Name your first evening with it
If the first evening means Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting or Final Fight, the Capcom Edition has the more direct reason to be on the shortlist. Its twelve built-ins also include 1942 and Mega Man. Taito’s eighteen instead include Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Operation Wolf, Rastan and Puzzle Bobble. A longer library is not a better collection when the games you actually want are in the other box.
Pick two or three titles you would start without needing a new purchase. That makes the included library useful immediately, rather than asking a hypothetical future cartridge collection to justify the handheld.
The version note can outweigh the franchise name
Capcom marks its Mega Man as a home-console version; Taito makes the same distinction for Space Invaders 91. These are useful exceptions to an arcade-themed presentation. Remembering a franchise does not mean every entry plays like the one you remember.
The support page also excludes those two console games from Super Pocket’s Easy Mode. The feature is for the specified built-in arcade games, not the Evercade cartridges. If an easier return to a particular title is the attraction, read that title’s scope instead of assuming the setting covers everything.
The expansion route is shared
Both editions document Evercade cartridge compatibility and the same 2.8-inch IPS display format, USB-C charging and a headphone jack. Optional cartridges therefore do not by themselves settle Capcom against Taito. They add a later activity to either choice.
Choose the Capcom set for the Capcom games you want now; choose Taito for its different set of familiar arcade names. If neither included library appeals, reconsider these editions rather than buying from the game count alone. A small machine is most inviting when there is already something on it you want to play.
Sources & further reading
Editorial review date:
