It was 1989. Nintendo was basically printing money with the Game Boy, a gray brick with a screen that looked like pea soup. Then Atari crashed the party. They didn't just walk in; they kicked the door down with the Atari Lynx. It was the world’s first atari handheld game with a color LCD and a backlit screen.
Honestly, it felt like alien technology.
If you grew up in the late 80s or early 90s, the Lynx was the thing you begged for but your parents probably wouldn't buy because it cost $179.99—a fortune back then. While the Game Boy was busy with 8-bit sprites that blurred if you moved too fast, the Lynx was pushing 16-bit graphics and hardware scaling. It could do "Mode 7" style effects before the Super Nintendo even hit shelves.
The Tech That Blew Everyone Away
The Lynx wasn't actually an Atari invention at first. It started as "Handy," a project by Dave Needle and RJ Mical at Epyx. These guys were legends; they had already worked on the Amiga. When Epyx ran into money trouble, Atari swooped in.
Atari saw a goldmine.
What made this specific atari handheld game a beast was the custom chipsets. It had two VLSI chips named Mikey and Suzy. Mikey handled the 8-bit 65C02 processor—clocked at a blistering 4MHz—and the sound. Suzy was the real star, though. She was a 16-bit CMOS chip that handled graphics, specifically sprite scaling and math.
This meant games like Blue Lightning looked like a flight simulator you’d find in a high-end arcade. You weren't just moving a flat image; objects grew larger as they got closer to you. It was smooth. It was fast. It was also huge.
Seriously, the Lynx was massive. It was over 10 inches long. You couldn't fit this thing in a pocket unless you were wearing cargo pants from the future. But that size served a purpose. It had a "flip" feature that no other console has really copied since. If you were a lefty, you could flip the console upside down, press a button to rotate the screen 180 degrees, and the D-pad would be on your right side.
👉 See also: Super Smash Bros Switch Controls: Why Your Current Setup is Holding You Back
Brilliant. Simple. Why don't we do this anymore?
Why the Atari Handheld Game Failed to Kill Nintendo
You’d think a color screen and superior power would win the war. It didn't.
Price was a massive hurdle. At nearly double the price of a Game Boy, the Lynx was a luxury item. But the real killer? Battery life. The Lynx took six AA batteries. It ate them. You’d get maybe four to five hours of playtime before the screen started flickering and the sound died. Nintendo’s Game Boy could go for 15 or 20 hours on four AAs.
In the playground trenches, longevity won over pixels.
Then there was the marketing. Atari was struggling internally. By the time they released the Lynx II in 1991—which was smaller, had better battery life, and added stereo sound—Sega had already launched the Game Gear. Suddenly, the atari handheld game wasn't the only color option on the block.
The Software Library: Weird, Wild, and Wonderful
The games were... different. You didn't have Mario or Sonic. You had California Games.
📖 Related: Dead or Alive: Why the Most Misunderstood Fighting Series Still Matters
California Games was the pack-in title for the original Lynx, and it was perfect for showing off the hardware. Surfing, BMX, skating—it all looked vibrant. But the deep cuts are where the Lynx really shines for collectors today.
- Todd’s Adventures in Slime World: A massive, gross-out exploration game that allowed for 8-player local multiplayer if you had enough ComLynx cables.
- Chip’s Challenge: Before it was a Windows staple, it was a Lynx masterpiece.
- Gates of Zendocon: A surreal shooter that felt like a fever dream.
- Rygar: A port that actually looked and played like the arcade version.
Atari tried to lean on their arcade hits. Asteroids and Missile Command got updates, but the Lynx felt like it was built for something more ambitious. Shadow of the Beast was a technical marvel on the system, even if the gameplay was punishingly difficult.
The Cult of the Lynx Today
Go to any retro gaming convention now and you'll see people huddled over these backlit monsters. The homebrew scene for this atari handheld game is surprisingly loud. Because the hardware was so forward-thinking, modern developers are still finding ways to squeeze more out of it.
Collectors have some hurdles, though. The most common issue with the Lynx isn't the screen—it's the power circuit. A tiny component called a zener diode often fails. When it goes, it can send a surge of voltage through the board and fry the CPU. If you buy a "broken" Lynx on eBay, that's usually why.
There is also the "screen rot" or "polarizer film" issue. The original LCDs weren't built to last 35 years. Many now have dark splotches or faded colors.
The good news? The modding community has saved the Lynx. You can now buy drop-in replacement IPS screens. These screens make the games look better than they did in 1989. They use less power, which helps with that legendary battery drain, and the clarity is stunning. Playing Stun Runner on a modern IPS-modded Lynx is a religious experience for a nerd.
Beyond the Lynx: The Other Atari Handhelds
We can’t talk about an atari handheld game without mentioning the weird stuff.
✨ Don't miss: Why The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom Map is Actually Three Games in One
Before the Lynx, Atari had "Touch Me." It was a handheld version of their arcade game from 1974. It was basically Simon before Simon existed. It didn't have a screen; it just had four buttons that lit up in a sequence you had to copy. It was primitive, but it showed Atari was always thinking about the portable market.
Then there was the "Jaguar Duo" concept that never made it, and the much later "Atari Flashback Portable" units. These modern handhelds are fun—they come pre-loaded with dozens of 2600 games—but they lack the soul of the original hardware. They are emulators in a plastic shell.
The Lynx was a bespoke piece of engineering. It represented a time when Atari was still trying to be the king of the hill through sheer technical dominance.
Realities of Owning One in 2026
If you're looking to jump into this hobby, don't just buy the first one you see. The Lynx I (the big one) is cooler for the "wow" factor, but the Lynx II is much more comfortable to hold for long periods.
Check the battery tabs. They are almost always corroded because someone left AAs in there back in 1994. If the tabs are clean, you’ve found a unicorn.
Also, get a "McWill" or "BennVenn" screen mod. Honestly, the original screens are just too dim for modern eyes. They were amazing for their time, but we’ve been spoiled by OLEDs and Retina displays. A modded Lynx is the definitive way to experience the library.
Actionable Steps for New Collectors
- Prioritize the Lynx II: Look for the model with the rubber grips. It’s more durable and easier to mod.
- Invest in a Flash Cart: Buying original cartridges is getting expensive. Units like the AgaCart or RetroHQ GameDrive let you put the entire library on an SD card.
- Replace the Capacitors: Even if it works now, those 30-year-old caps are ticking time bombs. Get a "re-cap" kit or pay a professional to do it.
- Use a Power Adapter: Don't feed this thing batteries. Find a 9V center-negative power supply to save your wallet and the planet.
- Join the Community: The AtariAge forums are the gold standard for Lynx knowledge. If you have a technical question, the people there have likely answered it ten years ago.
The Atari Lynx was a failure in the business sense, but a triumph in terms of ambition. It proved that handhelds didn't have to be low-power toys. They could be legitimate gaming machines. Every time you play a high-def game on a Steam Deck or a Nintendo Switch, you’re seeing the DNA of that massive, battery-chugging, color-screened beast from 1989.