The Lynx homebrew scene lives on. This makes me think Western-developed Air Zonk. http://www.zaku-lynx.com/
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The Lynx homebrew scene lives on. This makes me think Western-developed Air Zonk. http://www.zaku-lynx.com/
First thing I thought seeing those screens was Air Zonk, yeah. Same setup.
THAT'S GRAINY AND UGLY!
/shooting love.
Looks pretty good so far. I'll skip the first release though. I'm sure by the third wave, the bugs will be taken care of.
/Beggar Prince.
It will never die!
Posthumous Lynx releases have been kind of hit or miss. They range from stuff that would have been great even as mainstream games during the system's life (CyberVirus, Winter Games) to really unprofessional garbage (Ponx, T-Tris, S.I.M.I.S.). This looks pretty good.
lol. I almost jokingly reported it, but felt it would be more annoying to the powers that be than humorous.
Ah, what the hell. By popular demand.
So, someone can clown me, but then when I call them on it it is a personal attack on MY part?
Yes. Welcome to TNL.
Right, so this being TNL, this thread should continue to trail off topic for the next 10-20 posts...
a'ight
Apparently this is set for release shortly. They've even gone to the trouble of having the carts manufactured like real Lynx carts, complete with the plastic cover and curved edge to pull it out of the system. Check it:
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1254974915
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/a...1&d=1254974915
Will buy on Day 1
Will buy. Need to dig the Lynx out of storage. I'm so lazy I might just buy a new one.
All I remember about the Lynx I had at one point is that California Games never left the cart slot. Good times. I think I'm with Frog on this one and I might have to buy a new one with this game.
Cool i guess.
I need to buy a new one because the AC port is fried (new model).
I'd like to find an old model this time, though. It'll be the third Lynx I've owned. God I loved that handheld.
This looks pretty cool, and I've been meaning to get a model 2 Lynx. This might put me over the edge.
I got the email today that this is in stock. Looks pretty darn good.
I ordered it today. My Lynx has been neglected for far too long.
You can order the game here: http://www.zaku-lynx.com/ (same site Neozeedeater posted)
Yep, I just put an order in too. Here's the direct link to the purchase page: http://www.zaku-lynx.com/purchase.htm
Bought!
Lynx is still in storage halfway across the state though so I might not play this real soon.
Yikes. $48?
That's really cheap, actually. I've paid $50 + shipping for other late Lynx releases and they didn't even have the nice authentic looking cart and printed box and manual, they were just ugly little green PCBs with big DIMMs protruding. This is a little cheaper and they're clearly spending more.
Yeah, I have nothing negative to say about the effort. The problem is the crossroads at which we are in terms of indie development. When iPhone games are $10 for EA's new stuff and $7 or less for essentially everyone else's, it makes it incredibly hard to justify supporting a developer's choice to put their game on physical media with the resulting crazy relative price. I was a huge Lynx fan when the system was officially supported, so I respect the desire to support it, but that respect has limits.
It's a very small market, but there's something cool about it. It's not like this is the kind of game you buy more than one of a year, so I can't be arsed to get upset over it.
Very true. Unfortunately, my Lynx is long, long gone. The only portables I continue to make the mistake of owning are a DS Lite and a PSP 2001.
Yeah, if this was only a downloadable game it would be overpriced but for a specialty item like a Lynx card, I don't have a problem with buying one on occasion (although I hate having the govt charging me duty on this shit). I'm now suddenly reminded of a cool looking TurboGrafx CD run 'n gun homebrew from a years back. I should see if that was completed and if it was considered good.
I was going to wait for impressions first but the since the video looks nice, I ordered Zaku.
Ordered!
Doubting it was completed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MindRec
He seemed pretty far on the PCE vertical shooter project and seems to be working on a RPG, little mention of the Contra title.
Crap, I tested my Lynx and it now has lines across the screen. Games are still playable though, so I might still order this game. I'll hunt ebay to see if I can find a good cheap Lynx while I'm at it.
My game arrived today. I won't get to play it until Thursday or Friday though, because I'm stuck out of town. :(
No sign of mine yet. Hopefully tomorrow. How's the packaging look, at least?
I nabbed a new Lynx from ebay and went ahead and ordered Zaku. There's a guy on the Neogeo.com forums that is raving about how good (and hard) the game is. Sounds good to me, although I wish this were on something besides the Lynx.
Here's some impressions I found on Digital Press from Shooting Love. It's sounding good.
Quote:
I'm very impressed with Zaku.
After a half hour of play I'm pretty sure it's one of the best Lynx games ever.
I don't know how it will be received by shooter die-hards, but as a game enthusiast I'll say it is one of most awesome releases this year.
The controls are very solid, with an auto rapid shot, 2-stage charge shot, and reverse (thruster) shot.
Despite the Lynx's broad and flat d-pad Zaku moves quick and responsively. While there are not many enemy bullets in the 3 levels I've played there is still plenty to dodge - though I suspect once a player has a pattern memorized, the charge shot could be used to clear all enemies before they become a threat of collision.
