Super Pocket Rare Edition review - a delightful Rare handheld with a special new Banjo-Kazooie port

I've been excited about the Super Pocket Rare Edition (or the Rare Super Pocket, if you prefer) ever since I saw the first trailer back in February. It didn't wear off after I got one, either, because I absolutely love this thing and I'm confident that most other Rare fans will feel the same.

But, anyway, for those not in the know, let me give you some context. The Rare Super Pocket is a standalone handheld console that comes with 14 built-in retro games (including, most notably, Banjo-Kazooie in its first made-for-handheld iteration). This product comes from Blaze Entertainment, the company behind the Evercade, who specialize in preserving access to classic games. As a Rare fan with a keen eye for the best retro handhelds, I was naturally curious.

In 2025, Blaze released Rare Collection 1, an Evercade cartridge that contained a whole bunch of Rare games, and the Rare Super Pocket is the second of what I hope will be many collaborations between Rare and Blaze. Admittedly, it may not be the absolute best way that I've experienced all of the games available on it, but it's a safe way to own them (rather than accessing them through a subscription), it's super portable (ideal for the bus or train), and just a nifty little collectable.

Game Selection

There's a lot that I have to say about this handheld, but I think the thing that most readers are going to be interested in is its game selection. So let me cut to the chase and give you an insight into everything that's included, and what I think of them.

Atic Atac

This 1983 ZX Spectrum game sees you playing as one of three character classes as you explore a giant haunted mansion. I think it's a delight, honestly, and perfectly suited for playing in short bursts while on your commute or whatever. The game is included in Rare Replay, too, but I think I'd rather quickly whip out my Super Pocket than load up my Xbox if I want a quick Atic Atac session.

If you've never played a ZX Spectrum game before, its rather vintage style might take some getting used to, but trust me when I say that exploring this haunted house can get pretty addictive. It's like a sprawling maze filled with loads of spooky monsters, and you've got to find keys and items hidden in it to venture into its deeper passages. Finishing it is really hard, but it's fun to chip away at.

Banjo-Kazooie

Next up, the main attraction! Most people will have already heard of this 1998 platforming adventure, but for those who haven't played it: it follows in the footsteps of Super Mario 64 (and in my mind, surpasses it), with an adventure that sees the protagonists exploring a number of bright (and sometimes grimy) worlds as they try to collect jigsaw pieces on a quest to rescue Banjo's sister, Tooty.

What's especially cool about this is that it's a unique port for the Super Pocket. You've got some visual changes, like Banjo playing on a Super Pocket on the file select screen, rather than a Game Boy as in the original, and you've got a number of customization options to adjust the controls as you see fit. There are new features, like the ability to toggle Kazooie's Talon Trot movie (rather than having to hold a button to keep it going), and you can do the same for walking slowly (which is necessary as the Super Pocket has a D-pad rather than a control stick).

I think it's a really good port that's very smooth too (it has a noticeably higher framerate than the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack version). I genuinely prefer it to the Xbox Live Arcade Version (which was later included in Rare Replay) as it lacks all the little unnecessary changes (like ugly new HUD icons and new font for dialogue). It also reverses the change from the XBLA version, which made notes and Jinjos one-time collectables, and has them respawn each time you return to a world.

I know some people preferred them to be a one-and-done sort of thing, but I felt that it damaged replayability (and it changes the original experience quite a lot, too). Perhaps it would have been good to have a setting that let players choose which approach they'd prefer, though, to avoid frustration from fans of the Xbox version.

That said, it's really cool - and there's even some new content included, which I'll get into later.

Battletoads

Renowned as one of the hardest games ever made, I don't see a world where Rare's 1991 NES game wasn't included in this collection. In some ways, Battletoads is a beat 'em up, but it also mixes in lots of other gameplay elements (like driving a Speed Bike, or doing a footrace), and despite the difficulty, it's just really fun to dip into whenever you want a little bit of chaotic fun.

If you've never played Battletoads before, then I'd say that this is a great way to experience it. In some ways, it's similar to Atic Atac in that it's good to mess around with whenever you've got a bit of time on your hands, and so is well-suited to a handheld like the Super Pocket. Also, if you're a fan of the NES, you need to play this just so that you can experience what might be the most visually impressive game on the console.

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs

This is Battletoads again… but on SNES! It's not just a remake or anything like that, but it's very much a case of getting more of the same, rather than being a super-innovative sequel. Nonetheless, I like the SNES; the game has a good soundtrack, and I appreciate the opportunity to experience some classic Battletoads gameplay on a platform that's capable of handling better graphics. Although I would say it was easier than the original overall, I also think that it starts off a lot harder than the first game, which is something to be mindful of.

