Through its Evercade and HyperMechTech lines, UK-based manufacturer Blaze has not only done a commendable job of keeping retro games alive, but has also made them financially viable in an era when the vast majority of players are hooked to their PC or Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft-made games consoles.
The Evercade range has delivered a wide selection of physical carts, and its hardware now spans handheld, console and even tabletop arcade machines. Meanwhile, Blaze's HyperMegaTech sub-brand has given us the cheap-and-cheerful Super Pocket series, which are Evercade-compatible and ship with pre-loaded games from the likes of Atari, Capcom, Data East and Taito.
So far, so good – but Blaze's 2025 announcement of keychain-based gaming devices is the first time I've doubted the company's approach; after all, these miniature gaming systems aren't a new concept, and I still have nightmares about trying to play poor-quality LCD keyring handhelds decades ago.
Now I've actually had the chance to experience the £20 / $30 Super Micro first-hand, my initial scepticism has dissolved a little; I'm still not totally convinced this is something I'd buy myself, but I wouldn't be as bold as to say with complete certainty that there isn't an audience for them.
Before we get to all of that, let's sum up what these dinky devices actually do. There are four products in the Super Micro range, each powered by three AAA batteries (not included) and sporting a quick-release keychain and full-colour 2-inch RGB TFT screen with a resolution of 240x320 pixels.
There's a power switch on the top, a volume rocker on the left-hand side and a single speaker on the rear, and you get two action buttons and a D-pad for control, along with 'Start' and 'Select' (the latter being 'Reset' on the Space Invaders Super Micro).
The Space Invaders Super Micro features only a single game, which is a rather unusual colourised port of Taito's 1978 classic. It looks passable (aside from the incorrect aspect ratio), but the audio is entirely off – the iconic sounds of the arcade version are absent here, replaced with unpleasant, discordant beeps (I'm not saying the original game sounded soothing, but at least those beeps have some history and legacy behind them).
When a product aims to capitalise on nostalgia, it strikes me as odd that it would include a version of Space Invaders that is apparently custom to this device. Sure, it plays fine, but it's not the real deal, sadly – it doesn't even save your high score when you power it off.
The Centipede Super Micro has the title game along with Millipede and Crystal Castles. Centipede is the 7800 version, while Millipede and Crystal Castles are the 2600 ports. The Asteroids Super Micro features Asteroids (7800), Gravitar (2600) and Yar's Revenge (2600). Finally, the BurgerTime Super Micro has the headline game, Karate Champ and Side Pocket, all of which are NES ports.
When the Super Micro range was revealed, many people baulked at the featured games – and I think that criticism still stands. With the possible exception of Space Invaders (which, as we've already established, isn't the original), none of the titles featured here have me particularly excited; don't get me wrong, I love Asteroids, BurgerTime and Centipede – the issue is that the versions featured aren't the 'best' available.
Having said that, the hardware itself is pretty sound. Once you get over the small screen and weak audio, the Super Micro's design is quite appealing. The pad and buttons are nice and responsive, and the unit's compact size makes it a genuinely pocket-friendly proposition – albeit one that people with large hands might struggle to use comfortably.
However, as a concept, it feels totally flawed to me. It's marketed as a keychain, but there's no way you'd want this dangling from your keys. For one, it's too big, and secondly, your keys would scratch the plastic front of the device, ruining your (admittedly modest) investment.
Perhaps Blaze sees this more as something that can be hung from your rucksack for casual play when you're out and about, but then I'd constantly be worrying about it being stolen or getting wet in the rain. The whole Super Micro series is cute, but fundamentally, it doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense – at least to me personally.
I dare say that, with its bright design, recognisable titles and low price point, the Super Micro is going to find its way into a lot of stockings this Christmas – and, for such a low price, there's certainly some entertainment value to be had here.
Unfortunately, I'm not entirely convinced it's a worthwhile investment – especially as the far superior Super Pocket range represents a much wiser purchase at £50, and grants access to the Evercade cartridge ecosystem.
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