The Atari 400 Mini Is a Palm-Sized Homage to the 8-Bit Personal Computer Era

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Although the popularity of retro gaming consoles may have waned since Nintendo’s NES Classic Edition was released in 2014, that isn’t stopping UK-based Retro Games from adding a niche entry into the mix. The Atari Mini 400, which hits stores today, is a terrific homage to the Atari 8-bit PC era, celebrating the company’s game library spanning the 400/800, XL and XE series, and the 5200 home console, all in one tiny package.

Half the size of the original console—which came out over 40 years ago, by the way—the Mini 400 keeps its vintage aesthetics but updates it with modern components like an HDMI out for crisp 720p gameplay and four USB-A ports for using your controllers. More importantly, it lets users do something other retro consoles can't: load their own ROMs via a USB stick.

I’ve been playing with this console these last few weeks and toying with its replica (USB) joystick, called the THECXSTICK, and having a blast from the past. The joystick, naturally, controls the console menus, and you can use it to boot up one of its 25 included games.

Unlike the recently released Atari 2600+, it doesn’t work with original game cartridges, but that’s okay because the Atari 400 Mini can load any.ATR file—and flawlessly, I might add. I’ve loaded up a few of my own games and found that each booted seamlessly via the console’s main menu, without lag or necessary controller configuration. The fact that users can play a digital backup of any video game from Atari’s 8-bit era is spectacular, and something usually omitted from other retro console releases. Plus, according to other critic reviews, it also means you can boot up BASIC, plug in a keyboard, and play with an old programming language.

Out of the box, the Atari 400 Mini comes loaded with 25 games: Airball, Asteroids, Basketball, Battlezone, Berzerk, Boulder Dash, Bristles, Capture the Flag, Centipede, Crystal Castles, Elektraglide, Encounter!, Flip and Flop, Henry’s House, Hover Bovver, Lee (AKA Bruce Lee), M.U.L.E., Millipede, Miner 2049er, Missile Command, O’Riley’s Mine, Star Raiders II, The Seven Cities of Gold, Wavy Navy, and Yoomp! Four save slots let you instantly save anywhere mid-gameplay, while a 30-second “rewind” feature grants grace during a game’s toughest moments. It’s a fun nostalgia trip playing through some of Atari’s greatest hits and even discovering some new titles, like Yoomp!, which came out in 2007.

The Atari 400 Mini will impress any diehard retro collector who wants a standalone emulation device for a forgotten era. While I have minor issues with its design (the non-functioning keyboard is just for aesthetics and the HDMI cord feels heavier than the console itself, making it feel a bit unbalanced once hooked up to a TV or monitor), at $119.99, it's a no-brainer: This is a must-own for nostalgic players, Atari fans, and gaming historians.

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