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A conversion of the ST & Amiga game known as Prophecy 1: The Viking Child (it never did get a sequel) this is a charming platform game with more than a passing resemblance to Sega’s classic Wonderboy In Monsterland. In fact the game is pretty much a straight rip-off with its similar graphics, almost identical gameplay and familiar level design. In this case though it’s certainly no bad thing and they do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Viking Child, just like Sega’s game, combines elements of adventure games into the standard platforming fare. There are shops where you can buy things like health, magic spells and power-ups. Coins to spend in these shops are earned by defeating the bad guys including some massive bosses. This title also features a very handy password feature too so it’s possible to return to the last level you played at any time. All the graphics in Viking Child are very attractive and nicely detailed. The sound isn’t quite so good though, nice title music but during the game there is nothing more than simple sound effects. This game really could have done with a nice soundtrack to accompany each level. Overall Viking Child is one of the better platformers on Lynx and fans of Wonderboy in Monsterland will love it even more.

Now here is something you don’t see every day, a World War 1 flight simulator on a hand held! Warbirds was something very different for the format when it first came out and was the very first Lynx game to break into the weekly multi-format top 10 best sellers chart, a big achievement in itself! The magazine of the time also praised it highly, especially for the smooth 3D graphics and multi-player options. Warbirds allows you to define the type of game you play from the start. You can choose a more arcade styled affair as opposed to simulation, number of enemies and difficulty too among others. Once in the cockpit of your biplane you can change your viewpoint so you can look in every direction, turn your engines off to avoid attention, loop the loop to confuse the enemy and even hide in the clouds if you are a chicken! Its tremendous fun dive bombing the Red Baron with guns blazing and swooping up just before you hit the ground. Warbirds really does look great from its superb 3D graphics to the old style digitised photos. The sound is all pretty standard stuff and does the job well enough. This game is maybe not as amazing as it was once made out to be but is still a great little title that excels in ComLynx mode.

Being a massive football fan I was really excited by this game when I saw it previewed in the magazines but it was released at the same time as Telegames wonderful European Soccer Challenge, a conversion of the best selling Manchester United Europe computer game, so I passed it over after seeing awful reviews for it in comparison to E.S.C. Wasn't until years later that I got to play it and wow its even worse than those reviews back in the day made out. Just like E.S.C it has a side-on view and this is the most impressive part of the game as it zooms in and out of the action, a great feature. But that’s where the good parts end as the rest of it is pure trash. The worst thing in this game is that no matter which teams you pick to play as and against they always wear red and blue, this for me is unforgivable. The players also look awful and kinda jerk around the pitch slowly trying to kick the ball. It plays so sluggish that its almost impossible to put together any decent play and even harder to score a goal. The sound is nothing to rave about either with sub-standard title tune and mediocre in-game effects. This bar far the worst game ever released for the Lynx and whoever let it tarnish the Lynx's wonderful selection of games should be shot.

The original Xenophobe coin-op was clearly inspired by the classic film Aliens and follows very much the same plot. It was famous that the time for its then revolutionary split screen 3-player gameplay. Programmed by Gil Colgate at Epyx, who also worked for Williams Midway funnily enough, this Lynx conversion is widely regarded as one of the best games on the machine. For those that don’t know, Xenophobe, is an arcade styled adventure game with a heavy focus on blowing shit up! Featuring near enough everything from the arcade game it also adds some elements of its own. Firstly it’s 4-player over comlynx and secondly it also adds some rather nice secret features in this multi-player mode, as was often done with comlynx games. The graphics are simply gorgeous and feature so much detail you won’t believe. The sound is also pretty good but sadly doesn’t feature the original music, such a shame as it would sounded awesome on the Lynx. If it had included this then this game would have scored a well deserved 10, as it is it’s an incredibly solid 9 and a must have game for the portable Atari.

The original arcade game started off as Gauntlet 3D but as the programmers made it more and more futuristic Atari took the choice to re-name it as they thought it was too far removed from the franchise but it actually isn't and that gives you an idea of how this game plays. Its much like a very early version of Doom with its mapped out levels, maze like tunnels, multiple weapons and the need to find keys and open doors to get to each level exit. Where it does differ is that you actually see your character on the screen and also the game doesn't quite move like Doom either. Instead of the level moving with you as you change direction you actually have to hold a button and direction to flip the viewpoint (the same as Lynx AVP) this may sound annoying but it works fine and you can use the map to see all the directions you can move in. Each space station is full of enemies from hovering drones to the mighty Xybots themselves and the shooting can get pretty frantic. Thankfully at the end of each level is a shop where you can upgrade your weapons, health, armour and scanners using money collected around the previous level. Much like Doom some levels have secret corridors and rooms but they don't always have just good things inside! The graphics are great, the Lynx's scaling chip does a great job re-creating the 3D graphics and the animation is superb - especially when your character blows the smoke from his gun after a lengthy battle. This title also has some of the best in-game music on any Lynx game too and it changes from level to level. The game is massive and plays fast and fluid with so much to explore, it's also 2-player comlynx too! A simply superb arcade conversion for the Lynx, I highly recommend this game to any fan of FPS's also.

