I'm one of the lucky ones. I once found a Lynx Model 2 at a local charity shop here in Australia. It only cost $5AU, and came in a nifty carrying case with two games. And it still works perfectly!
Thanks LK. I was one of the few who had parents cool enough to buy me one. Well, they bought me the Lynx II which according to Wikipedia came out at $99. I did however love the system (was probably 11 at the time). I played Warbirds and Ninja Gaiden non-stop. Only one angry memory from my childhood was a year later, neighbors borrowed, then broke my lynx. Never was able to get it fixed. I'm still mad at them to this day for that.
The multiple A and B buttons are mainly for left-handers. Notice you can hold the bottom two "right" side selection buttons in tandem to flip the screen, and so if you do, you'll flip the Lynx and have a left-handed Lynx!
In 1989 the Atari Lynx was insanely powerful for a handheld and being released before the Game Gear it was the first ever color backlight handheld of all time! But like most Atari products in the mid 80's to 90's bad advertising, management and 3rd party relations killed the Lynx. The company that built the Lynx (Epyx) originally tried to sell the design to Nintendo but Nintendo turned it down. Imagine the color screen and power of the Lynx with Nintendo and their 3rd party devs behind it!
I remember when these first came out. The games were pretty cool. I ran a computer store that sold the computers that the developers had to use to write the games for this. The computers they had to use were Commodore Amigas. This can also be confirmed by the Lynx wiki entry.
I'm a big fan of Atari and have most of their consoles - including a 5200!! I have 2 Lynx handhelds - one doesn't work, unfortunately! The only game I have is Chip's Challenge, though! Mark, I really like your system reviews and you do make me laugh with your humour! You obviously know your stuff and I always feel, after a review of yours, WOW, I didn't know that!! Thanks, your lordship!!
Hi! Thanx for your comment! I got the 5200 with 3 controllers and a few games - just carts! I don't have it running at the moment and have only powered it on! Think I paid about £26 when I bought it on Ebay!
My favorite Atari Lynx game was Warbirds (1991), a WW1 biplane game, best played between two people with linked Lynxes (connect with a wire). The Lynx has the ability to link up with three other people, allowing each player to fly a separate plane. Each player has a first-person perspective of the game. I wish the PSP or PS Vita had a warplane dogfighting game.
love the Lynx!! Just modded my screen last night for it with the McWill screen. Its awesome! Not something everyone needs since the lynx original screen still works for most people but it does make a huge difference.
Atari Lynx is one of the first video game handhelds with a color screen, which other systems like the Game Gear and later Game Boy Color also got color screens.
It really only had 2 buttons that you needed to work with. The "bottom" buttons were only there so a left handed person could flip the machine and play with the same functionality. Great system.
My brother got one of these and got a Game Gear. The Lynx was actually pretty good and had solid games. It had a pretty good port of the Ninja Gaiden arcade game.
The Lynx had an awesome graphics chip that treated everything as a sprite, and could scale and rotate and overlay sprites in hardware - capabilities that even the 16-bit home consoles didn't have.
I use rechargeables in my lynx, and I love it. It's a highly underrated system! Get the batteries that are rated at least 2000mah, and they'll last all day on a charge. I actually have 2 sets of batteries, so I never have to go without the awesomeness!
There are many alternatives to the battery problem- 1 AC adapter if U R not taking it anywhere. 2 Rechargeable AA batteries. All U have to do is stick them in the charger when they die. 3 A rechargeable battery pack if available for the Lynx. Those R my solutions to the battery problem.
I grew up in those times with Atari 2600 and Atari Lynx, but I didn't have my own consoles. Now I'm collecting them again. The Atari Jaguar is also affordable.
I know how Mark gets his voice to sound so perfect now!! He's been using a stage 3, intergalactic voice enhancement and repercussion Atari microphone; running it inline with the Lynx gives it enough power to transmit to earth, synchronizing with the harmonic frequencies of the universe between us and his space station!! Very clever Mark.... I'm onto you.
Awesome review Mark! Picked up one of these a last month, wonderful system. Some games you should get are California Games and Warbirds. Keep those Lynx game reviews coming!
