Tag Archives: Evercade

March Games

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Couple of completions, some pickups and a decent amount played. Also started two games from my planned list for the year that I subsequently abandoned. At least I tried.

Games completed this month

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2

Finally remembered to play during March and caught a spider crab. That’s the museum completed and all of the posters, so we’ll call that another completion for the game. Still dipping in though for events and bits of the DLC.

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition – PS5

Surpassed my xbox progress in pretty much half the time and less than half the attempts. I have unlocked 3SC but think I’ve hit a bit of a wall again at this difficulty. Not sure if I’ll keep trying, but I might at least drop the difficulty and chase some trophies from the various DLC packs.

Games played during March

Sonic Origins Plus – Nintendo Switch

Really enjoying the Story Mode on this, by the end of February I was just over half way through, having completed the Sonic 1 and CD content. Think that’s the first time I’ve completed Sonic CD at all too.

Ridge Racer 2 – PSP (SteamDeck)

This entirely passed me by when I was regularly playing PSP games, mostly because I was focused on shmups, so I’m not surprised I have gaps in that library. However, in hearing my Electronic Eggs peers discussing it on the recent Ridge Racer episode, I discovered that Ridge Racer (Racers in Japan) 2 is essentially a greatest hits of the series. I’d prefer to be playing it on my PSPgo or Vita, but both of those are in storage. Fortunately the emulator on SteamDeck is straightforward and also does some nice upscaling.

Lamplight City – Switch 2

Haven’t got very far with this yet, but early signs are promising. I do like a good point & click game and it runs nicely on the Switch 2. The aesthetic is great for the setting, so hopefully I’ll stick with this one.

March Pickups

Toaplan Arcade 2 – Evercade

Okay, I was originally going to skip this one, as I already had carts 1 and 3 which have superior line-ups (in my opinion anyway). However, on a trip back to Stoke to visit family in March, I popped into GameZone in Tunstall. As well as generally having a great selection of retro and current games, it was also the first shop I’ve been in that had a selection of brand new Evercade games and hardware. I was determined to buy something, and you can’t go wrong with Toaplan.

Drop Duchy – Steam

Jury is still out on this, I love the premise of a game that crossed city building, strategy and Tetris, so I grabbed it when it went cheap in the Steam Sale. It’s not quite clicking yet though. Would probably like it more if it wasn’t a roguelike, but I’ll give it a bit more time.

Breakout Beyond – Steam

Another Steam sale pickup I’ve had my eye on for a while. It seems good, but not very suited to the SteamDeck. It seems wrong to be playing it horizontally, and the default controls are awful for sensitivity. I’m keen to give it a go with a vertical monitor and my spinner controller at some point.

Games retired this month

Gears 5 – Xbox Series X

A casualty of me not renewing my GamePass subscription. I’ve lost access to the game, but even if I owned it, I wouldn’t be able to finish it anyway as I exclusively play the GEARS series campaigns via online co-op. Sorry Marcus, game over.

Alien vs Predator – Xbox 360

I think this and the next game on the list have suffered by me waiting too long to play them. I’m sure this Aliens vs Predator was a good game for its time, but it immediately evoked that era of FPS games, and I just couldn’t bring myself to sit through that in 2026. I haven’t really been in the mood for any FPS recently though so maybe I’ll get over it.

Card Fighters Clash – Nintendo Switch

Another one that has suffered because I’ve left it too long to play. This Neo Geo Pocket game is great for that system, but the card game feels very basic now. Can’t see me persisting with an RPG where I’m not loving the core mechanic.

*There are no links to Amazon in this post and probably won’t be going forward. When I can be bothered I’m going to remove the old ones and burn my affiliates account.

February Games

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Quite a bit of gaming this month, albeit it mostly playing Octopath Traveler 0. I’ve chalked up the win now though so we can start playing something else.

This was also the month all my “pre-paid” GamePass Ultimate credit expired. I’d entirely funded it using the Microsoft Rewards program so I hadn’t actually been paying for it, but given how atrocious Xbox and Microsoft as a whole are these days, I want to start moving away from them. Some of my purchases this month were just replacing the couple of games I cared about on GamePass that I was losing access too.

