HAPPY 35th Anniversary Atari Lynx! My current top 35 Lynx games, listed and my thoughts in the form of rambling mini-reviews

[Giles N]

The Atari Lynx is now 35 years old!
In my view a hardware-masterpiece that just didn’t get the proper amount of games that it deserved produced in its in-market time.

I just use the occasion to ramble on a bit about my favourite Lynx games.

 

Here are my top 35 (taken from the titles produced, if not released, during its active era)

 

 

My Top 35 Atari Lynx Games (1989-2024):

 

1.Blue Lightning - a fantastic, super scaler flight-action 3D-shooter on a 90ies Handheld … with Arcade-quality handling of the 3D graphics 

     (I remember I was mindblown bitd)

 

2.Scrapyard Dog - because that Dog just must be rescued (again), and now in much more diverse environments with lots of different types of platform-action and exploration, finding money and buying gear, taking shortcuts or irk through shmup-style levels, all in a ‘full world’ of distinct looking levels; colorful, bright and a tiny bit spooky… leaving only one criticism: where is the option to play the Dog as 2P…?  

 

3.Rampart - brillant balance petween strategy and action, the Lynx version is one of the best homeports. Outstanding.

 

4.Ninja Gaiden - brilliant side-scrolling beat ‘em up providing a solid scaled down version of the Arcade, boosting very nice and fitting BGM in combination with quality beat-em up sound effects, creates an exhilirating vibe to a very satisfying martial arts gameplay: you punch and kick, swing-kick from lamp posts,  throw (…of send off ledges…) enemies midway while flip-jumping, use enemies to destroy objects, cut with swords. Its somewhat slower than the Arcade, but for 90ies handheld this is pretty tight stuff with enormous replay value.

 

5.KLAX - eternal fun with stacking same-colored bricks as 3-5 in-a-line or in the commisioned patterns (diagonals, X, etc). Of course you have wild-bricks too etc. As bricks come down towards you in lanes, you need to stack them according to pattern before your dumper-area is filled up. Align them, and they disappear, mix in wrong brick and it get stacked. Looks and sounds fantastic on the Lynx.

 

6.Shadow of the Beast - Brillant graphics encapturing very, very much of the Amiga-originals’ atmosphere, yet making a few changes that pulls it more toward the Console world. Music is top notch, atmospheric to the core, even witb the lower music capabilities of the Lynx. Here is surreal fantasy platform-action with collecting and solving small ‘puzzles’ thrown in, and the controls stay very close to Amiga Originator. Worth owning a Lynx (or - a-hem - Lynx-equivalent) to play.

 

7.Xybots - well, prior to full-on modern 3D first person shooters, you had Xybots. You’re a cool dude, blowing smoke off your gun-tip clearing all enemies on a level. You’re against a ton of evil, sinister-looking robots called Xybots, which are littered through many, many mazes. The mazes can look very similar, so stay focused. You run from left to right to aim your shot or dodge enemyfire. Pull forward and you run into the perspective of the screen which then carches up to you. Hold one of the buttons while moving left or right, and you shift direction 90 Degrees. Yes, stiffer than these modern type fps’s [beginning with WolfenStein], but its plenty to like here: shoot-out action, maze-crawling, collecting money and energy, - fitting, more rock driven music, but also more doomish atmospheric tracks, boss-fights now and again, and ridiculous amount of mazes to get through … with 4 hours battery life. 

 

8.Double Dragon - the Arcade beat’em up hits the Lynx and kicks some serious a.. rmpit (you didn’t really think I’d just blurt out ‘ass’ did you, in the middle of a public mini-review available to billions of people… did you?  Oh, you did!! Fine! then… ; ). So this port really kicks ASS, even if some choppy scrolling is there land your headbutts in thin air too. They have put in almost everything from the Arcade in very nicely done 16-bits graphics (some it reuse from the Genesis Port, - compare with the other contemporary versions back then) and the music has the vibe of the Arcade even if its lacks some punch here and there. They did opt for very large characters on-screen, giving the player little overview. I like this solution and it makes the action punch you in the face ‘even more than Final Fight’. Its brutal, messy and chaotic … whats not to like?  Difficulty-levels can be set, so not-so-streetwise overgrown kidz - like this reviewer -, stands a chance. Gameplay, except for some choppy jumping, feels very close to the Arcade. And back in the time of 1989-1995, arcade-like quality just wasn’t the norm for handheld gaming. 
 
