Got mine pre ordered, never even saw an Amiga in real life, so this feels like a new console launch to me! Looking forward to exploring this platforms vast library
My family had an Amiga 500 for years (at least since 1988), then moved on to an Amiga 1200...but was disappointed by it. That was in 1994, I think, and not only did we feel it wasn't a massive improvement (by then we had a Super NES), we had major issues with it crashing a lot (never could get far in Zool). I don't know if it was a faulty unit or what. Also, by then, it wasn't well supported in the US, least of all in the small town Kansas.
@@johnhancockretro I didn't, no. I tried to message Paul Andrews, but he just blocked me bizarrely, despite the fact I've never spoken to him before. I think he has a issue with the UK retro community shunning him for bullying Octavius Kitten a few years ago, even though I never said a single word about it. But yeah, looks like it's modelled on the CD32 pad, I used a Genesis pad myself on my original Amiga. Gotta love 8 pin plugs :D
The Great Giana Sisters, Moonstone, Rainbow Islands, Lotus II, Turrican II, Last Ninja Remix, Battle Chess, Commando just to name a few. So many classic titles on Amiga I can’t wait to get mine. 😁
Hey John, i have one on order here in oz . Release date is April 8 apparently. They are $199 here which is not too bad seeing retail in US is $140. The build quality looks to be very good. i wish i kept my Amiga 500 all those years ago but i sold it in order to buy a PC , a 486 DX266 to play Doom on lol. I actually still have it's replacement which is a Pentium 2 266 running at 300 mhz with a voodoo 2 12 MB and Riva TNT 2 Ultra cards. It still works . I tried Bladerunner on it not so long ago :). Can't wait to play the Amiga games again on a big screen.
It's missing a lot of the types of games I played on my Amiga. I know it was too much to expect anything from Psygnosis (Lemmings, Awesome, Shadow of the Beast, etc), since it was absorbed by Sony in the 1990s only to be shut down years later. What's more disappointing is the lack of any Cinemaware games (they're available on steam, I know, but I own them, but still, this is the computer the company was most known for supporting). Oh, well, they can be added. Anyway, here's a list of games I remember playing and loving: Death Sword (aka Barbarian)--first fighting game I ever played with a fatality, and I spammed the hell out of it. Cannon Fodder Pirates! Skychase--Maxis programmer Don Bayless (I don't remember if he was an actual employee or a freelancer) lived in my hometown and was friends with my dad. He helped make this game and, if I remember right, worked on the graphics for the Amiga port of Sim City. My brothers and I played this game so much, a two player wireframe dogfighting game. Sega arcade ports, yes, even Outrun with that super annoying loud opening. I fell in love with Space Harrier and Super Hang On on the Amiga, and at the time, I was impressed with them. I liked Drakkhen, even if I didn't understand how to play it. It was just so weird. Populous Laser Chess. It was a freeware game we got out of an Amiga magazine, if I remember right. The port of Bubble Bobble. F/A-18 Interceptor (I treated it basically like a sandbox game, rarely playing the missions and just seeing what I could do to bend the game (I remember being able skim across the water and then continue unabated onto land at the speed of sound). Wing Commander Agony Star Wars: the Arcade Game Firepower Test Drive 2 Various King's/Space Quest Spy Vs Spy Road Raider GeeBee Air Rally Impossible Mission 2 (Stay awhile...stay forever...) Great Giana Sisters Deja Vu Uninvited Moonmist
The C64C was my primary gaming machine in the late 80s and very early 90s until I got my Turbo Grafx-16 CD. Even though always lusted over Amiga games like SotB and Baal in my youth I never really messed with Amiga emulation. I'm excited to explore my gaming history that never was with the A500 Mini. Thanks for the review!
I tried it briefly on PC and got a few games running fine a few years back so this is more for ease of use and nostalgia. I like the idea i can now just play them easily on the OLED in the lounge too.
Never owned an Amiga but I used to play Pinball Dreams on a friend's machine, good days back then coming back from mid 90s underground parties and chilling with a bit virtual pinball. BTW bought Dreams and Fantasies on Jaguar but I always felt that they played better on Amiga, using that lovely old keyboard for the flipper buttons just felt so natural and made them play like a dream[s]. I might pick one of these up for The Sentinel, haven't played that since I was but a nipper and had a C64.
After learning that Retro Games Ltd and Subvert Ltd are intrinsically linked, and subsequent treatment of a certain youtube retro channel no matter how passionately I feel about the Amiga this product can be shoved where the sun don't shine.
MJR covered this today too! I was never into PC games because we couldn't afford a computer at my house. But I admired the graphics and the rpgs. A few years ago I managed to get some old computers like imacs all-in-1, Gateway all-in-1 and a notebook with Windows XP OS. I was using them to write my book only as I don't think they can run modern internet. Well now I've the means to buy new up to date computers but I just don't care anymore. It looks like that Amiga has some cool games included the only one I recognize is Zool. Plus you can add more? Great! Good review and cool video John!👍
Great video John. This just reminds me of playing these games in the late 80's at my friend Ben's house because his dad worked on the oil rigs and was the only kid in my neighbourhood able to afford one. Plus he had an SNES with street Fighter 2 and Mario Kart. My God that kid was awesome.
One game I used to love to play was Earl Weaver Baseball...I loved the actual players and the stats, the season mode and most of all the ability to build and modify stadiums to your liking...I can't wait to check that out again! 💯👍🙏
Absolutely fantastic video. I started my PC gaming on a C64/128, but I managed to skip the Amiga for the most part. This mini system makes me want to pick this up and really dive in on Amiga gaming. I played Pirates! as my first Sid Meier game on my friends Amiga in the very early 90's and loved it - thanks for showing this off!