Games completed this month

Octopath Traveler 0 – PS5

Managed to record two completions of this during February. Both the initial credits roll (which is probably about 45% of the way through), and the true ending. I’ve done almost all of the side and extra content too, the only thing remaining is the optional boss that is exponentially harder than everything else in the game. This was the case with Octopath 2 as well, and I never did beat that one. I may have a few more attempts at this one as it would be nice to have the Platinum Trophy.

Games played during February

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2

Didn’t play loads of this during February, mostly because I figured out how to stream my PS5 to my SteamDeck, so a lot of my handheld time was playing Octopath, but when I did get to the Switch I was still dabbling with the new content. I was mostly looking forward to playing in March with a chance to complete the museum – I just need that Spider Crab!

Sektori – Steam Deck

Haven’t spent loads of time with Sektori this month, but the convenience of the deck means I have at least had a few runs. I want to at least do the same 1CC I managed on the PS5 version.

Static Dread: The Lighthouse – Steam Deck

Was still dipping into Static Dread, and thought I was on for a completion, except I appear to have died. Haven’t decided yet if I should just replay the last night and see if I can get a better result or if I need to start over. Don’t think I realised actually dying was a possibility. Oops.

The Quarry – PS5

We’ve played more of this, it is great but still too easy to lose track of who is playing which character from one session to the next. There must be a better way to do this.

Sonic Origins Plus – Nintendo Switch

We had a few days away at the end of the month, and having taken the Switch with us I went back to playing this on the train. I dabbled a bit with the various Game Gear games included, and then returned to the Mission Mode. I really like the idea of this as a way to play straight through the first four sonic games in order. However my progress was halted with the frustrating battle with Robotnik on Labyrinth Zone Act 3. I need to come back to it when I have more patience.

February Pickups

Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania Edition – PS5

I think I missed writing about it, but a few months ago when I decided I wasn’t renewing GamePass any more, I decided to convert my remaining reward points to store credit to use towards picking up the games I originally played on GamePass and might still want to play. I had just over ยฃ40, the bulk of it went on Forza Horizon 5 as it was the only game in the series I didn’t own already. I kept hold of the rest for when GamePass expired and I could see what I thought I was missing.

I remembered how much I had enjoyed Dead Cells, and although I didn’t own it on Xbox, I had bought all five of the DLC content packs, so I was going to buy the base game. However, it was more expensive to buy just the base game digitally on Xbox, than to buy this physical collection on PS5 that contains all the content. Also found I was excited about the prospect of starting over, and seeing if I can get further than the 2BC I reached on Xbox.

Turrican Collection – Evercade

Last month’s pre-order, this arrived. I haven’t spent much time with it, just a short blast on Turrican, but it is a very cool collection.

Vampire Survivors and Ball X Pit – Xbox Series X

This is where the rest of my credit went, and I can’t even be bothered to put I picture in. Figured I might as well have Vampire Survivors since I owned all the DLC on Xbox, and although I don’t think I’m going back to Ball X Pit, they are still adding content to it and I might look at it at some point. This could be the end of my buying anything on Xbox, the only game they have coming I’m almost certainly going to buy is Forza Horizon 6, and I think I’m going to get it for the PS5.

*There are no links to Amazon in this post and probably won’t be going forward. When I can be bothered I’m going to remove the old ones and burn my affiliates account.

January Games

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Well the Games to play in 2026 list is off to a great start, I’ve made a start on three from the list already.

Games completed this month

Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me – PS5

After completing Split Fiction, we decided to push on and finish this too. I think we were both mostly looking forward to trying something else. These Dark Pictures Anthology games have been a bit of a mixed bag, we’ve had fun with them all, but none of them quite reached the heights of Until Dawn.

Games played during January

Octopath Traveler 0 – PS5

This firmly has me in its grasp now as I’m approaching 50 hours in. It’s excellent, and I love the changes to the formula and the returning characters from earlier (later) in the series.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2

Well the Switch 2 patch arrived, alongside a new content update, and did not disappoint. Very much enjoying the new stuff and the improved quality of life bits. I was also quite happy to pay the ยฃ4 to have the improved resolution, it looks lovely.

