Retro Games Limited just launched a new version of their tiny Commodore 64 home computer. The C64 Mini – Black Edition is a limited release that celebrates the talented developers behind modern Commodore games. The Black Edition comes pre-loaded with the C64 Mini’s original 64 game lineup And 25 modern titles, including all-time C64 greats like Sam’s Journey and Pig’s Quest.
The C64 Mini – Black Edition retails for $120 and is exclusive to Amazon in the United States. Amazon is “temporarily out of stock” on launch day (October 24), but you can still order. The original C64 Mini launched in 2018 with an MSRP of $70—you can grab one from Amazon today for just $51. The substantial increase in prices has been partly linked to economic changes and revenues, but the possibility of adding modern games plays a huge role.
The majority of new games—19 to be exact—have been sold on ICTR.IO by Big Commodore 64 publishers, including Citronic and Provision. Citronic’s games are usually five bucks or less, but titles published by Provision carry higher price tags. Here are four preloaded Provision games that would normally cost around $55: Sam’s Journey ($24), A Pig Quest (.6 11.61), MW Ultra ($11), and Yeti Mountain ($9). These are among the most ambitious C64 games around. For example, developer Knights of Bytes created more than 2,000 screens for 30 extremely long levels of Sam’s Journey. It’s one of the best retro platformers I’ve ever played (it’s also available on the NES). In short, a $50 price increase seems more than reasonable.
$120 | Available now
The Black Edition comes with the same items as the original: C64 Mini Computer, a classic USB joystick, USB power cable, HDMI cable, and instruction manual. Like many other mini consoles, it doesn’t come with an AC adapter, but basically any USB stick will do. Or you can power it through one of the USB ports on your TV.
The C64 MINI is about half the size of the original Commodore 64 computer. “Keyboard” is decorative—none of the mini home computers have working keyboards. But if you want to use the Basic interpreter to write your own programs and/or boot games you add to the C64 Mini via USB stick, you can plug any keyboard into another USB port. You can also add a second joystick for multiplayer. A solid, budget-friendly option is the Hyperkin Trooper at around $18.
The C64 MINI displays games in 720p resolution in pixel perfect or original 4:3 aspect ratio. If you want to replicate the classic look, you can add scanlines (CRT filter). All preloaded games have four slots, and you can save your progress at any point.
Here is the complete list of modern Commodore 64 games that are included in the C64 Mini – Black Edition. The prices next to each title are what you would pay on the Itch. Games are available to download for free without cost. As a reminder, these are just the new games. The Black Edition still comes with the original 64 games.
25 new games:
- A Pig Quest (.6 11.61)
- Karen and the tangled tentacles (~80, physical)
- Galencia ($5)
- Good Night ($4)
- Grid Picks ($2)
- Guns ‘N’ Ghosts ($3)
- Hessian ($2)
- Hunter’s Moon Reborn ($5)
- This is magic 2 (22 2.22).
- Joe Gunn: Gold Edition
- Metal Warrior Ultra ($11)
- Millie and Molly ($2)
- Seeds of Naxi and Doom
- Oz: Escape
- P0 snake
- Pain ‘N’ Pain ($5)
- Planet Golf (~43, physical)
- Rocky Memphis: Signs of Atlantis ($5)
- Run ‘n’ Gun ($2)
- Sam’s Journey ($24)
- Shadow Switcher
- Image of spinning
- Steel Ranger ($5)
- Yeti Mountain ($9)
You can find a lot of modern C64 homebrews on Itch. If you buy a ROM from Itch or another site, you can load it onto the C64 Mini via USB.
Check out the original C64 Mini below to see a list of classic 80s games.
$51 (was $70)
The C64 MINI and C64 MINI – Black Edition have the following preloaded games from the 80s.
- alleykat
- Anarchy
- Armalate – Competition Edition
- Avenger
- War valley
- Boulder Dash
- Bounder
- California Sports
- Chip’s Challenge
- get confused
- Cosmic Causeway
- creature
- Cyberdean Warrior
- Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine
- Cybernoid II: Revenge
- Deflector
- Everyone is a saint
- Firelord
- Grable’s day out
- Hockey
- Heartland
- Robotics
- Highway Encounter
- Hunter’s Moon
- Hysteria
- Mission Impossible
- Mission Impossible ii
- io
- Jumpman
- Mega apocalypse
- Mission AD
- Monty mole
- Monty on the run
- Nebula
- Hollandworld
- Nobby Arduric
- Nodes of Yesod
- Paradroid
- Pit Stop II
- Ranarama
- The wood robin
- Rubicon
- Skate crazy
- School Chakra
- the trap
- Speedball
- Speedball 2 – Brutal Deluxe
- spindizzy
- Star claws
- Steel
- Street Sports Baseball
- Summer Games II
- Super cycle
- Temple of Upshai Trilogy
- The Arch of Yesod
- The object bounces back
- A thing in spring
- Trailblazer
- Achi Mata
- Uridium
- Who dares to win II
- Winter sports
- World Games
- Xenapus
.4 93.49 (was $110)
As mentioned, any USB keyboard should work with the C64 MINI, but this amazing 8-bit Dodo Retro Mechanical Keyboard: C64 Edition is worth a shout. The Commodore-inspired keyboard comes with separate super buttons and a separate arcade stick. It’s a wireless keyboard with 2.4GHz and Bluetooth support for PC, Mac, Steam, Android, and iOS. That said, you can use it as a wired keyboard by connecting the included USB cable.
The C64 Edition 8 Bitdo Keyboard is on sale for $93.49 (was $110). If this deal disappears, there’s another listing for $95.
8 Bitdo also builds keyboards around other classic gaming platforms, including the NES, FAMICOM, and the original Xbox. The transparent green Xbox-inspired model has been officially licensed by Microsoft and is on sale at Amazon for $92.40 ($120). The NES inspired edition is only $80 (was $100). Check out the list below for more deals:
$120
Retro Games Ltd has produced a number of mini retro computers in addition to the C64 MINI. Another one you can buy in the US for its MSRP is the 400 Mini. It plays all Atari 8-bit games, including 400, 130xe, 800xl, and other home computer titles. It also plays Atari 5200 console games.
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