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[stranno]

According videogameschronicle.com, today is the 25th anniversary of the game. I haven't seen the exact day before (because Europe and release dates).

The game was a temporal exclusive on Sega Saturn, it didn't came out on Playstation and Windows until the 15th of November 1996. But, on the other hand, with some improvements over the Saturn version.

Tomb Raider is 25-years-old today | VGC

Lara Croft made her debut on October 25, 1996; Square Enix says next entry will unify timelines…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[TrueLegend]

The one and only Lara Croft. I love Tomb Raider Games. Better than Uncharted games for me as Tomb Raider games are more tilted towards exploration than combat.

 

[Sub_Level]

One of the best games on PS1. The sound design & sense of isolation are particularly memorable.

Greece > Peru> Egypt > Atlantis

But all four are great. Anybody here ever try out Unfinished Business?

 

[Fake]

Boobs over emotion. Happy birthday Lara, not Laura.

 

[Javthusiast]

All hail the queen.

My first interaction with the franchise was watching my dad play through all 4 ps one games when I was a kid. Good times.

To this day the only games he ever played.

 

[DaGwaphics]

A true classic.

 

[TexMex]

Bought it on PC on a whim and that game completely blew my mind at the time and in some ways still does. A true classic.

 

[p_xavier]

Prefer this one.

 

[ManaByte]

The game was a temporal exclusive on Sega Saturn, it didn't came out on Playstation and Windows until the 15th of November 1996.

Which is funny seeing what happened after the first game released.

 

[Vaelka]

I miss OG Tomb Raider .

It was way more like a femme fatale Indiana Jones power fantasy, new games are just suffering and depression fiestas and feel really generic.

 

[Laptop1991]

A great game at the time, and the reason i bought a Voodoo 1, and it was the top franchise in the late 90's, i played them for hours back then.

 

[SSfox]

Just replayed recently 3, Legend and Underworld. I wish we got remaster but Square Enix super slow at thinking as usual.

 

[zeomax]

Prefer this one.

She has more latex in her lips than on her body.

 

[Punished Miku]

She doesn't look a day over 23!

 

[SirTerry-T]

Brilliant game, brilliant character.
I do think the franchise lost something though when it's development went overseas. It was very much the jewel in the crown for the UK Dev scene.
I used to work alongside the late Neal Boyd, the head environment artist and level designer before he left the studio I was with to go and work at Core Design and the game that would become Tomb Raider, a great fella with lots of stories to tell about the industry.

 

[Days like these...]

I remember playing this on my Saturn! One of my fondest gaming memories.

 

[AJUMP23]

Only video game character to be featured in a U2 concert.

This is one of the best covers ever.

 

[Alpha Male]

One of my favorite games as well as gaming experiences of all time!

The music was and still is phenomenal!

I had just gotten my first surround sound home theater system but I don't think this game or any other game had been coded for Dolby surround yet.....was still able to play with fake surround. The memorable experience really came from CD quality sound of PS1 because very few games had that in 1996.

 

[Wildebeest]

In the original concept art, you could clearly see the influence of Aeon Flux art style. Her signature weapons were dual Uzis at that point. My opinion on puppy fat, bow and arrows Lara is no thanks. Call me stuck in the 90s if you like, I don't care. I'm never watching Hunger Games, and that is also some crusty old nonsense at this point anyway.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

I don't care, laugh at me but here's the thing: She had more personality with her one liners and as a basic character that only spoke on cut-scenes than right now with her mommy and daddy issues or as they call it a "complex character" now:



I swear if the next game is another beginning i'm going to lose it.

 

[synchronicity]

The Core entries were (are) such great games. I'd love to see TR return to those roots - although I know it will never happen.

 

[FromDuskTillGameOver]

I played that PSX Demo for hours. That sense of freedom and exploration was unmatched back then. I remember been blown away from the underwater effects and scared of by the bear.

 

[Neff]

A modern Tomb Raider game which replicates the raw, unforgiving, mysterious feel of the original is something I wish existed

 

[tommib]

I don't care, laugh at me but here's the thing: She had more personality with her one liners and as a basic character that only spoke on cut-scenes than right now with her mommy and daddy issues or as they call it a "complex character" now:



I swear if the next game is another beginning i'm going to lose it.

She was such a strong character. How did they go from sassy and intelligent to tortured dumb princess in distress. Bloody hell.

 

[SirTerry-T]

I don't care, laugh at me but here's the thing: She had more personality with her one liners and as a basic character that only spoke on cut-scenes than right now with her mommy and daddy issues or as they call it a "complex character" now:



I swear if the next game is another beginning i'm going to lose it.

It needs the same understanding and TLC that Nintendo and Mercury Steam have just given Metroid. They need to embrace what made those first few entries in the series and Lara so special. The T & A stuff was always driven by the press and marketing at the time rather than the developers.
Lara "was" cut from the same cloth as Bayonetta ..a character who was in full control of their actions and perception.
Get back to that and fantastic level design and the franchise will be back on track.
There is nothing wrong with video games looking and playing "videogamey" instead of trying to replicate B -Movie knock offs all the time.

