modern versions of classic game consoles from Nintendo, Sega, Atari and other companies

modern versions of classic game consoles from Nintendo, Sega, Atari and other companies

Old games are not forgotten by anyone – they are still popular. In addition, retrogaming enthusiasts collect houses of collections of old video consoles, cartridges, discs and cassettes with games. But a few years ago, the Nintendo company made an interesting move — it released a mini version of its 8-bit console with modern “iron”. After that, other companies released similar incarnations of their devices. Let’s see what consoles are currently available for gamers. Maybe you have some of them in your collection? If so, write about it in the comments.

Nintendo Classic Mini

A miniature copy of the Nintendo game console was released by the manufacturer in 2016. Within a few days, the entire batch shipped to the market was sold out. After some time, a similar fate awaited the second party. These consoles have become a desirable target for both gadget collectors and casual fans of retro games.

The device is equipped with an HDMI output, and a controller was included that can be connected to the Wii Remote and used for Virtual Console games on Nintendo Wii and Wii U.

The device is based on the Allwinner R16 processor, and Linux is used as the operating system. Here are the specifications of the device:

  • CPU and graphics: Allwinner R16 (CPU: Quad-core Cortex A7, GPU: Mali400MP2 GPU)

  • RAM: SKHynix (256 Mb DDR3)

  • internal flash memory: Spansion 512 Mb SLC NAND flash, TSOP48

  • PMU power controller: AXP223

The games are run using an emulator developed by Nintendo European Research & Development specifically for the NES Classic Edition. But it is made so that the user feels that he is playing a “real” console, and not using an emulator.

Here is the list of games available to the user:
  • Balloon Fight

  • Bubble Bobble

  • Castlevania

  • Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest

  • Donkey Kong

  • Donkey Kong Jr.

  • Double Dragon II: The Revenge

  • Dr. Mario

  • Excitebike

  • Final Fantasy

  • Galaga

  • Ghosts’n Goblins

  • Gradius

  • Ice Climber

  • Kid Icarus

  • Kirby’s Adventure

  • Mario Bros.

  • Mega Man 2

  • Metroid

  • Ninja Gaiden

  • Pac-Man

  • Punch Out!!

  • StarTropics

  • Super C

  • Super Mario Bros.

  • Super Mario Bros. 2

  • Super Mario Bros. 3

  • Tecmo Bowl

  • The Legend of Zelda

  • Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

You can also add games, but already with the help of unofficial tools. One of them, by the way, was developed by a Khabra user.

Super Nintendo Mini

About a year later, Nintendo decided to release another incarnation of its other console — the Super Nintendo Mini. It went on sale on September 29, 2017. The case and controllers, as in the previous case, repeated the design of the original device. Here are the specs:

  • processor: ARM Cortex-A7

  • graphics accelerator: ARM Mali-400 MP2

  • operating system: proprietary

  • RAM: 256 MB DDR3

  • built-in memory: 512 MB (reserved by the operating system)

  • memory card support: no

  • wireless interfaces: no

The list of games is very good, as in the previous case, new titles could be added using unofficial tools:

List of games
  • Contra III: The Alien Wars*

  • Donkey Kong Country**

  • EarthBound

  • Final Fantasy III

  • F-ZERO

  • Kirby Super Star*

  • Kirby’s Dream Course**

  • Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

  • Mega Man X

  • Secret of Mana*

  • Star Fox

  • Star Fox 2 (primarily unreleased!)

  • Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting*

  • Super Castlevania IV

  • Super Ghouls’n Ghosts

  • Super Mario Kart*

  • Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

  • Super Mario World**

  • Super Metroid

  • Super Punch-Out!!

  • Yoshi’s Island

Two controllers were delivered in the box, instead of one, as in the NES Mini.

SEGA Mega Drive Mini

Another gamer’s joy is a miniature modern version of Sega’s 16-bit console. Here is the list of games that the company has sewn up to commemorate this device:

List of games
  • After Burner II

  • Alien Soldier

  • Atomic Runner

  • Bonanza Bros.