Sektori – Steam Deck

Since Octopath took over my PS5, Sektori on there hasn’t had a look-in. Not to worry though, I’ve still found time for a few runs on the Steam Deck. This, and the other Steam Deck games I’ve been playing this month have all benefited from my new earphones below.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion – PS5

Managed to have a good evening on this at a friends house, as suspected, it’s superb in co-op and probably the best of this kind of thing. My preferred combo of Beta Ray Bill & Cosmic Ghost Rider is very satisfying. Just annoyed that it didn’t give me any trophies despite signing into my PlayStation account. Humbug.

Cast N Chill – Steam Deck

Now my Steam Deck is getting more regular use again, I’ve got over the disappointment that I didn’t get this on Switch instead. It’s just as described, a relaxing fishing game.

Static Dread: The Lighthouse – Steam Deck

A pick up from last month, I didn’t think I’d play it on the Steam Deck so was saving it for the big screen. However, with earphones it’s perfect / creepy for playing in bed before sleep. Very much enjoying running a lighthouse and keeping the horrors at bay. Although with how my 2026 is going, the horrors very much persist.

The Quarry – PS5

After wrapping up The Devil in Me, we were ready to finally make a start on The Quarry. We’re not far in yet, but it’s already feeling closer to Until Dawn as an experience. More concerned about what we’re going to play after. The next Dark Pictures game is sci-fi, so my partner has already wielded her veto.

January Pickups

Vertical Grip – Switch 2

I had the FlipGrip for my original Switch and loved it. I have been holding out for the creator to release the promised Switch 2 edition, but I heard about this Vertical Grip from Etsy. To be honest I now prefer it to the original. I paid the extra for the Ergo grip, and I’m very happy with it.

Xenotilt Hostile Pinball Action - January Games

Xenotilt – Nintendo Switch

When I found the above vertical grip, I decided it was time to double dip on this so I could play it properly. I think I prefer the theming of Demon’s Tilt, but this is still a superb pinball table.

Moondrop CHU II Earphones

My friend Kevin recommended these as a generally good bit of kit, and probably better than my Anker Bluetooth ones that I use everyday. While I’m not yet ready to give up the convenience of wireless when out and about, I had been thinking about something wired for my handhelds. Until now I had been using my PS5 Pulse 3D headset with the optional cable when gaming on my SteamDeck, and while the sound is great, it’s not the most subtle for a bit of gaming in bed. These in-ear phones have a good sound though, and are much less intrusive. Think they’ll help me spend more time with both the SteamDeck and my Evercade Super Pocket.

Piko Collection 4 – Evercade

After another bad day in January, I needed a pick-me-up. This cart wasn’t really on my radar until I discovered the Zero Tolerance game on it is effectively unreleased levels, and I have such fond memories of the Mega Drive game that I wanted to check them out. I’m also a bit of a Street Racer apologist so it felt worth a punt. I’m quite pleased with it so far, except I’m much worse at Street Racer than I remember being, I suspect it’s from a different platform than I played first time round.

Games pre-ordered in January

Turrican Collection – Evercade

Aside from the Codemasters Collection, which is now legacy and prohibitively expensive, I now own all the Evercade cartridges I want. This will hopefully make it sustainable going forward as I cherry pick and pre-order the new releases. Next up is this gem in February. I’ve always passively enjoyed the Turrican series, but the only one I’ve spent a lot of time with is Mega Turrican. Delighted to be getting the directors cut of that one, along with a bunch of other console entries from the series.

*There are no links to Amazon in this post and probably won’t be going forward. When I can be bothered I’m going to remove the old ones and burn my affiliates account.

December Games

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Finishing the year strong, with completions and new games and all that.

Games completed this month

Split / Fiction – Xbox Series X

I think this is the best of these co-operative experiences so far. We had a great time playing through this, and very much enjoyed being able to chose protagonists by our preferred genres. The final level in particular is a masterpiece, and there are some great ideas along the way. Wondering what they’ll do next now.