Xenon II - Megablast, Giana Sisters and Rick Dangerous I remember loving as a kid. The amiga 500 is one year older than me and was first computer that I used.
Being born in 93, I was pretty young when my brother was playing his Amiga A600. I do remember Ducktales: Quest for the Gold, Worms, Pinball Dreams and Lotus Turbo Challenge 2. Lotus has such a great tune playing when you start the game up. I will be getting one of these Mini systems for sure. That way I can experience again what I might have forgotten over the years.
i have one pre ordered as an American growing up in 2ks never seen one in real life but love the library and have experienced with others cant wait to get it
I find this little console very attractive, spend a good part of my teenage years in front of an Amiga 500. I wish they'd add a bit more features like allowing you to run the workbench at startup, load different kickstart versions, select what Amiga model you want to load, processor type, clock speed etc., but I understand this A500 mini is primarily targeted at running games.
I had an Amiga a600 when I was a kid and I've got to say it was my favourite game console/ computer I've ever owned I played the hell out of it top games for me, test drive 2 , desert strike , jungle strike, Pang, Zool , James pond
Love it.. my first gaming experience was the c64. We upgraded to Amiga500, then to the A1200. I loved creating drawings/ animation on deluxe paint, and playing every game i could get my hands on. I loved the Amiga so much ,I was the only one at gaming party's who still had a Amiga, everyone else was moved on to PC. 😅 this was well into the year 2000. Eventually playstation became my main gaming platform. Still have my A1200 maybe I sell it and get this instead. 🤘🏻
Not sure if you guys heard or not but there is apparently a full size one being worked on with a workable keyboard too . Though you can just plug in any USB keyboard into the mini :)
Oh man, you put me on a nostalgia trip. The built in games are already a great selection but there are a few I would definitely need to add. I definitely agree with you on Turrican 2, I'd also need Cannon Fodder, Jet Strike, all three Lotus Turbo Challenge games and Base Jumpers, among others.
Can't wait for this. So much nostalgia for me. Like many I never actually owned an Amiga but had a few friends who did and we spent many hours playing some great games. Always wanted one as a kid so this was a must buy for me. It's a shame the release had to be delayed but it will be worth the wait. Roll on 8th April! (UK & Europe). Games I'll be adding; The Secret of Monkey Island 1 & 2, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlant, Beneath a Steel Sky, Ruff n' Tumble, Banshee, Super Frog, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 2, The Settlers, Theme Park, Cannon Fodder, Wings, Defender of the Crown, Turrican 2, Pinball Fantasies, Moonstone. The list goes on...
I just got mine today. I am so excited that California Games is on by default but I'm hopeless on the half pipe. I loved giana sisters, barbarian ultimate warrior, super monaco GP i spent ages with. Marble madness. There was this game called Switch Board that I used to play with my Grandma but can't quite find it, it was a simple game you had levers at the top and you had to get your balls down to the bottom and get the most points. I can't recall if it was part of a game play pack but I'm dying to find that for memories sake, I can see what it looked like in my head but cannot find it.
10:00 - Pinball Dreams is the game I look forward to experiencing the most, as I've only been able to play this Amiga classic before on the Game Boy (loved it there). Cool overview of the system. It is indeed surprisingly small and I do love hearing that the controller has a decent bit of weight to it. The spiral notebook manual is also quite charming. I look forward to picking mine up in 2 days time.
Fantastic video thanks! Some of my most memorable games when I first got my Amiga back then were the games from Cinemaware. Defender of the Crown, Wings, It Came from the Desert, Rocket Ranger. Good fun. Also enjoyed many of the games from Electronic Arts. They had a lot of upgrades from their C64 lineup. I know most people say the Amiga was only popular in PAL territory but in the early days there were so many North American based developers that put out a lot of games and Application software that proved this was not true. Although it didnt see the success of the C64 it was plenty popular here for a time.
Thanks for the Review John! I pre-ordered one off your affiliate link. I am really excited about getting this! I've always wanted to play some Amiga games. =)
Super tempting, I didn't own an amiga, but my buddy did and it was an amazing system. People don't seem to understand this level of graphics look like 16 bit SNES or Sega Genesis, but this was before then. PC's could barely keep up, if at all. The $140 price tag is a hard balancing act.
Been gaming since 1984 (or 1985. I know the first game I played was _Demon Attack_ on the Atari 2600 and I was four years old) and the Amiga is my all-time favorite of those first two or so decades. Thought I'd share that.
I had an Amiga500 back then and I love A500 and A500 games and this is so close to the old system and that you can add more games and has very simple ways I am sold I will buy one. Now some of the games I played back then and loved were Rick Dangerous, The North and South, Buble Buble, Arcanoid, Kick-off - Goal by Dino Dini, Chaos Engine of course, and well I had huge bags of games disks back then those are some that I remember. 2 Questions. Can you save your progress with the games you ad with the USB and can you play the Amiga 1200 version of games with it?? Great review btw??
Here´s a list of games for you to play: Toki, New Zealand Story, Hired Guns, Jim Power, Zwolf, Doodle Bug, Zool, James Pond, Monkey Island, Pang, Alien breed series, Populous, Fire and Ice, Worms, Yoe Joe, Alcatraz, Leander, Rodland, Banshee, Super Frog, Battle Squadron, Ruff n Tumble, The chaos engine, Apidya, Turrican, Lotus Turbo challenge, Sensible Soccer, Pinball fantasies, Pinball illusions, Another world, syndicate, Flashback, cannon fodder, Cabal, Lemmings, Lion heart.
