Rather delightfully announced through a retro-style “tips line”, Blaze has confirmed that the next addition to the ever-growing Evercade library is cartridge 24: Gremlin Collection 1.
Gremlin Collection 1 features six games from the 8, 16 and 32-bit eras, including some absolute timesinks that threaten to keep you busy for hours at a time. So let’s take a closer look at everything on offer!
Zool
The headline game for many in Gremlin Collection 1 will be Zool, Gremlin’s attempt to take on Sonic the Hedgehog. Don’t write Zool off as a simple clone, though, because this speedy platformer has a number of elements that make it quite distinctive. For starters, the game structure is quite different to Sonic, requiring you to collect a particular number of items in order to progress — and there are a variety of interesting magic spells and minigames to discover.
Zool also had two young adult novels back in 1995, known as Cool Zool and Zool Rules. If anyone has actually read them, we’d love to hear from you.
Actua Soccer
While FIFA dominates the video game soccer scene today, back in 1995 Gremlin’s Actua Soccer (known as VR Soccer in the States) was a serious contender. It was the first sports game on home systems to feature a full 3D graphics engine — though in the arcades Sega’s Virtua Striker beat it to the punch — and it had motion-captured animations courtesy of players from the Sheffield Wednesday football club.
With full commentary on the gameplay from Barry Davies and plenty of ways to play, Actua Soccer is well worth revisiting on the Evercade — particularly if you have a VS and the opportunity to enjoy a proper kickabout with a friend.
Utopia: The Creation of a Nation
One of the most complex, deep games to have been released on Evercade to date, Utopia: The Creation of a Nation is a sci-fi citybuilder that challenges you to construct a successful space colony while fending off attacks from the Vacullo Federation. It was originally designed to take the basic concept of SimCity and build on it in various ways — particularly with regard to the social model.
Rather than trying to go into as much depth with the simulation as possible, though, designers Graeme Ing and Robert Crack said in a 1991 interview that they deliberately prioritised making a fun game with a user-friendly interface. So while Utopia may look daunting at first glance, take the time to learn the basics and you’ll be drawn in very quickly!
Premier Manager 97
Another game on the Gremlin Collection 1 cart that a certain type of player is likely to lose hours of their life to, Premier Manager 97 is the Mega Drive port of the classic football management game Premier Manager 2. Featuring a console-friendly interface and a database of 1,500 players drawn from the 96/97 football season in the UK, Premier Manager 97 blends tactical depth and accessibility to create a football management experience that has been beloved for many years since its original release.
There’s even a two-player mode — so if you really want to stir up some rivalries with a football-loving friend, beat them soundly in Actua Soccer then race them to the top of the Premier League in Premier Manager 97 for the rest of the afternoon.
Hardcore 4×4
This off-road racing sim originally came out for PlayStation in 1996, and at the time was praised as one of the most realistic examples of the genre. Notably, it was one of the first games of this type to simulate the individual wheels of the vehicles rather than treating the whole vehicle as a single “lump”.
With challenging tracks, plenty of ways to play and some fun unlockables, this is a solid addition to the Evercade’s growing library of racers, and an enjoyable inclusion on the Gremlin Collection 1 cart.
Brain Bender
This little-known Game Boy game came out in 1991, and is a twist on the “laser beam puzzle” genre. By spinning various mirrors around, you’ll direct a laser beam to destroy gas spheres, shut down alien robots and destroy enemy satellites.
This one’s a great example of what Evercade has always been good at, even in collections from relatively big names such as Gremlin: acknowledging, highlighting and celebrating lesser-known games as much as the well-known classics. Don’t sleep on this one just ’cause you might not have heard of it — it’s a really fun puzzler!
Gremlin Collection 1 is set to arrive on March 31, 2022 alongside the Renovation Collection 1 cartridge. Pre-orders open from December 15, 2021.
