30 replies to this topic

[Checkered_Flagman]

I read ev'body say that before GBA's birth Lynx was the powerful handheld system... are you sure? Don't you think Turboexpress has more power inside his case?

[roland p]

I have them both.

What I think the Turbo Express does better:
- sound
- resolution
- tft screen (less blur)

What I think the Atari Lynx does better:
- hardware scaling
- hardware division/multiply
- games are really made for a portable.
- capable of vector graphics
- comlynx for lots of games

So power-wise, the lynx is better, someone even made a mode-7 (like snes) demo. But if you prefer resolution and a contrasty screen, then the turbo express wins.

[sd32]

Well, the Turbo has a higher resolution, can display way more colors and has more sound channels. The only advantage the Lynx might have is in the graphical effects department, such as scaling.
I have seen the Turbo throw some insane amount of sprites on screen at very high speeds, something i have rarely seen the Lynx do. On the other hand the Lynx seems to have an easier time displaying multiple layers of pharallax than the Turbo. The Turbo has 6 channels of sound and the Lynx only 4, but the ones in the Lynx seem to be of higher quality to my ears, hehe. Also, there are no games on the Turbo that replicate the experience of games like Warbirds, Battlewheels, Virus, etc., with their 3Dish effects. While the Lynx seemed to have no problem replicating one of the best Turbo games with Zaku, which is inspired on Air Zonk, right?
I am saying this based on my playing experience, i really dont know how to interpret hardware specs.
Then again, the Turbo Express is based on a home console, the PC Engine, and costed way more than the Lynx back in the day. Much like the Nomad was based on the Genesis, so they are kinda cheating, hehe.
Was the Lynx more advanced overall than the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the Wonderswan Color?

[The_Laird]

The Lynx's custom chips are more powerful than anything the Turbo has, the TE never could have done STUN Runner, Hard Drivin or Steel Talons.

I also prefer the Lynx's sound chip for its wonderfully crisp digitised sound and can also do superb music.

Lynx wins here for me pretty easy.

[DracIsBack]

This is why I typically hate "X is more powerful than Y" discussions.

[Mrjey]

DracIsBack, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 4:09 PM, said:

This is why I typically hate "X is more powerful than Y" discussions.

How come?

You do realize you are on a Atari fanboy forum

[save2600]

Roland summed it up extremely well. Those were my observations when I used to have both. Turboexpress wins as far as its screen goes (There's not a lot of contrast to the Lynx screen and it's blurry as hell comparatively!) and I do like more games on the TG-16 than I did the Lynx. Actually, the Turboexpress was a kick ass idea back then - the fact you could make your favorite console games "portable" and not having to purchase completely different/separate carts for play on a proprietary system. Just wish the TE's screen was a little larger. One of the reasons I liked the Game Gear too was the backwards compatibility of being able to play SMS games on it. But not the other way around IIRC.

IMO, Turboexpress wins this "contest".

Edited by save2600, Wed Feb 3, 2010 5:23 PM.

[Horst]

I own both, and I can't remember the last time the Turbo was even used.
Turbo has a nicer screen with much less blur but doesn't seem to display and scale sprites as well. Turbo had the AWESOME tv tuner. Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker Turbo was a great idea but far too expensive for anyone I knew at the time, so was the Lynx though. Turbo had some great platformers, Lynx had great arcade games. Probably comes down to personal preference really, and I prefer the Lynx
Conclusion:
Turbo Express-better
Lynx-more fun

[DracIsBack]

Mrjey, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 5:14 PM, said:

DracIsBack, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 4:09 PM, said:

This is why I typically hate "X is more powerful than Y" discussions.

How come?

You do realize you are on a Atari fanboy forum

Did I say anything about hating or loving either system?

I think "more powerful" is a very simplistic explanation for something that is usually quite complicated.

As others have noted here, the Lynx does some things the TurboExpress does and the other way around.

I've only tried the Express a few times. I remember the advantages of the screen being quite noticeable at the time. It was really, really sharp.

One thing I seem to remember was that the machine was hampered by the fact that - even though it played TG16 games - many titles weren't designed with it in mind. Little sprites I remember being really irritating on some games when played on the little screen.

Same thing with the Nomad when it came out.

On the Lynx and GameBoy, the games were explicitly designed for a handheld.

Edited by DracIsBack, Wed Feb 3, 2010 8:49 PM.

[108 Stars]

I think what people mean is that the Lynx was the most powerful 100% handheld until the GBA came. The Turbo Express and the Sega Nomad were even stronger both in the graphics and sound-department, but they were based on the PC Engine and the Genesis, just miniaturized versions of existing home consoles; they even used the same cartridges/HuCards.

As for systems originally intended as handhelds the Lynx was the best; the competition that really counts in that area are the Game Gear, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Wonderswan, Neo Geo Pocket, and Neo Geo Pocket Color.

Edited by 108 Stars, Fri Feb 5, 2010 10:29 PM.

