BUDGET SAVERS

One advantage of the Evercade is that it offers officially licensed games that are often far cheaper than their original counterparts

JOE AND MAC 2: LOST IN THE TROPICS

DATA EAST COLLECTION 1, SNES, 1994

■ Known in PAL land as Joe And Mac 3, this prehistoric platformer regularly sells for £130+ complete, meaning this is a far more effective way to own this excellent sequel. It takes all the fun elements of the original, but considerably ramps everything up, with bigger dinosaurs, better setpieces and greatly improved visuals.

INCANTATION

INTERPLAY COLLECTION 1, SNES, 1996

■ This woeful platformer from Titus was released late in the Super Nintendo’s life and as a result sells for close to £700. It’s not worth that, of course, but Incantation becomes a far more interesting proposition on a £15 cartridge with five other games, even if it’s squarely aimed at younger gamers.

SPLATTERHOUSE 3

NAMCO MUSEUM COLLECTION 2, MEGA DRIVE, 1993

■ Shockingly, this excellent brawler from

Namco never received a PAL release, so the Evercade is the perfect way to discover it and avoid the £130+ price it now sells for. It’s a great game, too, enormously improving on the earlier games by adding nonlinear exploration, a monstrous transformation for our hero Rick and brooding cutscenes.

METAL MARINES

NAMCO MUSEUM COLLECTION 1, SNES, 1993

■ Namco’s RTS game starts from £80 if you want a complete copy, so this version is a cheap alternative. The game itself is superb, offering plenty of freedom as you go about safeguarding your base from continual enemy attacks. Just be mindful of the steep learning curve due to the lack of in-game instructions.

SUBMARINE COMMANDER

ATARI COLLECTION 2, ATARI 2600, 1982

■ We’ve seen complete versions of this sell between £50 and £230, which is a little rich for our blood. Despite its sim-like name, this is essentially Battlezone in the water. You follow the radar, locate ships and sink them before your time runs out. It’s shallow, but a surprising time-waster.