Yak Posted December 12, 2001 Share Posted December 12, 2001 ...that "Robotron" on the Lynx, written aeons ago on ancient hardware, is a far better version than "Robotron" in "Midway's Greatest Hits" for the Game Boy Advance. (:-) - Yak (I love my Robotron.) / Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted December 12, 2001 Share Posted December 12, 2001 .... which once again proves my theory: The Atari Lynx is the best handheld system ever. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nukey Shay Posted December 12, 2001 Share Posted December 12, 2001 Not bad. How about "don't fix something that's not broken"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted December 12, 2001 Share Posted December 12, 2001 As a owner of an actual working Atari Lynx system, I have to agree with Ze_ro that the Lynx is the best handheld system ever created. I have sent the new Gameboy Advance except for a small display in a store. I couldn't believe how tiny it was. I wonder if it is sturdy enough to last several years or given its small size, that it might break from lots of use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretwobbler Posted December 12, 2001 Share Posted December 12, 2001 Post from Ze_ro - quote The Atari Lynx is the best handheld system ever. Technically its very astute and the games are great but do you not find the name 'handheld' a bit false, not the smallest beast is it. Still put it next to a gamegear (doesn't even deserve a capital letter) and its like parking a Ferrari next to a....,a......,a.......well a crap car. Adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 13, 2001 Share Posted December 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by AtariDude: As a owner of an actual working Atari Lynx system, I have to agree with Ze_ro that the Lynx is the best handheld system ever created. I have sent the new Gameboy Advance except for a small display in a store. I couldn't believe how tiny it was. I wonder if it is sturdy enough to last several years or given its small size, that it might break from lots of use. While the Lynx was great for its time and continued to be better than most handhelds for a good while, I think the Gameboy Advance has finally eclipsed the Lynx. Just seeing Doom running on the GBA was enough to convince me of that. The major downside to the GBA is the fact that it does not yet have a backlit screen. I say "yet", because I've been told that Nintendo has demonstrated backlit GBAs to developers, plus several other parties are working on creating a more viable lighting solution. The GBA has many things going for it, and its small size is one of them. The Lynx is huge in comparison, especially the original model. Sure, it's comfortable, but you're not going to slip it into your pocket like you can the GBA. Battery life is immensely better than the Lynx, although this can partly be attributed to the lack of a backlit screen. The networking also works very well on the GBA, much more reliable than the Lynx networking. Plus most (all?) games only require *one* person to own the cartridge, which is a wonderful and surprising accomplishment. I say surprising because most companies wouldn't want you to do this because they can sell more cartridges if they force everyone playing the game to buy it. And of course the GBA has excellent developer support, unlike the Lynx in its, uhmm, heyday. So you'll be seeing tons of great GBA titles for a long time to come. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 13, 2001 Share Posted December 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Yak: ...that "Robotron" on the Lynx, written aeons ago on ancient hardware, is a far better version than "Robotron" in "Midway's Greatest Hits" for the Game Boy Advance. That's unfortunate, as I was looking forward to picking it up. How are the other games? I have to attribute this to laziness on the part of the programmers, I can't see why Robotron couldn't be as good as if not better than the Lynx version, especially with its higher resolution.. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hakogame 箱亀 Posted December 13, 2001 Share Posted December 13, 2001 About the single cart link play of the Gameboy advance, it only works for games that require little data. Larger, more complex games need more than 1 cart for the link play. It's easy to incorporate the link play on Gameboy advance, but very difficult to make 2 or more systems run off of the same cart, that's why you don't see alot of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 13, 2001 Share Posted December 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Raccoon Lad: About the single cart link play of the Gameboy advance, it only works for games that require little data. Larger, more complex games need more than 1 cart for the link play. It's easy to incorporate the link play on Gameboy advance, but very difficult to make 2 or more systems run off of the same cart, that's why you don't see alot of it. Now I'm curious which games do and which games don't support using a single cart. Most of the ones I've seen allow you to play off a single cart, including Doom. But I haven't bought a ton of GBA games yet since I can't stand the screen and I'm waiting for a decent lighting solution to present itself. So it could just be that those games I have support this feature and everything else out there doesn't. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhindle The Red Posted December 13, 2001 Share Posted December 13, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Albert: How are the other games? Unfortunately, they are all pretty weak. The argument about Robotron is just as true of my favorite from these games: Joust. The Lynx version is immeasurably better. And that's without mentioning the Lynx's ability to play a one player game as player two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 Yes, the GBA has finally outdone the Lynx... but it took a damn long time for a better handheld to come out. And even though the GBA is more powerful, and has a bigger screen, and is smaller and all... there's still some stuff that the Lynx can do that hasn't been done: 1. Flip-Screen support for left/right handed play. Not to mention the number of vertical games out there like Gauntlet. I know that some WonderSwan games are played vertically, but that's the closest I've seen to this being done elsewhere. Sure, it may not be terribly useful, but it's good sometimes if your thumb is sore (I can play either way), perhaps if a button breaks, or if you just want an extra challenge. 