As predicted, the Evercade Alpha is a bartop arcade. It’s exactly what I thought it was going to be, with one notable ommision, a rotatable screen for TATE-mode games. Frankly, at a special pre-order price of $229.99 US, I was expecting just a bit more. The TAITO Egret II Mini, which, to be fair, only has a 5-inch screen versus the Alpha’s 8-inch screen, retails for $199.99 or less, and does in fact have a screen that rotates.

Despite that disappointment, it seems like a solid overall product, but I do also dislike the fact that it’s available in two SKUs with different built-in games. They’ve done that before with their various handhelds, but it’s certainly far less practical to buy multiple $200+ large-footprint countertop devices if you want to play the games they’re unable to put on a cartridge or include as built-ins on other devices (licensing restrictions are, as always, a bear).

Pre-orders begin June 4, 2024, for an expected November 2024 ship.

There are also two Deluxe versions for a bit more money from funstock.co.uk that have the following features:

• Evercade Alpha Bartop Arcade (Choice of Mega Man or Street Fighter)
• Pre-installed upgraded Sanwa arcade controls
• Exclusive Deluxe Edition Packaging
• Exclusive Evercade Alpha USB Controller, only available in this pack (worth £20)
• All 6 swappable marquees for your selected Evercade Alpha
• Exclusive Evercade Alpha Poster
• Certificate of Authenticity

The Evercade Alpha Street Fighter Bartop Arcade has the following built-in games:

• STREET FIGHTER™ II CHAMPION EDITION
• SUPER STREET FIGHTER™ II TURBO
• SUPER PUZZLE FIGHTER™ II TURBO
• STREET FIGHTER™ ALPHA – WARRIORS’ DREAMS
• STREET FIGHTER™ ALPHA 2
• STREET FIGHTER™ ALPHA 3

The Evercade Alpha Mega Man Bartop Arcade has the following built-in games:

• MEGA MAN™ – THE POWER BATTLE
• MEGA MAN™ 2 – THE POWER FIGHTERS
• CARRIER AIR WING™
• FINAL FIGHT™
• KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND™
• STRIDER™

Of course, each cabinet can take all console-ready Evercade cartridges (my updated Evercade game list for May 30, 2024 is here) in one of its two slots like the Evercade VS consoles, although it only supports up to two players rather than four. If you were to buy every Evercade product and all of the cartridges, you’d have access to more than 567 licensed games.