Sega, Atari and SNK handhelds
The Game Gear, Lynx and Neo Geo Pocket are 8-bit and 16-bit cartridge handhelds. The Game Gear and Lynx use CPUs that Ghidra builds in. The Neo Geo Pocket's TLCS-900/H has no Ghidra module.
The devices
| Device | Years | CPU and clock | Media and format | Ghidra support | Emulator with a debugger |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sega Game Gear | 6 October 1990 (JP) | Z80 at 3.58 MHz | Cartridge | Z80 built in | MAME, Emulicious |
| Atari Lynx | September 1989 | 65SC02 at 4 MHz in Mikey | Cartridge with an encrypted loader | 65C02 built in | Handy, Mednafen (lineage not confirmed) |
| Neo Geo Pocket and Color | October 1998 and March 1999 (JP) | TLCS-900/H at 6.144 MHz; Z80 for sound | Cartridge | No TLCS-900 module; NGDis disassembles | MAME, Mednafen |
Mednafen covers the Neo Geo Pocket with a debugger in its SDL front end (Mednafen docs).
Sega Game Gear
Hardware
The Z80 runs at 3.58 MHz. The video chip is the Master System VDP, with 160x144 pixels visible. Many Game Gear games are Master System ports (Game Gear).
Tools
Ghidra builds in the Z80. Unicorn and Capstone have no Z80, so take ground truth from a small core such as iz80 or from MAME. Emulicious also covers the Game Gear, with a profiler, tracer and source-level debugging (Emulicious).
Atari Lynx
Hardware
The 65SC02 runs at 4 MHz inside the Mikey chip. The Suzy blitter scales sprites and has a maths unit (Atari Lynx).
Tools
Load the code with Ghidra's 65C02 language. Ghidra's 6502 ADC p-code is not exact, so take ground truth from a tested core (Tools for console work).
For an exact reimplementation
The cartridge loader is encrypted. An emulator needs the Lynx boot ROM to run it.
Neo Geo Pocket and Neo Geo Pocket Color
Hardware
The main CPU is a TLCS-900/H at 6.144 MHz, with a Z80 for sound. The screen is 160x152 (Neo Geo Pocket Color).
Tools
Ghidra has no TLCS-900 module. NGDis disassembles the code. MAME and Mednafen run the games.