Was it Good? - Tomb Raider 2

Josh Strife Hayes Youtooz Plush: youtooz.com/pr...
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Lara Croft returns oin the hunt for the mythical dagger of Xian.
China, Venice, The deep ocean, Tibet then to the etheral dream world of mystical floating jade statues, Tomb Raider 2 is more of the same, but with a few new tricks, a lot more traps, and unfortunately, vehicles.
Thanks to the supporters on Patreon, KZbin and Twitch who keep this channel alive.

[@JoshStrifePlays]

Plush Strife Hayes is only available for 2 weeks, so get me before I am gone! youtooz.com/products/josh-strife-hayes-plush-9-inch

[@ericrhodes5174]

I'd spend all my life just to get through your head!

[@LC-th3mi]

Goddammit. I literally clicked on the comments to type 'Plush Strife Hayes' only to see I was beaten to it. Touché, Strife-Hayes. Touché.

[@stuckinaloop6637]

The 23rd is my birthday if someone wants to gift me one!

[@solarshado]

"jar by the radiator" you say? iregretunderstanding.png

[@NoneofYourBusiness667]

Bro…you danced onstage with Lara Croft’s voice actress? I….what?!

[@AvaTris0451]

my mum passed away three weeks ago and i will never forget the christmas when she got me a playstation with alien trilogy, final fantasy 7, and tomb raider 2. we played tomb raider 2 all christmas and into the new year. she loved watching me play games thank you for this video, i will watch it with mum in mind

[@grandmasterofthrow6238]

I'm sorry for your loss. It sounds like your mom was an awesome person. ♥

[@18jk]

Sending some ❤ - in about two weeks it'll be a year since losing my brother. He showed me everything I know really. He liked tomb raider back in the day. GTA was his favorite.

[@leeweesquee]

❤

[@camrunner6633]

Bet you never beat alien trilogy, that game is unreal hard

[@mattybob12310]

Sorry for your loss

[@tiltedcrown714]

Hey Josh, two things I'd like to point out after the Great Wall section: 1.: each level has 3 secrets and the game rewards you for finding all 3 of them in a single level by giving you health packs/ammunitions and sometimes even weapons. For example, if you find all 3 Dragons in the Great Wall level, you will get the grenade launcher early on 2.: you missed the secret easter egg/bonus area at the end of the Great Wall: before using the zipline, you can actually make your way to the bottom of the pit where you'll find not one, but two T-Rexes and the third Dragon of the level

[@daemonbane1]

Pretty sure the T-rexes also protect the grenade launcher (its not an end of mission reward, its a ground pickup), much like the early pickup Uzi is hidden in a ceiling hole in Venice.

[@uspo8326]

​@@daemonbane1 You get the grenade launcher for getting all 3 secrets in great wall

[@JoeZUGOOLA]

If he missed these then I do know what to think 🤔😢

[@VodKaVK]

I was thinking the same about the T-Rexes!

[@nicodemogawronski2052]

Oh I remember this one :D

[@TwoSpark55]

accidentally saving instead of loading and needing to restart the game taught me a valuable lesson. Leapfrog saves and keep a backup.

[@Narque]

hit f5 to save

[@gameguy1337]

@@NarqueInstructions unclear. Can't find the f5 button on the playstation controller.

[@Narque]

@@gameguy1337 haha yeah for console i guess you gotta just be carefull not to load when u want to save XD

[@KasumiRINA]

@@Narque it's worse when it's the opposite, and you save instead of loading. I softlocked myself twice in Remaster already, box near blade trap in Great Pyramid of 1 and saving while sliding down the ramp in Oil Rig in 2. Spot with fires below.

[@jcage1022]

@@KasumiRINA it also feels more your fault when you save instead of loading, since you had to navigate to the save screen manually. All ya gotta do is be careful, and work to build the muscle memory. Keep you finger away from the action button until you're certain you're about to perform the action you want to. Takes time, but eventually becomes as second nature as the tank controls.

[@MetroGoldyMayer]