9.S.T.U.N. Runner. In the future… things will be futuristic. Including racing. In STUN, you drive vehicles through tracks built of tunnels, twists, turns and wierd futuristic materials at break-neck speed. Your fuel runs down, so be sure to drive over stars on the road or on the inside of the tunnels. Get puck ups, hit boosters, and on certain levels get guns to blow away competitors. Within tunnels make sure to follow the curvatures as you enter turns to run through it smoothly. Impressive 3D for a handheld in the 90ies, combined with a real sense if speed and frantic gameplay. Not much here if strategy or things to think through, its all reflexes. Difficult but fun: a rollercoaster ride providing explosive arcade fun, no more, no less. 

 

10.Rygar - The Lynx dudn’t get a ling line-up of side scrolling action-platformer, neither ports nor originals. Rygar is a welcome addition to that category. This port follows the concepts of the Arcade, but cuts down the size of the game, while ‘zooming everything in’ due to not letting the low graphics resolution make things look just pixelated. This may be a turn-off for many; I have no problem with it - I play it for whats there. I find the graphics, setting and atmosphere to be all there, and I find this a very nice addition to the Lynx-catalogue, wheress the GB and GG literally were flooded by quality 2D sidescrolling action/adventure/arcade platformers back in the day.

 

11.RoadBlasters - here is a very impressive and fun port of the classic drive-and-shoot Arcade-game. Actually, I’ll use stronger words: given both the capabilities and hardware limitations of the Lynx, this is close to a perfect Arcade port, as I cannot come to think of single thing they could possibly have done to improve upon it. Everything in this game have landed on the Lynx in a way that leaves without room for ideas on how to make it come closer to itz origin. Its rare. As arcade port (contra emulated ROM) this id 10/10. As game its lots and lots of fun, but somewhat repetetive, and you cannot really blink on later levels - leaving you playing with wide open eyes and holding your breath. Or am I just really getting old…? I remember playing the Arcade as kid, and I have to say the explsion of my car is one of the things I remember to see most frequently. Kikda hard, but its soooo well-made, like perfection,  it hurts my pixel-hungry retrogame eyes… in a mezmerising way.

 

12.Pac-Land - in PacLand… reality is, besides Pacs closest family (wife, kid, dog), a couple of faeries and a countryside church, PacMan is generally relentlessly attacked and attempted killed, destroyed and swept off every ledge, drowned in every pool or lake. Even random skulls try to bite the legs off our dear hero. That is Skulls which have lain in the desert for 150 years of more… dead… until PacMan runs past… in PacLand (<—) where he’s supposedly friend with everyone. In PacLand… everything… every platform, trunk, lake, bridge or obstacle … tries to kill poor Pac. Except for that (loosing a life for every screen you try to move on)  - its fun Arcade platforming time here, thankfully putting Pac under normal controls contra the wierder scheme used in the Arcade (button mashing to run). Here are plenty of vibrant graphics, parallax scrolling, Arcadey sound and music. Controls are mostly fine; buts its so frickin’ hard: one hit and a life is spent. Controlling the precision of the jump is also much less mallable than in, say Mario-games. And occasionally you’ll encounter platform stuff that becomes unfair due lack of precision caused by the low resolution + pixel perfect platforming. Well, if you enjoy tougher platform action and ‘all good vibes’-atmosphere; this is for you.