The inclusion of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs is pretty cool because the game wasn't included in Rare Replay. You can currently play it with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, but if you want to own this classic SNES game, then you'll have to buy the Rare Super Pocket - it's not even available in Evercade's Rare Collection 1.

Cobra Triangle

To fans of a certain age, this will be the thing that Funky Kong's mini games from the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 3 were based on. It's a pretty cool game based around driving a boat through rivers. Sometimes you're racing, sometimes you're rushing to dispose of bombs, and other times you're fighting giant sea serpents. I think there's a lot of fun to be had in it.

The controls are pretty tight for a NES game, but admittedly, it's quite difficult at times (as games of this era often were). Still very much worth playing though, and if you haven't tried it yet, this is a fun gap to fill in your Rare collection - though there's a good chance you already played it via Rare Replay, Nintendo Switch Online, or Rare Collection 1.

Conker's Pocket Tales

Until the release of Rare Collection 1 in 2025, there was no easy, legit way to play Conker's Pocket Tales unless you had the original hardware and cartridge. It's a flawed game for sure, but it's such a bizarre experience and an odd slice of history that I think every Rare and Nintendo fan should experience. I've played it through multiple times before, but I think I am having more fun with it on the Super Pocket than ever before.

Most people will probably know Conker from the cult classic, Conker's Bad Fur Day, but between that and his Diddy Kong Racing debut, Conker actually had one child-friendly game of his own. Pocket Tales was made to be a handheld companion piece to Twelve Tales: Conker 64, which ultimately ended up becoming Bad Fur Day. Pocket Tales remains as a sort of reflection of what we might have seen on the Nintendo 64, had the direction not shifted.

As for what the game itself is, Rare designed it to be a sort of counterpart to The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - though I'm sorry to say that, in this case, it didn't surpass Nintendo. You've got a bizarre story about Conker's girlfriend, Berri, being kidnapped by the Evil Acorn, a world full of Acorn people who are the most deranged NPCs you'll ever encounter, and weird mechanics like being able to accumulate a really large number of health points. With shootouts and Olympic games in the mix, it's so odd, but I love it, and as a Game Boy game originally, it's a natural fit for the Super Pocket.

Gunfright

I love Rare, but I think Gunfright is one of its weaker games - to the extent that I would probably have swapped this one out for a different ZX Spectrum game (like the original Sabre Wulf, or maybe Alien 8), but nonetheless, it's still a historic curiosity. It's basically an isometric shooter where you walk around a Wild West town in search of outlaws, while trying to avoid civilians. I'm sure it's great fun for anyone who grew up with it, but it's one I found hard to get into. It's also a little less exciting for already being in Rare Replay. Still fun to try every now and then, though.

Jetpac

Now this is a good ZX Spectrum game. This was the first game of Rare's Ultimate Play the Game era. It uses a single map, and you play as Jetman, buzzing around, building a ship, and then filling it with fuel, while avoiding an onslaught of strange aliens. It's a simple premise, for sure, but I think that it's often the simpler old games that age the best, and it's easily become one of my most-played games on the Super Pocket.

The game is also included in Rare Replay, and you can even get it on Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack now (because it's included in Donkey Kong 64), and unfortunately, I feel like it runs a little more slowly on the Super Pocket. It's not an enormous difference, but I did notice that it didn't feel quite as smooth as on other platforms. Still, most people probably won't notice this, and because this game is another that's perfect for playing on the go, I'm going to play this version much more often than the other two, even if they are smoother.

Knight Lore

In some ways, Knight Lore is quite similar to Gunfright, because both use the same isometric perspective. I like Knight Lore a little more, though. It's the third game in the Sabre Wulf series, and has Sabreman exploring a spooky old castle to try and find a cure for his lycanthropy. It actually kind of feels like an isometric of Atic Atac to me, and for that I do admire it, but the controls haven't aged well at all. It's cool how he becomes a werewolf each night, though (even though that barely changes anything).

I hate to say it, but this is probably the second game I would have swapped out if I were in charge of the collection. I'd have either preferred to have seen the fourth Sabre Wulf game, Pentagram, since it's not currently available anywhere, or either of its predecessors (Sabre Wulf or Underwurlde), because I think they're both better than it, especially Sabre Wulf itself, which I think is great.