I'm familiar with the Tomb Raider engine because I used to create custom levels +15 years ago, so I can help with the "water not changing levels visually". I will try my best to explain, but it will be difficult without visual support. Classic Tomb Raider levels are made with rooms. A room is a rectangular space surrounded by walls where the player can navigate. Rooms have a width, a depth and an height set in meters, and both the walls and the floor/ceiling are a grid made of of 2x2 meters spaces. In each room you can determine, for each space of the floor and ceiling grid, how many meters should that position pop out from the ground/ceiling, and what its inclination is. For example you can make a squared 2x2 pillar that sticks out of the floor by 6 meters, or a squared 2x2 stalactite that pops out of the ceiling by 2 meters. Then you can pick three consecutive spaces in the ceiling, make them stick 2 meters, make the two on the sides have an inclination of an additional meter and you've made yourself a nice arch in the ceiling. Inclination in ground tiles also determines if you can step on it or you will slide. Any inclination bigger than 1 meters will make you slide (If I recall correctly). Also you can't do any of this with the walls, only the horizontal grids. The walls remain flat. Rooms can be connected with eachother by setting portals, which essentially mean that you pick up some positions of the grid in the walls, the ceiling or the floor and you explicitly tell the engine not to render a solid there. If you're thinking that sounds pretty limited, that's because it really is. This engine was clearly designed for Tomb Raider I, where most of the game is underground, in secluded, small man-made areas with straight walls. Ideal for making temples and tombs. Big, open spaces were so uncommon that I think the most popular one, the place with the T-Rex, didn't even have a skybox and the sky was just pure black. Rooms couldn't be that big either. If I recall correctly (this was more than 15 years ago) the max size of a room was like 12x12, or 15x15, or 20x20, or something like that. So, how did they make colossal spaces full of irregular walls like "The Deck"? Well, they're constructed using dozens and dozens of individual rooms, carefully put and connected with eachother with LOTS of portals, so they give the illusion of being a single room. I can't even begin to comprehend how difficult that was, and the level designers really deserve credit for their good job. Specially if you think that they couldn't make a better engine because Eidos pressed for a sequel each year. And Tomb Raider 3 is even bigger and more open! As you can see, rooms have a very strict content and the environment doesn't have any physics at all. So how can you modify the level during gameplay if needed? Well, there's a trick: you can create a room in the exact same 3D position of an existing one and disable it at the start of the game. Then, when nedeed, you can disable the original room and activate the new room, doing, in essence, a switch. But here's the thing; when you press the bomb detonator in Bartoli's Hideout there's not really an explosion. There's only a lot of rooms switching to its alternative versions instantly. No physics, no real transition, no nothing. So they have to be clever about how they do it; they force the camera to look in the other way, put a sound and a flashing light, and let your imagination do the rest. That's why in Tomb Radier I, when you press a switch, a room suddenly fills with sand but you're not there to see it. That's why in 40 Fathoms you press a lever and now the boxes that were in the ground are now floating in the water, but you won't see them float up - nor they will bounce when you step on them. Or why in the same level you press some levers and coal moves from a room to another, but you won't see it fall. Or why you won't, ever, see the water level rise - at least in the game I've worked with. Because it isn't really rising. A room with no water is being replaced with one full of it. It is instant, immediate. They can't show you that without breaking your immersion. The closest you can get is in 1:09:44, when you press the box into the waterfall. See the stream disappearing immediately? Yep, that's a completely new room replacing the old. Room replacing is also very committing. I don't know if you've noticed, but in that same case, moving the box back doesn't make the stream return. It just stays dry for no reason at all. Most of the instances of room replacing are permanent because they're error prone. For example, if you kill an enemy in a dry room and fill it with water, the body will disappear because...well, it's a completely different room. But if you dry it again...The body is back! Where did you go, buddy? There are a few examples in the games, but I can't recall them. This room switching makes speedruns fun too. Watch a Tomb Raider 2 speedrun. Specially in the sunken ship levels, there are some rooms that start dry but need to be filled with water in order to progress. But speedrunners take routes the designers didn't think of, so they get to a connection between two rooms where they are supposed to be underwater by now but aren't. So, suddenly, there's a vertical wall of water, chilling, ignoring gravity. Lol. Finally, don't be disappointed on knowing about this. I think of details like this like little magic tricks the developers play on you; if you don't notice how they work, they've succeeded in their purpose. But if you do, you can better appreciate the details and the skill that went into them.

[@nematic529]

Great explanation. There was something like that in Tomb Raider Anniversary's dev comments about the original game. I was confused back then but it makes sense now.

[@accountname-tu2om]

tl;dr a room is a rectangular space surrounded by walls

[@stereokuuji]

That's really impressive I always wondered how a game like Tomb Raider was able to work in the first place

[@QuatarTarandir]

That is so cool and very interesting. Everything I see with these games makes me appreciate them more and more

[@S3bbby]

Thank you for writing all of this. Very interesting read! Can feel the passion in your words of the magic the devs made back in the day despite the limitations on them

[@MrFF7FF7]

One of my favourite things about this series is seeing what happens in all of these games that I couldn't get past the first level as a child.

[@pitchdark2024]

8 year old me was stuck on the great wall level the first area for 9 months.. i accidentally found the opening at the top of the section after countless hours trying to find where to go.. but boy the excitement i felt when I saw more of the game after 9 months running around the same area was prob the happiest part of my whole childhood xD

[@MaxskiSynths]

@@pitchdark2024 Do you mean the grate in the corner of the room at the top of the cave at the start? Because as a child, I remember being stuck on finding that for hours! And when I found it, the excitement was huge. 😂

[@pitchdark2024]

@@MaxskiSynths i didnt even know that I could get to that room. i was wandering around the first bit of the level lol

[@JoshHardman-m6y]

You all made it out of the mansion?😅

[@stellalune]

Cheers for the shoutout! It sounds like you're enjoying the remasters as much as I am 🥂💖

[@laurinseidelmann6652]

Oh my-bless you for being we all need when replaying these classics.

[@JoeZUGOOLA]

Stella! You're the hero of Tombraider playthroughs!!

[@Hazel1312]

Legend

[@sleepeasy3343]

Omg it's THE Stella. You are the absolute GOAT of the TR community. I never would've gotten through Chronicles without you.

[@demomanchaos]

There are dinosaurs in level 1, at the final zipline you can take a path to the final secret and fight two of them.

[@mismisimognomo101]

2 T-Rex was mind blowing 🤯

[@KasumiRINA]

Clarification: you need to drop down and grab the ledge INSTEAD of going down the zipline.

[@steelfallenangel]

Was a bit surprised this wasnt mentioned

[@kegluneq6306]

He...he just skipped the t-rexes???

[@liam4184]

I played tomb raider a lot as a kid and never noticed them. It's only when I watched a youtube video 10 years ago that I found out there were dinosaurs in TR2.

[@silenthillfreak156]

i was thinking yesterday that i hadn't seen a video of yours in a while. glad we're connecting via our minds

[@AlkaRez]

Bro wtf same

[@KingLich451]

🤯

[@ken-star1]

Same here

[@ForumArcade]

But, and just hear me out here, wouldn't you rather connect via your genitals?