 

13.BattleWheels - this is an impressive 3D car-arena death match game. I miss something like campaign or story mode here, - perhaps I’ve missed something -, but the death matchs feels samey yet provide short, intense, brutal fun. Yes, other drivers can jump out of their broken cars, run towards you, and you can shoot him or drive him down. And afterwards, you can drive over both wreck and body of enemy drivers. Woow! Brutal! Keep this far, far away from your 8 year old kiddo who sits with his Steam deck and YT-recording equipment and commenting live online about how he uses to take down everything ‘that way’ in GTA.  Well, back to our BattleWheels - you can equip your car prior to rounds of battle. You can just dive in, or fine-tune your setup. Every battlefield-arena has its own things that either will block paths, or even define the path, and by that be the strategical element here: find places to get behind, race out and ‘fire!’. Graphics kept in s Comics book punk style-sort of thing: gritty and pixelated. Derby ‘n Destruction with high quality on the Lynx. 

 

14.Raiden - late vertical Schmup, by some regarded Prototype, others as ‘aftermarket’ -, its at least possible to get hold of on carts in our days, and is a typical ‘bullet-hell’ shooter.
Wonderfully drawn and animated graphics and crisp gameplay are marred a little by too frequent slowdowns and too much action often being thrown right at you on a really rather tightly crammed screen.
If you can bear with slowdowns and losing a few ships to slowdowns and ‘mess’ its great fun to get the power-ups by using the smartbomb on the power-up carriers, then let bullets and heavy-beam lasers from your own one little ship mowe down everything in front you! Ah, thats life… at least Lynx-life.

 

15.Steel Talons - so this entry for the controversy: some will find Steel Talons a ‘early 3D game miracle’ others will find it unbearably choppy and unplayable. 
Pretty biased by my background - I died of curiosity back in the days - to know how a handheld would handle 360 degree ‘open world 3D’ and arcade action to boot. As of today, - having grown up in the time where 3D polygon maps, more often than not, never were expected to run at perfect 60fps, often going with just that framerate which made the gameplay doable, - Steel Talons is one of my favourite go-to Lynx games. Even if the framerate can be brutally slow, it helps a lot that you are pretty ‘free’ at higher altitudes, and using the overview map pauses the game and shows you mountains, hills and remaing enemies. Even in the Canyon River race run, one would think smashing into a red rock wall would happen all the time, but they given you plenty of room and mostly you just need to make sure you don’t become ‘sitting duck’ above a Battery or something. Simply, because the room to move about is so ‘generoys’, your gun auto-aim on closest, and missiles are homing, the gameplay is wellbalanced even with low fps. Just don’t expect this to play like Blue Lightning with only speeds. This is an Arcade ‘simulator’ where you must use all speeds, including hover, adjust height, and learn to rotate around your own axis. But as the difficulty builds very gently, it should be good for anyone who’re acquainted with how these early polygon games were and anyone who don’t expect a rail-shooter game. I’m facinated and impressed 35 years on.

 

16.Toki - Wonderful and brilliant Arcade platformer, top graphics, sound, music controls. It’s the Lynx platformer that has everything (!!) but a remotely likeable hero. He looks so darn grumpy and ugly, it actually affects how much I play the game.  
A shame really that a so good game is marred by so poor character design. But this isn’t due to the Lynx version makers. I haven’t played the Arcade, but this - the ugly ape-thing - is of course the plot premise in Toki. The game plays, sounds and looks (yes, with that little exception of the centeal sprite you’re looking at throughout all the game) brilliant. Shame they put in such a lousy character design. Give me Donkey or Dinky anyday; or if  Donky and Dinky had dark counterparts like what Wario is to Mario, Waluigi to Luigi. Such a character would be delight. Now it’s more like ‘Dorky Kong in Brilliant Jungle World’. Well, ahem, but it works, and sometimes I need to pay attention to enemies too.

 

17.Switchblade 2 - nice action platformer with much of the usual stuff, like weapons shop, bots to battle, boss-fights. Drawback is its dry and minimalistic presentation. No music in background, and often action you can control by memorizing patterns. But its quite fun to see the levels, build your armory and actually make it through. Despite its ‘dryness’ its has no strong drawbacks; everything operates and works well. If you like a platformer where learning the map, and getting the right pace of ‘proceed with caution’ vs ‘just gun your way through it’, this is your thing. A little stealth and some action.

