Atari Lynx emulators

Atari Lynx

Developer	Atari, Epyx
Type	Handheld game console
Generation	Fourth generation
Release date	1989
Discontinued	1995
Emulated	✓

For emulators that run on the Atari Lynx, see Emulators on Atari Lynx.

The Atari Lynx was a fourth-generation handheld game console released by Atari on September 1, 1989 and it retailed for $179.99 ($468 in 2026). It has a WDC 65SC02 CPU. Notably, it was the world's first handheld system that used a color LCD screen, as well as having fairly advanced graphics for the time.

Unlike contemporaneous machines, its architecture is based upon a frame buffer and a scaling blitter, providing both 2D sprite and background scaling and hardware support for lines and filled triangles. Because it has no inherent concept of a tile map or any sprite-specific hardware, the drawing budget is per frame rather than per line; there is no enforced limit in terms of the number of sprites or sprites per line other than that implied by the amount of drawing that can be achieved within an acceptable frame rate.

Emulators

Before editing, review the Getting involved and Recommended pages. See system requirements page for performance demand of the emulators.
See tables for hardware variants, enhancements, hardware features and peripherals.
For more details such as licensing, programming language, emulation method, visit each emulator’s dedicated page.

Name	Platform(s)	Latest version	Netplay	RetroAchievements	libretro	License	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
Mednafen mednafen_lynx_libretro		1.32.1 libretro core	~	~	✓	GPLv2 (Copyleft)	✓	✓
MAME		0.289	✗	✗	✓	GPLv2 BSD-3-Clause	✓	✓
Felix		0.6.3	✗	✗	✗	MIT (Permissive)	✓	✓
Pantheon		16.458	?	?	?	Proprietary	✓	?
OpenEmu		2.4.1	✗	✗	✗	?	✓	✓
Handy Handy_libretro		libretro core 0.971	~	~	✓	zlib License (Permissive)	~	✗
Gearlynx		libretro core 1.2.31	?	?	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✓	✗
Mobile / ARM
Handy_libretro		libretro core	✓	✓	✓	zlib License (Permissive)	~	✓
Lynx.emu		1.5.85git	✗	✗	✗	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✓	✓
Provenance		3.3.0 git	?	?	?	?	✓	?
Gearlynx		libretro core 1.2.31	?	?	✓	GPLv3 (Copyleft)	✓	✗
Consoles
Handy Handy_libretro		libretro core Handypsp Handy VITA WiiHandy Handy-3DS 06/03/23 Saturn git	~	~	✓	zlib License (Permissive)	~	✓
PLynx		0.9	✗	✗	✗	Proprietary	✗	~

Comparison

Mednafen

Based upon Handy, but unlike other forked cores, its emulation only improves upon the original. Despite having the .lnx extension, No-Intro ROMs aren’t directly compatible with Mednafen nor Handy and must be converted with make_lnx, which is bundled with Handy.

Felix

Inspired by Handy. Created in C++20 using DirectX. Under MIT License. It's a cycle-exact Atari Lynx Emulator with good compatibility. It has a simple GUI and can load roms in .lnx, .lyx and .o format, change rotation and EEPROM properties, has Xinput Gamepad support and redefinable key mapping.

Handy

Hasn't been updated since 2007. Only included here for reference.

Enhancements

Please only include recommended emulators in this table. Do not bump or spam GitHub threads, issues, or feature request pages.

Name		Mednafen	MAME	Felix	OpenEmu
Controls	Input lag-mitigating technique
	Turbo button
Graphics	Remove sprite limit
	Resizable internal resolution
	Sprite replacement
	Widescreen hack
Performance	Overclock
Post-processing	AI-powered filter compatible (Freestyle)
	Filters
	Inverse tone mapping compatible
	Shader chain
Quality of life	Automatic updater
	Big Picture Mode
	Built-in cheat manager
	Built-in custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows OS you need CRT Emudriver. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility".
	Built-in mod editor and manager
	Built-in patch manager
	Command line options
	Pause/Resume emulation
	Per-game profiles
	Portable and stealth Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary prerequisites and dependencies for your operating system if it is not statically linked.
	Streamable compression format
TAS features	Fast forward/Turbo speed
	Frame step (forwards and backwards)
	Macros/Scripts/Lua
	Movie recording/playback
	Rewind
	Save states
Misc.	Audio filters and presets Simulation of characteristic playback limitations and coloration of vintage consumer audio hardware, such as CRT television speakers, arcade cabinets, handheld consoles, early PC sound outputs, and low-fidelity integrated speakers. These filters are not intended to be perfectly accurate recreations, but rather to evoke the tonal qualities, distortion, bandwidth limits, resonance, and compression associated with 8-bit and 16-bit era devices. Examples include mono or narrow stereo output, reduced frequency response, speaker cone distortion, mild saturation, aliasing, and preset lo-fi profiles inspired by classic TVs, portable game systems, radios, and retro multimedia hardware.
	Debug features
	EmuVR support
	Netplay
	RetroAchievements
	Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported.
	Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically.

Hardware features and peripherals

Name		Mednafen	MAME	Felix	OpenEmu
Hardware features
Peripherals	Comlynx cable	✗	✗	✗	✗
Misc.	Atari Jaguar connectivity	✗	✗	✗	✗
	Switch between Lynx I and Lynx II emulation	?	?	?	?

BIOS

All emulators require a dump of the 512-byte BIOS named lynxboot.img. On Mednafen, put it on the root folder.

LLeny made HLE BIOS for Handy's libretro core, it can run Lynx games directly

Atari(edit)

• Consoles: Atari 2600 • Atari 5200 • Atari 7800 • Atari XEGS • Atari Jaguar • Atari VCS
• Handhelds: Atari Lynx
• Arcade: CoJag
• Home computers: Atari 8-bit • Atari ST