Lunar Jetman

The ZX Spectrum sequel to the original Jetpac expands the basic premise of the original - instead of just flying around on a single screen, the screen scrolls, and you can explore the planets you visit while you collect resources and fight aliens. My love of Jetpac rubs off on this to some extent and makes me like it more than I probably would otherwise, but overall, I think it was a step down from the first game. The biggest downside is that you now have to worry about how much fuel you have in your jet pack, which takes a lot of the fun away for me. Still cool to see though, in the evolution of Rare/Ultimate game development.

R.C. Pro-Am II

This is an early racing game from Rare, and as you can probably tell from the title, it's the second in the R.C. Pro-Am series. I can see why Blaze chose to include the sequel over the original - both are quite good, but this one gives you more control over how you upgrade your vehicle with weapons and other enhancements.

Looking at screenshots might give you the impression that this game is hard to play - after all, an isometric perspective for a racing game is quite unusual by modern sensibilities. Luckily, Rare did a great job of making these cars handle fantastically. It's good fun and a fascinating slice of history - not only did the R.C. Pro-Am series eventually become Diddy Kong Racing (and you can see early elements of it here), but it's also a weapon-based racer that pre-dates Super Mario Kart (the series that is - this instalment came out a few months after the first Mario Kart).

Slalom

This might seem like a random NES sports game, but Slalom is actually quite an important milestone in Rare's history. It was originally published by Nintendo (the first of many Rare games it would publish), and it was the first Rare game to ever appear on a Nintendo console.

Like other NES games in this collection, it's quite challenging - but it's a good-looking game that pushed the NES to its limits. It's fun to play for short bursts, doing the odd little races every now and then, and I think most fans of retro games will get something out of giving it a try.

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll

It's really interesting to compare this game to the isometric ZX Spectrum games included on the device. Not only does Snake Rattle 'n' Roll show how far Rare had come as a developer (while also highlighting the strengths of the NES over the ZX Spectrum), but I feel like you can see the seeds here of what they'd become later in the '90s.

In this platforming game, you play as a snake (Rattle) and have to slither around different levels to eat enough things so that you can grow big and open a door to the exit. It's kind of like a detailed expansion on the old game, Snake. Although the controls are a little hard to master, here you're playing as a colorful cartoon character exploring a vibrant, pseudo-3D world and encountering wacky enemies. It's an overlooked classic, I'd say (though still easily available in Rare Replay and Nintendo Switch Online), and almost a pivotal game in going from '80s Rare to '90s Rare (which were both quite different).

Solar Jetman

The third game in the Jetpac series is technically the most impressive in some ways. In this one, Jetman sets out inside a little pod that he has to fly around planets, shooting at enemies, while looking for fuel, ship parts, and treasures. If the pod gets destroyed, he's just in his spacesuit like before, and you have to head back to base for a new pod. I like it a lot more than Lunar Jetman, but I just don't think it has the simple appeal of the first game.

While I like Jetpac and its sequels (and can see the significance of their lineage), this addition means that the library includes three games from this one series, which feels a bit like over-representation. I'd have swapped this (or Lunar Jetman) for another Sabre Wulf game (the first one, or if it could be anything, the GBA game). It's easily found in Rare Replay and Nintendo Switch Online, too - but it is a good one to play on the go with a handheld like this.

Design

The Rare Super Pocket (like all of Blaze Entertainment's other Super Pockets) is shaped very much like a Game Boy Pocket - just with a few extra buttons on it. As someone who grew up with the Game Boy Pocket as my main handheld console, this is appealing. It's quite comfortable in my hands, and unlike other recent handhelds, it's actually portable. As a point of comparison, I love my Nintendo Switch 2, but there's no way I am ever going to bring it with me to casually play on the train because it's massive. I love that the Rare Super Pocket genuinely fits snugly into my pocket.

In terms of pure aesthetics, it's bright, colorful, and nostalgic. I was also very pleased to see the Rare logo printed onto the front of it, and I'm sure that many other die-hard Rare fans will feel similarly. It's a lovely collector's item. The screen is just about the perfect size for (almost) everything, and considering the majority of the games included on this device were originally on platforms with simple control schemes, a few simple buttons and a d-pad give you everything you need.

The only exception is Banjo-Kazooie. That game was originally designed with a control stick in mind, and playing with a d-pad feels quite different. The biggest difficulty I found was lining your shots up with eggs, which is a lot harder when you can't do small touches of a control stick. However, I got used to it all so quickly and had a marvellous time playing through it. A lot of effort has gone into making this port accessible on this platform, with lots of new options available for adjusting the control scheme to suit you. I do wish I had the opportunity to experience this new version of Banjo-Kazooie on a bigger screen, but at the end of the day, that's the price I pay for being able to play the game on the go.