[D-Lite]

Horst, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 6:41 PM, said:

Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker

Being a Turbo freak myself, I know a lot of people have given up on the Express because of the sound thing. BUT, it's only a few leaking caps that causes it and a 10 minute fix. Don't let that stop you!

[Horst]

D-Lite, on Sat Feb 6, 2010 9:05 AM, said:

Horst, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 6:41 PM, said:

Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker

Being a Turbo freak myself, I know a lot of people have given up on the Express because of the sound thing. BUT, it's only a few leaking caps that causes it and a 10 minute fix. Don't let that stop you!

Yes I know, but my screen now takes a good 45 minutes to warm up and display anything at all. Its really not worth my time to fix the speaker when I can just wear headphones.

[atarian63]

Had and sold these both back in the day,still have both. Like them both. However the Lynx just seems nicer. STUN Runner, ETC. Original arcade games, TE cant do those and the screen is too small. Also the TE screens seem to lose pixels over time. It's rare to see one without a few missing pixels.
I will say in defense if TE that back in the day the TE was the Cadillac of portables,especially with the tuner. Most people were impressed seeing it as it was fairly rare and quite expensive. We did not sell alot due to this,though people really did want one.
Still amazes me that nin ten junk game toy sold as it did. What good is battery life or even brand name games if you cant see the darn things That thing was the definition of blurry

[atarian63]

D-Lite, on Sat Feb 6, 2010 9:05 AM, said:

Horst, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 6:41 PM, said:

Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker

Being a Turbo freak myself, I know a lot of people have given up on the Express because of the sound thing. BUT, it's only a few leaking caps that causes it and a 10 minute fix. Don't let that stop you!

Yep, really easy. You can get one cheap when it has this problem and a less than $5 fix even at retail for the caps, then you have a nice system.
I agree with you on Turbo Grafx, I have one with CD and it's really great,especially for Shmups!
Amazing how much the japanese cart adapters are now!

[4Ks]

atarian63, on Tue Feb 9, 2010 10:22 PM, said:

Still amazes me that nin ten junk game toy sold as it did. What good is battery life or even brand name games if you cant see the darn things That thing was the definition of blurry

You said it. And it's even worse for people like me who have less than perfect eyesight. Even in direct light I have a hard time seeing that thing.

[D-Lite]

Horst, on Tue Feb 9, 2010 9:06 PM, said:

D-Lite, on Sat Feb 6, 2010 9:05 AM, said:

Horst, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 6:41 PM, said:

Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker

Being a Turbo freak myself, I know a lot of people have given up on the Express because of the sound thing. BUT, it's only a few leaking caps that causes it and a 10 minute fix. Don't let that stop you!

Yes I know, but my screen now takes a good 45 minutes to warm up and display anything at all. Its really not worth my time to fix the speaker when I can just wear headphones.

The video problem you're having is also likely the result of a dying cap. There's a single one that causes the problem you're having. The screen starts up "on" but no image, yes?

[malducci]

The Turbo Express, easily. The Lynx blitter seems fairly impressive/powerful, but that's because the screen resolution frame buffer is so tiny. The TG Express low resolution is nearly 4x as much pixels on screen as the Lynx. Mid res is over 5x the pixels per screen. The larger master palette of the Lynx in no way makes up for the limited 16 color screen output. Mid screen color change effects are cheap. It's no where near a substitute for a real flexible color setup.

TG Express has a faster processor, more colors onscreen (482 colors or 32 subpalettes), more pixel bandwidth on screen, more much sprites on screen at fast 60hz, much superior sound. The sound generation on the Lynx is interesting (to someone who delves in sound hardware and sound engines), but it pales in comparison to the TG Express sound hardware IMO. It's not just number of channels the Xpress has over it. Any game you see done on the CD unit of the parent system (PCE/TG16) is directly doable on the TG Express. Lords of Thunder, Sapphire, Dracula X, any of the Neo Geo ACD ports, Street Fighter 2 (oh wait, that's already a hucard ), etc.

[Tempest2k]

so we can say the Lynx was truely the best Handheld from 89 till 2001.
But How about the Neo Geo Pocket Color. Was that better as the Lynx?
I dont have a NGPC

[Nuclear Pacman]

D-Lite, on Sat Feb 6, 2010 9:05 AM, said:

Horst, on Wed Feb 3, 2010 6:41 PM, said:

Turbo sound is crap due to its constantly broken speaker

Being a Turbo freak myself, I know a lot of people have given up on the Express because of the sound thing. BUT, it's only a few leaking caps that causes it and a 10 minute fix. Don't let that stop you!

This is just another thing that highlights the LYNX as the all-around winner for the old handhelds. LYNX had more powerful hardware, it was original hardware (which the Turbo Express is basically something Ben Heck would have done), and the system design was rock solid. The fact that LYNX owners en masse aren't required to buy parts from Radio Shack and do a solder job just to play their systems puts the LYNX on a pedestal above it's contemporaries.

