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Its back: Mini version of the Amiga 500 is available

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I loved it so much, the Amiga home computer was the most important technical device in my youth. Smartphones or tablets didn't exist yet. Especially if you had a C16, C64 or Commodore 128D on your desk before, you were more than amazed about the technical capabilities of the machines. The DEMO scene was really cool. I even treated myself to the A1200 at the end.

If you missed this retro charm of the 80s, you can now order an Amiga 500 replica in a compact miniature case and with modern connections like HDMI and USB: The THEA500 Mini from the manufacturer Retro Games.

The THEA500 Mini currently costs 129 Dollar and comes with the typical Amiga mouse (only smaller) and a newly developed gamepad (reminiscent of a SNES gamepad). 25 classic games are pre-installed, although you can later download a bonus game for free from the manufacturer's website.

thea500-mini-features-on-grey

In general, you can expand the game library with your own games with different AMIGA ROMs and with the help of a USB stick and the tool WHDLoad. According to users in the internet you can even install the Amiga Workbench.

The following Amiga ROMS are supported:

  • Amiga 500 (OCS-Graphic)
  • Amiga 600 (ECS-Graphic)
  • Amiga 1200 (AGA-Graphic)
  • Amiga CD-Console CDTV- or CD32

The hardware consists of a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU (System-on-Chip, All Winner H6) and a Mali-T720 GPU. The Mini Amiga has 512MB DDR3 SDRAM and a 256MB NAND Flash memory. Image output is in 720p (HD) resolution, games are scaled to the original Amiga aspect ratio.

The mini keyboard fortunately doesn't work, but you can connect any standard USB keyboard (you can't press the keys). The power adapter is unfortunately missing, a USB-C cable for charging is included. It works on any standard 5V/1A mobile USB power adapter.

You can also connect additional controllers for couch multiplayer: the new gamepad, XBox 360 cable controllers, a PS4 controller connected via cable or other analog sticks. Additional accessories can be connected via USB hub.

The games can be accessed via a simple interface after launch. You can save four states of play per game and return to the saved locations at any time in the game - a big advantage over the original face-wink

Generally, the company has announced firmware upgrades, so some could still be corrected or expanded. Thanks to the NAND flash memory, the loading times are also much shorter in the games than in the original. Now if only the keyboard would work ... a retro dream.

Here is the list of included games:

  • Alien Breed 3D
  • Alien Breed: Special Edition 92
  • Another World (super game)
  • Arcade Pool
  • ATR: All Terrain Racing
  • Battle Chess (the classic for chess games with moving figures)
  • Cadaver
  • California Games (the joystick killer)
  • Dragon’s Breath
  • F-16 Combat Pilot
  • Kick Off 2
  • Paradroid 90
  • Pinball Dreams
  • Project-X: Special Edition 93 (Spaceship shooting deluxe)
  • Qwak
  • Simon the Sorcerer (Classic)
  • Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (absolutely brilliant multiplayer future-sport game - I spent hours with it)
  • Stunt Car Racer
  • Super Cars II
  • The Chaos Engine (great isoshooter from the Bitmap Brothers)
  • The Lost Patrol
  • The Sentinel
  • Titus the Fox
  • Worms: The Director’s Cut (absolutely cool classic)
  • Zool: Ninja Of The ”Nth” Dimension

Bonus game: Citadel (3D, similar to Doom)

If you want, you can post your experiences with the THEA500 Mini or with the original Amiga here. Also comments about the included games or the respective favorite game are welcome here. Lets retro face-smile

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Ausgedruckt am: 29.03.2024 um 10:03 Uhr

Mitglied: Lochkartenstanzer
Lochkartenstanzer 11.04.2022 um 16:22:09 Uhr
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The one and only Amiga ist the A1000.

lks
Mitglied: firefly
firefly 26.04.2022 aktualisiert um 19:27:54 Uhr
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Hi,

I still have a working Amiga 1200 in original box with me. Here and there I unpack it and look forward to retro gaming. Unfortunately the disks with the games are failing.

My "highlights" were

  • Speedball 2,
  • Barbarian,
  • Giana Sisters,
  • Ikari Warriors,
  • Lemmings,
  • Populous,
  • R-Type,
  • Silk Worm,
  • Turrican
  • and of course Battle Chess


face-smile

firefly