Looks great! Can't wait to get mine in April! Gonna be a lot of Amiga purist haters out there who don't like the A500 Mini, but it seems awesome to me. Nice plug-and-play solution.
Loads of Great games, some highlights for the amiga: Lemmings, Kickoff or Sensi soccer, Wings, Defender of the crown, rocketeer, speedball, chaos engine, populous, syndicate, panzer kick boxing, worms, banshee and lucasarts stuff
The Amiga 500 was my first gaming devide and it was perfect for that because it had a really large library and also included earlier arcade games like Asteroids, Pacman, Space Invaders etc.
I started with the Amstrad CPC 464 tape drive and then the Amiga 500 which was a huge leap. It reminded me of the sort of leap from 486 to Pentium with PC's.
Amiga 500 was what really got me into gaming, alongside my Master System. It's a shame it didn't come with a number of other classics for the system, but it looks great. Holding out hope for an Amiga 500 maxi, similar to what they did for the c64, as my own 500 has long since bitten the dust 😔
Looking forward to mine arriving mid April in the UK.. Turrican 2 ,r type , lotus 2 , monkey Island , giana sisters, battle squadron rainbow island are a few I'll be adding to the system .looking forward to the re mapping so no more up to jump
Wasn't an amiga fan , but I feel they did a good job with this console, better than they did with the c64 mini first time up. It seems just more professional with that mouse, gamepad, and ability to add multiple games easier. Now we need a fill size version at a reasonable price.
Good video and review of this system! I remember Stunt Car Racer game from the Atari ST computer! Fun game! Cool looking too! I have to take a look at getting one of these! I do have the C-64 Mini! thought it was great!
lol the games run so fast it needs a slow down button :) . Starglider 2 is unplayable it rips along lol. I would have freaked if back in the day the Amiga 500 was that sort of rocket ship lol
I'm so stoked for this. While I can get otehr retro platforms that I love fairly easily and for a reasonable price, the Amiga is a pain to get where I live.
Still got my OG A500 which still works, also have a PI400 running PImiga (also awesome) and have Amiga Forever on my PC but still ordered the 500mini because why not, even bought a A500 themed usb stick off eBay to go with it. Like guitars the correct amount of Amigas to own is one more than you have.
Thanks so much for sharing, looking forward to this one, the headache if setting up an emulator now taken care of. One thing I would have liked to have seen is if you can just plug a USB keyboard in and if it works seamlessly for classic Sierra adventure games for example. Typing 2iyh a virtual keyboard is going to be a pain for something like that. Hoping to swap the controller for a keyboard when I grab one. Thanks for sharing.
I was an Uber St fan from pre launch through 90 or so. went all in on the x86 pc world, starting 1990, out of the St/Mac/Amiga by 92 year end But those 68000 machines were way ahead of the pc through the 80s In retrospect, shoulda kept going with the St as a computer through at least 95, maybe 98 or so, as Euro developers really pushed those 68000 machines through the 90s
Lol, awesome vid. Funny how times have changed, the mini is like a 1000x more powerfull then the orininal. Btw the interface is one if the best looking of all mini consoles
Amiga really was the best gaming platform for a lot of years, in my opinion. The only problem was the one button controls for many things, but when it came to management or strategy games it was great. A bit of a shame that not a single one is included as standard.
@@brendanroberts1310 They could just have one or two and make it cheaper. You can had as many as you want. They could even make the joypad an option and make it even more cheap.
The Amiga could have as many buttons as you want. The problem was that joystick manufactures back them weren't that smart. You could even plug 4 joysticks to the Amiga to play dyna blaster / Bomberman. Another BIG problem with the joystick was with platform games. You had to press up to jump, instead of having a button to jump like with consoles. The cd32 console is an Amiga and it has a joypad like the one you see in the new Amiga 500 and it has plenty of buttons.
@@pnvgordinho Yeah, the up to jump mechanic was a real problem but with one button joysticks it was really the best you could do. I loved my Amiga, though. I preferred it to every console at the time. In hindsight, I would say that Mega Drives and Super Nintendos were much better for certain types of games but overall. I just have better memories of Amiga.
I would definitely be adding Pinball Fantasies (which is better than Dreams) and Sensible Soccer, The Settlers and Syndicate. For me I would love an A1200 mini that also has the ability to increase the ram/ processor virtually.
games I liked back then : pong, giana sisters, jumping jackson, moonstone, lotus turbo, populous, nuclear war, sim city, colorado, flashback, civilisation, master of orion, rick dangerous, lemmings, battlechess
Oh crap it’s not a functional keyboard... major letdown for $139. Still getting it but thank you so I won’t be disappointed when I get the box. Sad to see the mouse is smaller.
Still seems weird to me they left out games like Shadow of the Beast, Pinball Fantasies, Pinball Illusions, Flashback, Secret of Monkey Island (come on they included a mouse and didn't include a point and click adventure game like this? Why not?), Superfrog, James Pond and Lemmings. Yeah, I know it's designed to be able to easily add your own games, but it would have been nice to own legal licensed copies of these games again.
Elite - For me the first 16bit Elites on Amiga and ST were the best. Quite a steep learning curve, especially with manual docking, but really playable, thanks to it not having the later obsession with "accurate Newtonian physics" we got with Frontier et al - missions and occasional visits to 'Withc Space' kept the game from being repetative. I'm seriously considering picking TheA500 up just to be able to punch out into human space in a Cobra again.
