Atari Lynx Thread! (spun off Awesome Stuff thread)

[louisg]

Bump! I did finally get RoadBlasters and it's an awesome version! It may be better than the Genesis one.

I also got Blue Lightning recently and so I've been playing the hell out of that. I'm a little undecided on it though. It's an awesome showpiece game, but it might get a bit too choppy at times. It really feels a lot more like Skyfox or something than Afterburner.

[stryc9]

Nice! I never saw the Lynx Roadblasters back in the day, although I have the Genesis one now. I'd assume they kept more of the voice samples and had a scaling playfield on Lynx, but how does it control in comparison to the Genny?

PS, I just saw some of my posts from a couple of years ago. Man, it's like a different person wrote them. I was reading one thinking 'man, this guys a bit of a tool'. Turned out it was me

[louisg]

It controls well! I recorded this video of it.. I play pretty badly, but it's not really the control's fault

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlWhkDTZlc0

[CloudyMusic]

I never noticed this thread before. It's always great to see that there are some other people out there who still enjoy the Lynx.

I also got Blue Lightning recently and so I've been playing the hell out of that. I'm a little undecided on it though. It's an awesome showpiece game, but it might get a bit too choppy at times.

It's one of my personal favorites on the system, but that might be more of a statement about the rest of the Lynx's catalog than anything else. I think the player sprite is needlessly huge (probably just done that way for the "wow" demo factor, given that it was positioned as the system-seller), and a lot of times, you're shooting at or dodging things that you can barely even see. The action itself is pretty fun, though, and the landscapes are so gorgeous that it sort of allowed me to look past its faults.

[louisg]

I also got Blue Lightning recently and so I've been playing the hell out of that. I'm a little undecided on it though. It's an awesome showpiece game, but it might get a bit too choppy at times.

It's one of my personal favorites on the system, but that might be more of a statement about the rest of the Lynx's catalog than anything else. I think the player sprite is needlessly huge (probably just done that way for the "wow" demo factor, given that it was positioned as the system-seller), and a lot of times, you're shooting at or dodging things that you can barely even see. The action itself is pretty fun, though, and the landscapes are so gorgeous that it sort of allowed me to look past its faults.

I dunno, I really like the Lynx's catalog. It's got tons of ports of the games I was playing in arcades at the time, and even something like Blue Lightning is that arcade back-view style I was craving more of at home.

Blue Lightning isn't bad; I'm learning how to play it better. I think a lot of it is learning how to lock onto targets: AFAIK, you have to straighten out, and then hit fire before the target fires a bunch of shots (since you can accidentally lock onto the incoming missiles). But I agree that the action can be vague at times. There are definitely moments where you're spamming targets with vulcan cannon just hoping you hit. And there's definitely less motivation to look past BL's faults in 2014 when there are some really good, crisp-playing rail shooters on other portables now (finally!). Though, I still find myself wanting to pick up and play Blue Lightning even though I've got Galaxy Force 2 on 3ds! Maybe it's the pacing that makes it stand out, and easier to digest for longer playing sessions.

One thing I cannot figure out is the respawning system. The manual says you're dragged back to the landing strip, but sometimes I respawn. I think it's when you hit A after you explode, but I'm not sure-- it doesn't seem entirely consistent. That's a big WTF!

BTW, have you gotten the bonus for hitting your afterburners through the canyon yet?

[CloudyMusic]

I dunno, I really like the Lynx's catalog. It's got tons of ports of the games I was playing in arcades at the time, and even something like Blue Lightning is that arcade back-view style I was craving more of at home.

It could have just been my bad luck, but I owned a lot of awful Lynx games as a kid. I did just try to make a list of my favorite Lynx games, though, and it was actually longer than I expected, so I might be letting my memories of being burned by bad games color my perception a little bit.

BTW, have you gotten the bonus for hitting your afterburners through the canyon yet?

It's been a long time since I've played it, but yeah, I did that a bunch. But I also had a lot of free time.

[louisg]

I dunno, I really like the Lynx's catalog. It's got tons of ports of the games I was playing in arcades at the time, and even something like Blue Lightning is that arcade back-view style I was craving more of at home.

It could have just been my bad luck, but I owned a lot of awful Lynx games as a kid. I did just try to make a list of my favorite Lynx games, though, and it was actually longer than I expected, so I might be letting my memories of being burned by bad games color my perception a little bit.

Ahh yeah, and Atari pushed a lot of the bad games too because the worst games on Lynx were of the most popular style of the time (platformers). I got mostly the arcade ports and sequels as a kid, so I was pretty happy with it.

[louisg]

So.... am I the only one who really enjoys Xenophobe on this thing? I actually prefer it over the arcade version. It's a pretty dumb and kludgy game, but it's got so much charm that I have trouble putting it down once I start.

[stryc9]

Yeah, I didn't mind Xenophobe when I was a kid. Not bad at all. I'm just trying to remember what games I actually had for the console at the time...

I kind of take back what I was saying about Gates of Zendokon (hi Drum)! in this thread a couple of years ago. It's not a great shooter as shooters go, but was unique enough for the machine to warrant it's existence in the end and I love the way those crystals grow towards your ship.