[@atedalynvlog5975]

Woah literally the same here 😳 I was scrolling through both his channels to make sure I didn't miss a recent upload 😅

[@MrMatsudi]

"I am nine inches, which is also the height of this plushie." Bravo, Josh, tickled me silly. 😂

[@prismaticowl]

In a game featuring dragons and yetis, the most unrealistic part of TR2 is Lara running around exceedingly rusty ships completely barefoot and somehow not getting Tetanus.

[@fastinradfordable]

Tetanus comes from decaying matter and bacteria that generally thrive well below the surface of the ground. The chance of getting it from a ship is slim.

[@BlastoiseToiseGabriel]

because she's fully vaccinated ;)

[@MaxskiSynths]

I remember my dad driving me over an hour away to buy a second hand copy of Tomb Raider II that we saw for sale in a magazine. The level of excitement in that journey and first booting up the game was through the roof.

[@fastinradfordable]

It must have been cheap as hell because new it was only $20 Which you probably burned more gas than that to drive 1 hour

[@Dempig]

@@fastinradfordable It was not $20 new, ps1 games were $40-$50 new

[@WoobertAIO]

Oh my God it's the first Sequel video of any of the games covered in this channel! I can't wait to see more Golden Sun, God of War and Armored Core in here!

[@ShadeTheNightWing]

I'm hopeful for a new Devil May Cry or Silent Hill video

[@paulwoodford1984]

Can’t wait to see how he copes with TR3. lol

[@inferno14142]

I am patiently waiting for God of War

[@WoobertAIO]

@@ShadeTheNightWing Devil May Cry 2 is one of the experiences of all time, for sure

[@ShadeTheNightWing]

@@WoobertAIO I can only imagine all the things that would be said

[@Ahmenthi]

I helped my older brother kill the dragon back when this first came out. He cheesed it behind a column and wouldn't stop shooting after seeing that it revives. I asked him about the thing on its chest after it fell over for the fifth time and asked if that's the dagger from the intro movie. He said yes, and I said that he should try pulling it out because that's how the dragon died in the cutscene.

[@mcclintick]

i helped my brother beat the final boss in Yoshi's Island

[@cuddlequeen3225]

"Mandatory damage" is such a strange concept. Most games have ways to prevent fall damage but Tomb Raider is just like "you will take the pain and like it."

[@NAWWMANNN]

In the lore Lara Croft must be breaking her ankles like 4 times a week. Or she has the strongest ankles in human history lol

[@NAWWMANNN]

@GKOYG_and_KAAF_is_epic then why she so jiggly

[@fastinradfordable]

“Life is mandatory damage” -Kamala Harris

[@thegardenofeatin5965]

There was a SNES game called Kid Klown In Krazy Chase, where the player character arrives in each stage by face planting from on high, taking damage in the process.

[@justinbailey1108]

Its amazing how universal the memory of locking the butler in the freezer is pre youtube and all the social media

[@maissak1039]

Right? No matter where in the world you are from or how old you where, we all did it.

[@AC-hj9tv]

😂😂Good times

[@TheNomad2727]

as soon as he did that bit I had completely forgotten I did the same thing! LOL

[@TheNomad2727]

Its hilarious as I did the same thing but had completely forgotten about doing that

[@EKensai]

Hear Hear! 🔔

[@sig3ldunc4nI]

My dad, uncle and myself beat this together when I was young. Quite nostalgic.

[@SandwichGlitch]

Me, my two sisters,mum and dad used to sit around the PC together and play Tomb Raider or LucasArts games... We never understood the stigma of the lonely gamer kids 😂

[@KingLich451]

One of my earliest memory is watching mine dad play this game. There's nothing quite like the 90's adventure games.

[@goatstix7750]

My grandfather was in his 50s and was never a gamer before or after tomb raider on the ps1. He played chess and did crosswords, Tomb raider is a perfect game for people inclined to use their brain. It’s a mature game of brainpower thinking, hand eye coordination and the ability to think outside of the box. These fundamentals are exactly why the game succeeded, it was pure brain power at the time. It’s satisfying knowing a lot of people struggle with this game, but most people do struggle with hard things like chess or snooker or a cryptic crossword, most people aren’t bothered to want to be competent at those things becuase it requires to much effort and time. People prefer to just play uno or a game that doesn’t rely on having to use your iq. Been playing 28 years now and won’t be stopping in my lifetime.

[@369TurtleMan]

My dad, uncle and myself beat a man to death in 1978 and the police turned a blind eye

[@Jonno8825]

@@KingLich451 BROTHER!!! Do you also have DooM in those early memories?

[@RangedRogue]

I feel so validated that I'm not the only one freaked out by the deep water in Diving Area and 40 Fathoms. In fact, I also had recurring nightmares as a kid about Tomb Raider, only mine was being trapped in the opening part of 40 Fathoms, and even if I paused the game, the sharks would still eat me.

[@KasumiRINA]

I found Tomb Raider very scary as a kid, but for some bizarre reason, all of my TR-related dreams weren't nightmares but "eureka" moments where I found a path that wasn't there before in an area I was stuck... only to wake up and see it's not there. 40 Fathoms was scariest probably, drowning, unlike dragon attacks, is a real danger.

[@toddclawson3619]

Those great white sharks freaked me out so you weren't the only one. Starting the mission underwater with everything so dark and having to basically fumble your way around knowing that a bunch of sharks are after you was terrifying.