Puzzle Bobble – Evercade

My first completion on one of the Evercade systems, this is built into the Taito Super Pocket. Almost a 1CC completion, but I did use save states to ‘suspend’ gameplay when I was turning the device off. Owning the Super Pocket means I can’t justify any of the current 3 Taito collections on cartridge as most of those games are just duplicating what is built in. I’m hoping further collections could appear with ideally the PlayStation version of Puzzle Bobble 2, and ports of Rainbow Islands and Parasol Stars.

Games played during December

Sektori – SteamDeck & PS5

This wasn’t really on my radar until a week or so before release. My friend Jake pointed it out, and just from the trailer footage I was interested. It launched to great reviews, and once I had confirmation that it was working on SteamDeck and also discovered that the dev was a former Housemarque employee, I jumped in. I soon after double dipped with the PS5 version, as not only was I enjoying the convenience of playing handheld, I really wanted to get it on the big screen, and the dock for my SteamDeck is somewhere in storage. Started making much more rapid progress on the PS5 version, and I almost included it in my completions list above as I’ve now achieved a 1cc on the normal difficulty.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Nintendo Switch 2

Much has been played mostly in preparation for the new content in January, but also making a concentrated effort on collecting the winter recipes. Still not enjoying trying to make perfect snowmen, but we’re getting there.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion – Xbox Series X

This is superb, I have been very much enjoying the resurgence of the “go right have a fight” genre (thanks Virtvic) and this is easily the best so far. A great roster of characters, and being able to switch between two during a level is a nice touch. At the moment I’ve only played single player on GamePass, but hoping to play some local co-op soon. I might pick it up on Switch or PS5 though, since I’m in the processing of running down my GamePass subscription.

Dark Pictures: The Devil in Me – PS5

We managed to find a bit of time to play some more of this. I think we might be nearing the end, although I was lost in a forest for a little while going round in circles. I am keen to finish this one so we can make a start on The Quarry next.

Octopath Traveler 0 – PS5

This was technically a December pickup, but since I’m already 12 hours in I figure it counts as a game played. Spent the last few days of the year unwell and stuck on the sofa, so a new JRPG was just what was required. Really enjoying it so far. I went for the PS5 version over Switch 2 as I figure not much will get a look in on the Switch when the Animal Crossing update arrives mid-January.

December Pickups

Worms Collection 1 – Evercade

I’ve been a bit aggressive picking up the cartridges I want for my Evercade systems, and this was very much a no-brainer. The worms series has some of my favourite multiplayer games, and this cartridge contains some real series highlights. Pairing it with the Team 17 cart I picked up last month in my Evercade-VS console unlocks Worms Directors Cut, my most played version of the original game, and Worms Armageddon contains the super sheep training mode that I spent hours on first time round. Time will tell if I actually get to play any multiplayer with it, but in the mean time I’m enjoying the nostalgia and finally putting a bit of time into Worms Blast.

Toapan Collection 3 – Evercade

Still cherry picking the games I want, I skipped Toaplan’s collection 2 (and 4 for that matter). Batsugun is one of my favourite shmups though, and as much as I love Truxton (Tatsujin) I’d never played the sequel, so I decided I did need this one.

Atary Lynx Collection 2 – Evercade

A friend sent me his spare loose copy of the Atari Lynx Collection 2 cart. As a legacy cartridge this one can be pretty expensive to purchase so I was very grateful for his generosity. Pleasingly I was able to get a replacement case for it from Funstock and printed myself a cover. Looking forward to getting stuck into Chip’s Challenge again.

Cast N Chill – SteamDeck

This is very much my kinda thing, a lightweight fishing game, not unlike the fishing modes I’ve enjoyed in other games. My biggest issue with it is that when it first appeared, there seemed to be no plans to bring it to the Switch where I would have preferred to play. However, almost as soon as I gave in and purchased on Steam, it sure enough showed up on the eshop. Humbug. I’m not going to double dip though so at least it runs well on the SteamDeck.

Static Dread: The Lighthouse – SteamDeck

Lovecraftian horrors and Lighthouses are a particular venn diagram of interests for me, so this was always going to appeal. Was cheap in the sale so I grabbed it. Not sure if I’ll get to it on the SteamDeck, or if it’ll have to wait till I have a PC Gaming setup again.

