Nostalgia is a very powerful feeling. By associating the memories of a distant and now lost past with people, places or even objects, it is able to push us to venerate everything that can bring us back to more carefree and happier periods of our life. It is the spring that makes us feel at home when we return, now adults, to the street where we grew up, or that fills us with joy when we eat baked pasta made with grandmother's recipe. The mechanism also works perfectly with entertainment products such as films, cartoons and, for some years now, even with video games. Indeed, judging by the success of the Nintendo Classic Mini line, which recently brought back historic consoles such as the NES or the Super Nintendo, it could even be said that it works better than in other sectors.
It is therefore no surprise that other companies have also launched themselves decisively into the nostalgia market with new versions of the machines of the past. It was therefore only a matter of time before someone even brought back to life "the best-selling PC in the world": the legendary Commodore 64. Arrived on the market in 1982, this powerful 8-bit PC was able to offer graphics and sound superior to its direct competitors, as well as boasting, as made clear by its name, the beauty of 64 kB of RAM.
The return of the C
Despite a far from affordable price, the Commodore 64 represented the first approach to video games for more than ten million children and young people of the eighties. A huge number, which easily translates into as many potential buyers of TheC64 Mini (this is the name chosen by Retro Games), a miniature console that, following in the footsteps of the aforementioned NES Mini, revives the memory of afternoons spent waiting - with patience, a lot of patience - loading your favorite game. Already from the box and the manual it is evident the attention paid to bring to mind the graphics of the time, especially in the choice of colors and geometries. Of course, the most passionate fans will immediately notice some substantial differences and, above all, the absence of the classic C = logo typical of the machines produced by CBM: a lack that betrays the not really official nature of production, probably due to a situation of licenses that is anything but easy. On the contrary, the console is a perfect replica of the shapes of the original, halved in size and updated in the entrances.
TheC64 Mini is in fact half the size of an original Commodore and is equipped with two USB ports, an HDMI input for connecting to the latest generation televisions and a micro-USB input to power the console comfortably, even through one of the USB ports on the TV. itself (the power supply is not included, as per Nintendo school). The USB ports are necessary to connect the controller included in the package: it is a retro-style joystick, which introduces numerous extra keys compared to those of the time without being able to completely convince us. It is in fact very woody and the general feeling is that of having a rather low quality product in your hands. The length of the cable is also at the limit (1,5m) and the absence of suction cups makes it difficult to find a comfortable position to play. Another aspect that could make you turn up your nose concerns the design of the main block: in fact the built-in keyboard is fake and does not allow you to press the keys even for fun.
In the sign of 64
In terms of functionality, however, the absence of the integrated keyboard is not a big problem. TheC64 Mini is in fact compatible with any USB keyboard and supports the Spanish layout without difficulty. On the controller side, the compatibility could be quite extensive, but in the course of our test we were unable to get the PlayStation 4 pad or the generally less fussy Xbox One pad to work. However, the developers have promised decent post-launch support, so we're confident to have more advanced versions of the firmware soon. The games included are, of course, sixty-four, all officially licensed (here the complete list). An important symbolic number, which however does not allow you to immediately appreciate some of the platform's most loved titles. The presence of pearls such as California Games, Impossible Mission or Paradroid still manages to give luster to the selection.
It must also be said that we are faced with the prehistory of video games and, despite the undoubted documentary value of certain titles, it is difficult to deal without damage with the memories of our child I. A situation in some ways similar to that already seen with NES Mini and, speaking of Nintendo consoles, TheC64 Mini also rests on a Linux operating system, with a stock selection interface similar to that introduced by the Kyoto company. The descriptions instead have some small typo, but they are still a welcome presence. For the list of commands you must instead refer to the official website of the manufacturer. In theory, it should also be possible to add new games using the Basic emulation built into the console. At the moment, however, it is an extremely cumbersome procedure, which we have not been able to put into practice correctly: we therefore look forward to the already promised firmware update, which will concern the loading of your personal roms. Finally, there are also the classic filters (CRT and scanlines), as well as the ability to save and choose between pixel perfect, PAL (50Hz) and NTSC (60Hz) display modes.
Comment
Sold at a price of 79 euros, TheC64 Mini fits perfectly into the genre of nostalgic video games brought to the fore by Nintendo. A product therefore in line with expectations, capable of bringing back the memories of those players who are no longer very young and, at the same time, preserving an important part of history. Of course, there are some defects, some of which can be solved through future updates, but overall we are faced with a console capable of giving several hours of leisure and satisfying the compulsive need to relive the experiences of one's past without too much effort.
PRO
- Faithful aesthetic reproduction
- Lots of games included
- Great software opening
- Ability to load your own games ...
- ... which at the moment is too cumbersome / doesn't work
- Low quality joystick
- Some of the most important titles are missing
