What's a good place to start and stop playing the series, and are the games still fun these days? I don't mind tank controls however i'm not sure about pre-SM64 platforming lol
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90's Tomb Raider still worth playing?
- Thread starter out_of_touch
- Start date
I replayed the original last year and still had a good time. Only part I'd consider wonky is the gunplay but it's manageable. I'd say play that one and see how you feel about it before moving forward. The series starts getting heavier into combat as it goes along so your stopping point will likely depend on what balance of fighting and exploring you like. Later games apparently get super stupid with the story but someone else will have to fill you in on that since I only played the first 2 or 3.
People will tell you to play Anniversary but it's different enough for me to not recommend it as a suitable replacement for the game it's based on.
People will tell you to play Anniversary but it's different enough for me to not recommend it as a suitable replacement for the game it's based on.
I've really wanted to play them, but I just can't handle the controls anymore. I've tried all kinds of things. I've been spoiled by controls of the last 20 years.
The platforming is actually pretty precise, the game operates on a grid-like system. If you stick to the grid, you don't miss.
It's not very obvious at first glance but when you start playing it makes sense.
Anyway, to answer your question, I pretty much started and stopped with the first Tomb Raider back in the day.
Not on purpose though, I only had a Saturn and a 486 PC back then...
The first TR is good, combat is minimal (which is good, trust me), and it still has a decent atmosphere. Some of this atmosphere was lost in the remake. When you adjust to the tank controls and the best approach to attacking (jump around your enemies while firing), you'll probably cruise through the first "world".
Start with the first game. I played it for the first time last year and loved it, but it is certainly a game where you have to acclimate and play the game on its own terms. You know how playing Deus Ex or System Shock, you see the origins of future games and future mechanics? Playing classic Tomb Raider is like playing the first games in some offshoot of the cinematic platformer that never sprouted to a full branch.
It's best to think of the classic gameplay as a turn-based platformer, where you have exact knowledge and control over every step and moment of movement
LTTP: Tomb Raider (1996) remains an innovative platformer and I wish there were more games like it
It's best to think of the classic gameplay as a turn-based platformer, where you have exact knowledge and control over every step and moment of movement
LTTP: Tomb Raider (1996) remains an innovative platformer and I wish there were more games like it
I think there are a ton of fun. There's actually too little stuff like that out there today.
The control may seem awful but give it a few hours and you may find that you have equity options, and a consistent, reliable handle on things. I enjoy controlling those games when I go back to them.
The control may seem awful but give it a few hours and you may find that you have equity options, and a consistent, reliable handle on things. I enjoy controlling those games when I go back to them.
I never liked the old Tomb Raider games, even when they first came out. The controls and camera are pretty bad imho. I do like the music though.
The Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raiders (Anniversary, Legends and Underworld) are much better and stil worth playing today.
The Crystal Dynamics Tomb Raiders (Anniversary, Legends and Underworld) are much better and stil worth playing today.
Its a great game.
The controls are hard to get again though. No thumbsticks, only D-pad.
Anniversary is the remake of the 96 TR. I would play that. And while the original TR was great they quickly declined with each new entry.
The controls are hard to get again though. No thumbsticks, only D-pad.
Anniversary is the remake of the 96 TR. I would play that. And while the original TR was great they quickly declined with each new entry.
They did but it's just not the same. I was pretty disappointed with the changes they made tbh
OP
OP
What up with 3? Fatigue or plain bad?
Btw thanks everyone! Going to start 1
The original Tomb Raider always felt like the OG Prince of Persia (which I played to death back in the day) but in 3D to me so to this day I've never had a problem with the controls. Except for the shooting which has always sucked.
The remake is a very different game. Both are worth playing.
I played a bit of it about a year or so ago. There's a pretty good PC source port that cleans it up pretty well.
Controls are the hardest part to get used to, but honestly, once you're past that it's not bad. I enjoyed what I played quite a bit, and I keep meaning to go back to it.
Controls are the hardest part to get used to, but honestly, once you're past that it's not bad. I enjoyed what I played quite a bit, and I keep meaning to go back to it.