Man, I met a guy named Mohammad from Qatar on RuneScape back in 2006 or so, and i've always wondered if it's the same hardcore gamer that contributes to CGR
Lynx was awesome. One of my friends had one and I was jealous as hell. I'd have rather had my Game Boy over a Game Gear, but I'd have given up my GB in a heartbeat for a Lynx.
Exactly. I get so sick of NES fanboys who attack the Lynx when the Lynx had superior arcade conversions to the NES Junk conversions like Double Dragon. I loved Ninja Gaiden. Imagine if Atari had third party developers like Konami etc
ojideagu arcade-perfect contra port? absolutely. same with super contra and other hits like silkworm, wrestlefest (by technos), bad dudes, i can go on. it would have been amazing.
This review inspired me to get a Lynx. And days later I found a Lynx I in a locally owned retro game shop. They only had four games for it, but three of them were ones I quite like. Checkered Flag, Hockey and RoadBlasters. Fuck Hard Drivin though. The whole unit is in amazing condition, especially the screen. Not a scuff on the shell either. The only imperfection is some discoloration on the cartridge slot door. I feel very fucking lucky.
I just got my lynx in the mail today, it was much better than i thought it would be and the screen was not faded, unlike my game gear. The statements Mark made about the lynx are correct and are just how i feel about the device. I highly recommend the lynx.
Liking the new reviewing setting. I used to have a lynx but found it a bit dull when I was a toddler... What was wrong with me it's a beast from the future! Nintendo didn't even have a colour backlit screen until late into the gba's life...
I just scored Lynx on Craigslist for 30 bucks, in like new condition, with 10 games! So I had to go back and watch this review. I love finding deals like that, especially since they're going for about a hundred bucks on ebay.
You really shouldn't mix rechargeable and alkaline batteries. The output voltage is lower for rechargeables (1.2v vs. 1.5v) which increases the draw on the batteries, thus lowering battery life. Also, you'll keep pulling power from the rechargeables long after they're dead because the alkalines will keep going, increasing the likelihood that the rechargeable batteries will "explode" (leak).
I like it. I have it in the case up on my bedroom closet shelf now. It is fun, and with headphones, the sound is good. One thing, you could flip it for controls, so left hand people could easily play it as well. Unique, I think.
My friends and I in the early '90s played a lot of Warbirds, a WW1 air combat game developed in 1991 for the Atari Lynx. Fly a campaign or head-to-head against a friend linked to your Lynx. Plug those Lynxes in to a power outlet and prove your mettle in the air!
there are 2 couples of the 2 same buttons (A and B). And one of the option button near the screen put the video on the screen upside down. So you can play the Lynx in both way: using the d-pad on the right or the left hand. The same feature was after copied by Nintendo in designing the infamous Virtual Boy controller (lol)
The reason it eats batteries so fast like the Gamegear is that blasted light. Swap that light with an LED lighting kit and the battery life improves dramatically. Many tubers have videos on the subject. The risk of getting several hours more life is worth it.
Adored my Lynx back in the day esp Warbirds and Viking Child. As I remember, the system wasn't as well built as the game boy and mine stopped working too quickly. My GB lasted forever.
I loved the Atari Lynx! I'm pretty sure I had version two when it came out. When I went on trips, it was always in at my side with its carry case, and my small library of cartridges. (I always took the power adaptor with me, because I knew it was a battery killer. :) ) I loved Lynx more than I did the Nintendo GameBoy. My favorite game on Lynx was Steel Talons, which was not too bad a translation from the arcade game. My only lament was that the Lynx version was single player only. (The arcade version was a twin unit, with flight stick and collective, and you could play solo, or deathmatch against a friend in the other side of the unit.) I had Steel Talons, Xybots, and Football. Another thing I loved about the Lynx was that you could hook up to four (I think, perhaps even eight of them) in link mode with a pretty unique link cable so you could play multiplayer games. (Alas, I only ever knew one other person in my neck of the woods at the time who also owned a Lynx.) I also loved the fact that the four A/B buttons were there to accommodate right and left-handed players. (Hence the little "Flip" screen button in the inner controls). I loved how the Lynx played three ways... Left handed, Right handed in its horizontal orientation, and then vertical for games like Football. It was a great little system that was hamstrung by lack-luster marketing.
