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Tomb Raider controls or: How the fuck did I play this as a kid

S

SeanR1221

Member
So I decided to re-live my childhood and pick up a bunch of the PS1 games on sale right now.

I booted up Tomb Raider 2 and holy shit. Not only is it difficult to know what's a ledge you can grab, but the controls. The controls! It took me like 15 minutes to line up that first jump. Then I realized I shouldn't run and jump and I should stand, jump then push forward.

Yes some will come in and say new games are easy mode, well then sign me up because easy mode is fun.
 
You played it as a kid and because it was one of the first 3D games, you had little to no prior experience with the controls, so they worked fine.
 
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that the original Tomb Raider games were ever good
 
It's called perfect 3D platforming :). After that, it was just downhills for the entire genre.
 
Skilletor said:
You played it as a kid and because it was one of the first 3D games and you had little to no prior experience with the controls, so they worked fine.
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This is true. I guess I gotta get used to holding the trigger and walking to the edge.

Noray said:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that the original Tomb Raider games were ever good
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Well....at least I can lock the butler in the fridge.
 
I went from playing Mario64 (which had control difficulties of its own) to playing Tomb Raider. Yes, Laura moves like a tank.
 
bustin98 said:
I went from playing Mario64 (which had control difficulties of its own) to playing Tomb Raider. Yes, Laura moves like a tank.
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Yeah, people who are like "but we didn't know any better!" clearly didn't own an N64.
 
SeanR1221 said:
I booted up Tomb Raider 2 and holy shit. Not only is it difficult to know what's a ledge you can grab, but the controls. The controls! It took me like 15 minutes to line up that first jump. Then I realized I shouldn't run and jump and I should stand, jump then push forward.
Click to expand...

The original TR's don't have any arbitrary limits on what you can grab; if it's a ledge you can grab it if Lara can reach it, unless this is some graphical issue (which is why the PC versions are much better). Also it sounds like you haven't played the manor, which at least gives the basic moves you need.
 
I remember for the first game, you had to hop back once, press forward, then jump at the edge. Not necessarily in a natural, quick motion, mind. I always saw the first couple of TRs as puzzle games because of the controls.

But then I played TR Anniversary a few years back. That one sort of fixed things, until we have what TR 2013 (and Uncharted) have.
 
I know what you mean. I just started playing Shenmue and it controls like absolute shit! I kept running into walls, couldnt run up and down stairs it was driving me nuts. Shelved it for that reason :/
 
Very jarring going back to old TR games, but very cool at the same time. They're like controlling some intricate prototype that's since been completely streamlined. I feel the same way, though. I'm amazed that being asked to control a tank through some precise jumps while babysitting a camera didn't make me rage quit.
 
lol

I always maintained back when the game came out that it was shit. I remember having Mario 64 and being utterly absorbed in the game and then hearing at work how everyone was playing TR. So I checked it out- it was a pile of shit. How did anyone think this was fun when Mario 64 was being sold? I could never wrap my mind around that and still can't to this day.

If you ever pick up and play Mario 64 today is holds up so well that in many ways it eclipses the play controls of many third person action games today. Still the gold standard.
 
Mman235 said:
The original TR's don't have any arbitrary limits on what you can grab; if it's a ledge you can grab it if Lara can reach it, unless this is some graphical issue (which is why the PC versions are much better). Also it sounds like you haven't played the manor, which at least gives the basic moves you need.
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There more to the manor than the butler?
 
evilromero said:
lol

I always maintained back when the game came out that it was shit. I remember having Mario 64 and being utterly absorbed in the game and then hearing at work how everyone was playing TR. So I checked it out- it was a pile of shit. How did anyone think this was fun when Mario 64 was being sold? I could never wrap my mind around that and still can't to this day.

If you ever pick up and play Mario 64 today is holds up so well that in many ways it eclipses the play controls of many third person action games today. Still the gold standard.
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I didn't like the way Mario 64 controlled when I first played it. But I think whereas Tomb Raider was something completely different to me, I was comparing Mario 64 to SMB3, which to me had perfect controls.
 
grew up playing these and remember being pretty skilled at making all the jumps and what not.
Looking back i guess it was pretty cumbersome.

I wouldn't go back to them.....
 
obligatory

5M9f534.gif


Q3GFCOl.gif


the controls were actually great. No shiny ledges. No auto jump. No auto grab. The game didn't do the platforming for you. You had to be precise.
 
I like that a gif of someone jumping across a few platforms that are almost in a completely straight line is supposed to be a testament to the quality of the controls
 
The controls are great, but you have to learn the mechanics.

