Jeremy Parish

Game Boy Works Gaiden: Atari Lynx 1990, Pt. 1 of 3 (Patreon)

Published:

2020-08-12 14:00:00

Imported:

2024-04

Tags:

atari lynx game boy works gaiden gauntlet

Content

This brings us halfway to bringing Lynx's release chronology up to date where we are with Game Boy—a little sad, innit? The system just didn't have all that much software support; going by the title screen credits, these four releases were programmed by most of the same Epyx and Atari folks responsible for the 1989 lineup. That's a lot of games for a few people to handle!

Bearing that in mind, though, these are pretty strong releases. All four are based on Atari Games arcade properties, mostly, and all but Gauntlet are damn fine conversions that make great use of the Lynx's capabilities while working within its restrictions. These and the other eight Lynx releases from 1990 probably weren't really enough to justify owning the system for most kids, but fans of high-energy arcade releases would have found a lot to enjoy about the system.

Provided they had a very large battery budget, of course.

Files

Lynx 1990 (1 of 3): Paperboy / Klax / Roadblasters / Gauntlet Third Encounter | GB Works Gaiden #07

Our first of third Lynx overviews for 1990 looks at the system's own home-brewed arcade legacy... well, sort of. Here, arcade titles by Atari Games (the game design company) make their way to a system distributed by Atari Corp. (the home computer company). Does the close connection between the two make for memorable coin-op conversions, or is Atari's post-crash selloff a rift that could never be repaired? Spoilers: It's the former. These are some excellent handheld adaptations of several popular arcade releases from the late ’80s, performing at a technical level that far outstrips anything the Game Boy or Game Gear could manage. The one exception to this rule is the one arcade sequel (sort of) that was originally developed by Epyx as a completely different property. (It shows.) Video Works is funded via Patreon (http://www.patreon.com/gamespite) — support the show and get access to every episode up to two weeks in advance of its YouTube debut! And be sure to check out the Retronauts podcast (http://www.retronauts.com), where I (and many others!) tackle a much wider array of classic gaming topics each week.