I remember buying one of these back in about 91/92 for £40 new ($80), it was in a different league to the gameboy, but not as 'trendy'. Wish I had never sold it, never did finish Bill and Ted on it!
I had one, I’m 43 years old, Are used to love the surfing game (I forget the name). Thinking about it you could only do about five or six different moves but it was pretty cool then.
The Lynx is also the only system I know of where you can flip the controls for right-handed use. Also, it should be mentioned that with the original version of the Lynx, it was a royal pain in the ass to get the game cartridges out. That was one of the things they changed with the second version. For anyone wanting to emulate the Lynx, forget Handy and get a copy of Mednafen. There's no GUI, but it plays the games much better than Handy.
![ทุกครั้งที่หลับตา (Lucid Dream) - AYLA's [ Official MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4i1OBAQyv58/mqdefault.jpg)
I'm one of the lucky ones. I once found a Lynx Model 2 at a local charity shop here in Australia. It only cost $5AU, and came in a nifty carrying case with two games. And it still works perfectly!
I found one at a local fleamarket with Batman Returns here in the states for $8 several years back.
@@dad7275 Hesus Christo that game was solid
Thanks LK. I was one of the few who had parents cool enough to buy me one. Well, they bought me the Lynx II which according to Wikipedia came out at $99. I did however love the system (was probably 11 at the time). I played Warbirds and Ninja Gaiden non-stop. Only one angry memory from my childhood was a year later, neighbors borrowed, then broke my lynx. Never was able to get it fixed. I'm still mad at them to this day for that.
Lynx was criminally overlooked and underrated. Thing was a powerhouse and had a fantastic library. Makes me want to get one again!
Rasberry Pi it and you get shader options too
The multiple A and B buttons are mainly for left-handers. Notice you can hold the bottom two "right" side selection buttons in tandem to flip the screen, and so if you do, you'll flip the Lynx and have a left-handed Lynx!
Wow, I didn't know that's what they were for, that's pretty cool.
In 1989 the Atari Lynx was insanely powerful for a handheld and being released before the Game Gear it was the first ever color backlight handheld of all time! But like most Atari products in the mid 80's to 90's bad advertising, management and 3rd party relations killed the Lynx. The company that built the Lynx (Epyx) originally tried to sell the design to Nintendo but Nintendo turned it down. Imagine the color screen and power of the Lynx with Nintendo and their 3rd party devs behind it!
I had the AC adapter with my Lynx and only played it in my room. It was a beautiful handheld system and I wish it would have enjoyed more success.
It's weird when he talks about being a kid, around the same time I was when the Lynx was out. He looks and seems much older than me.
Don't smoke, it's a joke!
ClassicCommercials4U I think he was born around 1973 or so.
+TheCRTman i like your videos
Its the Godly voice that does it, what an amazing voice XD
Beer and smoking will do that.
Mark, this is one of your best reviews so far. You managed to go into great detail about the Atari Lynx in just five minutes or less.
I loved the Lynx. I must've went through hundreds of batteries playing California games
I remember when these first came out. The games were pretty cool. I ran a computer store that sold the computers that the developers had to use to write the games for this. The computers they had to use were Commodore Amigas. This can also be confirmed by the Lynx wiki entry.
Loving your Unicron on the shelf in the background!
I LOVE the way this guy talks. He's funny and he does good reviews! Keep it up dude!
I still have the original Lynx and Lynx 2 , and 40 games , great system for its time and still one of my favs to play to this day
I have both consoles aswell and 15 games. They are epic
This thing is still 10X better than the Virtual Boy.
I'm a big fan of Atari and have most of their consoles - including a 5200!! I have 2 Lynx handhelds - one doesn't work, unfortunately! The only game I have is Chip's Challenge, though! Mark, I really like your system reviews and you do make me laugh with your humour! You obviously know your stuff and I always feel, after a review of yours, WOW, I didn't know that!! Thanks, your lordship!!
