Atari Lynx (1989)

You will never forget the first time you see the Atari Lynx. Much like the first time you witness a deadly car accident or your parents having sex, seeing the Lynx for the first time can be a horrific experience. If the only handheld you had ever seen was the Game Boy, then the Lynx was going to give you nightmares for the rest of your childhood. The biggest problem was the system's length. Let's not beat around the bush here, this system is long. It's very, very long. It's so long that hospitals use it to medevac soldiers from the front lines. I've seen people surfing on the system it's so long. I've seen dogs smaller than this console. When Atari called it a "portable" you could only imagine that they were using the word in the loosest sense. If you have been looking for the right portable game system to use in a bar fight, then the Atari Lynx is the right system for you.

The Atari Lynx is the ten-gallon hat of video game handhelds. It's so much longer than other systems, which is cool ... I think? The button scheme is also a little uncomfortable, having positioned that speaker where the buttons probably should have gone. The elongated first version was later replaced with Mark Zwei, which looks less impressive to me with its lighter color and bigger monitor. They also phased out the strawberry scent I think the system originally had, but that have been from leaving my Lynx lying next to my Strawberry Shortcake's too long. In short, the system was basically a step up from the Gameboy, but not as good as the Game Gear, and the system's look reflects that perfectly.