It arrived two hours ago! It’s The Spectrum unboxing time!
Another product from Retro Games!
Here are a few photos from unboxing to playing for the first time.
I ordered the Spanish / Portuguese version, from Amazon Spain here.
Unboxing
A box inside the box, with the keyboard layout.
The machine itself!
Inside the inner box, The Spectrum, one HDMI cable and one USB-C to USB-A cable.
Input ports
The buttons and input connectors, from left to right: Home button (returns to Home Screen), 4 USB-A ports, HDMI port (TV), USB-C port (Power) and Power button (power on and power off the machine).
The Spectrum vs The Recreated ZX Spectrum
The Spectrum and The Recreated ZX Spectrum next to each other- exactly the same size and look-and-feel.
Menu Navigation
First boot screen, choose the interface language.
Then, it loads the carrousel in the chosen language, with the first game (Alien Girl) selected.
For the game selected it presents a summary description, player modes (1P and 2P), and ZX Spectrum version (48K/128K).
“Q” key (Help) gives some info about the game, namely keys and joystick buttons functions.
The Joystick presented is another Retro Games product, TheGamePad:
It’s an addon to The Spectrum, available here (my next buy).
Pressing “F”, evaluates the game from 0 to 4 stars, the classification is used to sort the games by “Favourites”.
“L” key changes the the games list sort mode (default is by game title, by author, by genre, by year, by favourite).
To navigate through the menus, use the Speccy cursor keys (5-left, 6-down, 7-up, 8-right), and press “M” key to start the selected game or select an option.
“B” key returns to the previous menu.
“SPACE” opens the “Options” menu, with “Display Options” (possible to enable CRT effect for more retro style view), “Language” (change the interface language between english, german, french, italian, spanish, portuguese and poslish), and “Advanced Options”, where you change boot mode from carrousel to classic mode, or do a factory reset.
Playing Saboteur!
My first game tested, Sabouter Remastered (2023 version).
I’ve connected a mechanical keyboard to one of the USB ports, and tested the game play, worked ok!
First impressions and conclusion
First impressions:
- Loved the packing! Modern and retro at the same time. The Manual cover is the same style as the original (the content no so much);
- The games list is always subjective, I would include the first “Renegade” and “Rick Dangerous“, but in overall, it’s a good selection. I’m glad Sabouter! lastest version is in the list!
- Power and Home buttons are useful, and a good addon to my ZXBaremulator setup.
The most purists will say that it’s not like the real thing, I agree (it is emulator based), but it terms of cost, time to acquire, and getting the The Spectrum experience in a brand new machine, it’s a well thought product.
In conclusion, the product is great for those who just want to remember the 80’s gaming experience with an almost identical keyboard, without the cost or the work of getting a clone with the same keyboard (The Spectrum costs around 100€, N-GO board inside a 48K rubber keyboard costs more than 300€).
Enjoy The Spectrum!