Renovation Games 1 – Evercade

This, and the below controller were both Christmas gifts from my sisters. I mostly wanted it for Dino Land, a great video pinball game. Most of the other games in the collection are new to me, but Sol-Deace & Gaiares are classics too.

8bitdo Ultimate 2C Pad

I wanted this to use with my Evercade VS. The pad it comes with is fine, but it’s wired and only has a single d-pad for movement. This isn’t quite as good as the Ultimate 2 I got for my Switch 2, but it is a great controller. I was hoping it might be possible to use the twin sticks for Xeno Crisis and Llamatron on the VS, but that seems to be a step to far. It is still a huge improvement to play them with this over the default pad anyway. I understand some of the Tomb Raider games at least support twin-sticks so it might get some use for those too.

Games retired in December

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn Edition – PS5

Well, as I was starting to suspect last month, I couldn’t be bothered to stick with the DLC. I think if I’d had it when I first finished the base game I would have gone through it, but it’s just not interesting enough. Picking up Octopath was definitely the nail in its coffin. I can’t see me coming back to it, but who knows.

*There are no links to Amazon in this post and probably won’t be going forward. When I can be bothered I’m going to remove the old ones and burn my affiliates account.

September Games

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Nothing completed, and I spent too much money. I recognise this guy.

Games played during September

Animal Crossing – Nintendo Switch 2

Definitely haven’t been back to the Happy Home Paradise, but I now only need one art item, and one sea creature to finish the museum. I also finally crafted the giant robot, which I’ve wanted to do since I first got the recipe right back in the beginning.

Hollow Knight: Silksong

Hollow Knight: Silksong – Nintendo Switch 2

I did buy this in September too, but I’ve played so much it needs to be in this section. It also led to another of the purchases below too. So far it’s everything I wanted from a Hollow Knight sequel. I need to find more regular time to put into it though. This is out on GamePass, but I knew I’d appreciate being able to play a mix of handheld and on TV, and I still don’t have many games that make use of the Switch 2 hardware.

Heretic & Hexen Remastered – Xbox Series X

I’ve only done the first level, but I did jump on and play a bit of Heretic after finishing the quake expansion last month. They are just as polished as I’d hoped.

September Pickups

Pinball VR – Quest 2

Possibly a slightly ill-informed purchase. I picked this up as I really missed playing the PSVR version. Then I realised I hadn’t got round to actually playing anything on the headset anyway and it was taking up space in the flat. It’s now moved into the storage unit for a bit, so won’t be playing anytime soon either. At least it’s easy to go and get next time the VR urge takes me.

8bitdo Ultimate 2 Controller – Switch 2

I rapidly discovered that the d-pad on my 8bitdo Pro2 controller I was using on my Switch 2 was not cutting it for Silksong. I couldn’t bring myself to pay the mighty amount for an official Nintendo Pro 2 controller so this new Ultimate 2 from 8bitdo* was the next best choice. It is superb though, and has fancy TMR sticks (which should mean no dreaded drift) and as much as I usually turn RGB stuff off, I like that the thumb sticks light up with the Switch colours.

Vaporwave Pinball – SteamDeck

Had my eye on this one for a while and it went on sale, very chilled game of pinball, and perfect on the SteamDeck.

Toaplan Arcade Collection 1 – Evercade

I knew the Evercade was going to be a rabbit hole, oh well. There aren’t loads of carts that I want, but I definitely wanted to grab some to get me started. This one has Zero Wing and Truxton on, both favourites that I can’t play while my mega drive & arcade machine are in storage.

XenoCrisis & Tanglewood – Evercade

Went for this as I remember it being a bit of an event when it first came out on Evercade, I did play a bit of XenoCrisis at the time on something, probably Steam or GamePass. They seems like perfect games to give a proper go of on this hardware.

Evercade VS-R & Tomb Raider Collection 1

Well that didn’t take long. I love my Super Pocket, but felt the need to be able to play these games on the TV too. I also really like that the VS system takes two carts at once, and it’s also a neat touch that with two carts in, the menu puts all the games from both onto one list. The Evercade is definitely scratching my retro itch. Oh and I got it with the Tomb Raider collection because it was a bargain for the VS-R bundle on funstock, and I was curious about how well they ran on Evercade. Amusingly I think I like playing these games best on the Super Pocket, and the two carts above on the TV.

