It took all of about twelve hours to happen – the first round of Coleco Evolved Mini Arcades hit Kickstarter and became fully-funded. Back in 1981, Coleco first issued their classic tabletop arcade machines – versions of arcade favorites like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, shrunk into miniature form by a suspicious character known as “Mr. Arcade” (that’s how it happened in the commercials, anyway). These machines have become iconic, and now they’re coming back in a new form, ditching the primitive calculator screen for a full-color LCD display that’s powered by a powerful new gaming chipset. They’ve also chucked the C-batteries in exchange for a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack, and the joystick and buttons have been revamped as well. The first two games available will be Rainbow Brite: Journey to Rainbow Land and Robotech The Macross Saga.
The Rainbow Brite and Robotech Coleco Evolved Mini Arcades are available for pre-order for $55 each, or $105 for both. Early bird backers can pre-order each game for $45 individually, or $85 as a set. The MSRP for each mini arcade is $69. More details on each game via the official announcement can be found below…
Rainbow Brite: Journey to Rainbow Land
Hallmark’s Rainbow Brite TV series launched in 1983 and quickly became a favorite of little girls around the world. The next year, Mattel released a line of cuddly plush dolls, forever cementing into pop culture history the cheerful girl and her Rainbow Land pals.
Now players can join Rainbow Brite and her pal Starlite as they spread color and happiness in this classic RPG-style game, Journey to Rainbow Land. In the game, players take on Murky and Lurky, the enemies of Rainbow Land, who just want to make the world as murky and dismal as they are. Rainbow Brite is a retro classic RPG for gamers of all ages.
Robotech: The Macross Saga
Robotech made its pop culture splash down in 1985 when Harmony Gold released their epic 85-episode Robotech cartoon series. The series’ success paved the way for toys, figures, books, movies, and of course, video games. Robotech: The Macross Saga puts players in the driver’s seat as Earth’s last defense in an epic intergalactic battle against alien forces. Players transform their Veritechs into three modes: Fighter, Guardian, and Battloid to battle on the ground, in the air, and on enemy ships. Each level challenges players to pick the right mode at the right time to successfully take down all sorts of different enemies. Fans of Robotech and 2D side-scrolling action games will love playing The Macross Saga on the Coleco Evolved retro platform.
“This has been by far the most exciting product we’ve been working on,” said Tina Cassano, Product Developer at Coleco. “There is an indescribable glow when old fans recount their childhood memories with Coleco Minis and we fully anticipate that this project is only the beginning.”
With this project now fully-funded, Coleco Evolved Mini Arcade Machines are expected to begin shipping this September. There is a surprise stretch goal that will unlock if Coleco Evolved reaches $180K on Kickstarter. What could it be? I have no idea, but in an age where there’s a ton of different mini arcade machines coming out from a bunch of different companies, I dig the idea of throwing it back to these genuine retro cases. There was a distinctive look, and Coleco Evolved has that going for it right out of the gate.