[@peachesandcream22]

The whole Atlantis location in the 1st Tomb Raider was a nightmare fuel for any very young player. Pulsing walls with flesh and meat, gorrific Atlantean monsters who act crazy, scream like animals and take a lot of your health, a lot of scary traps. GIANT BALLS ON WALLS which make you fear they explode and throw another Atlantean on you if you even sneeze near them. Even switches were horrific cause they had sprites of torsos. The mini-boss looking like a flesh-and-bones monkey-like giant monster with no legs, which, if it grabs you, instantly kills you by smashing your body on the ground like you're some kind of toy and then throwing you away after it gets bored playing with you.

[@alansmith4655]

Yup. Even the inside of the ship was freaky.

[@ninjabears5868]

Tommy Tallarico was actually the first American to ever work on the Tomb Raider 2 team.

[@fykz489]

his mother is very proud

[@NoneofYourBusiness667]

I really appreciate how Tommy did all the artwork for the game, voiced Lara Croft, designed the levels and single-handedly cured cancer in his spare time. That was nice of him.

[@Oroberus]

Well, actually Tommy was the first American to ever work in the whole games industry, proven fact

[@danieljstanley5547]

i can hear the damned logo sound "tommy tallarico studios"

[@NoneofYourBusiness667]

@@Oroberus Nolan Bushnell and Atari take all the credit, but we all know it was Tommy. Tommy also invented open-heart surgery and gave a woman the very first vaginal orgasm.

[@remick0]

50:45 "Aww this boat is pregnant with another smaller boat!" I don't know why but that sent me.

[@matjimwil]

Just have to say, I have been pretty sick recently and I have watched this video in bursts when I could. It has genuinely made me feel less bad. Even if only for an hour an a half, this actively made my life better than it would have been without it. Cheers Josh. You did good.

[@jacobvaughn9276]

Oh dear god the Venice level had BOATS? i SWAM everywhere... no wonder i could never beat it.

[@AmbersDaintyThrowBlanket]

😂😂

[@grimace4257]

☹️

[@BlueMageDaisen]

Ironically the swimming option is kinda useful There's a timed door... but the time ticks down on audio cues You can't hear the audio while underwater and you can go underneath the mines that would trash your boat So you can just leisurely swim to the end of the level with an infinite timer

[@KasumiRINA]

​@@BlueMageDaisen you are swimming too slow for the timer so the entire 2nd half of the level is opening two gates to get a shortcut for the boat. HOWEVER, if instead of going to the ramp you swim through a small opening to the left after pushing the button that opens the end level gate, game doesn't trigger the timer. I only found it out in the remaster but it was always like that.

[@lasskinn474]

@@KasumiRINAwhat he meant is that the timer doesn't run when underwater(on some version, dunno), so the timer doesn't matter.

[@wiltabeest]

8:30 his mother is very proud

[@pessimisticpals]

Tommy?

[@GustavoFernandesKing]

She must be, he has worked in 6 thousand games just between the release of tomb raider 1 and 2

[@SpecShadow]

he recently sold his house - quite a view

[@KasumiRINA]

Jokes aside, butler was voiced by Nathan McCree, the game's composer.

[@maa-honey7979]

7 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS!

[@raffi1189]

My father and I played these games together when i was young. he passed away a few years ago. fuck cancer. Tomb Raider 2 was our favorite.

[@Gorbachoph]

Sorry about your loss brother. I lost my mother 4 weeks ago. Crushing. Stay strong.

[@asteroth1986]

Sorry to hear about your loss. You should play the new remasters, they’re very good. It’s nostalgia thru the roof.

[@NewExile]

My dad introduced me to Double Dragon by dropping a coin in, calling me over and saying "Here, hit this button". Fuck cancer.

[@RerunTheWizard]

Cancer got my pops too. Fuck cancer .

[@Savelion]

Glad you gave Stella's tombraider walk through site a shout out, she's the best 😊

[@gokturk15]

I am so happy that Josh Strife covers up my favourite franchise. TR 3-4 holds a special place in my heart. They were the first video games that I owned and played non-stop with my late father, discussed with my friends at school. Figuring out a new secret path or ending a level felt sooo rewarding. I played through both games with my father watching and remembering old times 3 years ago. After his passing, I sealed these games as my memory relics. Everytime I want to remember times with him, I just pop in one of these and travel back 20 years in time. Thank you Josh.

[@amharbinger]

Josh danced with Lara Croft, noice.

[@AC-hj9tv]

Big pimp

[@harrisontownsend910]

"They should call me pimp daddy Payne" -Major Payne.

[@AelfricBlack]

I think you missed two important things about this game 1) you can actually avoid gunfire damage by jumping side to side or by rolling behind enemies (they turn slowly and won’t shoot while turning) 2) the game rewards exploration with guns and ammo (especially finding all secrets) which in turn makes combat way way easier. It’s entirely possible to beat the game and never fire lara’s default pistols past venice. The added firepower removes much of the frustration about combat and, personally, I even find it fun. I also had childhood nightmares spurned by this game, especially one in which I was swimming in this colossal, pitch black tank full of water and no matter how hard I tried, I never made it to the surface… the 40 fathoms level really made an impression on kid me lmao. Great video btw.

[@mrvenom88]

He also claims you can be softlocked by running out of flares, but this is only true in underwater areas because you can use pistol muzzle flash as a (shitty) light source.

[@calemr]

So, you can be soft locked by running out of flares just before an underwater section? ​@@mrvenom88

[@AkiSan0]

@@mrvenom88i always thought they were the better flares, as they are infinite. :D

[@stalkinghollow1025]

My childhood nightmare was caused by the deathscreen from Crash Bandicoot Warped. Child me couldn't understand what Uka Uka was saying which made it even creepier.