So many people who have problems with TR controls didn't play the tutorial. Basically you walk to a ledge, then press back once, then do a running jump by pressing forward by holding the jump button. With that method you will make the correct long jumps every single time.

The shooting can be pretty wonky, but the platforming is perfect.
 
I remember playing it on PS1 and having to line up every. single. jump. perfectly. Then a few years later, tried it on PC and basically just cursed for an hour before never booting it again.
dat triangle box doe
 
Noray said:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that the original Tomb Raider games were ever good
Click to expand...

It's like Resident Evil, where the actual "game" might be clunky and weird, hardly fun, but you're playing for the adventure and atmosphere you can't get anywhere else.

What other games, specifically at the time, were built on the premise of playing through Indiana Jones set pieces? I was happy to play it because there wasn't anything else like it. The part that was good was largely the experience.
 
You just have to get used to the grid-based controls, and they are pretty damn precise. The atmosphere, puzzles, and exploration were all very well done for the first few games and I always like to go back every few years and play through the first 4 titles.
 
dante81 said:
You just have to get used to the grid-based controls, and they are pretty damn precise. The atmosphere, puzzles, and exploration were all very well done for the first few games and I always like to go back every few years and play through the first 4 titles.
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I think this is why people hate on it so much. Using that gif a few posts above here show that Tomb Raider is more or less an elaborate puzzle game where the solution is learning where on the grid you need to be to do anything without dying. Once you know where you need to be or which action to do or when to quickly side flip into another part of the grid, it looks smooth.
 
Here we go again with this.

You appreciated and adapted to those controls because they are the most precise controls for 3d platforming ever created. Everything in Tomb Raider is aligned to a grid-- every crevice, every jump, every block, every shimmy, everything. The 3d controls in Tomb Raider allow you to move Lara precisely along a grid. The core mechanics of the game actually begin to transform themselves to a certain language of gaming. Jumps become one square block long. Repositioning is two sidesteps to the left. Do a backwards roll to reorient yourself following a jump.

You can play the games blindfolded. Odds are that as a child you were more patient and your brain was more flexible, and as such you were able to learn why and understand what for the controls meant.

I'm really saddened by people who don't get it-- or should I say, can't understand how others could get it or how others could have gotten it. The type of game classic Tomb Raider was has absolutely been lost to time.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
 
Tybolt said:
I think this is why people hate on it so much. Using that gif a few posts above here show that Tomb Raider is more or less an elaborate puzzle game where the solution is learning where on the grid you need to be to do anything without dying. Once you know where you need to be or which action to do or when to quickly side flip into another part of the grid, it looks smooth.
Click to expand...

Looking at that gif, it just makes me want to load up that particular section and perform it exactly the same way. Tomb Raider controls are like riding a bike to me, I never forget.
 
Y2Kev said:
Here we go again with this.

You appreciated and adapted to those controls because they are the most precise controls for 3d platforming ever created. Everything in Tomb Raider is aligned to a grid-- every crevice, every jump, every block, every shimmy, everything. The 3d controls in Tomb Raider allow you to move Lara precisely along a grid. The core mechanics of the game actually begin to transform themselves to a certain language of gaming. Jumps become one square block long. Repositioning is two sidesteps to the left. Do a backwards roll to reorient yourself following a jump.

You can play the games blindfolded. Odds are that as a child you were more patient and your brain was more flexible, and as such you were able to learn why and understand what for the controls meant.

I'm really saddened by people who don't get it-- or should I say, can't understand how others could get it or how others could have gotten it. The type of game classic Tomb Raider was has absolutely been lost to time.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Click to expand...



It's interesting how having actual control over your character has come to mean "bad controls" and having a slight suggestion at best as to what the character should do in Tomb Raider 2013 gets praise from the same crowd.
 
Noray said:
I like that a gif of someone jumping across a few platforms that are almost in a completely straight line is supposed to be a testament to the quality of the controls
Click to expand...

Nonsense. The platforms are not in a straight line, have fire coming out of them if you aren't timing things appropriately, and are different lengths apart. There's no computer-assisted platforming or "press triangle to regain your grip" safeguards. That is a very challenging section because it requires precision and that is why it is impressive.
 
I got the demo disk for one of these on Dreamcast and I had never played something so awkward. Mario 64 and even Sonic Adventure had far more sensible 3D controls.
 
Archaix said:
It's interesting how having actual control over your character has come to mean "bad controls" and having a slight suggestion at best as to what the character should do in Tomb Raider 2013 gets praise from the same crowd.
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That's why a series like AssCreed sells so much.