  • ClayFighter

  • Crusader of Centy

  • Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf

  • Earthworm Jim 2

  • Elemental Master

  • Fatal Fury 2

  • Gain Ground

  • Golden Ax II

  • Granada

  • Hellfire

  • Herzog Zwei

  • Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar

  • Midnight Resistance

  • The Ooze

  • OutRun

  • OutRunners

  • Phantasy Star II

  • Populous

  • Rainbow Islands: Extra

  • Ranger-X

  • The Revenge of Shinobi

  • Ristar

  • Rolling Thunder 2

  • Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi

  • Shining Force II

  • Shining in the Darkness

  • Sonic 3D Blast

  • Splatterhouse 2

  • Streets of Rage 3

  • Super Hang-On

  • Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers

  • ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron

  • Truxton

  • Vector Man 2

  • Viewpoint

  • Virtua Racing

  • Warsong

SEGA CD Games:
  • Ecco the Dolphin

  • Ecco: The Tides of Time

  • Final Fight CD

  • Mansion of Hidden Souls

  • Night Striker

  • The Ninja Warriors

  • Night Trap

  • Robo Aleste

  • Sewer Shark

  • Shining Force CD

  • Silpheed

  • Sonic The Hedgehog CD

Bonus games that have not been released before:
Bonus ports:

The design of the Sega Mega Drive Mini console repeats the original design of the console of the first release. The size, however, is about 2 times smaller than the authentic one. The Sega Mega Drive Mini comes complete with two USB controllers, HDMI and USB cables for connection.

The console went on sale on September 19, 2019.

3 years later, Sega released the Sega Mega Drive Mini 2. The equipment and specifications are approximately the same as in the first version. The only thing is that there was only one controller in the box. Well, the set of games was the same.

“All games are accurately reproduced as they were at the time, and the console has been added to the function of interrupting the game to save, so that the user can save and start again at any time,” Sega representatives said at the start of sales of the console.

The model went on sale at the end of October 2022.

PlayStation Mini

Sony, of course, could not stay away from this celebration of retrogaming. As in all other cases, the device is actually a hardware emulator of the original PS One games.

The developers loaded 20 games into the console’s memory, including Final Fantasy VII, Tekken 3 and Ridge Racer Type 4.

Two classic controllers were added to the set, as well as the necessary cables for connecting the set-top box to the TV. Instead of physical memory cards, the developers added a virtual one.

Features of the console:

  • processor: MediaTek MT8167A with four ARM Cortex-A35 computing cores and a frequency of up to 1.5 GHz

  • graphics accelerator: PowerVR GE8300

  • 1 GB of RAM DDR3-1866 manufactured by Samsung

  • 16 GB of permanent memory eMMC 5.1, also Samsung

  • sound processing: MediaTek MT6392A

The list of games is very good:
  • Battle Arena Toshinden™

  • Cool Boarders 2

  • Destruction Derby

  • Final Fantasy VII

  • Grand Theft Auto

  • Intelligent Qube

  • Jumping Flash!

  • Metal Gear Solid

  • Mr. Driller

  • Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee®

  • Rayman

  • Resident Evil™ Director’s Cut

  • Revelations: Persona

  • Ridge Racer Type 4

  • Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo®

  • Siphon Filter

  • Tekken 3

  • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six

  • Twisted Metal

  • Wild Arms

Naturally, after some time a tool appeared for adding other titles to the console’s memory, just like without it.

Amiga 500 Mini

Another incarnation of the vintage PC, the Amiga 500, which was released in 1987. The A500 Mini comes with a two-button mouse in the original Amiga 500 style, as well as a specially designed gamepad. In addition to games for the A500, the device supports titles for more modern Amiga consoles — ECS and A1200.

Here is a list of games stored on the device’s memory:
  • Alien Breed 3

  • Alien Breed: Special Edition’92

  • Another World

  • Arcade Pool

  • ATR: All Terrain Racing

  • Battle Chess

  • Cadaver

  • California Games

  • The Chaos Engine

  • Dragons Breath

  • F-16 Combat Pilot

  • Kick Off 2

  • The Lost Patrol

  • Paradroid 90

  • Pinball Dreams

  • Project-X: Special Edition 93

  • Quack

  • The Sentinel

  • Simon the Sorcerer

  • Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe

  • Stunt Car Racer

  • Super Cars II

  • Titus The Fox: To Marrakech And Back

  • Worms: The Director’s Cut

  • Zool: Ninja Of The “Nth” Dimension

Features include selectable 50Hz or 60Hz screen refresh, CRT filter and multiple scaling options, save states, virtual keyboard support, firmware upgrade via USB, and the ability to edit installed games or add new games via USB drive (WHDLoad format).

Atari 2600

It’s a modern incarnation of the most vintage retro console on the list. It was released in 1977 and is now considered the most popular cartridge console in the history of the gaming industry. By the way, the difference between this device and the ones listed above is the support for original cartridges. But games will also be stored in the device’s memory.

We write “will” because the console has not yet been released, it is planned to start selling it in November 2023.

Here is the list of games:
  • Adventure

  • Combat

  • Dodge ‘Em

  • Haunted House

  • Maze Craze

  • Missile Command

  • RealSports Volleyball

  • Surround

  • Video Pinball

  • Yars’ Revenge

There is currently no information about “iron”. But it is known that the kit comes with an updated CX40+ joystick.

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