There are lots of affordable consoles on the market that will let gamers play thousands of classic retro titles, but most also require users to have a large collection of legally grey ROM files on hand. That’s where the new Super Pocket is different. It’s a Game Boy-sized handheld that comes with a small selection of iconic retro games built-in, which can be further expanded through additional cartridges.
As much as we’re fans of handhelds like the Anbernic RG35XX, or the Miyoo Mini, which can play thousands of retro games using software emulation, those devices require a certain level of technical competency to fill with ROM files (digital copies of games once distributed on cartridges or discs) which also aren’t easy to acquire given emulation is still a bit of a legal grey area. My dad may still love Game Boy Tetris, but I’m not ready to hand him an RG35XX and then deal with the inevitable tech support calls on how to use it.
Three years ago I reviewed an excellent retro gaming alternative called the Evercade which was a handheld featuring an old-school cartridge slot. Instead of playing original Nintendo or Sega cartridges like the Analogue Pocket, the creators of the Evercade released a collection of their own cartridges, each featuring a handful of retro titles from various publishers or themes. All of the retro games played perfectly on the Evercade right out of the box, without the need for constantly tweaking emulators, and it’s a handheld I still recommend to novice retro gamers, as well as the newer Evercade EXP, whenever I’m asked what handheld to get.
But moving forward, the new Super Pocket from HyperMegaTech!, a spin-off brand of Blaze Entertainment that created the Evercade, might be an even better alternative. Whereas the Evercade models featured a landscape design similar to the Sega Game Gear, or modern handhelds like the Valve Steam Deck, the Super Pocket looks more like the original Nintendo Game Boy with D-pad and action button controls located beneath a 2.8-inch, 4:3 aspect ratio, LCD screen, but with two sets of shoulder buttons added to the back.
Several colourways of the Super Pocket will be available, but it will launch with two main versions. The green Taito Edition will come with 17 titles from the publisher including Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Operation Wolf, The NewZealand Story, Rastan, Cadash, Chack’n Pop, Don Doko Don, Elevator Action, Football Champ, Growl, Kiri Kaikai, Legend of Kage, Liquid Kids, Space Invaders ‘91, Volfied, and The Fairyland Story.
The blue Capcom Edition will instead come with 12 titles from that publisher’s back catalog including 1942, 1943, 1944: The Loop Master, Bionic Commando, Captain Commando, Street Fighter II’: Hyper Fighting, Strider, Wolf of the Battlefield: MERCS, Mega Man, Final Fight, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, and Forgotten Worlds.
However, neither version of the Super Pocket will be limited to just the bundled games because both are compatible with the collection of expansion cartridges already available for the Evercade and Evercade EXP, pushing the potential number of retro games that can be played on the Super Pocket to over 500 titles—and they’re all properly licensed so there’s no legal concerns whatsoever.
Although we’ll have to wait until sometime in November to get our hands on either version, the Super Pockets will be available for pre-order starting on Friday, July 14, for $US59, making them one of the most affordable retro gaming handsets available.