If u have a 5200, then you must really LOVE Atari
Hi! Thanx for your comment! I got the 5200 with 3 controllers and a few games - just carts! I don't have it running at the moment and have only powered it on! Think I paid about £26 when I bought it on Ebay!
cool!
I used to have an Atary Lynx II... It was so badass; played so much Double Dragon on it :)
This is how a console review should be done... Love the shots with the parts of the collection and the pinball machine in the background :D
My favorite Atari Lynx game was Warbirds (1991), a WW1 biplane game, best played between two people with linked Lynxes (connect with a wire). The Lynx has the ability to link up with three other people, allowing each player to fly a separate plane. Each player has a first-person perspective of the game. I wish the PSP or PS Vita had a warplane dogfighting game.
I'm still waiting for the Atari Snow Leopard.
love the Lynx!! Just modded my screen last night for it with the McWill screen. Its awesome! Not something everyone needs since the lynx original screen still works for most people but it does make a huge difference.
Atari Lynx is one of the first video game handhelds with a color screen, which other systems like the Game Gear and later Game Boy Color also got color screens.
It really only had 2 buttons that you needed to work with. The "bottom" buttons were only there so a left handed person could flip the machine and play with the same functionality.
Great system.
My brother got one of these and got a Game Gear. The Lynx was actually pretty good and had solid games. It had a pretty good port of the Ninja Gaiden arcade game.
Once again, mark has reviewed a game console that I have never herd of but can still make it sound interesting.
The Lynx had an awesome graphics chip that treated everything as a sprite, and could scale and rotate and overlay sprites in hardware - capabilities that even the 16-bit home consoles didn't have.
The lynx kicks arse. So much fun to play and collect for. You'll need to buy some good games for it.
i love how optimistic and real you are about video games in general.
F***ing amazing reviews!!! I've found my old game gear in the attic yesterday and I never thought that old game console are so cool.
I use rechargeables in my lynx, and I love it. It's a highly underrated system! Get the batteries that are rated at least 2000mah, and they'll last all day on a charge. I actually have 2 sets of batteries, so I never have to go without the awesomeness!
The Lynx was awesome, yes it destroyed batteries and was big....but was many years ahead of any other mobile game system in color & graphics.
still got mine, powered it up (from the wall adapter) the other month and it worked fine
The Atari Lynx.
The "Galaxy Note 3" or "Xperia Z Ultra" of 1990's handhelds.
@BASIL!!!!! The pumpin' Seagull experia fails
There are many alternatives to the battery problem-
1 AC adapter if U R not taking it anywhere.
2 Rechargeable AA batteries. All U have to do is stick them in the charger when they die.
3 A rechargeable battery pack if available for the Lynx.
Those R my solutions to the battery problem.
I grew up in those times with Atari 2600 and Atari Lynx, but I didn't have my own consoles.
Now I'm collecting them again. The Atari Jaguar is also affordable.
Yes yall finally made a review for this consoles
I like this new format for system reviews, Mark.
I know how Mark gets his voice to sound so perfect now!!
He's been using a stage 3, intergalactic voice enhancement and repercussion Atari microphone; running it inline with the Lynx gives it enough power to transmit to earth, synchronizing with the harmonic frequencies of the universe between us and his space station!!
Very clever Mark.... I'm onto you.
Wow is that a game room behind you! I would love to get my hands on a lynx some day.
I love my Lynx 2 now modded with a beautiful lcd screen.
Awesome review Mark! Picked up one of these a last month, wonderful system. Some games you should get are California Games and Warbirds. Keep those Lynx game reviews coming!
Man, I met a guy named Mohammad from Qatar on RuneScape back in 2006 or so, and i've always wondered if it's the same hardcore gamer that contributes to CGR
its a pretty common name
I had one. It was ahead of its time
Lynx was awesome. One of my friends had one and I was jealous as hell. I'd have rather had my Game Boy over a Game Gear, but I'd have given up my GB in a heartbeat for a Lynx.
Bought a Lynx II recently and a bunch of games. Waiting for it to come..
