The A500 Mini is a popular retro gaming console, released in early 2022, and designed to play Amiga games.

It retails at around $150, which means it could be quite an expensive prospect. But there is an alternative. You can emulate the Amiga on a Raspberry Pi. Here’s everything you need to know about turning a Raspberry Pi 400 (or any other model) into an Amiga computer.

What You Need to Emulate an Amiga on Raspberry Pi

If you want to turn your Raspberry Pi into an Amiga, you will need:

  • A Raspberry Pi. This guide focuses on the Raspberry Pi 400, but you can use a Raspberry Pi 4, original model B, Zero, or Pi 3, although your mileage will vary.
  • Blank 16GB (or larger) microSD card.
  • Raspberry Pi Imager or Etcher image writing app.
  • Amiga Kickstart ROM files
  • Games, applications, Workbench ROMs (see our list of the best Amiga games to emulate!)
  • Keyboard, mouse, and joystick (or compatible game controller).
  • TV or monitor.

Put this lot together with the right emulation system and Kickstart ROM, and you've got the closest thing to an original Amiga!

How to Find Amiga Kickstart ROM Files

For an Amiga to run it needs a Kickstart file. On the original computers this was provided on a chip. When it comes to emulation, you need a ROM file of the chip.

The easiest option is to purchase the Amiga Forever 9 Value Edition from Cloanto via amigaforever.com. This costs around $10. Once downloaded, the files should initially be saved to a safe location, before copying to a USB stick.

What Is the Best Amiga Emulator for Raspberry Pi 4/400?

Several options are available for emulating an Amiga on the Raspberry Pi:

  • Amibian: this is a lightweight full disk image. You can download Amibian from the project’s website. However, at the time of writing, you will find it difficult to download Amibian. Getting hold of the latest copy is a bit messy and this project is best avoided, at least for now.
  • Amiberry: taking a different approach, Amiberry is software that can be installed on any general Raspberry Pi operating system.
  • PiMIGA: like Amibian, PiMIGA is a full disk image, but that’s where the similarity ends. PiMIGAruns on a 64-bit version of Linux, and boasts a modernized Amiga-like desktop. It is also 30GB image, and features a lot of software, some of which is used without permission. Learn more on the PiMIGA website.
  • AmiKit: Raspberry Pi owners who love the Amiga might also consider this a paid option, but it isn’t cheap. Listed at €24.95 (around $25 at the time of writing) AmiKit also requires AmigaOS 3.x and Kickstart ROM files, making it a potentially expensive consideration. This doesn’t mean you should ignore, AmiKit, however, but it’s aimed more at Amiga power users.

The remainder of this guide focuses on using Amiberry to emulate Amiga games on a Raspberry Pi 400.

How to Install Amiberry on the Raspberry Pi 4/400

Start off with a clean Raspberry Pi OS installation. If you’re not familiar with how to do this, refer to our guide to installing an operating system on the Raspberry Pi before continuing.

With your Raspberry Pi 400 running, open a terminal and enter:

        sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libsdl2-ttf-2.0-0 libsdl2-image-2.0-0 flac mpg123 libmpeg2-4
    

Tap Y to agree to install the files, which assist with “graphics display, input handling and audio output.” When this completes, open the Amiberry releases page and select the correct version for your Raspberry Pi.

Once you’ve downloaded the appropriate version of Amiberry, unzip the archive, extracting the contents to a suitable location. I’ve used a folder called Amiga in the Pi’s Home directory.

Extract the Amiberry contents

You can run Amiberry by double-clicking the executable. If nothing happens, open a Terminal at that location (F4 or Tools > Open Current Folder in Terminal) and enter

        ./amiberry
    

The Amiga emulator will now run.

How to Copy Amiga ROMs to Raspberry Pi

However, you will still need to copy the Kickstart ROMs to your Raspberry Pi. If you followed the earlier steps, these should be stored on a USB drive. Eject this from your main PC, connect to your Raspberry Pi 400, and copy the Kickstart ROMs into the kickstarts directory in the Amiberry folder.

The same technique can be used to copy game ROM files to the Raspberry Pi. These should be added to a new directory (e.g. “disks”). Everything is now in place to emulate an Amiga on your Raspberry Pi!

Using Amiberry to Run Amiga Software

While it is the best Amiga emulator for the Raspberry Pi 4 and 400, Amiberry is a little clunky to use. Along with the correct Kickstart ROM (it can run any version) and game ROM, you will need to know the correct CPU and FPU settings, chipset, and several other settings. While these can be found online, and the emulator can often detect what is required from an Amiga ROM file, there is a risk of running into trouble and getting stuck in a rabbit hole.

(This is why the A500 Mini has been such a success, as most of the emulation configuration has been done for you.)

To run an Amiga disk image on the Amiberry emulator:

  • Click ROM to confirm the correct Amiga Kickstart ROM is selected.
    Select an Amiga Kickstart ROM
  • Click Floppy Drives and browse for your Amiga game ADF disk image.
    Select an Amiga disk image
  • Finally, click Start and wait - the software should eventually load.
    Amigasoftware running on Raspberry Pi

You can tweak the speed of disk loading in the Floppy Drives screen, and setting the correct Chipset can also help.

Enjoy Classic Amiga Software on Raspberry Pi

It's remarkable how straightforward it is to use your Raspberry Pi as an Amiga. Better still, it relies on Linux, and provides the underlying code for running your computer.

There is more flexibility in using a Raspberry Pi for Amiga emulation than there is in, say, using a A500 Mini. Better still, you can use a Raspberry Pi 400 for that retro "computer in a keyboard" feel. But if you're looking for a simple, fuss-free way of running old Amiga games, the A500 Mini is your best option.