The A500 Mini in review: The wrong girlfriend
13/4/2022
Translation: machine translated
After the C64 and VIC-20, Retro Games has also given the legendary Commodore computer Amiga 500 a mini replica. After initial joy, The A500 Mini also causes melancholy.
This is an article from our content partner "PC Games". Here you can find the original article by Simon Fistrich.
Among all home computers of the 80s, the Commodore Amiga enjoys a godlike reputation. Especially the graphical leap from the quasi-predecessor C64 was a thunderclap of almost biblical proportions. My mouth was open at Christmas 1988, when I was allowed to feed the Amiga 500, freshly bought from my dad, with "backup copies" of games like Defender of the Crown or Shadow of the Beast for the first time. A graphic splendor flickered across the Commodore monitor, something that had simply never been experienced before in the gaming field. "Grandma, look, you have to see this, computers can do THAT nowadays!".
The gameplay, which was often clearly subordinate to the visual opulence, could rarely keep up. But both grandma and I didn't care, it felt so great to own the best computer in the world. We were even a bit in love with the technology - the nowadays rather inappropriate nickname girlfriend for the Amiga 500 established itself even in serious magazines. At least until VGA graphics entered the PC world and the gamer troop moved on to the next flame. Can The A500 Mini revive this feeling full of nostalgia, curiosity and excitement at that time?
Because well-functioning emulators of well-known home computers from the 80s are old hat, and such a one is ultimately also at work in The A500 Mini. While the original Amiga wrote hardware history with its sophisticated chipset architecture, the inner workings of the new edition can be compared to a simply equipped Raspberry Pi board. Exact details about the technology of The A500 Mini and also a digression about the Amiga hardware of that time is provided by our sister magazine PCGH in their review.
The cute replica, about 20 by 40 centimeters in size, is an eye-catcher, of good plastic quality and resembles the Amiga 500 almost down to the last ventilation crack. The only difference is that everything is much smaller and much less functional than the original. The keyboard is immobile staffage, the drive pure decoration. On the other hand, it's nice that the two LED lights work and behave like the original Amiga when desired.
The A500 Mini is connected to the TV with the included HDMI cable. The USB cable, which is also included, provides the power supply - but a dedicated charging plug is missing. That leaves three additional USB ports. One is suitable for the included, but smaller version of the gray Amiga mouse. However, it no longer contains an analog mouse ball, but now works like a modern computer mouse.
Another accessory in the package is a surprise. Retro Games has decided to include a gamepad based on the flop console Amiga CD32 instead of the joystick that was common at the time. This may make it easier for younger gamers to get started, and it may even be pleasing for owners of the The-C64 replicas with the joystick included, but it seems strangely out of place from the point of view of old Amiga fans. You also notice that some games were not made for the gamepad. For example, the separately available joystick, which was included with The C64 Mini, fortunately also works with The A500 Mini according to the manufacturer.
That leaves a free slot where either an external keyboard (which we can bring onto the screen in virtual form if needed, which is quite annoying) can be connected. Or a USB stick. Because as with The C64 and The C64 Mini, Retro Games allows users to launch their own games on the console. The widely used ADF format for Amiga disk images is currently not supported - in fact, a somewhat complex installation of the program WHDLoad on a specially formatted USB stick is necessary, which then allows The A500 Mini to play games in LHA format. The detailed online manual describes the procedure step by step.
In our test, this worked well in some cases, but the game did not run in others. In still other titles, the timing of the games was not right. All in all, the procedure is a bit fiddly, and it would be desirable if the ADF format was taken into account in a future firmware update.
Speaking of disk images: Although sources for pretty much every Amiga game ever released can be found immediately on the Internet via a simple Google search. But since the rights situation for many games is simply unclear, there is no general license for downloading. It is only legal if you own a license or the original or if the game has been officially released for download.
If all this is too complicated or tricky for you, you can still get started right away. There are 25 licensed games pre-installed: Among them are some real classics like Another World, Battle Chess, Cadaver, California Games, Kick Off 2, Pinball Dreams, Simon the Sorcerer or Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe. In addition, the bonus game Citadel is available for download on the Retro Games homepage, with more to follow. For some games the intro is missing - not to mention the demos that have become famous, special, sometimes very elaborate intros from the coder and cracker scene, which of course you have to do without.
Conclusion of an Amiga fan
So, all in all, a successful journey back in time to the home computer past? Indeed, an ambivalent impression remains, especially when you think of the steep street price of currently about 130 Euros. The small Amiga is an eye-catcher, neatly equipped with accessories, offers many setting options and is easy to put into operation. For less than a tenth of this price, however, there is already an emulator for Windows PCs with an officially licensed Amiga operating system, 25 pre-installed games and the possibility to run downloaded games.
No question: For the feeling described above, an Amiga replica is of course better than a simple software emulator. However, it should ideally be a replica that looks less like a children's version and more like the real thing from 1987. It's understandable that Retro Games hasn't confirmed a large version with functioning keys yet, in contrast to The 64. The original size would take up a lot of space, and only real fans would grab it.
Nevertheless, it would immediately be on my wish list, please with a working keyboard and preferably also the original loading sounds from back then, which sounded as if a carpenter's factory was hidden in the Amiga. Because that's the real charm and also the reason of such in principle actually superfluous retro consoles: To feel for a short time like back then as a child.
From today's point of view, the games are to a large extent of average quality and in some cases unbearably old-fashioned, to say the least. Thus, the reunion with the old, but somehow wrong friend in the shape of The A500 Mini remains nice for old Amiga lovers, but somehow unsatisfying - and simply a few Euros too expensive for the short nostalgic kick.
The following games are also included in the package: Alien Breed 3D, Alien Breed: Special Edition 92, Arcade Pool, ATR: All Terrain Racing, California Games, Citadel (bonus game for download), Dragon's Breath, F-16 Combat Pilot, Paradroid 90, Pinball Dreams, Project-X: Special Editon 93, Qwak, Stunt Car Racer, Super Cars 2, The Chaos Engine, The Lost Patrol, The Sentinel, Titus the Fox, Worms: The Director's Cut, Zool. All games can be run in a carousel view.
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