Strangely although this is actually the first game it came out after the second game! Figure that one out! While you do I will tell you what we have on this mini-games compilation. Merlains Quest is first on the list, this is a nice little adventure game that promises to help you find the secrets of Yastuna. Secondly is Push, a strange game where you push down towers to try and get the numbers on top to add up to the total needed. Then we have Attack, a puzzle game where you switch around blocks in order to get them to match. This is simple but quite a lot of fun. Next we have Buildings, this is a bit like Ishido in a way. You have to place buildings on a grid so that they don’t match any others in the same column. Tipover is another buildings style game but this time you are moving a ball around to try and knock them down by doing it in the right sequence. The final game is by far the best, Tetrisnoid is a fun cross between Tetris and Breakout! In this game you drop the bricks like usual and a ball bounces around destroying them, this can help or hinder you. Overall this is an ok bunch of games, many of them are very similar and also very simple. The only real game of note is the last one – Tetrisnoid. That said though it is still a nice little compilation that will keep you busy for a while and sets the scene nicely for the sequel. It also contains more than a few secrets that you can unlock and discover!

The second game in the homebrew Yastuna series, The Space Incident, as you may have guessed from the title is a series of space related mini-games. The first of these is Space Lock, a simple but fun puzzle game where you must try to move your ship into the middle of the screen. You do this by moving it around so it bounces off other ships to get there, the other craft can be moved too which helps. This game really isn’t as easy as it sounds and has some really nice graphics. Next is Space Shoot, a beautiful looking version of Space Invaders that also features bonus power-ups for a point of difference. Then we have Space Dance, a variation on those popular dance games where you have to hit the right button in time with the music. I was really impressed with the tune in this game. Last but not least is Space Domino, which as you may have worked out is a game of dominoes with a space theme. Instead of dots on the dominoes you have little characters who all look different and need to be matched up. All in all this is a great compilation of mini-games and much better then the first instalment in the series. The graphics and sound are both very impressive and so here is hoping that a part 3 arrives eventually.

Zaku for the Lynx is one of the system’s biggest homebrew releases to date and sold out very quickly in it’s debut. It is also notable for being the very first Lynx homebrew to come on an original style flat game card with a curved edge. The game is basically a rip-off of the brilliant PC Engine/TurboGrafx game Air Zonk by Hudson Soft, not that this is a bad thing of course. For those who haven’t played Air Zonk I should explain that it’s a horizontally scrolling shooter using wacky cartoon like visuals to portray the action. Zaku looks very similar to Zonk (both 4 letter Z words too) and the enemies and levels in this game are also quite similar. Our hero flies along each level shooting down enemies and defeating a boss at the end of each one. Rather than lives he has a health bar that can be replenished by picking up the icons. He has a normal shot, a shield, power shot and a flame that comes out of his butt to kill enemies behind him! The power shot works just like the pulse beam in R-Type, you hold the button down for a few seconds and then release it. The enemies in Zaku are really varied and look great but some of them take FAR too many hits to destroy, which can be very tiresome at times. This is really the only big fault I have found with this game though other than the difficulty, which is quite high too. The graphics look exceptional with great attention to detail and wonderful parallax scrolling. The sound is also rather good with both sound effects and decent music. Overall Zaku is a very accomplished game for the Lynx that is well worth checking out.

One of the earlier games released for the Lynx by the creators Epyx, Zarlor Mercenary, was also the Lynx's first vertically scrolling shoot 'em up and still its best. Without beating around the bush I am just going to get straight to the point and tell you this game is pure class. Everything about it just oozes class from the amazingly detailed graphics and superb soundtrack to the 4-player comlynx gameplay and unique power-ups. One of the nicest features of the game is that you can select different players which each have their own special weapon which they never lose, this can cause many arguments over comlynx as everyone has a favourite! Another awesome feature is that your points = money when it comes to the end of level shops and well as host of great weapons you can buy in single player there are even more special weapons you can buy in multi-player. Zarlor is not just one of the best games on the Lynx its in my opinion one of the finest shoot 'em ups of its era.