 

18.Gates of Zendocon - no big surprises in this game, but stands for me both as a reminder of the pecularities of Lynx gaming and classic lynx games.
Even if every level have only a rather limited set of enemy patterns and obstacles, this feels like an overall solid shooter, perhaps even particulary made to be enjoyed on a handheld device: big (!!) enemy sprites, coloful backdrops and eerie or more upbeat, still a bit steange tunes, accompany a game that feels part showcase and part its own game. Impressively sized enemies aren’t difficult to blow away in lines, and you must pass umpteen repetitions of a level-theme, in order to meet more sophisticated challenges. But, hey, - not every topdown game needs to play like Commando. Could be like Gauntlet too? This is a kind of horizontal shooter where ‘being in it for the long haul’ matters more, hence the level codes. For me it also provides ‘what defines’ the Lynx. Ah, nostalgia!

 

19.Awesome Golf - it’s awesome, except that the overview of the golf course comes with black background, when it should’ve been a green blur with red stipled lines. I mean, Golf courses are mostly found in beautiful natural settings, right..? Not drifting through Space…! Well, everything else here is good. Even awsome! 

 

20.Xenophobe - Cool version of this alien-blastin’ room-to-room shooter
  
21.Hydra - supersprite scaler, now with gunning boat instead of shooting car. Looks very good, but the river should’ve been broader as it gets crammed. Very cool Arcade boat-race/shooter.

 

22.Rampage - the Monsters are back … with fourth hilarious friend, and overgrown Lab. rat. Graphics aren’t downscaled, so you move around in a multi-directionally scrolling area, displaying the cities you attack … tonight!
 
23.Ninja Gaiden 3 (the ancient ship of doom) - wanted to put this higher, but pixelated figures, murky backdrops and what to me (so far) feels like too hectic gameplay where some rapid-moving thing just must hit you, while you’re stuck to a ledge, stuck dangling, or falling, or sinking… armed with blade that cuts so fast its present on the screen for whopping full frame… this being one of the few Lynx games to enjoy a full 60fps… Perhaos its just me, but I often feel frustrated trying to control this, even though the basic stuff for greatness is here.

24.Robotron 2084 - classic! And well-made with a intuitive gun-rotation scheme! Old, but cool!

 

25.Battlezone 2000 - Nice port of the 80ies Arcade. The original game, hidden behind there as easter egg, seems very promising of what a true Battlezone sequel could’ve been like. Unfortunately, I know not whether it can be properly played. Yet, its much better they stuck it in there to please the fans. The Arcade Port is somewhat samey, but as usual, the Lynx hsndles 3D stuff pretty well.

 

26.Crystal Mines 2 - Crazy little action game, - with you controlling a little Mine scavenging robot, collecting valuables while cave monsters are after you. Its seen in this faux semi top-down view, where you sort of move around like seen from above, but like in Boulderdash, if you undercut certain things they may fall and crush you or enemies. Crazy hectic tune, actually likeable in its own manner, plays in the background (I wonder if ever anyone catches themselves humming this in the shower after playing fir too long spells..?),

 

27.Krazy Ace Miniature Golf - fun, colorful and charmikg, but some levels have wierd elements including pseudo-top-down vies, that makes it very difficult to actually aim by logic and precision. The cartoon elements are like things just need to learn how to handle, while there seems to be some pretty good physics there too. Its anyway entertaining to have a go at from time to time.

 

28.Checkered Flag - could very easily have been very much better (broader raceway, your car is a bit more sensitive/less heavy on the wheel so as make you turn faster), but its a classic Lynx game, played for what it is, provides a fun 3D spritescaler racegame.
 
29.Warbirds - its all about air-to-air combat over a green landscape during first world war. Reviewers where right: whats here is quality, but its not much variation.