Modern enhancements

Although the Rare Super Pocket faithfully preserves all of the games included on it for the most part, there are a few small changes that I have noticed (mostly within Banjo-Kazooie). One change that applies to all of the games aside from Banjo-Kazooie, though, is the ability to pause and create save states whenever you want with a dedicated out-of-game menu button. It's a really cool addition for things like Conker's Pocket Tales, where you can now instantly just pick up where you left off, and I think every one of the games benefits from this addition. I wish it could have also featured the rewind feature from Rare Replay, though (mostly just for the super hard old games).

As for Banjo-Kazooie, in addition to the control customization options I already mentioned, there are a lot of small tweaks here and there. Here's what I have noticed:

• Mumbo's xylophone in the opening has no logo on it (having a Nintendo or Microsoft logo in other releases)
• There's no N64 logo strolling around in the intro (of course)
• The spacing in text boxes is just a little bit different, likely to accommodate the smaller screen
• Banjo plays a Rare Super Pocket on the file select screen, rather than an original Game Boy
• The audio that plays when Mumbo transforms you doesn't seem to play properly
• The sound of characters' voices when you speed up their dialogue is different
• Dialogue about gameplay has been changed to reference Super Pocket buttons, rather than N64 buttons, and doesn't include massive pictures of those buttons, just words
• You can now pause in any level and return to Grunty's lair whenever you want

There's probably other stuff too, but that's all I noticed during a casual playthrough. I have no doubt that someone will eventually go through with a fine-tooth comb and find loads of other small things. It shows a lot of effort went into that port in particular.

There's one big change as well - new content! It's nothing major, but it seems to be a bone thrown to fans because of the fact that Stop 'n Swop doesn't work. I won't spoil all of it to give you something to look forward to, but the most exciting thing is an unlockable music player that lets you listen to the tracks from scrapped worlds.

The only other changes I've seen across the collection are that Conker no longer pulls out his Game Boy to play a Donkey Kong game in Conker's Pocket Tales (he pulls out his Game Boy, but music from elsewhere in the game plays), and the Ultimate games have a new Rare copyright note at the bottom of the title screens. Otherwise, these games all seem to have been preserved pretty faithfully.

Audio

All but one of the games in this collection are ZX Spectrum, NES, SNES, or Game Boy Color releases, and the Super Pocket has no trouble at all in presenting these games in a way that sounds as good as it ever did. Banjo-Kazooie is a little bit of an exception - to my ears, it sounds ever so slightly more tinny than I'm used to. It's not a huge issue, and actually, I forget about it most of the time, but it was noticeable to me when I first started playing.

This would probably not be so much of a problem if I could use my earphones, but unfortunately, the Super Pocket only has an audio jack and doesn't offer Bluetooth connection. So, unless you have a pair of wired earphones or one of those wired Bluetooth things, you're going to have to rely on the native speakers.

I think audio is generally the weakest area for the Super Pocket, because you also only have one button to make it go louder, and one button to make it quieter. There's no on-screen indication of what the current volume is, so you just have to keep tapping to turn it up or down. I'd have preferred a slider like on an actual Game Boy Pocket, but it's a minor gripe, really.

Cross-compatibility

The last thing to mention is that, in addition to having a library of games built into it, the Rare Super Pocket is an Evercade-compatible device. It has a blank plastic cartridge in the back, which you can remove, and then you can put any Evercade cartridge in and play it on the Super Pocket. It's pretty cool, and I reckon the best way of doing it is to put Evercade's Rare Collection 1 in the cartridge slot, because then you've got a whole bunch of Rare games to play while you're out in the world.

Pricing

Since you're getting a device that can play any Evercade game and which already has 14 built-in games, $69 / £49 isn't bad at all. Yes, you could get Rare Replay for around £20 / $20, but that can't be played on the go, and isn't its own console. Meanwhile, if you wanted Banjo-Kazooie on Switch, you'd need the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack plan, which would be $49.99 / £34.99 per year. That might be cheaper than a Super Pocket, but who knows how long any of the games will be available for? I think this is worth buying.

Final verdict

The Super Pocket Rare Edition bundles together some fantastic games and is the first truly portable Banjo-Kazooie experience ever officially released (of the original game, that is, I love Grunty's Revenge). All of the games are perfect for playing on the go, and save states just add to the convenience. The device looks nice, feels nice to play on (even if the audio could be better), and is something many Rare and Nintendo fans would be delighted to have in their collection.