Have to say, as good as Pinball dreams is, I think the follow up (Pinball Fantasies) was slightly better (I have both on my PSVita for playing on flights ;-)). Otherwise, my favourite game ever is already on there (Speedball 2), but I would be looking for Superfrog, Wings, SWOS, Hired Guns, Eye of the Beholder, SWIV and Lotus Turbo Esprit Challenge 2 (especially if you could link two machines together like we used to??)
I’ll be the only person playing Allo Allo: Cartoon Fun on it, a eurojank platform game based on a terrible 80s British sitcom. The team behind it also made a game based on Suburban Commando.
The best thing about the Amiga was that it was not just a console but a fully fledged computer. It seams a bit strange to release a computer as a console to me. I have Pi4 images that do way more than this as an Amiga emulator.
It seems like a nice little machine. The thing I don't get though is why they embossed A500 in the case rather than Amiga as the original machines had. Especially as this thing emulates the A1200 as well. I'll stick with my real A1200 with whdload though. Turrican II on CRT is just mind-blowing 🙂
I never owned an Amiga because during these time i was programming and playing games on my Atari ST. I’m not sure yet if i’ll order the Amiga 500 mini but your video is pushing me to probably buy one. The game i’m remembering when the Amiga was “born” is the well known Defender of the Crown. I’m a little astonished that it’s not included in this collection. BTW is there the bouncing ball demo included?
Must be one of the biggest gaps between how it looks and how much fun it is to play. Looks like something that should be in a late 80s/early 90s office.
A500 was the greatest computer ever made, the Amiga scene was massive back in the day. Me and my friends spent countless hours playing games and I dont think I ever paid anything for new games, it was a pirates dream lol.
Pretty sure you meant Atari ST for Greatest Computer evar! 😎 Used to bicker with Commodore fanboys back in the day Don’t know about “ever” but for the time period 85-92 or so, and even into the late 90s for Europe and other regions, the St/Amiga were amazing cpu/gfx,sound horsepower until pcs caught up mid 90s, maybe later adjusting for price/performance But in the USA, by 95-96, a decent 66-100mhz 486 could be had with 16bit dam sound blaster and good xga + gfx for a good price, diy or otherwise
@@geraldford6409 atari St had a fatal flaw for us kids , nowhere near the amount of games available for it as the amiga, amiga was the computer we all wanted and the atari was the computer your parents wanted you to have, we all pittied the few kids who had the atari, and that sharp thing who knows? never even heard of that 🤣
@@geraldford6409 in the UK love, a few of my friends did have the atari, and it was the more professional computer to have especially for musicians I remember my music teacher had one.
Nice showcasing! Seems they've done a great fan service with this one. Looks really well made and i like the controllers. Have some original Amigas here but would consider buying one for some hassle free couch gaming...or waiting for a maxi version ;-)
Got mine pre ordered, never even saw an Amiga in real life, so this feels like a new console launch to me! Looking forward to exploring this platforms vast library
I actually went to the computer show in Australia when they launched the Amiga 1000. It was awesome.
My family had an Amiga 500 for years (at least since 1988), then moved on to an Amiga 1200...but was disappointed by it. That was in 1994, I think, and not only did we feel it wasn't a massive improvement (by then we had a Super NES), we had major issues with it crashing a lot (never could get far in Zool). I don't know if it was a faulty unit or what. Also, by then, it wasn't well supported in the US, least of all in the small town Kansas.
Still have mine, 600 and 1200… it’s a thing of beauty!!!
Ive had one on pre-order from Amazon as soon as they went live, love the Amiga, I've own nearly every variation Commodore have released.
I actually enjoyed the control pad quite a bit. All depends how you are playing the games too. Did you get a review unit?
@@johnhancockretro I didn't, no. I tried to message Paul Andrews, but he just blocked me bizarrely, despite the fact I've never spoken to him before. I think he has a issue with the UK retro community shunning him for bullying Octavius Kitten a few years ago, even though I never said a single word about it.
But yeah, looks like it's modelled on the CD32 pad, I used a Genesis pad myself on my original Amiga. Gotta love 8 pin plugs :D
Got mine preordered with Game (UK) and it’s gonna come with a free t-shirt with a floppy disk themed image 😝👍😃
@@Larry That's why I can't support these products. He's involved.
@@Larry Could have fried the amiga doing that, the pin outs are not exactly the same. Something about 5v right to the CIA chip
The Great Giana Sisters, Moonstone, Rainbow Islands, Lotus II, Turrican II, Last Ninja Remix, Battle Chess, Commando just to name a few. So many classic titles on Amiga I can’t wait to get mine. 😁
I also recommend awesome video *Echa Ekranu* 😊👍
Hey John, i have one on order here in oz . Release date is April 8 apparently. They are $199 here which is not too bad seeing retail in US is $140. The build quality looks to be very good. i wish i kept my Amiga 500 all those years ago but i sold it in order to buy a PC , a 486 DX266 to play Doom on lol. I actually still have it's replacement which is a Pentium 2 266 running at 300 mhz with a voodoo 2 12 MB and Riva TNT 2 Ultra cards. It still works . I tried Bladerunner on it not so long ago :). Can't wait to play the Amiga games again on a big screen.
Yeah our release date is May. I too got a 486 PC. Always wanted an Amiga myself back in the day but I was just in middle school when it was released.
Man, that little machine really does justice to the old Amiga. Those graphics are legit, and a good selection of games. Thanks for the review!
