Evercade Technos Collection 1 Review

Kunio-kun meets Double Dragon again

Reviewed by A.J. Maciejewski playing a Evercade on April 11, 2021

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Technos has a wealth of classic beat 'em ups under their belt so let's see if this collection has what it takes to emerge victorious.

Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle

Before getting to the Evercade collection, I wanted to talk a little bit about Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle which contains 14 NES titles; 6 of which are also featured here while this compilation includes the unique games Super Double Dragon and Super Spike V'Ball. Anyway, this epic 8-bit collection is available for console so if you own PS4 or Switch, I highly recommend checking it out as it's bursting with a ton of games and has excellent features such as game enhancements, great options, and fun borders.

Double Dragon games

First up, I'm happy to say that 3 of the best Double Dragon titles are featured here. Although they're not as much fun solo, Double Dragon has held up beautifully and Double Dragon II: The Revenge is a lot of fun even though its unconventional control scheme with directional attack buttons takes a long time to get used to. To top things off, Super Double Dragon is included which is also the only SNES game on this Evercade cartridge, unfortunately. On the plus side, it's great fun with very intricate move sets that are rewarding to master. It's not everyone's favourite title in the series but it definitely has its fans and I might just be one of them.

Kunio-kun brawlers

Next, there are a couple of classic Kunio-kun beat 'em ups. Renegade is often credited as the first beat 'em up ever made as it paved the way for the genre by creating many of its staples. Its one-vs.-many gameplay was definitely novel for the time but playing it nowadays is kind of rough. In other words, I respect it as an innovative and genre-defining experience but as a game, it's really not that good. Thankfully, River City Ransom is also included which is likely the best 8-bit beat 'em up ever made. Plus, it features satisfying RPG elements and a vast open world that's great fun to explore as you punch and smack around all sorts of hooligans from rival schools.

Sports games

Are we reaching the end already? I guess there are only 8 games. Last but not least, here's a couple of Kunio-kun sports games in the form of Super Dodge Ball and Crash 'n the Boys Street Challenge as well as Super Spike V'Ball. Super Dodge Ball is one of the most ridiculous and entertaining multiplayer games on NES and it's not as fun solo but it'll still provide plenty of laughs. Crash 'n the Boys Street Challenge is an Olympics-style game with 5 unique events and it's equally enjoyable although not quite as fine-tuned. Finally, Super Spike V'Ball is kind of an annoying game because it requires near-perfect timing but once you get in the groove, it gets pretty fun yet nowhere near as amusing as Super Dodge Ball is. Overall, these sports games are great inclusions as they're unconventional and super-silly.

Evercade Technos Collection 1 is full of classic beat 'em ups and over-the-top sports games that are sure to usher in good times. With that being said, I wish more obscure titles were included to make up for the fact that it only has 8 games.