 

30.Dracula the UnDead - and in at number 30, in this short, celebratory evening Lynx Review -, comes Dracula the UnDead. Some gamers would perhaps say Dracula the UnDead could need some color, not be so bleak and browny-withered. At 30th place, the competition is tense and its not enough to be UnDead, you have to be good at that too. So Dracula himself chooses to show up personally 2 or 3 times in his own entry… is he worn out? Has his brides finally exhausted him…? He has his castle you know. Where you can lose your way at night, either in catacombs or by falling off a wall (no, Dracula doesn’t even push you). 
And sure, isn’t the old Pyre a bit musty when all it takes to defeat him is for one single boring, wellmannered Britton to get away from being in his castle?  So, investigate everything you do - look at this, open that, listen to this, speak to, … thej you walk about … its all sepia, all style and 5 Acts missing, but the prologue here is at least true to Script. The music is eerie though. So eerie, you may want to turn it off completely in the end… y’know in the end…before it drives you mad…mad I say, mad… and that is when the thought strikes you like a Cockcrow right after Midnight… what if you have to go through all of this… again, because of some stupid thing you forgot even though you oughta remembered ? 
And it was planned all along… how the game would seep into the subconsciousness of the gamer… the stark horror of replaying point-n-click adventures…every single move, monotoneously the same, always the same… just that little nasty detail you were supposed to have remembered… Yes, still the old, withered, musty Count can score …

 

31.European Soccer Challenge - Is the Soccer game on the Lynx that actually is good. The competition wasn’t and isn’t big, as the other ‘World Class Fussball Soccer’ is about as classy as a Fiat with a giant plastic toy-Ferrari chassis pulled over its true, natural Fiat hood… European Soccer is a good Soccer game. Cool ‘mode7’ playfield, but too generic characters; they could need some wig-jobs with the sprites. They could need more settings: time, weather. Sound is very minimalistic. This is well coded, well-playtested soccer on a neat looking mode7 playfield, but bells and whistles are sorely lacking.

 

32.Qix - is a classic, which you therefore just must play and even though I so desperately suck at it, its sheer fun…

 

33.Hard Drivin’ - some would find it quite unacceptable to see this on the list, given its slow framerate and car that feels sooo heavy… like, you go, whatsthiz- a truck? a light Tank…? Why then don’t I crash through the walls…I try to steer but nothing happens… Is my Lynx D-pad destroyed…? Etc. Well, early 3D polygon games were difficult to make, no less so on a handheld. The fascination it holds for me, they made it happen at all, is probably a reason why its here. More like a fun test or demo. I picked up Lynx protos that are less playable than this. I’ll go so far as to say that Speed Course is perfectly playable, even if ridiculously difficult. 
 

34.Joust - is a classic, but methinks the birds have dined to well on this occasion, as it flaps it does indeed make for lift, but the creature we here speak of, is now beset with such incontinent momentum that it scarecely so want to turn back to that path onwhich all knightbearing fowl must take, which beseekest to sit on top of other fowl-riders effecting their swift meeting with the ground and the rock, and, lo, that other feathery rival now thrown into confusion, burdened to lay eggs… 
  —
Well, short version: cool game with deeply insane core concept (when I think about it), the birds are heavy to manouver, making it less enjoyable than it couid’ve been.
 —
Another theory: its Joust on a planet with gravity thats just a wee bit off…?
(I cannot get over this. I think need to find my bed soon)

 

35.Super Asteroids/Super Missile Command - good versions of the classics. Closest thing to actual sequels? It’s says quite a lot, that even then, I would’ve liked to see them go much longer - not just add 1 or 2 gameplay elements, but add these elements, then add something new to the worlds (progression, not just repetion at higher speed). Etc.. As they are, 2 solid Atari classics - ‘recharged’ anno 1995 with high quality.

    
    

Edited September 18 by Giles N
clarification, typos

[Giles N]

Stick around friends, in 2059 I’ll add my top 35 Lynx Homebrews!