It's missing a lot of the types of games I played on my Amiga. I know it was too much to expect anything from Psygnosis (Lemmings, Awesome, Shadow of the Beast, etc), since it was absorbed by Sony in the 1990s only to be shut down years later. What's more disappointing is the lack of any Cinemaware games (they're available on steam, I know, but I own them, but still, this is the computer the company was most known for supporting). Oh, well, they can be added.
Anyway, here's a list of games I remember playing and loving:
Death Sword (aka Barbarian)--first fighting game I ever played with a fatality, and I spammed the hell out of it.
Cannon Fodder
Pirates!
Skychase--Maxis programmer Don Bayless (I don't remember if he was an actual employee or a freelancer) lived in my hometown and was friends with my dad. He helped make this game and, if I remember right, worked on the graphics for the Amiga port of Sim City. My brothers and I played this game so much, a two player wireframe dogfighting game.
Sega arcade ports, yes, even Outrun with that super annoying loud opening. I fell in love with Space Harrier and Super Hang On on the Amiga, and at the time, I was impressed with them.
I liked Drakkhen, even if I didn't understand how to play it. It was just so weird.
Populous
Laser Chess. It was a freeware game we got out of an Amiga magazine, if I remember right.
The port of Bubble Bobble.
F/A-18 Interceptor (I treated it basically like a sandbox game, rarely playing the missions and just seeing what I could do to bend the game (I remember being able skim across the water and then continue unabated onto land at the speed of sound).
Wing Commander
Agony
Star Wars: the Arcade Game
Firepower
Test Drive 2
Various King's/Space Quest
Spy Vs Spy
Road Raider
GeeBee Air Rally
Impossible Mission 2 (Stay awhile...stay forever...)
Great Giana Sisters
Deja Vu
Uninvited
Moonmist
The C64C was my primary gaming machine in the late 80s and very early 90s until I got my Turbo Grafx-16 CD. Even though always lusted over Amiga games like SotB and Baal in my youth I never really messed with Amiga emulation. I'm excited to explore my gaming history that never was with the A500 Mini. Thanks for the review!
I tried it briefly on PC and got a few games running fine a few years back so this is more for ease of use and nostalgia. I like the idea i can now just play them easily on the OLED in the lounge too.
Never owned an Amiga but I used to play Pinball Dreams on a friend's machine, good days back then coming back from mid 90s underground parties and chilling with a bit virtual pinball. BTW bought Dreams and Fantasies on Jaguar but I always felt that they played better on Amiga, using that lovely old keyboard for the flipper buttons just felt so natural and made them play like a dream[s]. I might pick one of these up for The Sentinel, haven't played that since I was but a nipper and had a C64.
After learning that Retro Games Ltd and Subvert Ltd are intrinsically linked, and subsequent treatment of a certain youtube retro channel no matter how passionately I feel about the Amiga this product can be shoved where the sun don't shine.
MJR covered this today too! I was never into PC games because we couldn't afford a computer at my house. But I admired the graphics and the rpgs. A few years ago I managed to get some old computers like imacs all-in-1, Gateway all-in-1 and a notebook with Windows XP OS. I was using them to write my book only as I don't think they can run modern internet. Well now I've the means to buy new up to date computers but I just don't care anymore. It looks like that Amiga has some cool games included the only one I recognize is Zool. Plus you can add more? Great! Good review and cool video John!👍
I Pre-ordered this in November,
Can't wait to play Moonstone again.
Great video John. This just reminds me of playing these games in the late 80's at my friend Ben's house because his dad worked on the oil rigs and was the only kid in my neighbourhood able to afford one. Plus he had an SNES with street Fighter 2 and Mario Kart. My God that kid was awesome.
One game I used to love to play was Earl Weaver Baseball...I loved the actual players and the stats, the season mode and most of all the ability to build and modify stadiums to your liking...I can't wait to check that out again! 💯👍🙏
Absolutely fantastic video. I started my PC gaming on a C64/128, but I managed to skip the Amiga for the most part. This mini system makes me want to pick this up and really dive in on Amiga gaming. I played Pirates! as my first Sid Meier game on my friends Amiga in the very early 90's and loved it - thanks for showing this off!
Speedball, Chaos Engine and Worms, 3 daily plays for me as a kid, loved those games..
First Metal Jesus Rock and now John Hancock, what an awesome day!! 😁
Brings back memories. Can't wait to get mine and relive those memories as well as experience games I never played. Thanks for the video, John.
Xenon II - Megablast, Giana Sisters and Rick Dangerous I remember loving as a kid. The amiga 500 is one year older than me and was first computer that I used.
Almost 30 years passed for a new amiga product.tears are running from my face
Ok never had a commodore system but i played a lot .
Being born in 93, I was pretty young when my brother was playing his Amiga A600. I do remember Ducktales: Quest for the Gold, Worms, Pinball Dreams and Lotus Turbo Challenge 2. Lotus has such a great tune playing when you start the game up. I will be getting one of these Mini systems for sure. That way I can experience again what I might have forgotten over the years.
i have one pre ordered as an American growing up in 2ks never seen one in real life but love the library and have experienced with others cant wait to get it
I find this little console very attractive, spend a good part of my teenage years in front of an Amiga 500. I wish they'd add a bit more features like allowing you to run the workbench at startup, load different kickstart versions, select what Amiga model you want to load, processor type, clock speed etc., but I understand this A500 mini is primarily targeted at running games.
You should be able to run Workbench side loading on a USB stick.
I had a Commodore 16 plus 4 around 1986.... My friend later on had an Amiga 500. Loved Super Cars 2 and Zany Golf.