"Hold 2 buttons and press up on the stick? Well I can do that. Oh wow, I'm just doing this and the game does all sorts of cool shit. Now that's what I call great controls."
 
ascii42 said:
I didn't like the way Mario 64 controlled when I first played it. But I think whereas Tomb Raider was something completely different to me, I was comparing Mario 64 to SMB3, which to me had perfect controls.
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I never compared Mario 64 to the 2D games because the thought never entered my mind. I was having a blast just running around doing whatever the hell I wanted. Then there was TR and all the fun I was having simply controlling a character in a simulated world was gone.
 
Noray said:
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that the original Tomb Raider games were ever good
Click to expand...

How were they not good? I mean if you prefer the newer version with it's unique and original shoot-people-in-the-face gameplay, then that is your call. It certainly was a daring move to take the series when they pretty much copied everything from uncharted.

Me I prefer the originals gameplay. Where the games levels were the enemy to be understood and then conquered, instead of some dude you shoot in the face.
 
Y2Kev said:
Nonsense. The platforms are not in a straight line, have fire coming out of them if you aren't timing things appropriately, and are different lengths apart. There's no computer-assisted platforming or "press triangle to regain your grip" safeguards. That is a very challenging section because it requires precision and that is why it is impressive.
Click to expand...
Unless I'm missing something in the GIF, isn't the "have fire coming out of them" part just "Wait for fire to stop, then immediately do the entire sequence"?

Also, the earlier poster said no "auto grab", but doesn't the very last platform reached in the GIF have an auto ledge grab? Or are you holding down a button to do that grab or something? I think I have all the Lara Croft games but never played most of them.
 
Y2Kev said:
Nonsense. The platforms are not in a straight line, have fire coming out of them if you aren't timing things appropriately, and are different lengths apart. There's no computer-assisted platforming or "press triangle to regain your grip" safeguards. That is a very challenging section because it requires precision and that is why it is impressive.
Click to expand...

I also think a lot of the complaints come from it being too precise in a way. Failing to grab a ledge because I jumped too soon or too late even though I had Lara appear to be perfectly visibly able to grab but not being in the right frame of the "have her hands ready to grab" animation is stupid, and instead makes platforming a puzzle, which is extremely horrible for what appears to be an action-adventure game.
 
Y2Kev said:
Here we go again with this.

You appreciated and adapted to those controls because they are the most precise controls for 3d platforming ever created. Everything in Tomb Raider is aligned to a grid-- every crevice, every jump, every block, every shimmy, everything. The 3d controls in Tomb Raider allow you to move Lara precisely along a grid. The core mechanics of the game actually begin to transform themselves to a certain language of gaming. Jumps become one square block long. Repositioning is two sidesteps to the left. Do a backwards roll to reorient yourself following a jump.

You can play the games blindfolded. Odds are that as a child you were more patient and your brain was more flexible, and as such you were able to learn why and understand what for the controls meant.

I'm really saddened by people who don't get it-- or should I say, can't understand how others could get it or how others could have gotten it. The type of game classic Tomb Raider was has absolutely been lost to time.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Click to expand...

I haven't played Tomb Raider myself, but I'm guessing it compares to something like the Original Castlevanias vs Super Mario Bros 3?
 
Blizzard said:
Unless I'm missing something in the GIF, isn't the "have fire coming out of them" part just "Wait for fire to stop, then immediately do the entire sequence"?

Also, the earlier poster said no "auto grab", but doesn't the very last platform reached in the GIF have an auto ledge grab? Or are you holding down a button to do that grab or something? I think I have all the Lara Croft games but never played most of them.
Click to expand...

You hold down a button to grab.
 
Blizzard said:
Unless I'm missing something in the GIF, isn't the "have fire coming out of them" part just "Wait for fire to stop, then immediately do the entire sequence"?

Also, the earlier poster said no "auto grab", but doesn't the very last platform reached in the GIF have an auto ledge grab? Or are you holding down a button to do that grab or something? I think I have all the Lara Croft games but never played most of them.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know you haven't played them (and I'm not trying to be condescending, but you can tell from your questions). Every button press in that sequence, including the grab at the end, is timed such that Lara gets the appropriate height on her jumps and length on her reaches. There's a slight delay to the jumping in Tomb Raider as Lara "lifts off," like a compression in her leg muscles.

That the pillars have fire coming out of them is what makes it challenging. You'll notice the player doesn't stop at all. That's not that easy to do. You have the OP telling you it took him 15 minutes to line up the first jump. Now line up 4 of them and add a timing element.
 
ascii42 said:
You hold down a button to grab.
Click to expand...
Ah thanks. Someone else also mentioned only certain animation frames could grab even if your hands are in the right spot, which I did not know. I liked the Mirror's Edge PC controls for landing on ledges, and I thought they were precise, but they were for first-person gameplay.
 
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