Edited September 18 by Giles N

[Fadest]

In 2059, there will be (is already in fact) far more than 72 homebrew Lynx to rate

 

 

[Giles N]

50 minutes ago, Fadest said:

will be (is already in fact) far more than 72 homebrew

Really…?

[4ever2600]

That's also assuming civilization hasn't destroyed itself... 😂 so we got that going for us...

[Fadest]

8 hours ago, Giles N said:

Really…?

Just look at Songbird site, there are around 40 (including some of mines and Telegames). Then add the ones from Luchs Soft, K-Retro, Karri, MW Software, mine not listed and single releases like Zaku, Pits, Bitchy, ... Plus extra rare releases (from 1 to 5 units)
Yes we are probably over 70 physical homebrew releases, even if in limited quantity...

[Giles N]

57 minutes ago, Fadest said:

Just look at Songbird site

 

57 minutes ago, Fadest said:

add the ones from Luchs Soft

 

58 minutes ago, Fadest said:

K-Retro

 

58 minutes ago, Fadest said:

MW Software

 

58 minutes ago, Fadest said:

mine not listed and single releases like Zaku, Pits, Bitchy, ... Plus extra rare releases (from 1 to 5 units)

…yes, I believe you are onto something with total numbers, but these homebrews are kinda ‘spread out all over place’, don’t you think?

 

Would’ve been nice with something more predictable as to availability and simply ‘which titles exist’.

 

What if the Lynx would hit the sweetspot of interests in some retro-boom in the market, in 2-5 years… suddenly many begins to want to know how it went (‘what happened to to the Lynx I played as 5, 10, 15?’ - can I get the games for a fair price, will a see a Lynx-Mini in some store, should I collect, am I the only one or does the Lynx have a community, where do I find it [?] etc),  where they can get the originals and the quality homebrews like ‘at a glance, in a e-store’.  

[Fadest]

I am pretty sure K-Retro has a comprehensive list of "commercial" homebrews.

 

Answering your thoughts about a retro-boom in the the market in 2-5 years... Well, a common Lynx homebrew sells something like 60-100 units. A good seller is around the 150-200 mark. A hit can reach the 1000 limit (Zaku, Alpine Games, xhich other one ??? maybe Wyvern Tales I hope as it desserves it)

So commonly available for a fair price and smal sales is not compatible. If you want to keep the prices low (my games are 40€ each) you must wisely produce the correct number and remake runs if there is enough funding. If you want long term availability without thinking of refunding batchs, you must put a decent amount of money in the first place, so sell at a bigger price to cover it (one can't do this kind of hobby business only to lose money).

For digital releases, there is itch.io, there is K-Retro (for free ones), there is Project Argon, there is some other kind of solutions like Evercade (even if it seems it is hard to work with them).

 

[Giles N]

17 hours ago, Fadest said:

my games are 40€ each

If I may ask; which ones are those? Just fun to know… (I don’t have a ‘who’s who’ of Lynx homebrewers in my head)

 

17 hours ago, Fadest said:

If you want long term availability without thinking of refunding batchs, you must put a decent amount of money in the first place

I sort of get the stuff about investment money (for larger stocks), but wouldn’t it be possible to find a sweetspot of short and longterm, like - for example - if ones’ previous game of about the same quality/amount of work sold 250 copies in 2 years, couldn’t one make s rough ‘estimate’ to produce 300 ,where 250 is expected to sell in 2-3 years, the 50 extra are there in eshops to not let the title for forgotten, and still not end up in risky business?

[+swlovinist]

Thanks for the reminder and love for the Lynx.   Huge Road Blasters and Ninja Gaiden fan here among more.   

[Giles N]

1 hour ago, swlovinist said:

Thanks for the reminder and love for the Lynx.   Huge Road Blasters and Ninja Gaiden fan here among more.   

Perhaps you need to make a video for the occasion, listing your top 20 Lynx originals and top 20’himebrews (to show casual retro gamers that there is a homebrew scene, and then show the best of it…)?

