Atari Emulation on Handhelds: 2600, 7800, and Lynx

Atari is where home gaming began, and its classic systems emulate effortlessly on any handheld. The 2600 holds the foundational arcade ports and early classics. The 7800 added sharper arcade-style action. And the Lynx, Atari's color handheld, is a genuinely underrated system full of surprises. All three are light to run, so even the cheapest handheld plays them perfectly.

This guide covers setting up each system and the games worth your time. We frame all of this around games you own and want to preserve.

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The Three Atari Systems

Each system has its own character and its own emulator core.

• Atari 2600. The 1977 console that started it all. Blocky, simple, and historic. The Stella core is the standard.
• Atari 7800. A more capable 1986 console with arcade-quality games. The ProSystem core handles it.
• Atari Lynx. Atari's 1989 color handheld, ahead of its time. The Handy or Beetle Lynx core runs it.

All three are extremely light, so any handheld runs them flawlessly.

How to Set It Up

The process is the same idea for each system.

1. In RetroArch, open the core downloader and grab the core for the system you want, Stella for 2600, ProSystem for 7800, or a Lynx core.
2. Place your games in the matching system folder and scan them. Our organize ROMs guide covers folder names.
3. The Lynx may need a small BIOS file, which you must provide from hardware you own. The 2600 and 7800 generally do not.
4. Load a game and play.

The Lynx was a landscape handheld with games in both orientations, so a few Lynx games are vertical. You can rotate the display for those.

Best Atari 2600 Games

The 2600 is rough by modern standards, but a handful of games are still genuinely fun.

• Pitfall! The original platformer-adventure. Swing across vines and dodge hazards. Still a good time.
• Adventure. A landmark early action-adventure with the first famous Easter egg.
• River Raid. A tense vertical shooter with fuel management. One of the best on the system.
• Yars' Revenge. A unique, original shooter. The 2600's standout.
• Demon Attack. Sharp, fast shooting action. Holds up well.

Best Atari 7800 Games

The 7800 played 2600 games and added stronger arcade ports.

• Ms. Pac-Man. One of the best home versions of its era.
• Galaga. A faithful, fun port of the arcade classic.
• Food Fight. A frantic, charming arcade game. A 7800 highlight.
• Ninja Golf. A bizarre genre mashup that is exactly as strange as it sounds. A cult favorite.

Best Atari Lynx Games

The Lynx is the real surprise here. Its color screen and hardware were impressive, and the library has real gems.

• California Games. The Lynx version is a beloved multi-event sports game.
• Chip's Challenge. A clever puzzle game that later spread to other platforms. Originated on the Lynx.
• Blue Lightning. An impressive flight combat game that showed off the hardware.
• Todd's Adventures in Slime World. A fun exploration platformer.
• Gauntlet: The Third Encounter. A solid handheld take on the dungeon crawler.

The Lynx is worth setting up just to discover how capable Atari's handheld really was.

Recommended Handhelds

All three systems run on anything. Pick based on what suits you.

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