Released in 1979 and popular through the 90's, the Atari line of home computers left a legendary library in its wake. It produced heaps of quality games strewn over countless cartridges, floppy disks, and cassette tapes. Playing these today on original hardware is an expensive proposition, but the 400 Mini provides an affordable alternative. It's basically an emulator with 25 built-in games housed in a miniature computer and packaged with a joystick controller that's quite faithful to the original.

This tiny 5x6 inch system is a perfectly-proportioned, scaled-down version of the Atari 400 home computer. The 400 was Atari's original entry-level computer, capable of running up to 16K of memory. Its big brother, the Atari 800, maxed out at a whopping 48K! Who in the world would possibly need all that?

The 400 model was distinguished by its unique "membrane" keyboard that was easy to clean but tricky to type with. The 400 Mini's keyboard is totally fake, and that's too bad. I also wish I could open that little cartridge compartment.

Along the front edge are four USB controller ports because some games actually support four players at a time. Additional joysticks can be purchased separately but I noticed they can be hard to come by. On the rear of the system is a power button, a USB-C port (power), an HDMI port (video), and an additional USB port to accommodate your own flash drive of ROMs.

The elegant user interface that appears when you power-up on the system offers a "game carousel" across the bottom. A graphic and basic information about the currently-selected game is displayed above. It's easy to locate the title you want and a cinch to switch between them. The jaunty menu music is a little goofy but you have the option to turn it off.

Unlike the C64 Mini, pressing up when a game is selected displays a handy synopsis of its controls. No manuals are included, but they can be found online at https://retrogames.biz/games/the400-mini/. Pressing down brings up four memory slots. Each game has a separate set of slots to instantly save your progress at any time.

The controller perfectly mimics the look and feel of the original Atari 2600 joystick, but it's far better constructed. It has to be! Those old joysticks would crack as soon as you pushed them too hard! I went through so many.

A few extra hard-to-see buttons have been tucked into this controller. There are four nearly-invisible "arrow" buttons around the joystick that serve various purposes like selecting variations or starting a new game. Two additional buttons, home and menu, are found on the front, facing the TV. Pressing both of these brings up a virtual keyboard along the right side of the screen.

Finally, there is also a "shoulder" button on the lower left corner of the controller. I didn't find it especially useful, but I did find it annoyingly easy to hit by accident. It's located where I usually place my index finger, so I have to slide it down underneath the bottom instead.

Control is always a wildcard when it comes to emulated games. Like the C64 Mini, you can't avoid a certain degree of input lag. Sometimes it's subtle, but sometimes it's not. In the case of a slow-moving game you'll barely notice, and even with certain fast games (like Boulderdash) it's negligible (I tested both side to side). In Asteroids, on the other hand, it takes a full second for your "shield" to kick in when you're about to collide with a rock, and that's unacceptable for a twitch shooter. So your mileage may vary.

The 25-game library would be commendable if not for the fact that the C64 Mini contained a whopping 64 games! The 400 doesn't pack as many "greatest hits" as I'd expect from a powerhouse like the old Atari. I've never even heard of many of these games, and suspect some were unreleased prototypes.

The first game is a real looker. Airball was an ambitious pseudo-3d dungeon crawler that challenges you to navigate a fragile orb through a series of ornate rooms with lots of sharp edges. The control takes some getting used to but the eye candy is impressive.

Asteroids is the home computer version of the vector graphics arcade hit. While more clunky and slower than the coin-op, it does have the advantage of four people playing at once. I suspect Basketball (1979) was an unreleased prototype, as I had never seen it before. It's just like the 2600 version except with more detailed, multicolored players.

Battlezone was an ill-advised 1987 release with ugly pseudo-vector graphics. Berzerk on the other hand is a winner. It features the trademark robotic voice ("the humanoid must not escape") and lots of intense run-and-gun action.

The next few games were new to me. Bristles in an interesting platformer featuring a painter, but it's marred by extremely touchy controls. Hover Bovver is a strange grass-cutting game by legendary developer Jeff Minter. Flip Flop is a Q*bert clone, but laggy controls make it easy to take one-too-many hops, sending your kangaroo plunging into the abyss. Flag Capture would have been mind-blowing in 1983. You're walking around a nicely-rendered 3d maze with a first-person view! There's even a little map charting your progress. In terms of gameplay however you feel like a rat in a cage.

The home computer version of Centipede may not be as smooth as the arcade but it's nearly as charming and addictive. Same with its frantic sequel, Millipede. The joystick works fine with these so you won't miss the trackball they were designed for. Crystal Castle does a great job of reprising the layered 3D platforms of the arcade game. In this case however you might miss the trackball.

Henry's room is an endearing little platformer offering lots of meticulously-detailed rooms to explore including a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and spooky basement. Since Henry is slow, control lag is less of a factor. The game would probably be more fun if the walls weren't electrified.

Elektra Glide is a fast-paced racer that looks like Pole Position but plays more like a tech demo. Caverns of Mars is a basic underground space shooter. Missile Command was designed for use with a track-ball controller, but it works fine with a joystick. Unfortunately it has the dubious honor of being the only game that froze up on me.

Encounter is a first-person tank shooter that is a real gem. Smooth and playable with fantastic explosions, this is what Battlezone should have been. The next game, Lee, was quite the coup. Originally titled Bruce Lee, this gorgeous kung-fu platformer lets you battle ninjas with punches and jump-kicks. I noticed they had to give it a new "dragon" title screen, since the original featured his likeness. Boulderdash is another winner, being a fast-paced maze runner with landslides, explosions, and chain reactions.

MULE is a strategic multiplayer classic but I can't figure out how to start this version. Miner 2049er is a Donkey Kong clone, but considering it has ten screens, you could argue it's better. O'Riley's Mine is an exciting variation of Dig Dug with underground tunnels that flood with water.

Seven Cities of Gold is an elegant historical simulation that attempts to recreate the conquest of the "new world" circa 1492. There are some attractive visuals but the exploration and resource management gets tedious. I'd rather watch the computer play. Fortunately that is an option. Gotta love those politically-incorrect dancing natives.

Star Raiders II bears little resemblance to its strategic predecessor. More of an arcade space shooter, it's not as deep but looks amazing. Wavy Navy was a revelation to me. It's like Galaxian except instead of moving a cannon you navigate a ship over rolling waves, firing missiles at formation of planes and helicopters overhead. Hazards include helicopters with machine guns, mines in the water, and planes on bombing runs. Great explosions too.

Yoomp must be new, because it appears to push the limits of 8-bit tech. You're a ball bouncing around 3D tubes with gaps you need to jump over. Between the immersive 3D visuals and pulsating music, you can really get into a groove playing this one.

Unlike the C64 Mini, I was able to find "clean" ROMs to load on The 400 Mini with no problems. In general all the games look and sound great on this thing, and the ability to save your progress is huge. The input lag is a factor, but in many games you won't notice it, and often you can compensate. I enjoyed reviewing The Atari 400 Mini and would be very interested to know if an Atari 800 Mini might be in the works.