The Basics

Q: What is Evercade?

A: Well, gosh. Hopefully if you’re here you probably already have some idea. But, just in case:

Evercade is an ecosystem of gaming devices and physical game cartridges containing collections of legally-licensed games for classic consoles, arcades, and home computers as well as retro-inspired modern indie games.

Q: Uh, geez, can you break that down for me?

A: Yeah, I guess that’s a lot to shove into a single sentence.

There are several devices you can use to play Evercade cartridges:

1. Evercade Handheld (discontinued): Also known as the “OG” or the “Ancient Hero.” This is the original Evercade hardware from 2020. It will play all current carts, but is discontinued and will not be receiving any new updates. It also only has 2 shoulder buttons, which limits controls for certain games.
2. Evercade VS: The “home console” version of the Evercade. This hardware supports up to 4 player multiplayer. It can play all all cartridges except the 2 Namco carts (due to licensing restrictions). The VS is in active production and receives regular updates.
3. Evercade EXP: The handheld successor to the Evercade Handheld. The EXP adds two additional shoulder buttons, a more powerful processor and more internal storage. The EXP offers “tate” (vertical) mode so vertical-oriented games (such as shoote em ups) can use the full screen. The EXP also comes with 18 built-in games from Capcom.
4. Super Pocket: These are not “Evercade devices” properly, but do play Evercade cartridges. These are pared-back devices with fewer features than the proper Evercade devices, but offer a great pocketable experience and come with either Capcom or Taito games built-in.

Evercade cartridges are fully-physical collections of games that come with full-color manuals. Each cartridge is numbered to fully activate your collector neurons. There are 3 colors of Evercade cartridge boxes:

1. Red: These are “home console” collections. These will contain games for classic hardware such as the Atari 2600, NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Playstation, etc. Some of the games are older games, contemporary to their hardware, but some are also newer “homebrew” indie games written for the hardware. More recently, red carts have also been released with “native” Evercade games that don’t run in an emulator.
2. Purple: These are classic arcade games from a variety of developers and publishers.
3. Blue: These are “home computer” collections featuring games for classic home computer platforms such as the Commodore 64 and the Amiga. Like with the Red collections, while many of these games are contemporary, there is an increasing amount of newer “homebrew” games for these platforms available.

Q: So these are emulation? Is that legal?

A: Yes, most games on Evercade are running in software emulation. There are, however, an increasing number of “native” Evercade games that run directly within Evercade’s OS without an emulator.

And, yes, whether emulated or not, all games, emulation software, etc on Evercade are fully-licensed from rights holders and legal.

Cartridges and Games

Q: So what games are available on Evercade?

A: For an official listing of Evercade cartridges, you can see the Evercade website. Note that if you scroll down toward the bottom, you can see a “Full games list” section you can open to see (and search) the full list of games without having to click through every cartridge individually.

You can also learn about the EXP built-in games from its product page on the Evercade website and the Super Pocket built-in games from its product page on the HyperMegaTech website.

You can also see an unofficial games list on the evercadeinfo Games Database.

Q: I heard some cartridges are out of print?

A: Yeah, unfortunately. Since all Evercade cartridges are fully-licensed, sometimes those licenses can expire for a variety of reasons. At that point, no further copies of the cartridge can be produced and it is referred to as “Legacy.”

You can see the full list of Legacy cartridges on the Evercade website. When new carts are going to go legacy, Blaze provide ample warning and perform a final printing of the cartridge so folks who want a copy have time of find one.

Historically, Legacy carts have stayed in circulation at or near MSRP for a while, but as more people enter the ecosystem that isn’t as much of a guarantee anymore. Famously, Technos Collection 1 has been going for exorbitant prices on EBay.

Q: What carts should I start with?

A: Well, that’s going to vary wildly depending on what sorts of games you’re into. You can see my most recent ranking if you’re curious which carts I’m most into, but this won’t necessarily hold true for everyone.

You can always drop into the Evercade Discord to ask folks there what they recommend. Just make sure to mention what sorts of games you like so they can try to tailor their suggestions.

Q: I heard there are secret games?

A: Yes! EXP and VS owners have access to a few hidden games that can be unlocked with secret codes or button presses. And VS owners have access to a few games that can be unlocked by placing two specific carts into the two slots of the VS at the same time.

For a full list of secrets on evercadeinfo secrets and easter eggs list.

Miscellaneous

Q: Can I use save states?

A: Yes! Well, for emulated games. Each emulated game has 6 save state slots you can use. Native games such as Cathedral and Duke Nukem 1+2 Remastered do not have save states.

Additionally, emulated games that support “SRAM” cartridge saves or memory card saves can use those.

Native games that support saves will have specific save functionality built in, so please consult those games’ manuals for more information. Most just use auto-saves, though.

Q: Where are my saves stored?

A: All sorts of saves - whether save states, SRAM, or native saves - are stored directly on the cartridge so they can be moved freely between devices.

Q: My SRAM save, save state, or native save isn’t working?(!)

A: There are two common causes of issues with saves. Both boil down to “make sure you exit the game completely back to the Evercade menu before powering off your device.”

1. For save states or native saves, make sure the save state has finished writing before powering off your device.
2. For SRAM (cartridge/memory card) saves, make sure you have fully exited the game back to the Evercade menu before powering off your device. Saves are only persisted to the cart when the game is closed.

Q: My VS is acting weird in some way (powering off randomly, games crashing, etc)?(!)

A: Before doing anything else, make sure you are supplying your VS with sufficient power.

Since the VS doesn’t come with a power adapter, most folks just make due with what they have (cell phone adapters, plugging into their TV, etc) and often these won’t supply the VS with proper amperage, leading to a variety of weird behaviors.

The VS user guide mentions using an adapter that provides at least 5 volt 1 amp. However, firmware updates and native games will often need more like 2 amps during the most intensive operations.

In short, it’s recommended you have a high quality power adapter that supplies 5 volts at (at least) 2 amps.

Q: How can I make a game for Evercade?

A: You can see information on the Evercade developer program. The page is a little out of date (as of this writing), but ultimately the important part is that you’ll want to get in touch at developer@evercade.co.uk to get in touch with Blaze.

Some of the emulation platforms Evercade supports have modern development tooling to help you make your game (such as nesmaker). Native games will, at a minimum, need to run on Linux/ARM and of course fit within the processor and memory constraints of all Evercade devices. Some native games use the Godot engine, but most use custom engines specifically optimized for Evercade versions.

For more specific information on requirements of both emulated and native games, please contact Blaze as this is very much not an official resource.

Getting Help

Q: I have a question or problem that isn’t answered here?

A: Here’s a list of places for additional information or support:

1. The Evercade discord has a lot of very helpful and knowledgeable folks.
2. The VS and EXP support pages on the Evercade site have additional FAQs not addressed here. As well as information on patch notes and PDFs of user guides for more information.
3. You can email support@evercade.co.uk to get support directly from Blaze. They’re very friendly and helpful, so please don’t hesitate to contact them if you have any issues.