Oh man, Space Crusade, Cannon Fodder, Sensible Soccer, Moonstone, Midnight Resistance... Can't wait to play them on this thing
Oddly in Oz it mentions it includes Canon Fodder but i can't find any reference to it on any lists other than in a store out here lol
11:58 Stunt Car Racer - one of my favorite games of all time! The engine sound "WAAAAA oooo WAAAAAAA oooo" Unforgettable!
Looks cool. Didnt realize the graphics were so good
This guy always delivers really unique content
Thanks!
That puppy is freaking cool as can be. I would love to get my hands on one of those systems, that's awesome.👍
I had an Amiga a600 when I was a kid and I've got to say it was my favourite game console/ computer I've ever owned I played the hell out of it top games for me, test drive 2 , desert strike , jungle strike, Pang, Zool , James pond
Love it.. my first gaming experience was the c64. We upgraded to Amiga500, then to the A1200.
I loved creating drawings/ animation on deluxe paint, and playing every game i could get my hands on.
I loved the Amiga so much ,I was the only one at gaming party's who still had a Amiga, everyone else was moved on to PC. 😅 this was well into the year 2000. Eventually playstation became my main gaming platform. Still have my A1200 maybe I sell it and get this instead. 🤘🏻
I had an amiga 600 and 1200 loved them both so many great games
Not sure if you guys heard or not but there is apparently a full size one being worked on with a workable keyboard too . Though you can just plug in any USB keyboard into the mini :)
That's exactly what I have been wondering, thanks. That is the product I am really looking for.
Wow! a non broken cd 32 controller now that is impressive.
I didn't grow up with this as it was before my time, but as a gamer I ordered just for the fun and curiousness.
Great review John on to 150k subs
Only AMIGA Makes it Possible
Oh man, you put me on a nostalgia trip. The built in games are already a great selection but there are a few I would definitely need to add. I definitely agree with you on Turrican 2, I'd also need Cannon Fodder, Jet Strike, all three Lotus Turbo Challenge games and Base Jumpers, among others.
Can't wait for this. So much nostalgia for me. Like many I never actually owned an Amiga but had a few friends who did and we spent many hours playing some great games. Always wanted one as a kid so this was a must buy for me. It's a shame the release had to be delayed but it will be worth the wait. Roll on 8th April! (UK & Europe).
Games I'll be adding; The Secret of Monkey Island 1 & 2, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlant, Beneath a Steel Sky, Ruff n' Tumble, Banshee, Super Frog, Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 2, The Settlers, Theme Park, Cannon Fodder, Wings, Defender of the Crown, Turrican 2, Pinball Fantasies, Moonstone. The list goes on...
Preordered this as soon as I heard about it. Can't wait to boot up Turrican II and Lotus III on it.
I just got mine today. I am so excited that California Games is on by default but I'm hopeless on the half pipe. I loved giana sisters, barbarian ultimate warrior, super monaco GP i spent ages with. Marble madness. There was this game called Switch Board that I used to play with my Grandma but can't quite find it, it was a simple game you had levers at the top and you had to get your balls down to the bottom and get the most points. I can't recall if it was part of a game play pack but I'm dying to find that for memories sake, I can see what it looked like in my head but cannot find it.
10:00 - Pinball Dreams is the game I look forward to experiencing the most, as I've only been able to play this Amiga classic before on the Game Boy (loved it there).
Cool overview of the system. It is indeed surprisingly small and I do love hearing that the controller has a decent bit of weight to it. The spiral notebook manual is also quite charming. I look forward to picking mine up in 2 days time.
Very cool! Thanks for showing this off to us.
Fantastic video thanks! Some of my most memorable games when I first got my Amiga back then were the games from Cinemaware. Defender of the Crown, Wings, It Came from the Desert, Rocket Ranger. Good fun. Also enjoyed many of the games from Electronic Arts. They had a lot of upgrades from their C64 lineup. I know most people say the Amiga was only popular in PAL territory but in the early days there were so many North American based developers that put out a lot of games and Application software that proved this was not true. Although it didnt see the success of the C64 it was plenty popular here for a time.
Thanks for the Review John! I pre-ordered one off your affiliate link. I am really excited about getting this! I've always wanted to play some Amiga games. =)
Thank you!
Super tempting, I didn't own an amiga, but my buddy did and it was an amazing system. People don't seem to understand this level of graphics look like 16 bit SNES or Sega Genesis, but this was before then. PC's could barely keep up, if at all. The $140 price tag is a hard balancing act.
Been gaming since 1984 (or 1985. I know the first game I played was _Demon Attack_ on the Atari 2600 and I was four years old) and the Amiga is my all-time favorite of those first two or so decades. Thought I'd share that.
I had an Amiga500 back then and I love A500 and A500 games and this is so close to the old system and that you can add more games and has very simple ways I am sold I will buy one. Now some of the games I played back then and loved were Rick Dangerous, The North and South, Buble Buble, Arcanoid, Kick-off - Goal by Dino Dini, Chaos Engine of course, and well I had huge bags of games disks back then those are some that I remember. 2 Questions. Can you save your progress with the games you ad with the USB and can you play the Amiga 1200 version of games with it?? Great review btw??
had mine for 4 days and I so love it
Here´s a list of games for you to play: Toki, New Zealand Story, Hired Guns, Jim Power, Zwolf, Doodle Bug, Zool, James Pond, Monkey Island, Pang, Alien breed series, Populous, Fire and Ice, Worms, Yoe Joe, Alcatraz, Leander, Rodland, Banshee, Super Frog, Battle Squadron, Ruff n Tumble, The chaos engine, Apidya, Turrican, Lotus Turbo challenge, Sensible Soccer, Pinball fantasies, Pinball illusions, Another world, syndicate, Flashback, cannon fodder, Cabal, Lemmings, Lion heart.
