atari_ lynx roms

Atari Lynx

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The Atari Lynx was Atari's only handheld game console, though it was the second handheld gaming device released (the first being the handheld electronic game Atari Touch Me). Atari had previously worked on several other handheld projects including the Breakout and Space Invaders handheld electronic games, Atari Cosmos portable/tabletop console, and the Atari Atlantis. However, those projects were shut down during development - some just short of their intended commercial release.

The Lynx had the privilege of being the world's first handheld portable gaming system with a color LCD display. The system is also notable for its forward-looking features, advanced graphics, and ambidextrous layout. The Lynx was released in 1989, the same year as Nintendo's (monochromatic) Game Boy.

However, the Atari Lynx failed to achieve the critical mass required to attract quality third party developers. In contrast, Nintendo's Game Boy had full support from game developers. Today, as with a lot of older consoles, there is still a small group of devoted fans, creating and selling games for the system. An emulator called Handy was released to play Lynx games on PCs in 2000.

Technical specifications

MOS 65SC02 processor running at up to 4 MHz (~3.6 MHz average)
8-bit CPU, 16-bit address space
Sound engine
4 channel sound (Lynx II with panning)
8-bit DAC for each channel (4 channels × 8-bits/channel = 32 bits commonly quoted)
Video DMA driver for liquid-crystal display
4,096 color (12-bit) palette
16 simultaneous colors (4 bits) from palette per scanline (more than 16 colors can be displayed by changing palettes after each scanline)
8 System timers (2 reserved for LCD timing, one for UART)
Interrupt controller
UART (for ComLynx) (fixed format 8E1, up to 62500Bd)
512 bytes of bootstrap and game-card loading ROM
Suzy (16-bit custom CMOS chip running at 16 MHz)
Graphics engine
Hardware drawing support
Unlimited number of high-speed sprites with collision detection
Hardware high-speed sprite scaling, distortion, and tilting effects
Hardware decoding of compressed sprite data
Hardware clipping and multi-directional scrolling
Variable frame rate (up to 75 frames/second)
160 x 102 standard resolution (16,320 addressable pixels)
Math co-processor
Hardware 16-bit × 16-bit ? 32-bit multiply with optional accumulation; 32-bit ÷ 16-bit ? 16-bit divide
Parallel processing of CPU and a single multiply or a divide instruction
RAM: 64Kbyte 120ns DRAM
Storage: Cartridge - 128, 256 and 512Kbyte exist, up to 2Mbyte is possible with bank-switching logic.

Some (homebrew) carts with EEPROM to save hi-scores.

Ports:
Headphone port (mini-DIN 3.5mm stereo; wired for mono on the original Lynx)
ComLynx (multiple unit communications, serial)
LCD Screen: 3.5" diagonal
Battery holder (six AA) ~4-5 hours

Some well known Atari lynx emulators today are:

Jagulator v1.51
Project Tempest v0.5
Virtual Jaguar 1.0.6

Top Roms

Pac-Man Atari (1982)
Dig Dug Atari (1983)
Jungle Hunt Atari (1983)
RealSports Baseball Atari (1983)
Pitfall II Activision (1984)
Zaxxon Sega (1984)
Ballblazer Atari/Lucasfilm Games (1986)

How to Play

Please check our Getting started page for more information.

External links