AtGames Legends Gamer Mini – Review

By Steve Crabtree, February 2024

Remember the days when gaming was just about fun and games? Shoot ‘em ups, platform games, driving sims and all that weren’t serious stuff.  They were addictive, didn’t try too hard, and had un-rivaled levels of playability.

Well, the AtGames Legends Gamer Mini takes you right back to those days. It brings the amusement arcade into your home, and delivers hours upon hours of fun.

What’s in the box?

• 1x AtGames Arcade Mini
• 1x Console
• USB connector
• Plug and USB Cable
• HDMI Cable

The eye-catching bit of this kit is the deck. It looks retro, but it looks modern too. It’s great. A sizeable unit that, although free-standing, has the feel of a genuine coin-op arcade machine and makes you want to pop a few 10p pieces into it and get a few credits in.  It feels well-built and it’s taken some grief as I’ve been putting it through its paces.  And as you probably know, the more you get into a game, the more excited you become. And, with that, your joystick and your buttons get an absolute clattering!

This holds up well.  Very well, actually – and after at least 30 hours of hectic playing between me and the 11-year-old stepdaughter, it’s still in great nick.

“Shooting people into oblivion”

So, you get 100 games built into the machine and there’s a fair few classics in there.  One of my old favourites from my Commodore Amiga 500 days was The New Zealand Story, the platform game developed by Taito back in 1988. I had months of fun with that one. Here, you’re guiding fluffy kiwi Tiki through various levels to rescue his girlfriend Phee-Phee and some of his other kiwi chick friends who have been kidnapped by a large blue leopard seal. The playability and addiction levels that I had playing this at 11 years old came right back in an instant. As did the agitation and frustration when you get killed by one of the enemies!

I also enjoyed shooting people into oblivion on Operation Wolf, and returning to the more basic levels of fun with the classic Space Invaders. I was also close to falling off the wagon and letting my addiction to Tetris come back into my life after being clean for a good 30 years or so!

Special shout out for Top Racer too.  A game that I can’t fully recall playing, but its graphics and gameplay ring too many bells for me to never have played it.

With a selection too massive to list in full, you won’t be disappointed with your options when you get your hands on one of these.

“Not just a trip down memory lane”

What you get here is not just a trip down gaming memory lane. It’s also a reminder that these games had a simplicity that needed to be mastered and there was fun in trying to master it. There there comes another level of happiness once you’ve got to grips with a game.

You’re not restricted to the inbuilt games either. It lets you create your own gaming universe and has a Bring Your Own Game (BYOG) feature, letting you bring your cherished classics to the table. You can stream and download other games from ArcadeNet, AtGames’ exclusive game streaming service. There’s an impressive array of titles to choose from there.

What AtGames say:

The AtGames Gamer Mini is a one-stop retrogaming hub. It arrives preloaded with 100 hit games from the 1980s and 1990s but, when connected to the internet, it can be expanded with downloadable game packs, streamable games and so much more. This allows you to create and curate your own dynamic game collection, packed with all your favourites. It will even connect to your own PC, Raspberry Pi and other hardware.

With a single set of customisable controls including a joystick and eight fire buttons, exciting online services such as competitive leaderboards and even provision for Bluetooth devices, like extra controllers, this compact unit only needs to be connected to your TV to become the perfect entertainment device for any avid retrogamer!

Technical Know-How…

Firstly, when you open the box it’s recommended that you charge the deck for five hours.  So get excited, rip it open, look at it, then contain yourself for a bit!

What’s under the hood? Well, here’s the techie bits – and I won’t pretend to fully understand it all, but …

The control deck is your gateway to connectivity, but it comes with an arcade streaming console. From Ethernet to WiFi, HDMI to Bluetooth, and USB 3.0 to micro USB, it’s got all the bells and whistles you need to get this system up and running. You get seamless integration with your Windows PC, Android device, or Raspberry Pi, whether you prefer wireless freedom or the reliability of a cable. And with the pairing button, syncing up your control deck is a breeze. You can connect your Gamer Mini to the Legends Ultimate 300 Arcade Machine to get more people involved.

The Verdict

Well, what can I say?  The AtGames Legends Gamer Mini is a full-on return to playing the computer games you used to play as a kid. And I’m so pleased that these games still exist.  All in this one brilliant unit too.  Once you’ve set the machine up, its easy to use. The only difficulty you find is which game to play first.

There’s a type of game for everyone, and a fair few per genre too.  You get a brilliant arcade feel with the unit, and the fact it’s wireless means that you can have it on your knee, pass it around or place it on a table.

For me, as a 40-something-year-old man with unseen nostalgia levels, this has well and truly hit the spot. It’ll come out when I have my friends over for beers, and I’ll enjoy it just as much with the family – who love it as much as I do.

I love the AtGames Legends Gamer Mini, and I can’t wait to ‘master’ all these games once again.

The AtGames Legends Gamer Mini is available to buy from libertygames.co.uk – RRP £145, with free delivery.