 

[SF Kosmo]

I really loved the original Tomb Raider. To me, it felt like a 3D version of the "cinematic platformer" genre like Flashback and Blackthorne. Some really good puzzles and a lot of lonely atmosphere.

The series never quite managed to replicate that, either. By the second game, it had sort of run into the Uncharted problem where Lara was more mass murdering sociopath than the Indiana Jones explorer she was meant as. There have been good games in the series since but it hasn't quite managed to replicate the vibe of the original.

 

[Fredrik]

I really loved the original Tomb Raider. To me, it felt like a 3D version of the "cinematic platformer" genre like Flashback and Blackthorne. Some really good puzzles and a lot of lonely atmosphere.

The series never quite managed to replicate that, either. By the second game, it had sort of run into the Uncharted problem where Lara was more mass murdering sociopath than the Indiana Jones explorer she was meant as. There have been good games in the series since but it hasn't quite managed to replicate the vibe of the original.

So true. The original Tomb Raider was never about the shooting, there was some shooting but she auto aimed and the action was mostly about dodging, she mostly killed animals too, and 95% of the game was about exploration.
Today you have to aim and do headshots and all that and it’s barely even 50% exploration.

 

[SF Kosmo]

So true. The original Tomb Raider was never about the shooting, there was some shooting but she auto aimed and the action was mostly about dodging, she mostly killed animals too, and 95% of the game was about exploration.
Today you have to aim and do headshots all that and it’s barely even 50% exploration.

Also you were shooting animals and monsters, not murdering hundreds of soldiers.

 

[aygomyownroad]

Loved the ps one games. The dinosaur section was a hell of a fright as a kid

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Back then you would get "ripped" copies of a game. Basically they remove cinematics and music so it has space for more than one games. Thats how I experienced TR and it was glorious lol. On one CD I had : C&C, TR and Worms.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Groundbreaking game. An indisputable classic, THE one game that defined PlayStation in the mind of the general public. Yeah, it was Saturn first, but nobody had a Saturn so nobody ever knew, or needed to know. People bought and modded PlayStations just to play a bit of this masterpiece - and fail miserably, because Tomb Raider is a gamer’s game, not something casuals can ever hope to grasp. This is not me being elitist - TR’s second level is already beyond anything a person who doesn’t play games can ever hope to beat. It’s a 90s game through and through, very hard to figure out and master. But it’s also a joy. There was simply nothing like it at the time. I replayed it a few years ago and it still holds up. The atmosphere, the secrets, the incredible level design. It does get way too fucking hard in the final levels, and it was a nightmare on console with limited saves and looooong loading times, but it was worth it. They never recaptured the same feeling again.

 

[tommib]

Groundbreaking game. An indisputable classic, THE one game that defined PlayStation in the mind of the general public. Yeah, it was Saturn first, but nobody had a Saturn so nobody ever knew, or needed to know. People bought and modded PlayStations just to play a bit of this masterpiece - and fail miserably, because Tomb Raider is a gamer’s game, not something casuals can ever hope to grasp. This is not me being elitist - TR’s second level is already beyond anything a person who doesn’t play games can ever hope to beat. It’s a 90s game through and through, very hard to figure out and master. But it’s also a joy. There was simply nothing like it at the time. I replayed it a few years ago and it still holds up. The atmosphere, the secrets, the incredible level design. It does get way too fucking hard in the final levels, and it was a nightmare on console with limited saves and looooong loading times, but it was worth it. They never recaptured the same feeling again.

It’s top 5 on my list, for sure. And it’s criminally underrepresented on GOAT lists across the “academy”. It was as groundbreaking as Mario 64 and Quake in my book.

 

[Iced Arcade]

Happy birthday croft!

Another example of how square doesn't have a clue or care with this franchise. Imagine doing nothing on a 25th anniversary

 

[cireza]

But, on the other hand, with some improvements over the Saturn version.

And also some regressions. Replayed the game on Saturn a few months ago, it was a blast. Still my favorite Tomb Raider game, by far.

 

[BoxFresh123]

I loved the reboot trilogy

 

[tommib]

I loved the reboot trilogy

Go away! Let us drown in an ocean of sadness for what Tomb Raider used to be in the 90s.

Joking.

Half-joke.

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

Happy birthday, Lara. Sorry I spent so much time watching you swan dive to your death.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

The originals are pretty agonizing to play at this point, but I replayed TR Anniversary about a month ago and that game is still fantastic. Totally worth revisiting or playing for the first time.

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

The tank style controls are pretty terrible today. Back in the day it was fine. I played the first 2 games a few months ago and totally forgot how the controls were.

 

[Elios83]

I still play with Tomb Taider 2, one of my favourite games ever.
They stated that with the next game they want to somehow bring back Lara as the adult character she was in the classic TR games instead of the boring character she was in the reboot trilogy.
I really hope it's true and more infos are released soon. I guess that Eidos Montreal will take the reins of the franchise going forward.

 

[tommib]

Happy birthday, Lara. Sorry I spent so much time watching you swan dive to your death.