When comparing game libraries, I'll take the Lynx in this contest as well. The US library of TG16 games is notoriously weak, and almost every Turbo enthusiast will recommend getting the Kisado hucard converter, or just buying a PC Engine to play the 'good' library of Japanese games. Another nuisance that was avoided by the Lynx, I didn't have to buy a special system so I could play the 'good' titles.

[malducci]

Gunstarhero, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:02 AM, said:

When comparing game libraries, I'll take the Lynx in this contest as well. The US library of TG16 games is notoriously weak, and almost every Turbo enthusiast will recommend getting the Kisado hucard converter, or just buying a PC Engine to play the 'good' library of Japanese games. Another nuisance that was avoided by the Lynx, I didn't have to buy a special system so I could play the 'good' titles.

Are you kidding me!?!? Either you have really poor tastes in games or are completely ignorant of the TG16 library.

Ninja Spirit
Dungeon Explorer
Bloody Wolf
Air Zonk
Blazing Lazers
Bonks Adventure
Jackie Chan
Super Star Soldier
Side Arms
Neutopia
Cyber Core
Samurai Ghost
Bomberman
AeroBlasters
Legendary Axe
Soldier Blase
R-Type
Bonks Revenge
Shockman
Raiden
Legendary Axe 2
Magical Chase
Alien Crush
Sinistron
Cratermase
Neutopia 2
Dragon's Spirit
Military Madness
Ordyne
Tiger Road
Time Cruise
Galaga '90
Dead Moon
Bomberman '93
Devil's Crush
Bonk 3
Cadash
Dragon's Curse
Fantasy Zone
Legend of Hero Tonma
Psychosis
Splatterhouse
Vigilante
Space Harrier
(I didn't mention Klax because I thought it was a pretty crappy game, but there's a port on the TG16)

What came out in Japan Hucard list that's a must have? I can think of maybe 3 or 4 must have Japanese only hucards. And in comparison to the games I listed, I can only find a few games that I find desirable to play in the Lynx library. "Atari la-la land" is right

Edited by malducci, Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:38 AM.

[ls650]

Matter of taste I guess... I like the Lynx library more than the TG library.

[The_Laird]

ls650, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:31 PM, said:

Matter of taste I guess... I like the Lynx library more than the TG library.

I agree and I love the PC Engine too but the games are better played on a big screen.

[malducci]

Quote

Matter of taste I guess

Yeah...

All the games I listed were Japanese designed/developed games. Looking over the Lynx library, I don't think there's a single Japanese designed game (oh wait, Ninja Gaiden/NG3/Toki. NG arcade version sucks though. The home console series is 100 times better). It's all western style games I guess if that floats your boat (I find them rather generic and stale overall, like most pre and non Japanese arcade games of that era). I guess it shouldn't surprise me that the bias leans that way though. This is an Atari centric forum, with almost all western designed games for all their systems. But to call the TG16 library weak? If all the titles I listed had Lynx ports, I know damn well people would be boosting about them in comparison to the other hand held systems (GB, GBC, NGP, GG).

Quote

I agree and I love the PC Engine too but the games are better played on a big screen.

So the games are too good for a small high resolution screen? I'm not sure that really makes any sense. But I'm the opposite, the Lynx low resolution is a hard issue to over come. It's a 160 wide sure, but the LCD it wide itself. Relative scale, the GBC has better resolution than the Lynx. Even the GB. I know it was tech limitations relative to cost, but that aspect about the Lynx was the first thing that immediately stuck out BITD. It looked like a blocky pixelated mess. To get any sort of detail, they had to make the objects bigger. But then you have screen clutter/cramping. I never had that feeling on the GB/GBC (for the record, my friend owned a Lynx and I played a number of games on it). A shame really.

I guess coming from the Lynx, playing the TG Express just has too much resolution for some people to handle

Edited by malducci, Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:19 PM.

[Nuclear Pacman]

I owned a TG16 for many years. It's a nice little system, and it had ok audio if you had the Turbo booster. I prefer arcade games to platform and rpgs, so that's why my bias is heavily in favor of the Lynx, because that is the strong point of it's game catalog; Top notch arcade ports. There were a few good ports that I had on my turbo, like Sidearms and Raiden, but if you wanted the 'real' good stuff you have to get the Japanese CD console. I can't believe someone would even argue that, unless you consider the Bonk series to be the climax of the library, then you could suffice with just the US system.

If you absolutely are madly in love with platform games, then the Turbo would definitely be the better choice, I wouldn't argue that, even though most of those are pretty shallow, even the vaunted Splatterhouse or Bloody Wolf. Shallow as those may be, I can't back up the Lynx' pitiful selection, as it's platform games are pretty much horrendous in comparison. The turbo just can't compete on arcade ports next to the Lynx overall, save for one direct comparison (Raiden).

[EricDeLee]

ls650, on Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:31 PM, said:

Matter of taste I guess... I like the Lynx library more than the TG library.

I have to admit that the Turbo Express has a GREAT library. Of all systems and games I collected for and then sold, I think the Turbo Express was the one I regretted the most.