[@KasumiRINA]

They show how to fight gun enemies in the game's attract screen demo! The one with rats. I forgot about it, but yeah it wasn't designed with tanking damage in mind. It's just half of TR1 enemies can be easily cheesed by climbing on a block so they needed to add opponents that need more involved combat in the sequel. Last Revelation ups that by making enemies block most of your shots (except a satisfying point blank shotgun) and skeletons that need explosions or headshots to be killed. Really great game, I see TR4 an 2 as the best ones.

[@Zersetzor]

I suspect locking enemies in rooms like the butler was never used because while every player locked him in the freezer, it was not intended and it never occurred to the devs.

[@Dontasticats]

Yeah that part raised my eyebrow a bit, that was a wild line of thought. "Everyone did this, why did the devs not retroactively add this into the game as a boss mechanic after everyone did it?"

[@KasumiRINA]

36:40 Nah Remaster didn't add that, it somehow lost the water effects in classic mode. You can see it doesnt include backgrounds distorting when behind water, the sheen that changes water color with a gradient, or translucent ripples. All these effects and sound muffling were in original game but are strangely absent in Remaster's classic mode are absent.

[@ReactionZero]

TR2 is my all time favorite game followed closely by TR3. Love this in-depth video.

[@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it]

the first three games are a massive nostalgia trip for me. just like tekken 3 , medievil or any ps1 game . the graphics artstyle makes me go blank and relive those moments when i played demo discs which had black backside.... or games in the small CD plastic box as if it was a music CD. late evening, warm tea, supper and tomb raider. amazing times

[@Breffix]

22:53 No don't tank the damage. You gotta get behind the enemies and stay behind them so they can't shoot you. This is where the mid air flip is key.

[@kmca1126]

There wasn't a tutorial for Josh to know that.....

[@DBProds96]

And you would know this how? Exactly.

[@kmca1126]

@@DBProds96 It was quite common in games from that period to not fully explain the mechanics, so the players had to read guides or figure it out themselves, which personally I had no issues doing as 10 year old. However, I do agree with Josh that the tutorial in this game is lacking a lot compared to the one in TR1. And as for using the jump flip during combat, well that is up to the player to be creative with the mechanics the game offers, a characteristic that is severely lacking in modern games.

[@mrvenom88]

@@DBProds96 I knew this at eight years old just by playing the game.

[@paulwoodford1984]

Yes, these games are for people with a brain. No hand holding!

[@heretech7025]

One thing I noticed when I was younger I'm not sure many people know is that the audio track in the opening cinematic when all the arrows are shot is the same one they used in Braveheart in the first big war when they fling all the arrows at the Scots. I had to go back and forth between them over and over until I was sure. It's like the most random game trivia lol I always thought the second dude to get shot sounded familiar. Not sure if it's some bought clip or they ripped it off the movie.

[@Stu33er]

Thank you for confirming my long founded suspcions as a kid. I abused my dads Braveheart VHS because I kept going back and forth between that scene and the game trying to see if I was right. I thought I was just crazy all this time.

[@mismisimognomo101]

O M G

[@KasumiRINA]

There are TONS of stock sounds used in Tomb Raider. Someone made a compilation of all movies and TR using the "roll" sound for various falls and many other sounds are taken from audio libraries so yeah good catch!

[@Areala21]

An awful lot of sound effects from film, television, and video games are pulled from the same standard libraries that have been around for decades. Every so often, you'll get a game where they deliberately pull specific sound effects from a different specific source (like the original Golden Axe pulling its enemy death screams from the film "First Blood"), but there's a massive standard library of sounds like swords being drawn/sheathed, arrows being fired, people screaming, footsteps across various surfaces, flickering fire, and creaking doors that show up across varied media. I'm pretty sure this is the case with the Tomb Raider games, although I'm not 100% positive and happy to be proven wrong if someone knows better. :)

[@mimmikibilly]

I always get excited when I hear Darkstalkers sound effects in other games/media, because it's a kinda obscure franchise, but I also think those sound effects come from another source, too.

[@icyblankets4971]

This is one of my favourite series on KZbin at the moment. Thanks for the great second monitor entertainment.

[@THEPELADOMASTER]

40:25 You know what I think? I think they had an idea for the engine to like, blow up or break or whatever, leaving a nice flat edge for you to climb, but at some point they forgot to actually make that happen. It makes more sense than having to figure out the engine has no collision.

[@Splatpope]

it's so lovely to hear about your thalassophobia in the level (diving area) that directly precedes one of the most famously thalassophobic places in videogame history (40 fathoms)

[@saschaberger3212]

I find running around barefooted in a rusty old ship way more terrifying

[@kyucumbear]

@@saschaberger3212 Maybe the medkits all feature tetanus shots lol

[@wishiwascooler]

That area after the sub crashes at the beginning of the 40 fathoms level scared the shit out of me as a kid lol

[@AC-hj9tv]

​@@kyucumbearlol

[@pocieraka]

Tomb Raider 2 was the first game I received with a console for Christmas in 1997 as a kid. I remember how my younger brother and I spent hours trying to figure out the puzzles that Lara had been asked to solve. Watching your material brought back an avalanche of memories and slight disbelief as to how on earth I was able to beat this game as a kid. Watching you complete the levels, I realized the incredible difficulty and complexity, combined with the player's lack of proper preparation for the challenges awaiting them. I remember feeling extremely proud of completing this title, as it was the first game on modern consoles that I had the opportunity to complete. Thank you for allowing me to bring these wonderful memories to life. I used to be unaware of the imperfections and advantages of this production, which you highlighted in your material. I'll be looking forward to any material on TR3, which I also love. Thanks again for an amazing trip down memory lane. That was an astonishing piece of work Josh.

