated between the two Evercade cartridge slots at the base of the unit) is shaped like an arcade cabinet coin slot. The marquee card at the top can be swapped out with the extra ones included in the package and, when the unit is switched on, a backlight illuminates the marquee. My review unit is the Street Fighter Edition, and it’s great to see classic arcade unit character artwork wrapped around the central IPS display.

Below the screen are the Evercade Alpha’s on-board controls. This is a six-button setup that’s ideal for fighting games alongside an eight-way octagonal gate stick and three buttons used for starting games, inserting coins for play, and accessing the unit’s built-in menu.

Two side-firing speakers are situated on either side of the unit, and at the bottom below those cartridge slots are a pair of USB ports for controllers, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a switch for adjusting volume. All in all, it’s a rich yet no-nonsense feature set that’s cleverly implemented into the bite-sized arcade machine design.

Evercade Alpha: performance

• Accurate and faithful play experience
• No difficulty options means games can be very hard
• Super effective CRT filters included

The overall play experience on Evercade Alpha is pretty strong. Controls were responsive across all games tested here, both with the on-board arcade stick controls and more standard controller options via USB. In that regard, I tested the Xbox Wireless Controller, DualSense Wireless Controller, and the 8BitDo Ultimate with the Evercade Alpha, and all worked with the unit after diving into the settings and mapping the controls for each.

The games themselves are of course the stars of the show. Just like with the Evercade EXP and VS consoles, the games feel decently accurate and responsive in comparison to their arcade counterparts. The arcade stick and buttons did take some getting used to, admittedly, though this isn’t the fault of the Alpha itself. Your mileage may vary here, of course, if you’re used to using some of the best fight sticks on the market. But more casual players may need some time before they can reliably throw out Sonic Booms and Shoryukens in Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

One gripe I do have is that these Evercade versions don’t have options for difficulty, neither within the ROMs themselves nor within Evercade’s own operating system. That’s definitely a bummer – difficulty levels are typically available via arcade machine dip switch menus, and these have been emulated on similar devices. It makes many titles pretty difficult to play at a casual level. Hopefully, this is something Blaze Entertainment can implement in a future firmware update for the Alpha.

On the plus side, I was pleasantly surprised by the CRT filter options available on the Evercade Alpha. You can choose a subtle or a strong filter (or turn it off entirely) via the Evercade Alpha menu. This applies to all games, too, so there’s no need to keep reapplying the filter as you cycle through titles. I found the subtle mode to add a good bit of depth to the scene and avoid feeling intrusive or overdone, as is the case with many a CRT filter in old game compilations.

Should I buy the Evercade Alpha?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider…

If the Evercade Alpha doesn’t quite have what you’re looking for, be sure to check out a couple of other Evercade devices that are a bit more budget-friendly. 

How I tested the Evercade Alpha

• Tested for two weeks
• Used onboard controls and some controllers via USB
• Played a wide variety of arcade games

I tested the Evercade Alpha Street Fighter Edition over the course of around two weeks. I played games both built-in and via a handful of Evercade cartridges both in my collection and supplied by Blaze Entertainment, including the Toaplan Arcade Collection 3 and the Data East Arcade Collection 2.

While I primarily used the onboard arcade stick controls during testing, I also tried playing games on the Evercade Alpha with a variety of controllers including the DualSense, Xbox Wireless Controller, and the 8BitDo Ultimate.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed November 2024