The Video Game Critic

http://www.vintageisthenewold.com/commodore-64-alike-the64-mini-is-being-released-next-year/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

There may soon be a Commodore C64 mini/flashback device. Price $90. No idea whats under the hood.

One thing a C64 kinda needs is a keyboard. the C64mini doesn't really have one - the keyboard you see is just a decoration. You can use a USB keyboard however, but the C64 keyboard was a bit different.

All in all, I would still recommend getting a vintage C64.

scotland wrote:All in all, I would still recommend getting a vintage C64.

I don't know if too many people in the 21st century will have the patience to put up with the cruel joke that is the 1541 floppy drive. The C64 is one case where I'm happier to just emulate it rather than deal with the actual hardware.

Stalvern wrote: I don't know if too many people in the 21st century will have the patience to put up with the cruel joke that is the 1541 floppy drive. The C64 is one case where I'm happier to just emulate it rather than deal with the actual hardware.

I hear ya. The files are so small that 1541 times really aren't bad, and a fast load cart is pretty cheap. They have the equivalent of flash carts, with an SD card holding ROMs and an 1541 emulator. Still have some load times, but otherwise works well.

The biggest issue I have had has been reliabilty issues

Might grab it depending on the games on it.

Hmmm. Sounds interesting.I missed out on the C64 the first time around, so it'd be nice to get a hold of one of these just to see for myself how good some of the games were for it.

No Lode Runner, no Blue Max, no M.U.L.E.? I think list of games for C64 mini is pretty disappointing. Despite load times, C-64 & Atari 800XL users from back in the day loved using 64k capabilities to play The Ultimas, Seven Cities of Gold, Return of Hercules, or the early Castle Wolfensteins. Games you just couldn't play consoles of the day. The C64 Mini games list looks like throwaway titles by comparison... except for Summer Games and Temple of Apshai.

LuckyWDFN wrote:No Lode Runner, no Blue Max, no M.U.L.E.? I think list of games for C64 mini is pretty disappointing. Despite load times, C-64 & Atari 800XL users from back in the day loved using 64k capabilities to play The Ultimas, Seven Cities of Gold, Return of Hercules, or the early Castle Wolfensteins. Games you just couldn't play consoles of the day. The C64 Mini games list looks like throwaway titles by comparison... except for Summer Games and Temple of Apshai.

No kidding! No Microprose! No RPG's (Ulitma, Question, etc), No Maniac Mansion, No Micro League Baseball, etc, etc. Plus the keyboard doesn't work? Why bother.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2018/03/30/the-c64-mini-review

The IGN review gave it a 7.0, with a really crappy joystick

Sounds like the main qualm with the IGN review is the spongey joystick. Why didn't they just provide a point so you could just connect a classic joystick of your choice? Sounds like they dropped the ball. Still, I wouldn't mind owning one of these.

This thing really deserves more credit. Some of these games, like Paradroid and Creatures, were considered top tier. Some, like the Temple of Apshai trilogy, are historically important.

And others, like Highway Encounter, School Daze, and Monty on the Run, are some of the games that got me into the UK scene in the first place.

It's like buying an NES mini that lacked Final Fantasy, Contra, and Mario, but had Little Sampson, Lunar Pool, and Recca instead. Sure, it's a bitter pill, but if you're ever curious about the depth of the library, this is a great chance to see what you were missing, without digging through the entire 10,000+ avalanche of commercially released titles.