Oh, it's awesome. All the games i own are amazing.
double dragon and ninja gaiden were very good arcade conversions. REAL arcade ports, not butchered up junk like on NES
Exactly. I get so sick of NES fanboys who attack the Lynx when the Lynx had superior arcade conversions to the NES Junk conversions like Double Dragon. I loved Ninja Gaiden. Imagine if Atari had third party developers like Konami etc
ojideagu arcade-perfect contra port? absolutely. same with super contra and other hits like silkworm, wrestlefest (by technos), bad dudes, i can go on. it would have been amazing.
ojideagu NES fanboys? You can't be serious? Aren't there just people who enjoy classic games/consoles without behaving like a bunch of school kids?
Lynx II did have really slick industrial design for being such a beast.
This review inspired me to get a Lynx. And days later I found a Lynx I in a locally owned retro game shop. They only had four games for it, but three of them were ones I quite like. Checkered Flag, Hockey and RoadBlasters. Fuck Hard Drivin though.
The whole unit is in amazing condition, especially the screen. Not a scuff on the shell either. The only imperfection is some discoloration on the cartridge slot door. I feel very fucking lucky.
Love the Gottlieb machine in the background! :)
my dad brought me one when i was born in 1989 and gave it me on my 3rd birthday with rampage god i miss that game
I remeber wanting to buy it in 1989 but my parents could not afford it.
"Insert game output fun"
Damn, I gotta use that phrase sometime!
I just got my lynx in the mail today, it was much better than i thought it would be and the screen was not faded, unlike my game gear. The statements Mark made about the lynx are correct and are just how i feel about the device. I highly recommend the lynx.
Area51UFOGynaecology rechargeable batteries?
I never noticed that Transformers: Armada Unicron behind you on the shelf.
I played my lynx until the dpad died. Rygar was my favorite
Liking the new reviewing setting. I used to have a lynx but found it a bit dull when I was a toddler... What was wrong with me it's a beast from the future! Nintendo didn't even have a colour backlit screen until late into the gba's life...
I just scored Lynx on Craigslist for 30 bucks, in like new condition, with 10 games! So I had to go back and watch this review. I love finding deals like that, especially since they're going for about a hundred bucks on ebay.
You really shouldn't mix rechargeable and alkaline batteries. The output voltage is lower for rechargeables (1.2v vs. 1.5v) which increases the draw on the batteries, thus lowering battery life. Also, you'll keep pulling power from the rechargeables long after they're dead because the alkalines will keep going, increasing the likelihood that the rechargeable batteries will "explode" (leak).
I like it. I have it in the case up on my bedroom closet shelf now. It is fun, and with headphones, the sound is good. One thing, you could flip it for controls, so left hand people could easily play it as well. Unique, I think.
I still have one in perfect working order plus 8 games.....I still play it every once in a while
Don't you just love the "Dirty Larry Renegade Cop" cover at 2:37 ? he's showing you the badge but also shooting at you hahaha, "FREEZE!!".
The Lynx was the only when with a true port of the Ninja Gaiden arcade game.
My favorite Atari Lynx games were Zarlor Mercenary, California Games, Paperboy, Ninja Gaiden, & Rampage.
I remember playing the heck out of California Games on my cousin's Lynx way back in the day. Even then I thought this thing was a monster.
My friends and I in the early '90s played a lot of Warbirds, a WW1 air combat game developed in 1991 for the Atari Lynx. Fly a campaign or head-to-head against a friend linked to your Lynx. Plug those Lynxes in to a power outlet and prove your mettle in the air!
These are the reviews you should be making (I dont mind the other guy) but I miss you doing solo reviews with your sarcastic sense of humor....
Wish I had one of these back in the day. But not over having a gameboy
a lynx in one pocket, a game gear in the other, and a nomad in your hands.
I saw unicron in the background get excited when you said devour.
This review might make me get one for my birthday...AWWWWWW YEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Lynx and Game Gear were both released a little bit before the technology was ready.
These did sell well in australia, I remember that the lynx2 with a game was half the price of my gameboy when I brought it, 120 bucks
there are 2 couples of the 2 same buttons (A and B). And one of the option button near the screen put the video on the screen upside down. So you can play the Lynx in both way: using the d-pad on the right or the left hand. The same feature was after copied by Nintendo in designing the infamous Virtual Boy controller (lol)
The reason it eats batteries so fast like the Gamegear is that blasted light.
