Regular readers may have noted my opinion on the limited availability of hardware when it comes to retro computing. Spoiled possibly by the widespread use of Raspberry Pi's when it comes to RISC OS, trying to experience something like the Amiga takes a bit more cash. True, there are emulation options that run on the Pi, and there are several YouTube videos of the Raspberry Pi400 acting as a very capable desktop emulation Amiga if you so require. However, if even the relatively low cost Pi400 is out of reach or you just want to use your existing PC, there is another option: Amiga Forever 9.
Released by Cloanto, who hold the licence for the Classic Amiga OS, Amiga Forever 9 is a complete emulation solution using a combination of Win UAE and Fellow alongside official ROMS of Amiga's past. There are three versions of AF9: Value (€9.99), Plus (€29.99) and Premium (€49.99), and what you get varies with each package. The cheapest version will get you a download code for AF9 which includes the 1.3 ROM and some games (25+) and demos (25+). The Plus package includes additional ROMS (3.x), cross-platform support, the Amiga Explorer software, galleries and double the number of games/quadruple the number of demos. The Premium package adds a host of Amiga related videos and documentaries as well as a physical copy of the software on three DVD's. I selected the Premium pack and shortly after purchase, received an email with a download link and activation key. The physical disks took about a week to arrive.
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| A variety of systems are supplied, others can be downloaded. |
Installation was pretty straight forward and quite quickly I was able to peruse the list of games and demos included in the package. You can, of course, add your own disc images if you have them, and you can convert these to the preferred RP9 format using the Toolbox feature in the package but the usual ADF files are no problem at all.
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| The list of included games and demos is quite the collection. |
If you do get stuck then there is a ton of help documentation on the Amiga Forever website which covers pretty much everything you might need to know, and lots of things you'll probably never need to ask about but it's there anyway.
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| Kick Off 2 in action. |
The included games are a mixed bunch but did include a couple of strategy titles that I hankered after back in the day but could never find/afford when the opportunities arose. You also get Kick Off 2 which, if you are of a certain vintage, was the football (soccer) game to play back in the day. Well, before Sensi Soccer anyway... The demos are also a mixed bag, some are quite fun and they do show what the Amiga could do in the hands of talented coders.
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| This was a cutting edge desktop in the late 1980's |
With the available ROMS and software options, AF9 is a very good package indeed and, if you only want to dip back into say the Amiga 500 of 1990 vintage, then the Value package cannot be beaten. The Plus pack gives you ROMS galore, even for oddities like the never-released Walker concept machine, though that particular one is an additional download. This is probably the best all-round way of experiencing Amiga Forever 9, though if you want to see the Amiga-related videos and have a penchant for physical media, then the Premium is the only way forward.
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| It improved by the late 1990's |
What was interesting was loading up software and experiencing again the clicky, grinding disk noise. It's only for show but the sound alone took me back to the early 90's. It also made me realise that sometimes those rose tinted memories are just that! Was disk access always that bloody slow???
All told, whichever SKU you go for, you'll not be disappointed with Amiga Forever 9. It's relatively easy to navigate around and it is certainly feature packed. For the low sum of €9.99, this is an inexpensive emulator to try out and it's pretty straightforward to upgrade later. I'm certainly happy with the Premium package and it definitely ticks all of those retro boxes. You can check out Amiga Forever 9 here.
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