 

 

[+swlovinist]

6 hours ago, Giles N said:

Perhaps you need to make a video for the occasion, listing your top 20 Lynx originals and top 20’himebrews (to show casual retro gamers that there is a homebrew scene, and then show the best of it…)?

 

 

I would love to, but a video like that is not on my schedule to do so.   Time is in short supply for me ATM.  

[Fadest]

11 hours ago, Giles N said:

If I may ask; which ones are those? Just fun to know… (I don’t have a ‘who’s who’ of Lynx homebrewers in my head)

Yastuna Games, the link is in my signature, the games I made/published are Asteroids Chasers, Raid on TriCity, Ynxa, Critter Championship (by Ninjabba), Vikings Saga (by Rygar), CSS Traffic Regulation, Ynxa Treasure Quest.
Only Ynxa sold over 150 units. Asteroids Chasers reached the 100 mark. Others are in the expected target of 80-100 sales (apart CSS which is still under and Treasure Quest which was only on preorder). 

 

Quote

I sort of get the stuff about investment money (for larger stocks), but wouldn’t it be possible to find a sweetspot of short and longterm, like - for example - if ones’ previous game of about the same quality/amount of work sold 250 copies in 2 years, couldn’t one make s rough ‘estimate’ to produce 300 ,where 250 is expected to sell in 2-3 years, the 50 extra are there in eshops to not let the title for forgotten, and still not end up in risky business?

250 games is a lot.
Making 150 packaging instead of 100 is a bit less than 50% cost increase (as there are some discount with quantity), and small quantities means bigger price per unit. Packaging cost has rised a lot since first releases (more than 40% up). One failure and the whole business can stop. And it is very easy to fail with GB games (far more expensive to produce than Lynx games, and lower sales due to too many releases).

[+karri]

I tried keeping a shop for my titles. But Covid + US postal disaster crippled things. I lost about 6 out of 10 shipments.

Giving away all binaries for free is a much better idea.

 

No problems with manufacturing/posting/complaints
And no losing money on lost shipments  

 

So what is the problem with availability? Just download the games and buy a SD cart.

 

Or if you happen to visit eJagfest I usually have some random copies of my old games...

[Giles N]

13 hours ago, karri said:

Just download the games and buy a SD cart.

Well, guess, I often like to assemble core-collections for my retro-systems. 

Any SD Cart solution that works for the Analogue Pocket (w/Adapter)?

 

—

 

I thunk I can see your point if I pretend to step into a producer-role…from that perspective, its way easier to go as digital as possible on these very physical systems.

Would’ve been cool if there was some (little) company simply doing printing/manufacturing and shipping, which all homebrewers could use for physical releases.

i don’t know if I get this right, but it sounds to me that very many homebrewes do every part themselves - from making the software to putting in the shippment mail…?

If homebrewing happens at regular basis, it must be more efficient to have the tasks more specialized - like, as said, having some go-to company which receives annually - or every second year, Lynx (and/or other Atari) homebrew-game binaries) which they then just put into production taking care of the processes of packaging, advertisement and shipment. It would most likely be some ‘community-based’ company (contra high-profit). Again, perhaps its just too small a thing, unless its some top-notch production, I dunno, but its like what AA-store used to do was pretty cool, but instead of one guy doing everything, why not have a circle of people who knows how to make it look professional, do the physical part? If its much a matter of license/ownership, heck perhaps folks like Songbird just should also provide publisher-service to homebrewers?

 

For someone like me, it feels more satisfying to get a physical cart in box with manual, than just download (fair enough, I’m pretty ‘retro’ in that regards) a binary, but it may be that if some SD-device will work with the Analogue I’ll get used to it (the original Lynx-screen is way too poor quality for me, even if it was great bitds).

 

Anyway, do you have your own site or do you publish your games at e-stores somewhere?

 

Which games have you made/participated on?

 

What was/is your favourite project…?

