Evercade’s Alpha bartop arcade machine is my dream compact cabinet
Street Fighter and Mega Man editions bring cartridge support for countertop arcade cabs for the first time
I can’t remember the last time I dug through my pockets for coins in the vain hope of beating Street Fighter II‘s world tour – but I know that’s when I got the idea of one day owning an arcade cabinet. The one thing stopping me so far (other than a disapproving partner)? A fear of commitment. With so many killer arcade games out there, how could I narrow it down to one? That’s not a problem with the Evercade Alpha.
This pair of pint-sized bartop cabinets come with multiple titles pre-installed – and crucially, also play nicely with Evercade’s cartridge system. Short of hopping in a time machine, this is as legal as arcade gaming gets – even if it is at a quarter scale.
The firm is best known for its retro handhelds, which support packs of officially licensed games from 80s and 90s heavy-hitters such as Gremlin, Sunsoft and Atari; the Alpha is the first arcade cabinet to get the same treatment.
Both 410mm-tall cabinets have been given the seal of approval by Capcom, with official graphics on the sides and screen surround. Fighting game fans will want the Street Fighter cab, which includes Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Street Fighter Alpha 3. For a bit more variety, the Megaman unit comes with Megaman, Megaman 2, Carrier Air Wing, Final Fight, Knights of the Round, and Strider.
Each one has dual slots for Evercade’s 50+ library of cartridges, comprising over 500 arcade, console, indie and home computer games. Once you buy ’em, they’re yours – no digital downloads, internal soldering or board swaps required.
Games play out on an 8in IPS display, with stereo speakers for sound and a 3.5mm headphone port. A light-up marquee above the screen can be swapped out to match the game you’re playing, with three banners included with each unit.
There’s also a bat-top arcade stick and six button controls for one player, which will be perfect for throwing fireballs and landing dragon punches. Two USB ports underneath handle local multiplayer using either an Evercade VS or VS-R controller, or a supported third-party pad/arcade stick. A deluxe edition swaps the bat-top for an arcade-authentic Sanwa ball-top, and includes all four marquee banners. There’s also a certificate of authenticity and an exclusive Alpha-branded USB controller included in the box.
The Evercade Alpha comes pre-built (there’s no flat-pack faffery here) and has built-in Wi-Fi to handle firmware updates. Prices are set to start at $230/£200/€230 during the pre-order period, and will climb to $250/£230/€250 once the machines go on general sale. The Deluxe edition will retail for £250/€290.
US shoppers can order through the Evercade website, while UK and European gamers can order through Funstock – but they’ll be in for a long wait. Pre-orders open June 4, with units shipping in November.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