Thanks for the list, played some of those from back in the day.
Looks great! Can't wait to get mine in April! Gonna be a lot of Amiga purist haters out there who don't like the A500 Mini, but it seems awesome to me. Nice plug-and-play solution.
don't forget to add banshee and sensi soccar!
Hey John! This is awesome! I never had one of these. Thanks for sharing this. Great video!
If you like football games, soccer games, you have to get Sensible Soccer.
Best game ever.
Loads of Great games, some highlights for the amiga: Lemmings, Kickoff or Sensi soccer, Wings, Defender of the crown, rocketeer, speedball, chaos engine, populous, syndicate, panzer kick boxing, worms, banshee and lucasarts stuff
Always cool to see more new retro stuff. Great review!
Thank you.
In the UK it's available from the 8th April. We appreciated the Amiga back in the day so we get it early 😉
Enjoy!
The Amiga 500 was my first gaming devide and it was perfect for that because it had a really large library and also included earlier arcade games like Asteroids, Pacman, Space Invaders etc.
I started with the Amstrad CPC 464 tape drive and then the Amiga 500 which was a huge leap. It reminded me of the sort of leap from 486 to Pentium with PC's.
Amiga 500 was what really got me into gaming, alongside my Master System. It's a shame it didn't come with a number of other classics for the system, but it looks great.
Holding out hope for an Amiga 500 maxi, similar to what they did for the c64, as my own 500 has long since bitten the dust 😔
Looking forward to mine arriving mid April in the UK.. Turrican 2 ,r type , lotus 2 , monkey Island , giana sisters, battle squadron rainbow island are a few I'll be adding to the system .looking forward to the re mapping so no more up to jump
Got mine already ordered with spare control. Only cost me £40 in total 😄
Wasn't an amiga fan , but I feel they did a good job with this console, better than they did with the c64 mini first time up. It seems just more professional with that mouse, gamepad, and ability to add multiple games easier. Now we need a fill size version at a reasonable price.
James Pond, zool, golden axe, chuckrock, shuttle puck cafe ❤️ good ol days. ‘Copy disk’
Great review John.
Going to run this with a joystick like I had with my A500 Batman pack. Really, hope that there is a save function on this.
Good video and review of this system! I remember Stunt Car Racer game from the Atari ST computer! Fun game! Cool looking too! I have to take a look at getting one of these! I do have the C-64 Mini! thought it was great!
Ooh, Stunt Car Racer is on it!! I became a V8 enthusiast because of this game. The engine sound is amazing and the controls/physics are great.
lol the games run so fast it needs a slow down button :) . Starglider 2 is unplayable it rips along lol. I would have freaked if back in the day the Amiga 500 was that sort of rocket ship lol
Great review and surprising how to as well.
I miss the days of programming C64 and Amiga. 😢
My three most played games are included.. stunt car racer, supercars 2 and pinball dream's
I'm planing on getting me one and putting it in a retro computer case with the c64 mini
I'm so stoked for this. While I can get otehr retro platforms that I love fairly easily and for a reasonable price, the Amiga is a pain to get where I live.
Still got my OG A500 which still works, also have a PI400 running PImiga (also awesome) and have Amiga Forever on my PC but still ordered the 500mini because why not, even bought a A500 themed usb stick off eBay to go with it.
Like guitars the correct amount of Amigas to own is one more than you have.
From people that tested it , it is far better and faster than the PI too which is great news.
How cute is this!!! A reason to buy one even if I dont going to use it..
Thanks so much for sharing, looking forward to this one, the headache if setting up an emulator now taken care of. One thing I would have liked to have seen is if you can just plug a USB keyboard in and if it works seamlessly for classic Sierra adventure games for example. Typing 2iyh a virtual keyboard is going to be a pain for something like that. Hoping to swap the controller for a keyboard when I grab one. Thanks for sharing.
I was an Uber St fan from pre launch through 90 or so. went all in on the x86 pc world, starting 1990, out of the St/Mac/Amiga by 92 year end
But those 68000 machines were way ahead of the pc through the 80s
In retrospect, shoulda kept going with the St as a computer through at least 95, maybe 98 or so, as Euro developers really pushed those 68000 machines through the 90s
It looks so good that the comically small size makes me only want a full size version more.
I per-ordered from Amazon on October 7, 2021 and I'm still waiting 🙄 the games I remember well are Banshee and Virocop 🕹
Speedball 2= best game on Amiga, also check out North & South
Lol, awesome vid.
Funny how times have changed, the mini is like a 1000x more powerfull then the orininal.
Btw the interface is one if the best looking of all mini consoles
Going to hold on until they launch the "Maxi" version. Still loving my "TheC64 Maxi".
Another World, Flashback and Lemmings where created on Amiga, later they ported to all the systems.
Amiga really was the best gaming platform for a lot of years, in my opinion. The only problem was the one button controls for many things, but when it came to management or strategy games it was great. A bit of a shame that not a single one is included as standard.
I was disappointed with the pack in games I know you can add more. But still.
@@brendanroberts1310 They could just have one or two and make it cheaper. You can had as many as you want. They could even make the joypad an option and make it even more cheap.
The Amiga could have as many buttons as you want. The problem was that joystick manufactures back them weren't that smart. You could even plug 4 joysticks to the Amiga to play dyna blaster / Bomberman.
