Atari Lynx ballers post here!

sirlynxalot

Genjuro's Frog
Fagit of the Year
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Apr 10, 2019
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So the lynx didn't make a huge dent in the US gaming market... but people in the know understand that it was basically the NeoGeo AES of handheld gaming. Before you close the window in disgust, let me present the following points:


-it was circa 1989 hardware, like the AES
-it came from the same late 80s design school as the AES, where its a physically big machine made out of dark plastic, like a high end boombox or vcr
-it was more expensive than the competition, like the AES
-compared to the gameboy and gamegear, it was the plush option, with its color backlit screen, hardware based options to flip the screen display and controls for left handed users and graphics capabilities (described more below), this is akin to the AES being the plush option to regular systems such as snes/genesis
-the overwhelming majority of its library consisted of atari arcade games, akin to how the AES library was SNK arcade games
-it was a technological wonder compared to its competitors. It easily trumped the competition in terms of its graphics/hardware capabilities, for instance, it had a rudimentary gpu that could scale sprites in realtime, which was used to excellent effect in driving and flying games such as Blue Lightning, something we didn't really see in any popular home consoles of the time let alone handhelds. There were other notable accomplishments as well, for instance Todd's Adventures in Slime World was a platformer that could be network linked up to 8 players, I'm not sure another similar 8 player platformer game has ever come out. Similarly, Zarlor Mercenary was a Raiden style shmup that could be linked and played as a 4 player simultaneous shmup, it was the only shmup that could do 4 player simultaneous multiplayer until Gigawing 2 was released on the dreamcast about 10 years later in 2001.


I'm not a completionist collector and over time I've decided to let some things go, but I'm pleased to still have my atari lynx and many of the games I enjoyed on that platform. I know this isn't atariage, but does anyone else here mess with the lynx?
 

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Syn

There can be only one.
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Mine has McWil screen, vga out and a multi card. Rarely play it.
 

ratson

Hyperactive Stoner
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Lynx didn't make a dent in any gamescene worldwide. Bit less awfull than a 'Jag'.
 

Hattori Hanzo

AEShole
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Sep 14, 2018
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I still have a soft spot for Atari. Bought a Lynx II with the GameDrive last year. It's worth it for the best version of Chip’s Challenge alone.

zNLdYpD.png
 

@M

Vanessa's Drinking Buddy,
20 Year Member
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Never owned one, but messed around with the games on an emulator years ago. I agree that it was impressive for the time period it was released.
 

basic

back to basics
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these are some superficial comparisons. from skimming through it seems like your main points are:
- engineered around the same time
- bigger than its rival handheld systems
- made of dark plastic

what are you, retarded?
 

smokey

massive ding dong
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1,764
It was the first gaming system I ever owned. I got it for my birthday in 1992 or 1993. I got it with A.P.B. game and later I got the Viking Child from my godmother. Later on I got a second hand copy of Blue Lightning . Around 1997 I started looking for games for it and found some stock in a store that used to be an atari dealer. I got online and discovered that Telegames made some new games for it. I ordered Fat Bobby and Xybots. That is how I discovered the AES, trough Telegames photocopied catalog.
 

famicommander

Tak enabled this rank change
15 Year Member
Joined
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Posts
13,383
I like the Lynx but it's nothing special. Just a decent handheld like the Wonderswan Color, NGPC, and Game Gear.

It does have one of the few ports of arcade Ninja Gaiden, as well as some decent homebrew games. I like Zaku.
 

pixeljunkie

Whilst Drunk., I Found God., Booze = Bad.,
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Posts
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hahaha I had a massive Lynx collection (I got the system at release - iykyk, that Blue Lightning demo at Toys R Us was insane) I sold off years ago thank god. I have great memories of the system. But today?! It's not worth owning. Emulator only for novelty.
 

DevilRedeemed

teh
20 Year Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2002
Posts
13,554
So the lynx didn't make a huge dent in the US gaming market... but people in the know understand that it was basically the NeoGeo AES of handheld gaming. Before you close the window in disgust, let me present the following points:


-it was circa 1989 hardware, like the AES
-it came from the same late 80s design school as the AES, where its a physically big machine made out of dark plastic, like a high end boombox or vcr
-it was more expensive than the competition, like the AES
-compared to the gameboy and gamegear, it was the plush option, with its color backlit screen, hardware based options to flip the screen display and controls for left handed users and graphics capabilities (described more below), this is akin to the AES being the plush option to regular systems such as snes/genesis
-the overwhelming majority of its library consisted of atari arcade games, akin to how the AES library was SNK arcade games
-it was a technological wonder compared to its competitors. It easily trumped the competition in terms of its graphics/hardware capabilities, for instance, it had a rudimentary gpu that could scale sprites in realtime, which was used to excellent effect in driving and flying games such as Blue Lightning, something we didn't really see in any popular home consoles of the time let alone handhelds. There were other notable accomplishments as well, for instance Todd's Adventures in Slime World was a platformer that could be network linked up to 8 players, I'm not sure another similar 8 player platformer game has ever come out. Similarly, Zarlor Mercenary was a Raiden style shmup that could be linked and played as a 4 player simultaneous shmup, it was the only shmup that could do 4 player simultaneous multiplayer until Gigawing 2 was released on the dreamcast about 10 years later in 2001.


I'm not a completionist collector and over time I've decided to let some things go, but I'm pleased to still have my atari lynx and many of the games I enjoyed on that platform. I know this isn't atariage, but does anyone else here mess with the lynx?
I don't agree at all but it was and is an impressive piece of kit. If they had pushed the boat out just a bit more, made the screen bigger, had more games made for it, we would be singing a different tune today. Definetly, fundamentally european in approach to gaming, closer to home computers of the time than other console systems.
 

skate323k137

Professional College Dropout
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Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Posts
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I have a Lynx with a case and a few games, power supply, maybe some other accessories. A friend who was moving away some years ago gifted it to me.

I thought they were really cool when I was younger but now it's really only a minor nostalgia kick if anything.
 

Ajax

way more american than wyo, way more
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Dumbest looking handheld on the fucking planet. A speaker right in the middle of the action buttons, k.
 

JoeAwesome

I survived Secret Santa, It wasn't Easy.,
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I last played one in 2000? I only had three games. Batman was paiiiiinfully hard, but I remember it fondly. Pit-Fighter wasn’t -that- bad. Hard Drivin’, though? Balls.
 

Syn

There can be only one.
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Posts
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I appreciate the hardware, because it wasnt designed by Atari. Another RJ Mical creation
Had it taken off, there would have been a lot better games for it. Maybe a homebrew has taken advantage of it's capabilities I'm not sure.
 

SignOfGoob

Butthurt Enthusiast
20 Year Member
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The comparison to the Neo is nonsense. The Neo’s only peer was the CP Changer. There are no other officially consolized arcade systems and nothing is as crazy as an officially consolized arcade system. At ~$200, large color screen, and with nearly zero battery life the only comparison was the PC Engine LT and GT/Turbo Express.

That aside, the Lynx was pretty rad. I particularly enjoyed Ninja Gaiden, since it was actually based on the arcade game that I was more familiar with and not the NES game. I also like Rampart a ton but that didn’t exactly show off the Lynx.
 
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