I always wanted to try Double Dragon, but now that I have I'm not really sure what to make of the Lynx version with it's massively zoomed-in display. The 7800 port disappointed me when I got to see that one as well.

Anyway, of the games I remember, I had GOZ, Zarlor Mercenary, Xenophobe, Gauntlet III, California Games, and that bi-plane one (Red Baron)? Cali Games was excellent IMO. I would liked to have seen Rygar, Roadblasters and Ninja Gaiden back in the day, but it was not to be - I eventually sold the machine and didn't get another handheld until the Gameboy Advance.

[CloudyMusic]

that bi-plane one (Red Baron)?

Maybe Warbirds? That game was pretty cool, if a bit feature-limited. It apparently had a system link mode too, but since I was the only person I knew with a Lynx, I had no way of testing that out

I would liked to have seen Rygar, Roadblasters and Ninja Gaiden back in the day

I owned Rygar and Ninja Gaiden. Rygar is pretty fun, though difficult; it's kind of got "Castlevania syndrome" with its unforgiving jumps over bottomless pits. Ninja Gaiden is pretty fun too, but it seemed really difficult to me, partially because the framerate is pretty low. It's a beat-'em-up, being based on the Ninja Gaiden arcade game, rather than the sidescrolling NES game. Both are worth your time to check out if you have the means.

I haven't played most of these games in almost 20 years. This thread is really making me want to fire up an emulator over the weekend...

[Ed Oscuro]

"Castlevania syndrome"

ahaha

[louisg]

"Castlevania syndrome"

ahaha

Those damn medusa heads! I think it's cruel when games are like, "Oh, you can take several hits before you die. JUST KIDDING, HERE'S A BOTTOMLESS PIT HAHAHAHA". I prefer it if games just give you one hit Like PC Engine Ninja Spirit: You can play it with multiple hits, but it eventually winds up being a one-hit death game by the end anyway, so you might as well get used to it early

Maybe Warbirds? That game was pretty cool, if a bit feature-limited. It apparently had a system link mode too, but since I was the only person I knew with a Lynx, I had no way of testing that out

I really want Warbirds. I loved Red Baron on PC. IMO, WWI dogfighting games are too often overlooked. I love the strategy in them. And if you like deathmatch games, definitely try Battle Wheels, and play it in the mode where you design your own car.

I thought Ninja Gaiden was too easy and repetitive, though it's probably one of the better ports of the arcade machine. Back in the day I was pretty thrilled with it because I used to play the arcade version a bunch.

One game that I'd forgotten about is Crystal Mines 2, which is kind of a Boulderdash style game but with more shooting. Deadtech reminded me of it because he'd ordered what's apparently an Australia-only Nintendo DS version of it (!). And, speaking of that kind of stuff, I just re-bought Skweek I had it back in the day. It's not perfect, but not bad either. I'm such a sucker for games with a bunch of cool powerups. It's also one of those games that nobody in the US has heard of, but got ported to every damn system elsewhere, including PCE. There's also a GG version called Slider that looks pretty neat.

[louisg]

I uploaded this Let's Play to YouTube of Toki https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX71_nwEUAw

[stryc9]

Toki looks (and sounds) great. I prefer the tighter level layout and brighter palette of the arcade to the remixed Genesis port, so this looks pretty good to me. The lynx needed more games of this caliber IMO. A version of P.O.W. would have been excellent.

Another game I remember having was Klax, I think that one beats out the Genny version too, it's got tate and a shitload of crystal-clear speech.

[louisg]

Another game I remember having was Klax, I think that one beats out the Genny version too, it's got tate and a shitload of crystal-clear speech.

Yeah, that may be the best home port of Klax.

Is anyone here good at Blue Lightning? Holy crap, I cannot get past this islands stage!

[broken harbour]

"Castlevania syndrome"

I really want Warbirds.

I have/had that game. I remember it being pretty fun, and at the time (I was maybe 10) I recall being all 'OOOOHhhhhh' over the pseudo 3D effect.

[GSK]

I think the player sprite is needlessly huge (probably just done that way for the "wow" demo factor, given that it was positioned as the system-seller), and a lot of times, you're shooting at or dodging things that you can barely even see.\.

I find that's a problem with damn near every Lynx game I've ever played. The resolution is the biggest issue, really--the Game Boy had it bad enough, but the Lynx's tiny res was just ridiculous.

[louisg]

Got past the islands mission and past a couple more! And, I posted a video review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6vrm8AF7QY

I think my YouTube videos are slowly improving.

I find that's a problem with damn near every Lynx game I've ever played. The resolution is the biggest issue, really--the Game Boy had it bad enough, but the Lynx's tiny res was just ridiculous.

Yeah, I dunno what's up with it. I thought it was exceptionally low, but then I looked it up and it's the same width as a GB screen, minus 40 lines vertically. Which, I guess makes the difference! I was thinking of it in terms of the difference between VGA 320x200 and the 320x240 res some people used-- that's a 20% difference while this is a 30% difference.

They still could've gotten away with a much smaller plane graphic in Blue Lightning, though damn it looks nice heheheh. Interestingly, it's not much of a visibility issue when going left to right, but when climbing and descending through missile clusters it can be a real pain. I talk a bit about the missile dodging strategies in the vid.