[@FlameBunny]

this was also my first PlayStation game, i couldnt even make the first jump, up to then i never played a 3D game before.

[@pocieraka]

@@FlameBunny yeah the 3d environment, camera movement and tank controlls was definitely something that needed time to get used to. I remember having trouble with it at the start as well. But after some time I was able to smoothly navigate whole home course without much problem.

[@greenhowie]

Good review. Back in the 90s being given unlimited saves was easier than extra level design with contextual clues (I guess) Missing the T-Rexes in the first level probably meant Josh never noticed that getting 3 secrets gives you ammo and an early weapon as well... que sera, sera...

[@jackfoulkes2047]

Cannot believe you didn’t reference the two T rex’s on the first level. One of the best secret’s in any game, let alone the TR series.

[@charskull]

I love the constant reminders to save lol

[@Lagbeard]

The Swan Dive might change jump distances somewhat, but it does also significantly increase fall damage if you do it onto land... It makes sense since Lara's diving onto ground face first using it.

[@SaveMeXenu]

Yep. I remember dying to jumps that normally I would only take a bit of damage from with the swan dive.

[@Eonymia]

That jump at the end of the bartoli hideout level is actually possible. It's in some guides as a shortcut (thanks Stella) and I did it myself while playing the remasters.

[@potchary8366]

Some of the ledges behave weirdly in the way that you can't jump and grab it, but when you hold forward facing the wall and then press and hold Action, she will jump up and grab the ledge. TR1 had a ledge like this, too.

[@unsavourylittlerunt]

​@@potchary8366It's because she can reach slightly higher with the action button than manually jumping

[@KasumiRINA]

@@potchary8366 yeah, the second secret in Caves, the opening level. There are also a few jumps that are the other way around, you cannot forward + action them, have to jump then grab.

[@ChrisLT]

My most played TR as a kid. With the remaster, after some initial issues with the clunkiness, I really grew to love this game all over again. It's so fun to explore these giant puzzle boxes.

[@BlastoiseToiseGabriel]

50:06 yes, the game totally meant you to do that. glad you felt like a genius ^^"

[@jenn82armstrong]

The opera house is one of many of my favorite levels.

[@MR.__G]

When you brought up saving into a death loop you took me back to why I never beat this game as a teen. I was in the temple and got to the launch pads area. I saved right before and then attempted a jump. I did it wrong and as I was about to load up my save state I accidentally saved in a death loop. I was so pissed and didn’t want to restart the level all the way from the beginning. I basically moved on and didn’t finish the game till recently on the remastered. 20 plus years of built in revenge lol

[@starcrysis23]

I saved myself into a death loop in the first Dead Space and never finished it as a result.

[@droljanz]

It happened to me as a kid is star wars the phantom menace ps1 on that naboo escort quest , i never played that game since😮

[@MR.__G]

@@starcrysis23 that sucks and that’s a great game

[@MR.__G]

@@droljanz you feel my pain then lol

[@unsavourylittlerunt]

The main issue was the PS1 having only a single save slot, unlike PC. Even two save slots would've alleviated that greatly

[@Conighttonight]

I think Tomb Raider 3 was the game where; in a Jungle environment, you're able to shoot something hanging from a vine that you need. When I got to this section after playing all 3 games with my Grandmother in a row, we got stuck on this puzzle for an entire morning+afternoon. We only realised it was shootable because I drew Laras guns and she aimed at it. This was a mechanic never used throughout the entirety of the other games.

[@KasumiRINA]

She had to shoot a Scion in the final level of the first game. You never know unless you take guns out... She also aims at a mummy earlier but it's more of an Easter egg.

[@Conighttonight]

@@KasumiRINA Really?! Dude I don't even remember that, it must have been so brief!

[@KasumiRINA]

@@Conighttonight Yeah, see throne room in Tomb of Qualopec, where there's a sitting skeleton and two mummies near. One looks at you. It won't fight but if you shoot it, it lunges forward and falls down. And there's the Scion room where Lara fights Natla in a cutscene, they fall, next level is you getting back up so you go back into that room and shoot the thing, after which the whole pyramid starts collapsing. TR4 and 5 have more objects you have to shoot objects for puzzles, but they usually give you laser sight weapons when that happens. From the top of my head, you shoot at locks, at a bell in Rome, and at switches in Cairo.

[@ArekkusuAlex-8]

Yes, i remember that puzzle as well. Was also stuck for most of the day lol. I think the worst case of this is in TR 4 where it’s heavy on puzzle interactions that you have to basically guess what you can interact with or not.

[@elibonham4388]

​@@KasumiRINAi remember being stuck in the scion area saying what the f do i....and than i did it. And than got roadblocked again in the arrow hallway

[@RiveroftheWither]

You can find your pistols in the tutorial and start shooting the Butler. He uses the tray as a shield. Theres also another obstacle course area that involves wall jumping, tumbling, etc. That said, while the tutorial does lightly touch on combat and slightly more complex vaulting and you just missed it, it just highlights a new problem. That the tutorial level is too large and unfocused to the point you can miss an entire section of it.

[@slavedemorto]

11:50 This just unlocked a core memory for me. Through my entire life I loved archers in videogames/media (Legolas etc) and seeing this so many years later just clicked why. That one guy being shot by an arrow at a time looked ULTRA REALISTIC and was so memorable for me as a child it just engrained the idea in me that archers are strong and cool.

