The A500 mini is here. Much has been written about it already so I’m not going to say too much about it, but I was halfway through a post about it when I realised it might be fun just to give my recommendations for the best games on the unit. In truth the games are quite disappointing and there are loads of classics which are missing. I think the problem comes down to getting rights to the games. When Nintendo made the mini SNES they put their best first party games on it and made a tidy packet from doing so. But my guess here is that a lot of games which are either licensed or might be expected to sell elsewhere are not on because the original IP holder wants to protect the revenue from selling the game elsewhere. This is quite understandable, of course. Anyway, there’s another post where I talk about the brilliant games that are not on the unit and how to get them, but for now let’s look at the games that are on there.

Stone cold classic⌗

  • Alien Breed: Special Edition 92
    • This is basically Aliens: The Topdown shooter. Atmospheric, well paced, exciting, varied. Truly a masterpiece
  • Pinball Dreams
    • This is what the people who make Battlefield were doing in the 1990s, making pinball games. The tables are a little simplistic and small by modern standards and there’s only one standout table (Nightmare) but it’s still brilliant. The sequel, Pinball Fantasies, is better in every way and this can be added to the A500 mini, for more on which see a forthcoming post
  • Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
    • A futuristic sport that basically involves hitting people and chucking a ball in a goal this will always raise a smile in multiplayer. It’s weaker for single players, as these things often are, but there is a career mode that is actually reasonably deep considering what a silly sport it is
  • Worms: The Director’s Cut
    • Worms. Brilliant on every format, ever. I never played the Amiga version back in the day so I’ve had a quick look for this post. WHAT DO I THINK
  • The Chaos Engine
    • Top down co-op shooter with beautiful graphics. A little primitive by today’s standards but still brilliant to this day

Worth a look⌗

  • ATR: All Terrain Racing
    • This is kind of fun for two players. It’s a top down racer, basically. I am kind of a sucker for them so you may think it’s rubbish for all I know
  • California Games
    • Very hard, like so many old school games, but silly and fun and very playable. It’s a bit confusing what you’re supposed to do, you may wish to have a read or watch of some guides.
  • Paradroid 90
    • I’ve never actually played this before, but it’s pretty fun and the music is awesome (famously so, I believe). It’s not totally obvious exactly how you play, you may wish to consult a guide
  • Another World
    • This is quite a seminal game. It’s a platform puzzley type thing, very evocative and beautiful. Not really my genre to be honest but it is great and it inspired such luminaries as Hideo Kajima
  • Arcade Pool
    • This is just a pool game, playing variants of US and UK pool. Not revolutionary but a solid, playable game with good physics
  • Super Cars II
    • Top down racing with shooting of rockets, mines etc. Much more fun in 2 player mode and definitely worth a look if you have two players

Don’t bother⌗

  • Battle Chess
    • Chess with silly animations of the pieces. Seemed pretty cool all those years ago, now it seems silly. If you want to play chess though, it will do that, it’s just surely there’s a better way on your phone in this day and age?
  • Zool: Ninja Of The ”Nth” Dimension
    • Amiga’s attempt at a Mario/ Sonic type mascot, this is a fast paced platformer. Surprisingly bad
  • Kick Off 2
    • Always controversial, some people loved it, some people hated it, some people loved to hate it. I used to enjoy playing this game with my brother back in the day but it’s unplayable garbage by today’s standards. Awful