The NeoGeo collections are proving popular for the Evercade, so it makes sense that Blaze are keeping that momentum going with Visco Arcade 1 and Visco Arcade 2, licensed from Pixel Heart. The connection here is that later Visco releases ran on NeoGeo hardware.
“Visco’s catalogue is packed with hidden gems and arcade favourites that deserve to be experienced by a new generation of players,” said Blaze CEO Andrew Byatt. “These two collections showcase the incredible variety of games the company produced, and we’re excited to bring them together on Evercade for the first time,” they continued.
Visco Arcade 1 focuses on the developer’s early arcade games, being quite shoot’em up heavy. It appears a lot of these can be played in TATE mode, making good use of the Evercade’s grip accessory:
- ASHURA BLASTER.
- ASUKA & ASUKA
- DRIFT OUT
- EARTH JOKER: U.N. DEFENSE FORCE
- GALMEDES
- MAZE OF FLOTT
- ANDRO DUNOS
- GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!
Visco Arcade 2 contains more NeoGeo powered titles and appears more diverse:
- DRIFT OUT ’94: THE HARD ORDER
- BANG² BUSTERS
- BANG BEAD
- BATTLE FLIP SHOT
- BREAKER’S
- CAPTAIN TOMADAY
- GANRYU
- NEO DRIFT OUT: NEW TECHNOLOGY
These two cartridges are the next to be released, launching 28th August for £19.99 each.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen re-releases of Visco games – VISCO Collection was released on consoles by QUByte in 2023. Ganryu and Neo DriftOut were the highlights there. We also noted that many games are uncannily similar to renowned hits. Captain Tomaday is basically Pop’n Twinbee, while Bang Bead and FlipShot imitate Windjammers.
Breakers should make the second collection more than worthwhile. We’re more sceptical about the first collection, as it doesn’t seem to offer much variety, and if memory serves Goal! Goal! Goal! isn’t up to much.