[@IcarusTyler]

I'm glad you found out these are horror games! :D The jump scares, the dark levels, the walls of pulsating flesh, these games are creepy

[@becky2235]

I found them scary as a child too

[@ConcreteUnending]

The way you slid into the frame in the beginning just raised this show from a 9 to a 10. Exceptionally entertaining as always.

[@FroddleCat]

Watching new people play the remastered games and having issues with the tank controls makes me feel like a god, especially with the vehicles. If you play these games enough you start to understand the flow of the grid layout. Controlling Lara begins to feel smooth and extremely satisfying. And to touch on your point about being able to climb things that might not be obvious, I ran around Bartoli's Hideout for hours before remembering I could climb the bookshelves.

[@unsavourylittlerunt]

I think vehicles control exactly the same besides the button layout being changed around

[@KasumiRINA]

Bartoli's Hideout has several places like that. First is in the opening hall, where there is a useless block at the top and a few ledges and a balcony with a goon... you don't need ANY of that, she can jump up from the ground level and just grab the ladder, and pull up. Immediately after that there's a few balcony jumps followed by a drop to dobermans. Another part is with the chandeliers. I couldn't figure out how to climb to the top so I just... eh... got the key by grabbing ledge early so she'd land on feet. And finally, it's that spot that Remaster fails to improve by keeping books as flat texture, the library. Lara climbs a lot in TR2, but all surfaces before it were nets and ladders, it's TR3 and 4 that would add a lot of unconventional climbing surfaces... so people get stuck there. One of the weirdest levels in the game, but that's why I like it.

[@peachesandcream22]

Lara controls are pretty decent for 90s but let's all colectively agree that vehicles SUCK ASS in classic TR games. 1st Tomb Raider was NOT created for vehicles and when Core was pushed by Eidos to create a 2nd game in less than a year, they took the 95% of the previous game to make it quickly. They didn't think about how TR enviroment is absolutely vehicle unfriendly. They fixed it a bit in The Last Revelation but it's still bad even for 90s game.

[@PivotHeld]

just shows how weetarded people have become.

[@AngryCosmonaut]

The boats were fine. I don't think the vehicles were bad (except the minecart) but it was more that the areas you were using the vehicles in weren't always designed to cater to their strengths. Why give us a quadbike and limit us to narrow walkways or a kayak but fill the river with spike traps?

[@stephenbrown2512]

The first game had loads of full jumps right from the early levels, it wasn’t mostly reserved for the later stages. Grabbing diagonal ledges was also fairly frequent in the first game as well. Walking through spikes etc to not take damage was also a part of the first game.

[@MtnSmithy]

I found the combat to be much better than most people give it credit for, even with the gun-having enemies. For each enemy-type you need to move around in a unique way in order to avoid their attacks - usually either circling around them or jump-turning over them. For gunner enemies, you can jump or tumble behind them and keep moving behind them so they're too busy turning around to shoot at you. I also like the instances where you can find a ledge or object to climb on where the melee enemies can't reach you, it makes you feel like you're outsmarting them and using Lara's maneuverability to your advantage. It ain't great - there's definitely moments where it's jank or bogus - but if you're just standing still in front of an enemy while you to shoot each other, you're doing it wrong.

[@mismisimognomo101]

OMFG, Josh. I just started playing the remastered versions a week ago and a huge part of even checking for the classic Tomb Raider games in the first place (nostalgia thoughts got to me) was your review of the 1st one. Seeing this upload as i take a break from playing "Wreck of the Maria Doria" level, really feels like a blessing. Love you and your content really bad 🖤

[@Moewenfels]

Absolutely LOVE the color combination of the rusty ship!

[@RaimaNd]

Damn I loved tomb raider 1-3. I was 9 when TR2 was released and played it so much. It is incredible how patient we all were at the young age and took dozens of hours finding out where to go. I bet my older me isn't patient enough to beat the game. I currently also play older games from NES and SNES and my god I am so bad. Just tried street fighter 2 on SNES and I couldn't even beat the first enemy. Really shows how we were used to hard clunky things back then and aren't it anymore.

[@peachesandcream22]

If you want a modern game which has same vibes as Street Fighter, I recommend you Mother Russia Bleeds. Try to pass this game without healing yourself (spoiler: no usage of syringes will lead you to good ending).

[@nateatavares4268]

I appreciate your consistently clean and sharp attire.

[@guy_who_games]

I hope you do all these. I remember watching my dad play the 4th every night. I might have never played any of the tomb raider games if it wasn’t for him.

[@ryandugan9176]

What a great trip down memory lane. I think this was maybe the third or fourth game I ever beat as a kid, and I remember being so proud of finding all the statues on some of the later levels. It's interesting to see just how much of the game I'd forgotten and recognize a few scenes which somehow stuck with me despite a complete loss of context.

[@zuphix1802]

Played this as a kid. Completed it yesterday on the Remastered, and now JSH review! Amazing!

[@LightDiscovery]

For the love of god, jump and roll, JUMP AND ROOOOOOOOOOOOOLL

[@ironreed2654]

52:53 "Eels up inside you, finding an entrance were they can. Eels!"

[@seleuf]

1:12:08 "Thankfully, I have 50 flares!"

[@anakoART]

Back then, whenever I tried to find a solution, I felt stupid for not being able to figure it out on my own! That's why I appreciate your analytical approach to game design in your reviews - it made me feel better about failing as a kid, but also still love TR2 nonetheless. So... Hey, now I just have to wait another six years for you to cover successively all the TR classics, yay!!

