Evercade
Image: Nintendo Life

We've covered the Evercade console a few times on this site, mainly because we love the idea of a brand-new handheld system which uses old-school cartridges. This pocket-friendly device doesn't have the backing of a Nintendo or Sony-sized company behind it, yet the team involved have managed to not only produce a likeable piece of kit, but also populate its library with some unexpected retro gems – as well as modern classics, such as Xeno Crisis and Tanglewood.

The Evercade is also getting a collection which highlights the work of the Oliver Twins, the British coding siblings who made a massive impact on the world of gaming via their best-selling Dizzy series during the '80s and early '90s.

The Oliver Twins Collection – which is Evercade release "12" in case you were wondering – features The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy, Wonderland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Go! Dizzy Go!, Dizzy the Adventurer, Mystery World Dizzy and Treasure Island Dizzy, as well as Super Robin Hood, Firehawk, Professional BMX Simulator and Dreamworld Pogie. The game is a "lost classic" which was only released in 2017, as are Wonderland Dizzy, Panic Dizzy, Go! Dizzy Go! and Mystery World Dizzy, so this package is doing so much more than just connecting you with old games – it's preserving them, too.

What's notable about these titles? They're all NES games. While The Oliver Twins arguably found the most fame on home computers like the ZX Spectrum and C64, they – via publisher Codemasters – supported Nintendo's 8-bit console with gusto, as this collection attests. Emulation is excellent throughout, while the Evercade's precise D-Pad and big, friendly buttons mean each game included here is a joy to control. The fact that you can hook up the console to your TV via HDMI for a more authentic home console experience is a nice bonus for long-standing NES fans.

What makes packages like this so special is that they're a legitimate way for Nintendo fans to reconnect with a part of Nintendo history. It might be somewhat disingenuous to state that the 11 games featured in this collection are some of the best on the NES – the Dizzy series has always been something of an acquired taste, after all – but the fact that they're being offered for sale after all these years is cause for celebration; what makes the collection even more appealing is that all profits will be going to the National Video Game Museum charity.

Evercade also has Jaleco and Data East cartridges lined up for release – both of which will also contain Nintendo titles – and has also produced two carts which cover the library of the Atari Lynx, a console that, for modern players, is likely to be a complete mystery. Like Nintendo's defunct Virtual Console service, the Evercade is shaping up to become a vital conduit between the past and present, and we could potentially see many more forgotten NES and SNES classics getting a new lease of life via this likeable little console.

Just imagine a Sega collection or a cart which comes packed with obscure Game Boy releases...

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