Since USgamer launched last summer, I’ve been trying to build a library of console retrospectives that are, if not comprehensive, at least as comprehensive as I can reasonably create within the context of a mainstream-oriented flagship video games website that doesn’t really function as an encyclopedia of the medium’s history. I’ve been pretty happy with these pieces, especially compared to older system retrospectives I wrote at 1UP. I’ve made a determined effort over the past few years to broaden my horizons and get a fuller sense of the various factors that have shaped the medium. I’m far from an expert, but I definitely think I’ve managed to assemble some worthwhile pieces.
The latest is a lengthy retrospective on the Atari Lynx, a system I’ve come to develop a better appreciation for of late. I decided to add Lynx games to Game Boy World, at which point I really started to study the system and learn more about it. The thing was an impressive piece of work. Yeah, it’s easy to excoriate it for its obvious failings, but I think it deserves more appreciation for its successes. Hopefully I’ve managed to present it in a fair and positive light despite not having any personal fandom or affection for it.
And, if you’re bored this weekend and haven’t read them already, may I recommend killing an hour or two with my previous retrospectives?
- Nintendo Entertainment System
- Nintendo Game Boy (a bit janky-looking thanks to the recent site redesign, sorry)
- Bandai WonderSwan
- Sega SG-1000
- The MSX standard
And more to come, don’t you doubt it.
I do love these console retrospectives of yours – especially when they’re not NES or SNES, but something more obscure – like, hey, Atari Lynx!
And as always, I’m interested to see you writing more on Sega – Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, etc. I know a lot of that is tied up in what you grew up with and what interests you personally, but I think you could have a pretty fresh take on Sega that isn’t totally mired in rose-tinted nostalgia like so many others.
And no, this really isn’t just another way of saying, “where the hell is Volume 2 of the Gamespite Sega retrospective?!”
Yay console retrospectives!
That is all.