God I love those levels. I still go back to this when I’m tired of videogames and think they suck. It resets my passion.

Why can’t we get a simple up-res port of this on current consoles?

 

[amigastar]

You know, i've never understood why they didn't give her about 10 - 20 polygons more and made her breasts round.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Ah, the time when you could be sexy and smart and nobody would double-guess the agenda. A true icon.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

You know, i've never understood why they didn't give her about 10 - 20 polygons more and made her breasts round.

Because it was 1996. It was either triangles or squares.

Things changed a year later:

They also couldn't do much for her hair physics for the first game...i remember being impressed by her hair on Tomb Raider 2, lmao

 

[Star-Lord]

They really need to remake the original trilogy aka GTA Trilogy. And then release Last Revelations as a stand-alone title. People would eat it right up.

 

[Aggressive Carrot]

God I love those levels. I still go back to this when I’m tired of videogames and think they suck. It resets my passion.

Why can’t we get a simple up-res port of this on current consoles?

Would love to see an up-res port. You know, as long as they don't mess it up.

You know, i've never understood why they didn't give her about 10 - 20 polygons more and made her breasts round.

It's probably based on inspiration

 

[nush]

Brilliant game, brilliant character.
I do think the franchise lost something though when it's development went overseas. It was very much the jewel in the crown for the UK Dev scene.
I used to work alongside the late Neal Boyd, the head environment artist and level designer before he left the studio I was with to go and work at Core Design and the game that would become Tomb Raider, a great fella with lots of stories to tell about the industry.

Sex shame of Lara Croft ace. - Free Online Library

Free Online Library: Sex shame of Lara Croft ace.(News) by "The Mirror (London, England)"; General interest

www.thefreelibrary.com

The series would be cancelled into the sun these days.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

They really need to remake the original trilogy aka GTA Trilogy. And then release Last Revelations as a stand-alone title. People would eat it right up.

It's not cool to say this for some reason but the original series peaked with Tomb Raider The Last Revelation even if Tomb Raider 2 will always be my favorite Tomb Raider game.

The decision to create a new team after Tomb Raider 2 to work on Tomb Raider 3 (basically the same game but harder and stupider) while the Tomb Raider 2 team (and the original creators) worked on Tomb Raider The Last Revelation was the best thing they could've done. It was a much more ambitious game than its predecessor and it shows.

Chronicles was a cashgrab though.

So why did i quote you? Because the true trilogy is Tomb Raider 1, 2 and The Last Revelation. 3 and Chronicles was Eidos demanding yearly entries and were the 2 games that didn't evolve a lot when compared with their previous entries.

 

[tommib]

It's not cool to say this for some reason but the original series peaked with Tomb Raider The Last Revelation even if Tomb Raider 2 will always be my favorite Tomb Raider game.

The decision to create a new team after Tomb Raider 2 to work on Tomb Raider 3 (basically the same game but harder and stupider) while the Tomb Raider 2 team (and the original creators) worked on Tomb Raider The Last Revelation was the best thing they could've done. It was a much more ambitious game than its predecessor and it shows.

Chronicles was a cashgrab though.

So why did i quote you? Because the true trilogy is Tomb Raider 1, 2 and The Last Revelation. 3 and Chronicles was Eidos demanding yearly entries and were the 2 games that didn't evolve a lot when compared with their previous entries.

3 was a slog of a game and had these endless city levels where you couldn’t see shit. Still finished it though.

Revelation was adorable and a return to form with great graphics. I remember trying all my new graphic cards with that game.

 

[Star-Lord]

It's not cool to say this for some reason but the original series peaked with Tomb Raider The Last Revelation even if Tomb Raider 2 will always be my favorite Tomb Raider game.

The decision to create a new team after Tomb Raider 2 to work on Tomb Raider 3 (basically the same game but harder and stupider) while the Tomb Raider 2 team (and the original creators) worked on Tomb Raider The Last Revelation was the best thing they could've done. It was a much more ambitious game than its predecessor and it shows.

Chronicles was a cashgrab though.

So why did i quote you? Because the true trilogy is Tomb Raider 1, 2 and The Last Revelation. 3 and Chronicles was Eidos demanding yearly entries and were the 2 games that didn't evolve a lot when compared with their previous entries.

Nah, see, I really enjoyed TR3. I remember playing a demo on one of the discs they gave away with OPM, and I just knew I had to get the game - despite, at that point, having not played the first two. So I begged my parents to get me all three, and they did. I was thrilled. I booted them up and played through all three over two weeks. Then, I got my Dreamcast at Christmas, and I got Revelations in a bundle of games from one of the auction channels on Sky — I got 15 DC games for £10, so I was ecstatic.

For me, Revelations is my favourite in the series, followed by 2, 3, and finally 1. I never bothered with Chronicles as, like you said, it seemed like nothing more than a cash cow. But if they were to remake the trilogy, along with Revelations, I’d just throw all my money at them. If they can do it with Uncharted and shitty Nathan ‘Fake Croft’ Drake, why not our beloved Lara?