Yes they are worth checking out. The original tomb raider games capture a feeling of exploration and adventure that is missing in a lot of games these days. The bad controls are the price of admission. I recommend thief 1 and 2 if you enjoy them, or just want to explore a lost tomb without weird tank movement.
In a way, no. Their control and gameplay mechanics aged very, very badly. A simple jump requires a special kind of clunky precision and you will have to manually save a lot, lest you will lose a lot of progress very often since dying is so easy.
That said, they are classic games and a great window to the past. If you equip yourself with a lot of patience and understading, it might be worth it.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is the closest thing to the classic game but with modern sensibilities, and I'd argue it's a top tier remake, right there with REmake.
That said, they are classic games and a great window to the past. If you equip yourself with a lot of patience and understading, it might be worth it.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is the closest thing to the classic game but with modern sensibilities, and I'd argue it's a top tier remake, right there with REmake.
I've replayed the first two games pretty recently; the fun factor is largely dependent on how much you like the grid-based platforming. I think the most glaring weakness with the original Tomb Raider games was always the combat. The auto targeting system is serviceable when Lara is engaging a single enemy, but where it shows its deficiencies is when multiple enemies are on screen—the main flaw is that Lara can stay locked on to dead targets when firing which is infuriating when you have multiple enemies attacking you in an enclosed space. Tomb Raider 4 tried to rectify this with the manual targeting, but it still wasn't that responsive to me. They also have their share of oddly designed enemy encounters that border on the bad side (Venice in Tomb Raider 2 is a prime example). With that said, there are plenty of things to like about the Core Design games: the music, the sound design, the visual groundwork of each game, and the animations can all range from decent to outstanding—especially given they came out in the 90s.
If they aren't your cup of tea, you can simply move on to the Legend/Anniversary/Underworld trilogy of games which have more modernized game mechanics that most newcomers will find familiar. Also, don't sleep on the spin-off "Lara Croft" series: Guardian of Light, Temple of Osiris, and Lara Croft Go are legitimately fun games and great additions to the series. The first two were based on the LAU trilogy, but aren't integral to the story of any of those games. There are also a couple of decent Tomb Raider games on Game Boy if you're curious.
If they aren't your cup of tea, you can simply move on to the Legend/Anniversary/Underworld trilogy of games which have more modernized game mechanics that most newcomers will find familiar. Also, don't sleep on the spin-off "Lara Croft" series: Guardian of Light, Temple of Osiris, and Lara Croft Go are legitimately fun games and great additions to the series. The first two were based on the LAU trilogy, but aren't integral to the story of any of those games. There are also a couple of decent Tomb Raider games on Game Boy if you're curious.
On the PS1 it had a save system that caused it to be significantly more difficult than the previous two. It's still a very good game, but it can be brutal. Death comes easy and you'll find yourself repeating huge cjunks until you memorize them or you felt like using one of your precious save crystals.
To answer the original question, yes, they are. I'm arectually currently in the middle of replaying the first four for the millionth time on my PSP. They just don't seem to get old to me. Though I suppose that if you're not forged in the time they were, you'll have difficulties adapting to the rigid, but actually well thought out and implemented grid system that runs under the whole thing.
Start with the first. Like it? Try TR2. Don't?Well, you gave it a shot. Move on.
The shooting is pretty much keeping the camera on the enemy while dodging which isn't really playing to the controls' strong suit, but on the other hand the moves you can do like pulling out your guns while backflipping through the air and be firing before you hit the ground are way more cinematic than most of the overtly cinematic style games from recent history.
If you're playing the PC version there's a mod that lets you play the expansion and adds the music from the PS1 version.
https://github.com/Carlmundo/TombRaider-AutomatedFix/releases/tag/release
Also can I just say how much I fucking love the theme song from TR1?
Think it sets the perfect tone for the game. Haunting and mysterious. Have it set as one of my alarms on my phone.
Think it sets the perfect tone for the game. Haunting and mysterious. Have it set as one of my alarms on my phone.
Oh it looks cool but at the time it came out I was heavy into Quake on PC so mouse look/free look was already imprinted on me.