Another BIG problem with the joystick was with platform games. You had to press up to jump, instead of having a button to jump like with consoles.
The cd32 console is an Amiga and it has a joypad like the one you see in the new Amiga 500 and it has plenty of buttons.
@@pnvgordinho The cd32 controller is god awful I have one trust me your better off using a mouse or joystick than that.
@@pnvgordinho Yeah, the up to jump mechanic was a real problem but with one button joysticks it was really the best you could do.
I loved my Amiga, though. I preferred it to every console at the time. In hindsight, I would say that Mega Drives and Super Nintendos were much better for certain types of games but overall. I just have better memories of Amiga.
Moonstone is one great game that you have to play
I would definitely be adding Pinball Fantasies (which is better than Dreams) and Sensible Soccer, The Settlers and Syndicate.
For me I would love an A1200 mini that also has the ability to increase the ram/ processor virtually.
Hopefully some future software update would add action replay emulator on the a500. I miss goofing around with it.
games I liked back then : pong, giana sisters, jumping jackson, moonstone, lotus turbo, populous, nuclear war, sim city, colorado, flashback, civilisation, master of orion, rick dangerous, lemmings, battlechess
Oh crap it’s not a functional keyboard... major letdown for $139. Still getting it but thank you so I won’t be disappointed when I get the box. Sad to see the mouse is smaller.
Mouse still felt good and overall I was satisfied with the product. A little on the high side but way cheaper than original hardware and games.
€139 for a cheap allwinner board with an emulator, they have all my respect, they are geniuses
Still seems weird to me they left out games like Shadow of the Beast, Pinball Fantasies, Pinball Illusions, Flashback, Secret of Monkey Island (come on they included a mouse and didn't include a point and click adventure game like this? Why not?), Superfrog, James Pond and Lemmings. Yeah, I know it's designed to be able to easily add your own games, but it would have been nice to own legal licensed copies of these games again.
Being able to add games is a win! Hope they’re reasonable, I haven’t had the best luck with emulating the amiga
What emulator do you use?. I recommend FS-UAE and to emulate the cd32. You just configure it once and you can load the many cd collections out there.
Elite - For me the first 16bit Elites on Amiga and ST were the best. Quite a steep learning curve, especially with manual docking, but really playable, thanks to it not having the later obsession with "accurate Newtonian physics" we got with Frontier et al - missions and occasional visits to 'Withc Space' kept the game from being repetative. I'm seriously considering picking TheA500 up just to be able to punch out into human space in a Cobra again.
not preordering but ill def be picking one up ⭐️
Have to say, as good as Pinball dreams is, I think the follow up (Pinball Fantasies) was slightly better (I have both on my PSVita for playing on flights ;-)). Otherwise, my favourite game ever is already on there (Speedball 2), but I would be looking for Superfrog, Wings, SWOS, Hired Guns, Eye of the Beholder, SWIV and Lotus Turbo Esprit Challenge 2 (especially if you could link two machines together like we used to??)
I’ll be the only person playing Allo Allo: Cartoon Fun on it, a eurojank platform game based on a terrible 80s British sitcom. The team behind it also made a game based on Suburban Commando.
The amiga is friggin awesome
The best thing about the Amiga was that it was not just a console but a fully fledged computer. It seams a bit strange to release a computer as a console to me. I have Pi4 images that do way more than this as an Amiga emulator.
👏🏽👏🏽 Can’t wait to get ours 😊
thanks for showin' the baux
It seems like a nice little machine. The thing I don't get though is why they embossed A500 in the case rather than Amiga as the original machines had. Especially as this thing emulates the A1200 as well.
I'll stick with my real A1200 with whdload though. Turrican II on CRT is just mind-blowing 🙂
I never owned an Amiga because during these time i was programming and playing games on my Atari ST. I’m not sure yet if i’ll order the Amiga 500 mini but your video is pushing me to probably buy one.
The game i’m remembering when the Amiga was “born” is the well known Defender of the Crown. I’m a little astonished that it’s not included in this collection. BTW is there the bouncing ball demo included?
Must be one of the biggest gaps between how it looks and how much fun it is to play. Looks like something that should be in a late 80s/early 90s office.
A500 was the greatest computer ever made, the Amiga scene was massive back in the day. Me and my friends spent countless hours playing games and I dont think I ever paid anything for new games, it was a pirates dream lol.
I think that award has to go to the Sharp X6800 although it is close.
Pretty sure you meant Atari ST for Greatest Computer evar! 😎
Used to bicker with Commodore fanboys back in the day
Don’t know about “ever” but for the time period 85-92 or so, and even into the late 90s for Europe and other regions, the St/Amiga were amazing cpu/gfx,sound horsepower until pcs caught up mid 90s, maybe later adjusting for price/performance
But in the USA, by 95-96, a decent 66-100mhz 486 could be had with 16bit dam sound blaster and good xga + gfx for a good price, diy or otherwise
@@geraldford6409 atari St had a fatal flaw for us kids , nowhere near the amount of games available for it as the amiga, amiga was the computer we all wanted and the atari was the computer your parents wanted you to have, we all pittied the few kids who had the atari, and that sharp thing who knows? never even heard of that 🤣
@@eclectic_gamer Fair enough.
Were you in Europe with that original Amiga?
@@geraldford6409 in the UK love, a few of my friends did have the atari, and it was the more professional computer to have especially for musicians I remember my music teacher had one.
Nice showcasing! Seems they've done a great fan service with this one. Looks really well made and i like the controllers. Have some original Amigas here but would consider buying one for some hassle free couch gaming...or waiting for a maxi version ;-)