2. Backlight with a switch... at least in the Lynx II. Has any other handheld done this? 3. 8-player link capability... although I don't think you'll find many chances to play 8 player Lynx games. Does the GBA max out at 4, or did they increase this? Plus, I think the screen is actually still larger on the Lynx than the GBA... the Lynx seems more comfortable to me (Apparently, I have gorrilla hands or something), and the GBA is the only system with smaller cartridges. The Lynx may have been beat, but it's still got a lot of fight in it. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 quoteAbout the single cart link play of the Gameboy advance, it only works for games that require little data. Larger, more complex games need more than 1 cart for the link play. It's easy to incorporate the link play on Gameboy advance, but very difficult to make 2 or more systems run off of the same cart, that's why you don't see alot of it. Multiplayer games that only use 1 cart are normally only one track and the same car for everyone (F-Zero) add more carts and the tracks and cars increase, presumably being able to handle more data with more carts, though if 2 people had carts and 2 didn't thats still more data being transfered to the other GBA's than with 1 cart, how much RAM does the GBA have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 Well it might be true that the Gameboy Advance is better than the Lynx(I haven't seen an actual working model), why did it take so long to top it? You would have thought that a company as large as Nintendo is would have made something more advanced at least 3 or 4 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Songbird Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Albert: While the Lynx was great for its time and continued to be better than most handhelds for a good while, I think the Gameboy Advance has finally eclipsed the Lynx. Just seeing Doom running on the GBA was enough to convince me of that. I don't think anyone will dispute that the GBA has equivalent and even superior hardware -- it can rotate and scale sprites, the Lynx can rotate. It's got a faster CPU, more RAM, more colors onscreen, more video modes, higher resolution, etc. Still pretty cool to think the Lynx had several polygon-based games way back 8-10 years ago, and the GBA just came out this summer. quote: The GBA has many things going for it, and its small size is one of them. The Lynx is huge in comparison, especially the original model. Sure, it's comfortable, but you're not going to slip it into your pocket like you can the GBA. Battery life is immensely better than the Lynx, although this can partly be attributed to the lack of a backlit screen. I think it can be entirely attributed to the lack of a backlit screen. The Lynx has a pretty hefty light inside. Contrast this to the white LED solutions that may become available for a backlit GBA -- they provide a decent amount of light at a fraction of the power of a traditional bulb. True, the Lynx is large, but I've found that unless you're taking just the unit and one game, you're going to have a carry case anyway with all your peripherals. So I don't find the Lynx case + games + battery pack a difficult item to lug on trips. quote: The networking also works very well on the GBA, much more reliable than the Lynx networking. Now this I really have to take issue with. Which Lynx games have you tried in multiplayer and had problems with? I have NEVER seen ANY Lynx game lock up in its networking, and I've played 4-6 players in these games: Xenophobe, Checkered Flag, Champ Rally, BattleWheels, Slime World. Pretty incredible that the Lynx could hack this way back in 1989. I have seen the occasional Lynx game slow down with lots of players -- Xenophobe comes to mind -- but the game is still excellent and fast enough. And in fairness, I have read at least one or two pocket.ign.com GBA reviews that also indicate some GBA games slow down with multiplayer. quote: Plus most (all?) games only require *one* person to own the cartridge, which is a wonderful and surprising accomplishment. I say surprising because most companies wouldn't want you to do this because they can sell more cartridges if they force everyone playing the game to buy it. It was a somewhat surprising move by Nintendo, and one that Atari had originally contemplated with the Lynx years ago. Only one Lynx game has this feature (Othello). However, as someone else has pointed out, most GBA games that support the one-cart multiple-player feature restrict your options, like F-Zero (one car, one track). This is because of RAM restrictions with the link port. And I don't think there are as many games out there with the one-cart feature as you suggest. So I think they're really using it as a try-before-you-buy feature. If only one person has the cart, two can play the game together in a limited fashion. But if you buy a second cart, now you REALLY get to have fun. quote: And of course the GBA has excellent developer support, unlike the Lynx in its, uhmm, heyday. So you'll be seeing tons of great GBA titles for a long time to come. ..Al This I absolutely agree with. The GBA is here to stay, and it's actually a very nice piece of hardware. Some of the games look great so far, and it will continue to receive excellent support. Al, don't take my comments too personally! You know I've got to defend the Lynx. And clear up any misconceptions about the Lynx hardware vs. GBA hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Posted December 26, 2001 Share Posted December 26, 2001 quoteI think it can be entirely attributed to the