Swap that light with an LED lighting kit and the battery life improves dramatically.
Many tubers have videos on the subject. The risk of getting several hours more life is worth it.
Will you make a video on Atari Lynx model one? That one was even bigger than this
Portible 16bit system with a backlighted color screen and digital sound, all possible on the go in 1989!!!
The Lynx is only 8 bit.
DejaVoodooDoll With even more imagination, it got better grafhics than the pc masterrace!
I loved the Lynx, one of my favorite handhelds. I know, sue me.
I really wanna get another Lynx 2, it was soo good!
Thank you man greetings from peru
Yes the lynx can be plugged in. It did come with an AC adaptor
Awesome background! Did the CGR Space Station raid a video game pirate vessel?
I had one, they were state of the art back then
I ended up picking up one of these for five dollars at an op-shop, with two games and a carry case to store them in. Very convenient and lucky.
i found one of these in my cuboard and had quite a few games for it, its pretty damn sweet
Adored my Lynx back in the day esp Warbirds and Viking Child. As I remember, the system wasn't as well built as the game boy and mine stopped working too quickly. My GB lasted forever.
I remember when this was advertised! I was like holycrap colourscreen!
The a and b button on the bottom are or lefthanded, you can flip the screen !
Another beast that runs on the B-6 Engine!
I loved the Atari Lynx! I'm pretty sure I had version two when it came out. When I went on trips, it was always in at my side with its carry case, and my small library of cartridges. (I always took the power adaptor with me, because I knew it was a battery killer. :) ) I loved Lynx more than I did the Nintendo GameBoy. My favorite game on Lynx was Steel Talons, which was not too bad a translation from the arcade game. My only lament was that the Lynx version was single player only. (The arcade version was a twin unit, with flight stick and collective, and you could play solo, or deathmatch against a friend in the other side of the unit.) I had Steel Talons, Xybots, and Football. Another thing I loved about the Lynx was that you could hook up to four (I think, perhaps even eight of them) in link mode with a pretty unique link cable so you could play multiplayer games. (Alas, I only ever knew one other person in my neck of the woods at the time who also owned a Lynx.) I also loved the fact that the four A/B buttons were there to accommodate right and left-handed players. (Hence the little "Flip" screen button in the inner controls). I loved how the Lynx played three ways... Left handed, Right handed in its horizontal orientation, and then vertical for games like Football. It was a great little system that was hamstrung by lack-luster marketing.
yay! the return of the original CGR the way we like it! mohammed from qatar and mark solo!
Backlit color screen? Damn, it was way ahead of its time!
I remember buying one of these back in about 91/92 for £40 new ($80), it was in a different league to the gameboy, but not as 'trendy'. Wish I had never sold it, never did finish Bill and Ted on it!
i was looking for psp review i saw atari lynx heleaves me satisfied every time.
I had one, I’m 43 years old, Are used to love the surfing game (I forget the name). Thinking about it you could only do about five or six different moves but it was pretty cool then.
The surfing game was California Games.
The Lynx is also the only system I know of where you can flip the controls for right-handed use. Also, it should be mentioned that with the original version of the Lynx, it was a royal pain in the ass to get the game cartridges out. That was one of the things they changed with the second version.
For anyone wanting to emulate the Lynx, forget Handy and get a copy of Mednafen. There's no GUI, but it plays the games much better than Handy.
Mark, what's that computer to your 7 o'clock in that video? I like the o'scope styled display, and I don't recognize it... is it a Commodore?
Loved my Lynx.
I came looking for a PS VITA review
I got the ATARI LYNX review.
I LEFT SATISFIED.
Finally, I actually requested this
Ha, we ladies can’t even fit our spare change in our pockets. As AVGN puts it: “Portable? My ass is portable!"
Zero Cool True, but if I had a Lynx, it wouldn't leave much recourse for days when I don't want to carry that big ass purse everywhere.
I remember when I had California games for this one
I wanna shake hands with Muhammad! Amazing guy,he is. Thank you for your amazing donations and letting Mark review them!