Hands On: HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Technōs And Atari Editions 8
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

HyperMegaTech's Super Pocket series was one of the year's more pleasant surprises. Part of the Evercade family of systems, these dinky handhelds come pre-loaded with games but also run the rapidly expanding library of Evercade cartridges. To top it all off, they're cheap and cheerful, costing just £50 each.

Just in time for the festive season, HyperMegaTech is back with two more Super Pocket offerings, this time featuring games from Technōs and Atari.

We've been putting both units through their paces and can report that the basic design remains unchanged; both have the same 2.8-inch, 320x240 pixel IPS screen, lovely rolling D-pad, 3.5mm headphone jack, rechargeable battery and pocket-sized dimensions. There are four shoulder buttons on the back (which are still somewhat awkward to reach) as well as the volume rocker, and the whole thing looks and feels very appealing – not too much like a child's toy, but still fun and friendly.

The key difference here, as if it wasn't already obvious, is that each unit has a different selection of games.

Hands On: HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Technōs And Atari Editions 1
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

The Technōs console has 15 titles on it. There's some crossover here with existing Evercade cartridges; for example, games like Double Dragon II, Double Dragon 3 -The Rosetta Stone and The Combatribes all feature on Technōs Arcade 1, while titles such as River City Ransom, Super Dodge Ball and Super Double Dragon are included on Technōs Collection 1. Therefore, if you already own those carts, the Technōs Super Pocket becomes a little less appealing.

Here's the full list of games:

  • Double Dragon (Arcade)
  • Double Dragon II: The Revenge (Arcade)
  • Double Dragon 3 -The Rosetta Stone (Arcade)
  • Block Out (Arcade)
  • The Combatribes (Arcade)
  • Minky Monkey (Arcade)
  • Mysterious Stones: Dr John's Adventure (Arcade)
  • Renegade (Arcade)
  • Super Dodge Ball (Arcade)
  • Super Double Dragon (16-bit)
  • Double Dragon (8-bit)
  • Double Dragon (8-bit handheld)
  • River City Ransom (8-bit)
  • Crash ‘N’ The Boys: Street Challenge (8-bit)
  • Super Spike V’Ball (8-bit)
Hands On: HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Technōs And Atari Editions 3
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

The Atari Super Pocket has a massive 50 games on it, but again, there's a lot of doubling-up for existing Evercade customers – a fair number of these games are scattered across Atari Collection 1, Atari Collection 2, Atari Arcade 1, Atari Lynx Collection 1 and Atari Lynx Collection 2.

Here's the list of pre-loaded games on the Atari Super Pocket:

  • Asteroids (Arcade)
  • Berzerk (Arcade)
  • Canyon Bomber (Arcade)
  • Crystal Castles (Arcade)
  • Frenzy (Arcade)
  • Liberator (Arcade)
  • Lost Tomb (Arcade)
  • Millipede (Arcade)
  • Missile Command (Arcade)
  • Night Driver (Arcade)
  • Pong (Arcade)
  • Skydiver (Arcade)
  • Super Breakout (Arcade)
  • Adventure (2600)
  • Aquaventure (2600)
  • Dark Cavern (2600)
  • Gravitar (2600)
  • Haunted House (2600)
  • Radar Lock (2600)
  • Save Mary! (2600)
  • Solaris (2600)
  • Street Racer (2600)
  • Submarine Commander (2600)
  • Tempest (2600)
  • Video Pinball (2600)
  • Wizard (2600)
  • Yars' Revenge (2600)
  • Bounty Bob Strikes Back! (5200)
  • Countermeasure (5200)
  • Final Legacy (5200)
  • Miner 2049'er (5200)
  • Xari Arena (5200)
  • Alien Brigade (7800)
  • Asteroids (7800)
  • Centipede (7800)
  • Dark Chambers (7800)
  • Desert Falcon (7800)
  • Fatal Run (7800)
  • Food Fight (7800)
  • Ninja Golf (7800)
  • Motor Psycho (7800)
  • Basketbrawl (Lynx)
  • Checkered Flag (Lynx)
  • Dirty Larry: Renegade Cop (Lynx)
  • Kung Food (Lynx)
  • Robo-Squash (Lynx)
  • Scrapyard Dog (Lynx)
  • Super Asteroids & Missile Command (Lynx)
  • Turbo Sub (Lynx)
  • Warbirds (Lynx)
Hands On: HyperMegaTech Super Pocket Technōs And Atari Editions 2
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

The fact that there's so much crossover with Evercade cartridges isn't a problem for newcomers, of course – and it could be argued that the Super Pocket range is very much aimed at this sector of the market (the fact that all Super Pockets come with an "Easy Mode" which reduces the difficulty level on pre-loaded arcade titles reinforces its status as an entry-level retro product). That these devices are compatible with Evercade carts is very much a bonus, rather than the main selling point.

While I'd personally say that these two new units are slightly less appealing than the original Capcom and Taito ones, it's all down to personal preference; if you grew up with Atari's coin-ops and consoles, then the Atari-themed Super Pocket is likely to be a dream come true. Granted, many of the games have aged quite poorly, but they still hold a lot of nostalgic weight with many players.

In the case of the Technōs unit, it's pretty obvious that Double Dragon is going to be a big draw here, and we love the fact that the underrated Game Boy version is getting a second chance to shine.

It's good to see the Super Pocket line-up expand with new machines, then, and while we'd like to have seen a few more exclusive games pre-loaded on these devices, they're still a very solid choice if you want to treat someone with a pocket-friendly dose of nostalgia – and represent a viable means of leveraging the vast range of Evercade cart collections.

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