《Banjo-Kazooie》Evercade Nexus 卡带版获好评，60FPS 被称"kind of a game changer"

We've talked quite a lot about Evercade in the past here at Pure Xbox, including how the company is releasing new versions of Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and DOOM around its launch of the Evercade Nexus console later this month.

For those who aren't aware, Evercade is a platform where old games are relicensed and then put onto cartridges (complete with colour manuals!), and you can insert those cartridges into various forms of handhelds, home consoles and bartop arcades that Evercade has released over the past few years.

The Nexus is the latest device from the company, which takes the form of a dual-analog stick handheld:

The console itself is getting great reviews, but so is the version of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie that's being released on a cartridge alongside it. Basically, the development team behind Evercade have not only licensed Banjo from Xbox, but they've gone in and made improvements to the game in the process.

Here's how Time Extension sums it up:

"The Nexus ships with the aforementioned Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack, which contains the duo's two N64 adventures, retooled as native Evercade titles. This means you get several benefits, including higher resolution, improved performance, adapted controls, extra features, and more. Banjo-Kazooie was included as a built-in game on the Rare Super Pocket, but this pack brings Banjo-Tooie to Evercade for the first time. Both run brilliantly and serve as an ideal showcase of Blaze's platform as a whole."

We've come across a very cool video from the folks at GameXplain as well, who go through all the differences between the N64, Xbox and Evercade versions of Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie.

They conclude that Xbox still has the advantage in some areas compared to the Evercade release, but the addition of 60FPS gameplay in the latter (Xbox is still locked to 30FPS) is "kind of a game changer".

"It looks better than ever thanks to that 60 frames per-second frame rate which is kind of a game changer, it makes the game look so good. It's just been a lot of fun in general, especially with the added quality of life features like being able to return to Gruntilda's Lair in the first game, the enhanced controls, the free camera control which is really nice, and it kinda is the ultimate version of playing the original N64 versions.

That being said, I do have to say I miss the note and Jinjo saving features from the Xbox versions, I kinda wish they were here, as it is hard to go back to that original high-score based feature from Banjo-Kazooie."

So, when it comes to playing Banjo-Kazooie and Tooie on Xbox, you've obviously got a few options - they're both included with Xbox Game Pass, and they're also part of the superb Rare Replay collection.

If you really want to try out the Evercade release though, the Double Pack cartridge is retailing for £24.99 here in the UK, and will work on any Evercade or Super Pocket device on the market. There's also a dedicated Rare Super Pocket that contains just Banjo-Kazooie if you don't care so much about the sequel. Just be aware that (according to GameXplain) it'll only run at 60FPS on the Evercade Nexus, Evercade Alpha or one of the Super Pockets.

We'll leave you with that comparison video below, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Are you an Evercade fan? Planning to pick up the Banjo collection? Tell us in the comments section.