I grew up using Mac computers, and for a long time, I've wanted something that would allow me to use all those old applications and games in a more convenient setup. I now have the perfect 'retro' Mac, at least for me: an upgraded Mid-2010 Mac Mini.
This compact low-power
Nah, the 1.4ghz g4 Mac mini is better. It’s old enough that you can get it to boot OS 9 without emulation. I have mine running stuff as far back as system 7. In my experience, sheep shaver is super buggy and doesn’t work with most old games. An os9 mini is effectively the most powerful native os 9 machine you can get, being more than double the speed of the best machine that ever shipped with os9 for boot (not Rosetta). http://macos9lives.com/downloads