+madman Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I can't remember the last time I played this game, probably in the late 90's, but I picked up the Lynx 1 cart for the Evercade and I'm kind of surprised this is still a very fun game. Obviously it's not the greatest platformer of all time, but with all the hidden shops, money bags, warps, etc. there's plenty to do. It has a pretty unique, colorful look that really pops on a modern screen too. What do you guys think? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roots.genoa Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I played it for the first time on the Evercade and didn't like it at all. To be fair, I haven't been very far, but it felt frustrating. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFG 9000 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I spent tons of time with Scrapyard Dog as a kid. I discovered (what I believe are) all the warp zones and dozens of secrets. I've beaten it many times, once even without using any warps. I've probably put more time into it than any other platformer except Symphony of the Night. So my thoughts on it may be a bit skewed. But I agree that it holds up well, and I think it's a little unfair that it doesn't get more attention. For a handheld platformer from like 1990 or whenever, it had a surprising variety to its level design. There are horizontally scrolling areas, vertically scrolling areas, and a number of different "vehicles" you can pilot. And there are secrets everywhere...secret shops, hidden money bags, minigames, invincibility power-ups, etc. The "small" power-up is kind of a shameless inversion of the mushrooms in Mario that make you big, except these are almost a power-down since you can't attack while small. But usually there's a secret nearby that you can't access while big, and that's the payoff. Really, the level design is pretty smart compared to many contemporaries. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xhul Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 I agree, the exploration factor is what makes it an interesting platformer. Remove that and the game is pretty average, which is what non-curious players will experience, as expected. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldLeader Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Ya know, I've never played it, but I sometimes like reading people's thoughts on a game, and then checking it out. I don't have a Lynx. Is the Atari 7800 version the same? I have 8 NIB 7800 games (some of those also as loose carts) so I sometimes forget what's there, but I just looked...Nope, I don't have it though it is on my Dragonfly cart But, I Do have it on the Evercade cart! I haven't cracked that one open yet. I plan on checking it out soon, maybe even tonight! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+madman Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 It's definitely a bit slower paced until you learn the levels you'll want to proceed w/caution, so I can see how it may be frustrating if you want to plow through it. If you're playing on the Evercade, I'd recommend using the X/Y buttons, A/B are mapped to the same buttons but they're physically reversed on the Evercade compared to Lynx so it may seem unnatural to have the jump button close to the screen while "fire" is further away. And check out the original Lynx manual, I think that's another downfall of the Evercade manual/in-game instructions is that it doesn't mention the secrets which are really what make the game. Like xhul said without the exploration factor, there just isn't much there. From what I've read the 7800 version isn't quite as good, but I haven't played it. A bonus w/the Evercade is the save states, so if you're like me and want to just pick up and play for 15 mins you can do that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+jgkspsx Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/23/2023 at 7:44 PM, GoldLeader said: I don't have a Lynx. Is the Atari 7800 version the same? They are entirely different games aside from both featuring a boy, his dog, and a scrapyard. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LX.NET Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/23/2023 at 10:06 PM, PFG 9000 said: Really, the level design is pretty smart compared to many contemporaries. Here are some pictures I made for the first levels. I never got around to posting these, nor finish all levels. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Joining in on the SD love! It's still one of my most-played Lynx games. I think that, with its cartoony graphics, it was mistakenly (and is still mistakenly) categorized as a kiddie game, but it's got great depth and playability. I think that the only other game on the Lynx that matches it in this area is Toki, which can be unforgivably hard until you grind your way through it and learn enemy patterns. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+madman Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 On 3/8/2023 at 6:09 PM, davidcalgary29 said: Joining in on the SD love! It's still one of my most-played Lynx games. I think that, with its cartoony graphics, it was mistakenly (and is still mistakenly) categorized as a kiddie game, but it's got great depth and playability. I think that the only other game on the Lynx that matches it in this area is Toki, which can be unforgivably hard until you grind your way through it and learn enemy patterns. I've always appreciated cartoony graphics in games, especially now where so many games look like real life, it's more fun to me to jump into a world that doesn't look like reality. Great call on Toki too, that's another one that shines on the Lynx. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Sauron Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 I'll admit it here, I never gave the Lynx version of Scrapyard Dog much of a chance, due to a number of reasons. The primary one being, of course, that I played the 7800 version first. Like what was stated before, though, the 7800 and Lynx versions are like two totally different games. Hearing this praise for the game has gotten me curious, though. Just wish I could find my Lynx... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+sramirez2008 Posted March 10 Share Posted March 10 2 minutes ago, Sauron said: Just wish I could find my Lynx... 😨 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 On 3/9/2023 at 9:31 PM, Sauron said: I'll admit it here, I never gave the Lynx version of Scrapyard Dog much of a chance, due to a number of reasons. The primary one being, of course, that I played the 7800 version first. Like what was stated before, though, the 7800 and Lynx versions are like two totally different games. Hearing this praise for the game has gotten me curious, though. Just wish I could find my Lynx... Don't forget that it's one of the games on the Evercade Lynx cart! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFG 9000 Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 6 hours ago, davidcalgary29 said: Don't forget that it's one of the games on the Evercade Lynx cart! And the recent Atari 50 compilation on modern platforms. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linndrum Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Scrapyard Dog was my favorite Lynx game by far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.