Super Pocket Rare review - How does Banjo measure up on such a small device?
Evercade is having another busy year, launching a steady stream of superb new cartridges, including Activison collections, NEOGEO bundles and the massively underrated Turrican cart. The company has also launched this year's first new Super Pocket handheld, this time focusing on UK video game developer Rare, who made a splash on multiple retro consoles, from the ZX Spectrum and NES, to the Game Boy Colour and N64.
The HyperMegaTech! Super Pocket Rare Edition features 14 of the company's classic games, including the first appearance on Evercade for iconic 3D platformer Banjo-Kazooie. If you're wondering how the legendary Nintendo 64 adventure plays on the pocket sized device, and whether the Rare Super Pocket is a worthy addition to your handheld collection, then keep reading to find out more.
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The latest Super Pocket portable is very much as you were, measuring in at around 4.5-inches from top to bottom, and weighing 169g.
The device looks like a Game Boy Colour, only with four face buttons instead of two, not to mention four trigger buttons on the rear of the device - but more on those later!
The Rare version features a red(ish) and yellow colour scheme with a blue rear. The orange and blue Data East device is still my favourite to look at, but the colourful Rare model is certainly up there.
You'll comfortably get four hours or more of battery between charges, which considering the pick up and play nature of many of the games, feels like a decent amount.
It's worth noting that it comes with a USB-C cable to recharge the battery, but not an actual adaptor for your plug socket. Still, at £49.99, I'm not too mad about this. Just make sure you charge it before leaving the house.
Considering the Super Pocket actually does fit in your pocket and the battery should last through a few commutes, it's fair to say that portability is its biggest selling point.
It also boasts a few modern touches like save states, which is particularly handy for longer, narrative-driven games like Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Pocket Tales. No more waiting for in-game save points.
Speaking of the games, Banjo-Kazooie is undoubtedly the star of the show, and I was actually a little surprised by how well it plays.
The game looks fantastic and runs incredibly smoothly based on the few hours I've spent with it so far. The 2.8-inch display obviously isn't the best way to experience the N64 platformer, but it's bright and clear enough that at no point did I struggle to see what was happening. In some ways, the smaller screen hides the lack of detail in the surroundings and makes sparse environments look more dense.
It's the controls that caused me the most problems, especially the rear buttons. In the default control scheme (which is listed as 'Replay' - presumably to match the Rare Replay settings), the furthest left rear button is used to crouch, which I found really awkward, especially given how often I needed to use it for high jumps.
Fortunately, after messing around in the settings, I discovered the alternative 'Retro' control scheme, which assigns crouch to the furthest right rear button and makes platforming more fluid.
Any other awkwardness - particularly with the camera - really comes from when the game was designed, as opposed to any flaw with the Super Pocket. The d-pad is surprisingly effective for controlling Banjo and even the camera controls became second nature after a short time.
Needless to say, the older games in the collection have no such issues or caveats, as they were designed during simpler times when controllers weren't so complex.
And while there are obviously some games I like more than others, I would argue that there's not a single dud in the 14 titles on offer.
Both Battletoads for NES and Battletoads in Battlemaniacs for the Super Nintendo are great fun, I really like Cobra Triangle, and I have a soft spot for most ZX Spectrum games after my time with The Spectrum.
The biggest issue is that a lot of games already appear on the Rare Collection Volume 1 cartridge. Of course, this doesn't include Banjo-Kazooie and Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, which are arguably worth the asking price alone.
Furthermore, the Super Pocket has a cartridge slot for playing the entire library of Evercade cartridges, opening it up to hundreds of fantastic retro games.
If you don't already own a Super Pocket, then the Rare edition is a great place to start, especially thanks to the inclusion of heavy-hitter titles like Banjo-Kazooie.
It's a genuinely portable device that's reasonably priced and full to the brim with excellent retro games from multiple eras.
The HyperMegaTech! Super Pocket Rare Edition is available from Funstock for £49.99.