Blaze Entertainment aren’t quite done shmoozing with Microsoft’s gaming division, it seems, as the two more products that fall under that all-encompassing wing have just been announced.
Coming as a mild surprise, we’re in for a Rare Super Pocket handheld. As per previously released Super Pockets, it’s compatible with Evercade cartridges and will retail at a modest £49.99. 14 games are built in, including an enhanced and optimised version of the N64’s celebrated Banjo-Kazooie:
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Conker’s Pocket Tales
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
- Battletoads
- Cobra Triangle
- R.C. Pro-Am II
- Slalom
- Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll
- Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warpship
- Atic Atac
- Jetpac
- Lunar Jetman
- Knight Lore
- Gunfright
Featuring a Banjo-Kazooie themed red and blue colour scheme, it’s due out in June. Pre-orders are live on Amazon (affiliate link). How well B-Z will control with a d-pad remains to be seen. Similarly to the Evercade’s version of Glover, we imagine. Also curious is the further absence of Killer Instinct, which may suggest we’re in for a standalone collection at some point.
Then there’s Activision Collection 2, which brings together 15 more Atari 2600 games from the ‘80s:
- Boxing
- Checkers
- Cosmic Commuter
- Dragster
- H.E.R.O.
- Moonsweeper
- Oink!
- Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
- Plaque Attack
- River Raid II
- Robot Tank
- Seaquest
- Skiing
- Spider Fighter
- Stampede
Highlights here are River Raid II, Robot Tank, Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Spider Fighter, and H.E.R.O. We’ve always had a soft spot for Plaque Attack too. Of course, Blaze’s partnership with Activision could span far beyond the Atari 2600 – we could potentially see Sierra and Blizzard collections, or even PS1 era games. This cartridge is due in April.
Lastly for new announcements, there’s Mega Cat Studios Collection 3, which will offer ten modern retro games for £19.99. Here’s the full list, including descriptions from the press release:
- Kudzu – Discover the truth behind an invasive plant in this top-down action adventure with hack-and-slash combat.
- Flap Happy – Flap your wings and take aim for the targets in this arcade-style precision platformer.
- GunTneR – Prepare to have your senses overwhelmed in this high-speed, chaotic shoot ’em up with an offbeat sense of humour.
- Machine Cave – Pilot your spacecraft through a mysterious cavern and acquire new equipment to aid your exploration.
- Plyuk – Solve tricky challenges by cloning yourself in this endearing puzzle platformer.
- The Meating – Become a ghost minotaur and take up the quest to regain your meat in this puzzle platformer.
- Gravibots – A fast-paced puzzle platformer where you will need to manipulate gravity to clear each screen of evil robots.
- Rocket Panda – Fly your jetpack through delicious-looking mazes to save Biscuit Land from the evil Biscuit Head.
- Super Fanger – A Halloween-themed game of tag awaits in this spooky action game for one or two players.
- Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land – Explore a sprawling overworld, cast spells and brew potions in your quest to help Gumball return home.
We reviewed Kudzu, a modern Game Boy adventure inspired by Link’s Awakening, and the NES homebrew puzzle platformer The Meating when they launched on Switch in 2024. Both were pretty good, and with Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land being a brand new release, this collection looks set to offer good value for money and plenty of variety.