lack of a backlit screen. The Lynx has a pretty hefty light inside. Contrast this to the white LED solutions that may become available for a backlit GBA -- they provide a decent amount of light at a fraction of the power of a traditional bulb. I agree, the backlight for the Lynx is what kills the battery life. But I'm willing to bet that the Gameboy's CPU is a bit more power-efficient than the Lynx's. I guess once Nintendo finally decides to release their backlit GBA, we'll have a better idea for how the two systems fare under more equal footing. There is someone working to replace the power-sucking backlight on the Lynx with white LEDs. quoteTrue, the Lynx is large, but I've found that unless you're taking just the unit and one game, you're going to have a carry case anyway with all your peripherals. So I don't find the Lynx case + games + battery pack a difficult item to lug on trips. True, if you're taking it on a trip it's not too cumbersome. But it's certainly not as convenient as a GBA. My GBA fits in a carrying case, including about 8 games and a Link cable, that's smaller than an actual Lynx II. quoteNow this I really have to take issue with. Which Lynx games have you tried in multiplayer and had problems with? I have NEVER seen ANY Lynx game lock up in its networking, and I've played 4-6 players in these games: Xenophobe, Checkered Flag, Champ Rally, BattleWheels, Slime World. Pretty incredible that the Lynx could hack this way back in 1989. I'll give you this point, in it's been some time since I've networked multiple Lynx units together. Certainly this was an impressive feat given Atari did it over ten years ago, major kudos to them. I remember having lots of problems with California Games and Gauntlet III. I haven't tried networking the other games you listed above (maybe Slimeworld, since that was one of the original Lynx titles, but I don't remember). quoteSo I think they're really using it as a try-before-you-buy feature. If only one person has the cart, two can play the game together in a limited fashion. But if you buy a second cart, now you REALLY get to have fun. I'll need to experiment with a few games to see what happens with and without a second cart. It would be interesting if games behave differently based on the presence of multiple carts vs. just one. Certainly more work on the part of the developer. Nonetheless, it is a cool feature and one I'm glad to see they included. quoteAl, don't take my comments too personally! You know I've got to defend the Lynx. And clear up any misconceptions about the Lynx hardware vs. GBA hardware. Sorry if you thought I was taking your comments personally, perhaps I should have used a few more smileys. ..Al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_ruck Posted December 26, 2001 Share Posted December 26, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Yak: ...that "Robotron" on the Lynx, written aeons ago on ancient hardware, is a far better version than "Robotron" in "Midway's Greatest Hits" for the Game Boy Advance. (:-) - Yak (I love my Robotron.) / That's what happens when you only spend a few weeks developing the titles you're trying to make a quick buck from. There's no reason that the Lynx version should be better, technically speaking. The GBA programmers were either lazy, or didn't have a very large budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berzerk Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 zero: u nailed the genius of the lynx. It allows the player the option of backlit and draining the batteries. You can use the light or not. GBA should of done this and people who hate to drain the batteries could simply turn it off. quote: Originally posted by Ze_ro: Yes, the GBA has finally outdone the Lynx... but it took a damn long time for a better handheld to come out. And even though the GBA is more powerful, and has a bigger screen, and is smaller and all... there's still some stuff that the Lynx can do that hasn't been done: 1. Flip-Screen support for left/right handed play. Not to mention the number of vertical games out there like Gauntlet. I know that some WonderSwan games are played vertically, but that's the closest I've seen to this being done elsewhere. Sure, it may not be terribly useful, but it's good sometimes if your thumb is sore (I can play either way), perhaps if a button breaks, or if you just want an extra challenge. 2. Backlight with a switch... at least in the Lynx II. Has any other handheld done this? 3. 8-player link capability... although I don't think you'll find many chances to play 8 player Lynx games. Does the GBA max out at 4, or did they increase this? Plus, I think the screen is actually still larger on the Lynx than the GBA... the Lynx seems more comfortable to me (Apparently, I have gorrilla hands or something), and the GBA is the only system with smaller cartridges. The Lynx may have been beat, but it's still got a lot of fight in it. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ze_ro Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 quote: Originally posted by berzerk: zero: u nailed the genius of the lynx. It allows the player the option of backlit and draining the batteries. You can use the light or not. GBA should of done this and people who hate to drain the batteries could simply turn it off. I just wish there was a way to turn the backlight off that didn't turn the entire screen off. Otherwise, the backlight button is only really useful if you're pausing the game for a long time. --Zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhindle The Red Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Ze_ro: the GBA is the only system with smaller cartridges. The game.com cartridges are the smallest cartridges I've ever seen for any system. Although they may have been beaten by the Pokémon Mini. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari-Jess Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 Yeah that thing is quite small indeed, I saw it a few days ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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