News of the upcoming ZX Spectrum mini console – in this case an almost exact physical replica complete with rubber keys – didn’t come as a huge surprise, but it was welcome.
After all, UK retro gaming fans had been crying out for something like this for years.
Retro Games Ltd’s The Spectrum is £89.99 and due out on November 22nd, just a month away! It’s not too late to pre-order, and if you’re wavering, you shouldn’t. This machine has plenty going for it beyond the built-in games.
Keep reading for this Spectrum-themed update.
Table of Contents
PLAION says “thank you” for Spectrum support
First and foremost, the latest update concerning The Spectrum on the Retro Games Ltd Facebook page. It relays a message from PLAION, distribution partner for many of RGL’s projects.
Thank you all for your incredible interest in The Spectrum! The response to our August announcement has been fantastic, and thanks to this initial wave of enthusiasm, we’re excited to announce European distribution through several retailers
The notice also highlights a page on the RGL website that lists the countries where the device can be bought.
UK Spain Portugal Germany Switzerland Sweden Norway Denmark | Finland Italy France Austria Greece Poland Bulgaria |
The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand are not listed. This may or may not change over the coming months, but keep an eye on the list of retails so that you don’t miss out.
Since the announcement, the full list of pre-installed games on The Spectrum has been announced. The 48 titles are as follows:
Alien Girl: Skirmish Edition • Ant Attack • Army Moves • Auf Wiedersehen Monty • Avalon • Bobby Bearing • Cosmic Payback • Devwill Too • Exolon • Fairlight • Firelord • Football Manager 2 • Freddy Hardest • The Great Escape • Head over Heels • Highway Encounter • The Hobbit • Horace Goes Skiing • Jack the Nipper • Knot in 3D • The Lords of Midnight • Manic Miner • Match Day II • Movie • Nodes of Yesod • | Penetrator • Phantis (Game Over II) • Pheenix • Pyracurse • Quazatron • Robin of the Wood • Saboteur! Remastered • Shovel Adventure • Skool Daze • Snake Escape • Spellbound • Starquake • Starstrike II • El Stompo • Stonkers • TCQ • Target: Renegade • Technician Ted – The Megamix • Tenebra • Trashman • The Way of the Exploding Fist • Wheelie • Where Time Stood Still |
The device ships with a HDMI cable, USB power lead, and manual. As well as the game carousel, it has a ZX Spectrum mode, and runs games for the 48k and 128k models. I’m thinking of getting one myself.
If you haven’t already, you can order your The Spectrum computer on Amazon. And don’t forget, the device has 4 USB ports, ideal for any controller including this The Spectrum-themed controller.
Not all Spectrum games are old
If you think that 48 games is not enough, the Spectrum is compatible with other titles. These might be from your own collection, converted into a suitable format, or they might be brand new Spectrum games. Two titles in particular are worth checking out as they’re brand new.
Marlow
A Great Gianna Sisters-inspired platformer, Marlow features:
5 Bosses and 17 stages Spread through 2 Episodes (2 programs)
7 catch sound tracks (more info on readme.txt)
10 Full screen illustrations (loading, title, intro cutscenes and endings)
Fluid gameplay mechanics in a style rarely seen on the ZX Spectrum
Here’s a look at the trailer:
You can download the demo, or grab the full game of Marlow for $6 on the game’s Itch.io page.
Miradore 2 – The Key
Also new on the Spectum, Mijadore 2 – The Key is a Spanish-developed adventure/space dungeon controller with a nice soundtrack and surprisingly elegant graphics. Take a look:
The developer of Mijadore 2 has made it available to download on a name your own price deal on Itch.io.
ZX Spectrum hobbyists build their own computers
What if you can’t wait until November to play Spectrum games on a new computer? Well, you could build your own.
That’s what YouTuber TME Retro did:
That system you see above looks little like a ZX Spectrum, yet it is built with brand new ZX Spectrum from a Harlequin 128 motherboard and various other modern hardware. It iss, too all intents and purposes, a ZX Spectrum.
But if that seems too much like hard work, sign up to the ESP32 Rainbow project on Crowd Supply. This is a recreation of the original computer, with USB-C and microSD storage, with a built-in display – it’s a sort of ZX Spectrum cyberdeck!
If you want something right away, and own a Raspberry Pi, head to the ZX Mini site, where you’ll find a bare metal emulator. This is, in my opinion, to date the best option for anyone who wants to experience the ZX Spectrum without the original hardware (although I’m sure RGL’s The Spectrum will take its place).
Game over!
I wasn’t a ZX Spectrum owner way back when. A good school friend had one, but most of us looked on it with a bit of derision. Those rubber keys, the noisy loading, the dodgy connections on the memory packs… the C64 and the Amstrad 464 didn’t have any of that.
Of course, we were unfair. The ZX Spectrum is a marvellous computer, not just a pinnacle of the British computer industry, but a system that held its own against superior hardware throughout the 1980s. And arguably, in terms of playability, it still does.
Remember, you can still pre-order The Spectrum for £89.99 ahead of its November 22nd release.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.
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