Atari Lynx #1: Scrapyard Dog

Developer: BlueSky Software

Publisher: Atari

Release Date: Sometime in 1991

I am always excited to write about a new console, and Atari Lynx is a very interesting one. It has a small library of games, so it shouldn’t take too long to get a good impression of the overall quality. NES with its 800 game library is going to be hard to pin down, but with the 76 Lynx games it shouldn’t be long until we know if it’s worth playing or not. I can tell you from experience that good or not the games are very interesting. There was no handheld like the Lynx, and it’s a shame that nobody played it. My actual console broke a couple years back, so I was excited when I heard that there were two compilations coming out for Evercade. It’s not the complete library, but it’s a good start. Let’s kick things off with Atari’s answer to Mario, Scrapyard Dog.

There is a lot about Scrapyard Dog that impresses me. They were obviously going for Mario with the side-scrolling action and everyman protagonist. Instead of the usual sassy animal we have a big nosed junkyard man named Louie trying to find his stolen dog. The other dogs in the game wear fedoras and smoke cigars, so it’s a little odd that there is one regular dog. Maybe that’s why they covet him so much. Despite being derivative on the surface, however, Scrapyard Dog is large and ambitious. Most handheld platform games of the time were very short and played like shrunken versions of console games. Sure Super Mario Land was popular, but it has tiny sprites and is over in fifteen minutes. That’s perfect for a short car ride sure, but beyond that it doesn’t impress much. Scrapyard Dog is large almost to its own detriment. It has long difficult levels filled with vibrant colors and almost constant secrets. Any door could contain a hidden shop or bonus level. It would be almost impossible to find them all. It’s one of those bizarre video game worlds where shops are in the most random places. I can understand ghost towns and maybe junk yards, but why have a store that only sells shields hidden in a dark cave or on the side of a cliff? There is nothing better than 8-bit era surrealism. It’s like the cake shop hidden in that confusing dungeon in Phantasy Star or the cave doors that lead to cities in The Battle of Olympus. It’s a world all onto itself and that’s something that was hard to replicate on Game Boy or Game Gear.

The high difficulty is a knock against it though. I always had fun playing it on my Lynx, but I could never get very far. The lives are limited and continues nonexistent so game overs are frequent. One thing I hate about retro gaming is putting an hour or more into a game and then being struck down by permadeath. At least it is full of powerups. Louie’s basic attack is throwing cans which is very effective, but there are all manner of weapons, shields, and stat boosters to find. They are limited to how much money you can find, however, so you have to be careful. If you are looking to play it today and actually want to see it through to the end it’s definitely best to play it on Evercade where you can use save states. You can even play it through a full-size tv if you want to burn your retinas and experience the ultimate blocky graphics. It’s the perfect showcase on an excellent compilation.

 

Scrapyard Dog really is Atari Lynx at its quirky best. I have never played the 7800 version, but another strange quality Lynx had was outdoing its console counterpart. Games that were unplayable on Jaguar were good on Lynx, and the earlier 7800 games typically had tighter gameplay and better graphics. Nothing about Lynx makes much sense, and that’s probably one of the reasons I like it so much. Scrapyard Dog is definitely good enough to go into my top 20. It’s coming in at number 17 right below the also excellent Tails Adventures. Lynx is full of hidden gems, so be ready to read about some good games that you have never heard of in the coming months. I’ll probably get four views for each of them, but at least I get so play some fun games. I’ll call that a victory.

 

1. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

2. Super Mario Odyssey

3. The Legend of Zelda

4. Galaga

5. Donkey Kong

6. Exodus: Ultima III

7. Pac-Mania

8. Wrecking Crew

9. Super Pac-Man

10. Pac-Man

11. Viva Pinata

12. Dragon View

13. Excitebike

14. Drakkhen

15. Arc the Lad

16. Clu Clu Land

17. Tails’ Adventures

18. Scrapyard Dog (Lynx)

19. Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX

20. Mickey’s Racing Adventure

21. Metro-Cross

22. Double Dragon

23. Panic Restaurant

24. Felix the Cat

25. Ice Climber

26. Gaplus

27. Dragon Spirit

28. Pinball (NES)

29. Ninja Golf

30. Super Soccer

31. Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour (GBC)

32. Red Sea Crossing

33. Baraduke

34. Demon’s Crest

35. Evoland

36. Tennis

37. Renegade

38. Hogan’s Alley

39. Gamma-Attack

40. The Legend of “Valkyrie”

41. Galaxian

42. Dragon Crystal

43. Cosmic Commuter

44. Hot Pixel

45. PocketBike Racer

46. Wild Gunman

47. Defunct

48. Gyruss (2600)

49. Looney Tunes Racing

50. Squidlit

51. Baseball

52. Birthday Mania

53. Bad Street Brawler

54. Burly Men at Sea

55. WeakWood Throne

56. X-Men (HyperScan)

57. My Name is Mayo

58. Marvel Heroes

59. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends

60. Ben 10