10 of the best retro gaming gadgets

10 of the best retro gaming gadgets

Retro gaming is big business these days, with resurrected consoles often causing more of a stir than their contemporary descendants. If you’ve been bitten by an 8-bit bug, here are 10 bits of retro tech that can quench your gaming thirst.

1. The C64 Mini (£64.99)

For gamers of a certain (more advancing) age, the sight of the C64 Mini will be enough to have them babbling gibberish. If you witness this, don’t worry, it’s just the Commodore 64 coding language that they all start reciting as soon as you mention the iconic machine. This minituarised version comes with a decent selection of original games (plus you can add your own if you can be bothered) but they’re much tougher to play than you’ll remember, particularly with the iffy joystick that’s included.

2. Hyperkin Smartboy (£49.99)

Google’s Play Store is stuffed full of retro games but playing them on a brand new Android smartphone spoils the illusions somewhat. Slide it into Hyperkin’s Smartboy, however, and it’ll immediately transform your USB-C-packing phone into an imitation of a rather recognisable handheld from the early nineties, able to play any old Game Boy or Game Boy Colour cartridges you’ve still got kicking around.

3. Pac-Man Lamp (£29.99)

As the only gaming character more recognisable than Mario or Sonic, what better way to recognise Pac-Man’s achievements than sticking a bulb inside his head and plugging him into the mains? Not only is this lamp dimmable, it also plays sounds from the classic arcade game, which definitely won’t get annoying after a matter of days.

4. SNES Classic Mini (£69.99)

With stock shortages and inflated Ebay prices a thing of the past, you can easily pick up a shrunken SNES now without getting ripped off. And it’s well worth doing so. Nintendo’s SNES Classic Mini is brilliantly dinky, comes with two controllers and has 21 of the 16-bit console’s finest games built in, including the never-before-released Star Fox 2, although if you don’t spend most of the time playing Mario Kart, do you really deserve to own one?

5. Colorware 8-bit Joycons ($199)

Want to make your Nintendo Switch feel a little bit less modern? Add these 8-bit-inspired Joy-Cons and give your Breath of the Wild sessions a retro twist. If you want to go all the way, there’s also a similarly styled Pro Controller available ($189).

6. Game Boy Alarm Clock (£24.99)

The same size as Ninty’s legendary handheld, with this officially licensed slumber interrupter next to your bed you can wake up to the jolly sound of the Super Mario Land theme tune, rather than that barking klaxon that currently strikes fear into your heart first thing in the morning. Much better, right?

7. 8Bitdo SF30 Pro (£39.89)

Designed to be used with pretty much anything that has Bluetooth or a USB port, 8Bitdo’s SNES-style controller has everything you’d expect from a modern wireless gamepad: motion control, rumble feedback and a rechargeable battery. It’ll work with your Nintendo Switch, or you can use it to play games on your PC, Android phone or tablet too. There’s even an optional clip you can get to attach your phone.

8. Analogue Super NT ($189.99)

Got a load of old SNES games that aren’t available on the Classic Mini? If you’re really serious about playing them, Analogue’s Super NT will play any of your old cartridges in full-on, new-fashioned 1080p. It’s available in four different colours (we’re quite taken by this transparent one), although the matching wireless 8Bitdo pad isn’t included in the rather high asking price. Still, can you really put a price on being able to play Rock ‘n’ Roll Racing again?

9. Sega Megadrive Flashback (£73.40)

Sega has just announced it has a proper mini Mega Drive on the way but there’s no word on what games it’ll come loaded with, plus it’ll only be available in Japan at first. But that doesn’t matter, because you can get this one right now, which comes with 85 games pre-loaded, including Altered Beast, Mortal Kombat, Sonic & Knuckles and loads more.

10. Gamebuino Meta (€99.99)

Part of the appeal of the original games machines was that you could code your own. That’s been lost as things got more sophisticated but Gamebuino’s Meta brings it back, with free tutorials built in that’ll teach you how to make a game in just half an hour. If that sounds like too much effort, it’s also got a load of open-source games onboard that you can play for an entire day before the battery conks out.