 

 

 

Edited September 21 by Giles N

[Giles N]

21 hours ago, swlovinist said:

I would love to, but a video like that is not on my schedule to do so.   Time is in short supply for me ATM.  

I didn’t mean like tomorrow or over the weekend; I meant by 2059… (if Civilizations hasn’t destroyed us by then…)

Edited September 21 by Giles N

[Giles N]

On 9/18/2024 at 9:24 PM, 4ever2600 said:

That's also assuming civilization hasn't destroyed itself... 😂 so we got that going for us...

…well, you know, in that case I’ll just post my top 35 Lynx Homebrew list from my private Semi-Indestructible Bunker… somewhere on Mars… to Earths remaining survivors 

If even that plan screws up, I’ll then resort to stretch out my arm outside the dimensional Gate of my, well, a-hem, - new home -, and drop it, not in a dropbox, but as a metaphysical lead obelisk Stela.

 

So… have no worries! It’ll come.

 

Edited September 21 by Giles N

[Giles N]

My Lynx collection readied for (attempted) playthroughs…

 

[yes, I use the Evercade for certain titles, and the Analogue Pocket serves as my Lynx-platform]

 

 

Loose cards in cardboard boxes may look harsh, but its very practical for easy select-and-pick gaming.

Perhaps I’ll get something nicer in the future. Right now I’m more like ‘get through as many of these as possible’ - just game-it.

Edited September 22 by Giles N

[+jgkspsx]

On 9/17/2024 at 9:45 PM, Giles N said:

34.Joust - is a classic, but methinks the birds have dined to well on this occasion, as it flaps it does indeed make for lift, but the creature we here speak of, is now beset with such incontinent momentum that it scarecely so want to turn back to that path onwhich all knightbearing fowl must take, which beseekest to sit on top of other fowl-riders effecting their swift meeting with the ground and the rock, and, lo, that other feathery rival now thrown into confusion, burdened to lay eggs… 
  —
Well, short version: cool game with deeply insane core concept (when I think about it), the birds are heavy to manouver, making it less enjoyable than it couid’ve been.
 —
Another theory: its Joust on a planet with gravity thats just a wee bit off…?
(I cannot get over this. I think need to find my bed soon)

Honestly the fast speed of the Lynx Joust makes it my favorite overall, even more than the arcade.

[Giles N]

3 hours ago, jgkspsx said:

Honestly the fast speed of the Lynx Joust makes it my favorite overall, even more than the arcade.

Its ok the birds accelerate fast, s bit more of a headache it takes so dang-much to turn them around… (perhaps the 1P bird could drop its egg, and improve aerodynamic weight?)

 

Anyway, its on my list and didn’t end up ‘down there’. 

[Giles N]

Yesterday I got in my mail:

 

Nice mixture of new games and original games (yes, many which I’ve been playing for years on the Evercade, but thought I’d add them to my Lynx-cart collection.)

 

Became quite a stack:

 

And, really, - man how the Lynx line-up now is towering in size, with the aftermarket years of production, compared to what it was during its ‘official run’.

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:31 PM by Giles N

[Giles N]

On 9/20/2024 at 2:20 PM, Fadest said:

Only Ynxa sold over 150 units.

I’m at it now. First impression is: very professionally made…

[Fadest]

Thanks you !

 

This poor Leaf has made a very long trip to reach you, from France to US to Norway 

[Giles N]

3 hours ago, Fadest said:

a very long trip to reach you, from France to US to Norway

Lols, just like BITDs, good Lynx-games must be hard to obtain…

Edited Wednesday at 02:04 PM by Giles N

[Giles N]

6 hours ago, Fadest said:

from France to US to Norway

Are most of (people involved with) Yastuna Games french-based, or are you producing by sending stuff to each other, someone then taking the task/role as producer?
 

Anyway - as I’m interested in old games, protos and new games, Songbird has proven to be a reliable source and to have a solid footing as to getting things to ones actual mailbox.

Edited Wednesday at 05:17 PM by Giles N