Games abandoned this month

Bravely Default HD: Flying Fairy – Nintendo Switch 2

Think I need to accept that this has been retired again. I do own it physical but I don’t think I’ll trade it in yet, in case I’m inclined to pick it back up again, but for now it’s back on the shelf.

*Links to Amazon are affiliate links and may earn me a small commission if you buy something

August Games

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A couple of completions for August, including going back to a Quake expansion I started forever ago.

Games completed this month

Quake: Dissolution of Eternity – Xbox Series X

With the surprise release of new Heretic & Hexen remakes on all consoles (and GamePass) I was reminded I never finished playing through the content on the Quake 1 & 2 releases. These updates to 90s FPS games are superb. I finished off Dissolution, which is the second of 2 official expansions that were released back in the day, really enjoyed it, including the surprise dragon. Now onto the modern expansions. Unless I get distracted and decide to play Heretic’s campaign first.

Herdling – Xbox Series X

Another game that appeared on GamePass from day one, this is from the team that made FAR: Lone Sails and FAR: Changing Tides. Both games that I loved, so I was looking forward to this. It’s a similar length game, only around 3 hours long, and while it is another enjoyable journey, it isn’t as much fun in the moment as the FAR games were. Enjoyed it, but glad I played it on GamePass rather than spending money on it.

Games played during August

Animal Crossing: NH: Happy Home Paradise – Nintendo Switch 2

Not sure if I’ve done much more on the Happy Home Paradise front, but playing Animal Crossing everyday continues. At this point I just want them to announce a new game, but I am so close to completing my museum now.

The Devil in Me – PS5

We’ve still been ticking along with this, but haven’t made as much progress as I’d expect. Hopefully get back to it in September properly.

Xenotilt Hostile Pinball Action - August Games

Xenotilt – SteamDeck

I was dabbling with my SteamDeck for something unrelated, and spotted this in my library that I had forgotten buying. Very pleasant surprise, so I dabbled with it for a bit. It does run well on the SteamDeck but it mostly made me miss playing pinball on a vertical screen.

August Pickups

Castlevania Requium – PS5

While I have been trying to pick up all the Castlevania collections on the Nintendo Switch, this compilation of two of the best Castlevania games, Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood, is exclusive to PS4/5. I think this is down to them being ports of the PSP versions of the games, and Sony probably have the rights to the emulator that is running them. It popped up on sale for ยฃ3.99 and I couldn’t resist. I have started to replay Symphony, but the surprise announcement that Silksong is coming the first week of September means I’ll probably drop that.

Earth Atlantis – Nintendo Switch

I hadn’t heard of this, but watching one of the ‘games coming soon’ presentations recently I saw Earth: Atlantis 2 which looked great. Discovered the first game available for next to nothing, and jumped in. I’ve had a quick play, it’s good fun but feels a bit more of a boss rush than a traditional shmup. I love the graphics too, sort of hand drawn original game boy vibes..

META Quest 2 VR Headset

Not sure I needed this, but my friend did me a deal and I have been wanting to play a bit of VR and all my other stuff is in storage. When I get my gaming pc back out, it should be able to stream my existing VR library to this headset. In the meantime, I’ve just picked up MYST from the Quest store so I can play that for the thousandth time and I might grab some pinball.

Hyper Mega Tech Super Pocket Taito Edition

Just squeezed in at the end of the month, and with a name worthy of a 90s Capcom fighting game, is this delightful little handheld games console. I’ve had my eye on these in the past, but always resisted as I have the games on the arcade cabinet, and although these are also fully compatible with the Evercade games library, I’ve never seen the need for one of those either. All that changed though with the announcement of a Llamasoft collection for the Evercade. Suddenly I had to have a way to play that.

Haven’t done any sponsored links for a while, but I did end up buying this from Amazon – despite my better judgement. Super Pocket Taito Edition*

Preordered this month

Llamasoft Collection – Evercade

No surprises given the above, but after buying my Taito system, I did preorder the Llamasoft Collection from Funstock.

*Links to Amazon are affiliate links and may earn me a small commission if you buy something