Piko Interactive Collection 4: What’s On the Cart?

With the fourth collection from our friends at Piko Interactive just around the corner at the time of writing, we thought you might like to know a little more about all the games on Piko Interactive Collection 4. And, similar to what we did with Sunsoft Collection 2, we’re giving you the opportunity to see all the games in motion too, thanks to the magic of video! Below the video you’ll find a transcript of the titles discussed, plus a bit of bonus extra info for you being good enough to visit our blog.

Piko Interactive Collection 4 for Evercade brings together 10 great games from across gaming history, including Evercade’s first ever game from a 64-bit retro platform.

Like the previous three cartridges from our friends at Piko Interactive, this collection features a blend of big hitters and cult classics from over the years, providing a great means of diversifying your collection of retro games.

Today we’re going to take a closer look at three of our favourite games from this collection.

Glover

Created by the legendary British game developers The Oliver Twins, Glover is the first game from a classic 64-bit platform to arrive on Evercade. Cast in the role of a sentient white glove, your aim is to recover a series of lost crystals by transforming them into balls and helping them negotiate a series of increasingly perilous stages.

Glover’s stages feature physics puzzles, precise platforming and plenty of hidden collectibles — plus this version features a few Evercade-exclusive surprises to discover along the way.

With 30 levels to master across six different worlds, Glover is a charming 3D romp, sure to be a highlight from Piko Interactive Collection 4 for many Evercade fans.

Risky Woods

First released in 1992, Risky Woods is a 16-bit fantasy-themed platformer that casts you in the role of the heroic Rohan, tasked with rescuing the monks who preserve the wisdom of the Lost Lands.

Across four perilous zones of two stages each, you’ll have to battle your way through hordes of enemies, collect treasures and power yourself up for the challenges ahead. You’ll need to use your brain, too; the Gatekeepers that impede your progress all have a musical puzzle for you to solve before you can proceed.

Risky Woods drew praise on its original release for its atmospheric presentation and challenging gameplay. With Piko Interactive Collection 4 for Evercade, it’s time for this cult classic to make a comeback.

Street Racer

Street Racer was released across a variety of different home computer and console platforms in the mid to late ’90s, with each version having its own distinctive features. In Piko Interactive Collection 4 for Evercade, you can enjoy the original 16-bit console version that hit the market in 1994, complete with its speedy, slick 3D effects and varied gameplay.

At its core, Street Racer is a kart racing game with a twist: there are no projectile weapons, but you can attack your opponents from close range with punches and special moves. Besides circuit racing, you can also engage in an all-out brawl against your opponents in Rumble mode, or even play all-against-all soccer in your karts.

Offering a substantial single-player mode and split-screen two-player action, Street Racer is a great addition to Evercade’s lineup of racing games.

Zero Tolerance Underground

Never released back in the day, Zero Tolerance Underground is a follow-up to the excellent 16-bit shooter that you can play on Piko Interactive Collection 3. Once again devised by Randell Reiss, Zero Tolerance Underground revamps the game’s control system for greater mobility, and provides a selection of new levels for you to explore and blast your way through.

This time around, you’re fending off an alien invasion of the subway system; the aliens figure that by destroying humanity’s infrastructure, they’ll be better able to conquer the planet. They weren’t counting on you and your crack team of sharpshooters, though!

Target: Renegade

Target: Renegade is a follow-up to Renegade, which you can play on Technos Collection 1 for Evercade. Rather than being developed by Technos themselves, Target: Renegade was a sequel developed by Ocean Software, who not only had the rights to the home computer ports of the original Renegade, but also to develop their own sequels. Meanwhile Technos went and made their own follow-ups to Renegade, which are today known as the Kunio-kun series.

Like its predecessor, Target: Renegade is an urban brawler. It distinguishes itself from the original Renegade by featuring scrolling stages in which you must defeat enemy encounters in order to progress. Plenty of bone-crunching action and a great 8-bit soundtrack await.

Sküljagger: Revolt of the Westicans

In Sküljagger: Revolt of the Westicans, you take on the role of Storm Jaxon, a freedom fighter attempting to release his people from the oppression of the titular villain. He’ll have to battle his way through a variety of platforming stages, defeating enemies along the way — but he has the power of magic bubble gum on his side!

Sküljagger: Revolt of the Westicans originally came with an 80+ page novella that explained the game’s story and provided tips to discovering secret areas in the game. While we’re regrettably unable to provide the novella in its entirety, we have snuck a few of the secrets into the Piko Interactive Collection 4 manual, so keep your eyes peeled!

Bad Street Brawler

Also known as Bop’n Rumble, Bad Street Brawler is another urban-themed beat ’em up, this time placing you in the role of Duke Davis. Bad Street Brawler’s unique selling point is that each stage provides you with three different moves to make use of from Duke’s complete repertoire, so it’s up to you to experiment with them and determine which ones are most effective against the enemies you’ll face.

As a side-effect of this system, Bad Street Brawler is probably one of the earliest examples of a game in which You Can Pet The Dog.

Mermaids of Atlantis: The Riddle of the Magic Bubble

Mermaids of Atlantis: The Riddle of the Magic Bubble has its origins as a naughty unlicensed puzzle game known as Bubble Bath Babes, but the lewd aspect of the game was cleaned up and reframed with a mermaid theme for an officially licensed, family-friendly release in 1991.

Mermaids of Atlantis is an addictive little puzzle game in which you must match together groups of like-coloured bubbles in order to make them disappear. Clear stages by reaching a quota of popped bubbles, and give yourself an advantage with the titular Magic Bubbles. Perfect for play on the go with Evercade EXP or Super Pocket.

Star X

This 32-bit handheld spaceship shooter uses polygonal visuals to present its action, and features both “on rails” segments, where you fly along a set route and shoot enemies along the way, and more “open-plan” sections, where you’re given a sector of space to explore and take out all the enemies contained therein.

Star X features plenty of fast, explosive action and plenty of levels to challenge, plus it’s an impressive technical achievement considering its original handheld platform wasn’t known for its 3D games.

The Fidgetts

The final game on Piko Interactive Collection 4 is The Fidgetts, a charming puzzle platformer in which you take command of two mischievous mice who have become separated from their family. By helping them work together to solve puzzles, you’ll be able to reunite them with their family before the last boat leaves, but there are plenty of challenges along the way.

The Fidgetts combines puzzle platforming with arcadey setpieces for a thoroughly charming 8-bit handheld adventure. You’ll have to work fast, though — it’s not long until that boat leaves!

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Piko Interactive Collection 4 will be available for Evercade from April, 2024. Find out more on the official cartridge page.