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The Atari ST was the Amiga's great 16-bit rival, and it had a fierce, creative library of its own. It was a favorite of musicians and developers, and many classics arrived on the ST first. Emulation runs through Hatari, which is light enough for almost any modern handheld. Many games use a joystick and one button, so they map neatly to a D-pad and a face button. A few lean on the keyboard, so a device with good button mapping helps.
We frame all of this around games you already own and want to preserve.
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Role-Playing and Adventure
Dungeon Master (ST) — A landmark real-time dungeon crawler that arrived on the ST first. Atmospheric, tense, and hugely influential.
Chaos Strikes Back (ST) — The brutal sequel to Dungeon Master. A puzzle-heavy challenge for veterans.
Captive (ST) — A vast sci-fi dungeon crawler with procedurally generated worlds. Enormous and ambitious.
Bloodwych (ST) — A dungeon crawler with two-player co-op on one screen. A clever social twist on the genre.
Action and Platformers
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (ST) — The Bitmap Brothers' violent future sports classic. Fast, addictive, and a technical showpiece.
Xenon 2: Megablast (ST) — A gorgeous vertical shooter with a famous soundtrack. A signature ST title.
Rick Dangerous (ST) — A trap-filled action-platformer with a wicked sense of humor. Quick, deadly, and replayable.
Turrican (ST) — A sprawling run-and-gun with huge levels and great music. A showcase for the machine.
Another World (ST) — Eric Chahi's cinematic masterpiece. Sparse, striking, and unforgettable.
Gods (ST) — Another polished Bitmap Brothers action game. Tight controls and clever level design.
Strategy and Simulation
Populous (ST) — Peter Molyneux's god game that launched a genre. Endlessly replayable in short sessions.
Powermonger (ST) — A deeper, real-time strategy follow-up to Populous. Ambitious and absorbing.
Midwinter (ST) — A sprawling survival-strategy game with a huge open world. Way ahead of its time.
Sim City (ST) — The original city builder. A calm, creative way to spend a session.
Arcade and Deep Cuts
Bubble Bobble (ST) — A near-perfect port of the arcade classic. Pure two-player joy.
Llamatron (ST) — Jeff Minter's frantic Robotron-style blaster. Loud, weird, and wonderful.
Oids (ST) — A rescue-and-thrust action game with great physics. A cult ST favorite.
Stunt Car Racer (ST) — A white-knuckle racing game on wild elevated tracks. Tense and thrilling.
Best Handhelds for Atari ST Games
The ST asks little of modern hardware, so pick for comfort and control mapping. A good D-pad matters most.
The
is a comfortable, affordable pick with an accurate D-pad for joystick-style games. For keyboard-driven titles, an Android device like the makes on-screen mapping easy. On the tightest budget, the runs Hatari without breaking a sweat.Related Guides
- Best Amiga Games for Handhelds — the ST's great rival
- Best Atari 2600 Games for Handhelds — where Atari started
- Best C64 Games for Handhelds — the 8-bit champion
- Best Strategy and Tactics Games for Handhelds — more thinking-player picks
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