There are 4 levels selectable right from the start and I did not notice any difficulty adjustment between playing the levels back to back, or selecting individually from the start screen - what I mean to say is the difficulty didn't really feel like it ramped-up. Each of the bosses I've encountered did wipe me out on the first couple tries, and there appears to be unlimited continues (from the start of a level).
An options screen offers 4 difficulty levels, and BGM & SFX tests. I've only played Normal and Expert and didn't notice any difference besides a shorter life bar. I wanted to think the enemies were moving faster, but I'm not sure. And I unfortunately didn't see more bullets. Though considering the potential for blur and angle glare issues with the Lynx screen it is probably the best design choice to not have a lot of projectiles flying around the screen.
Now the best part is the graphics. We've all seen the colorful screenshots and the video clip. Playing this on a Lynx is incredible. The screen is filled with motion: swift moving enemies, large cleverly designed bosses, racing parallax landscapes, tons of bright colors, clear text dialogue and storyline, clever cinema screens - Zaku holds up with most 16-bit console games.
I highly recommend Zaku for anyone who can appretiate the best of early 16-bit design sensibilities.
Good deal. Lynx really seems to have better luck with posthumous homebrews than any other post-1983 system.
Got my copy today. Packaging is impressive - going to try it out here shortly.
Update: shit is fun.
Yeah, mine arrived and I played a bit. It's what I expected from the video, a neat little shooter with a TG16 vibe. Music's weak but other than that, it's good stuff.
I got mine too, but I still don't know when I'm going to go get my Lynx, and this game has driven up the price/demand on ebay to boot.
The packaging/manual/cart are super high quality, though. Feels like a real Lynx release, which none of the other late releases ever did.
I got my copy of Zaku last weekend, but I haven't had much of a chance to play it. However, what I did play of it was gold. It really does feel like something released back in the early 90's, kind of like it was a lost commercial game that we never saw. The controls do mimic Air Zonk, but the game has a completely different feel from it, it is very unique. I'd definately say it's worth the cash to anyone willing to fork out new game cash on an old system (and I am.)
Frog: Do you want my old Lynx so you can play it? There are some lines in the screen, but everything is perfectly playable. I'd give it to ya cheap.
Offer appreciated, but I just ordered one the other day. Got a decent deal on it ($40 shipped, with 7 pretty good games), too on a lowball Buy it Now. Can't wait to get it.
Cool, I'll keep it for spare parts then, or maybe I can even figure out how to fix it. I think I'm going to look at Ebay for some more Lynx games, the only good games I've got are Zaku, California Games and Ninja Gaiden, and I've never played anything on the system that I don't own. I'm probably missing out on a lot of good stuff that never saw release on anything else.
Make sure to get Blue Lightning. Also, since you're already obviously willing to fork over the extra money on a good homebrew, snag CyberVirus, it's the best post-mortem release on the system. It was a commercial game meant for release in the mid-90s, but finished and released as a homebrew, so it really has that classic Lynx feel, and really impressive graphics.
If anyone is interested in new copies of Kung Food, Crystal Castles, and a few other so so games, let me know. $5 + shipping. Also have a bunch of loose stuff, but it's at Burfalo, so I can't see what I have til the weekend.
I might hit you up for some of those, I kinda have the Lynx bug again after getting Zaku. I have Kung Food, but not Crystal Castles and I was pwning at that in the Barcade in NYC.
Crystal Mines is the Lynx game, not Crystal Castles.
Fuck me. CRYSTAL MINES II. Not Crystal Castles.
NOOB.
Sorry, I have SO MUCH INVENTORY that I get mixed up sometimes.
Let us know what loose stuff you have. I ordered Blue Lightning at frog's request, and I might have a cheapass Lynx buying frenzy.
Back on topic, I beat Zaku last night. I love the last stage boss fight marathon. If you've played the end of gradius 2 it's sort of like that, one boss after another.
I've made it about 75% of the way through. I'd play it more if I didn't have to kill the world with AA batteries or constantly be tethered to the wall.
Finally got my Lynx. This game is hard as balls toward the end. The first transformation of the final boss is a cheap fuck.
Pretty good stuff overall. Some of the bosses to skew toward the too simple/too long side of things, but others make up for it, and there's a lot of game in here. I don't like it as much as CyberVirus, but it's the best Lynx game since then, and comes off like a very professional effort.
Speaking of bosses... anyone have any tips for beating the first transformation of the last boss? The best I can do is stay in the left middle of the screen firing charged shots and praying I move out of the way fast enough. I've beaten him on easy but not medium yet.
SSJN: did you get a chance to see what Lynx stuff you have? If you have any of the games I want I'd rather help you unload some crap than buy from some random ebay seller.
That's the fucker that gets me, too
No. I had to have some work done on my truck, and the only time the dude was free to do it was Sunday. I'll check this Sunday, promise!
Beat the game finally. Guy I was stuck on was the second-to-last boss, not the last.
Yeah, but the last-last boss is such a pussy by comparison.
'tis true.