[@colinmiller513]

10/10 content. Your first Tomb Raider video is my most often revisited Josh Plays, and I'm excited to give this one more views. For constructive feedback, it sounds like your microphone volume really varies across the video. Particularly in the first half, I felt like there were some very loud to quiet transitions between gameplay footage voiceover and you talking into your cup mic. I'm excited for sweaty vest gamersupps

[@AceKuper]

Glad i wasn't the only one that noticed. I think every segment that showed gameplay sounded normal, but segments with cup mic aka Just Josh talking was actually noticeably lower.

[@docsaico]

There was a summer when my bro and I played through 1 and 2 and there were so many times when I remember thinking, “How did anyone do this without a guide??” So many moon-logic puzzles or inconsistency, as you said. LOVE these games still, they’re just nostalgic as hell, but yeah, very hard to revisit and can’t believe we played it as kids (have a sneaking suspicion we only ever played in Lara’s house, lol).

[@davidwhitaker3790]

Loved this. It's a game I feel very nostalgic about (played TR2 before TR1) so it was great to see an entertaining, dispassionate run through of the design, AI, gameplay etc. Great job. Will enjoy watching your take on TR3.

[@mondily]

This was such a detailed video on TR2, thanks for the in-depth thoughts on the game!! I really enjoyed hearing you speak on so many of the mechanics in a way that I hadn't thought about. Great video, subbed! Cheers!

[@valentinedetective]

45:50 I thought I was the only one who was scared of giant faces in deep water! I thought it was too random and niche for anyone else to experience like "who would ever be scared of that?" 😂

[@Gorbachoph]

I’m also terrified of large sea creatures but when would you ever see a face in the water?

[@dungeonpastor]

​@@GorbachophIn Fallout 4

[@Blarglesnarfe]

My first game, my favorite game, and one of my favorite channels!! Dream come true, thank you JSH!!

[@ax2099]

I’ve decided to agree with the entirety of the review since I like your microphone mug.

[@ELWaller0388]

Great summary, I've replayed these games recently and I loved how thorough you were. Early Tomb Raiders forever remind me of that time in the late 90s or early 2000s (when I played them) and have that nostalgia of places and atmospheres that I would like to be in and visit in real life if only it wasn't actively trying to kill you so much. Its a beautiful game but you kind of forget how much of Tomb Raider 2 is shooting gunmen or baseball bat men (I didn't just stand, I flipped to the side a lot while shooting if space allowed for it) and you forget how much of it was taken up with those rig and underwater levels. They are flawed games but I love the engine and can't think of another game from PS1 or even that whole generation which has such 3 dimensional athleticism and use of space in it. So many other games from that time have 3D graphics but the backgrounds are just static pre rendered. I also love how the levels loop around like you say but between Catacombs and Ice Palace you get some of the same areas (the wooden bridge for instance) that are incorporated differently, and there's something that allows you to move through what was blocking you on the previous level (like Lost Valley and the level after it on tr1 both having the waterfall or Coastal Village and Crash Site or tr3 both having that tree hut and swamp).

[@dzefrejg]

Hi Josh, I have been watching your content for several months now and this is my first comment. I can't express how much I love what happened in 0:35 here!

[@Baslakor]

40 fanthoms (73 meters for the civilized world), is not enough to get crushed to death by the pressure. Her breath-holding skill is quite impressive though, but not as impressive as the structural integrity of the Maria Doria! Love the underwater levels, but I agree it had too many enemies. It could've been an amazing claustrophobic, haunted tomb.

[@causetheplumstasteyum7848]

40 Fathoms was a reaaaal bitch of a level

[@llamachai]

So good! I've never played the originals but you made me want to buy and try. Thanks Josh!

[@AEngelcross]

I was just rewatching all your videos. now I can end my day right

[@Chris-pd3ub]

Just rewatched the Tomb Raider video, and got this one reccomended to me. So happy you continue this series.

[@element1111]

7:55 So true. Still remember discovering it in a moment of serendipity in the monastery level. Was as surprising as doing the handstand pull up in the original.

[@TheRadioSquare]

You're a GOAT for adding the ad timer

[@lazydgsf7429]

I still love it. Playing the remake these days and already finished 1&2, working on 3. I miss games games like this. I’ve been lied to, told it was nostalgia. I miss old games.

[@subrussian]

25:55 you can actually grab that ledge, you just have to press action+forward instead of jumping

[@KasumiRINA]

So like 2nd secret in the first game?

[@subrussian]

@@KasumiRINA exactly! and this is also a unintended shortcut, so you can call it a secret too

[@TG-ge1oh]

Tomb Raider is one of those series that I loved watching people play but could never get anywhere in. Thanks for showing me how both 1 and 2 proceeds past the first levels. Now if only KZbin wouldn't stop me from enjoying the video with double ads every 5 minites....

[@alhoon6173]

I've played these games many times. When playing the remasters, my most eye opening mechanical discovery was that after you jump 1 tile distance back to perform a running jump, you can actually sidestep back and forth angling yourself ever so slightly so you end up a little ahead of where you backflipped. Then you can do the running jump but it starts a tiny bit more forward. You can do some pretty incredible skips with this.

[@fidelrivera2887]

This is the only Tomb Raider I finished to the end... and was the first game I bought the guide book for. Don't think I could have without it.

[@Gorbachoph]

I remember playing this game a lot as a kid, but I don’t have any memories past Venice. I should have got a guide

[@ogkdr]

This game started my "guide book collection" phase, the first of many to come (at least for many years).

[@neilbufton2926]

I never thought you'd cover the second game! This is the tomb raider game I remember from my childhood, I didn't play the first one until a few years ago. Honestly, the level objectives i TR2 are often soooooo unclear its a difficult game to slog through. When i went back and played TR1 for the first time, it was honestly sooooo much better of a game even with the things that were added in the second outing. But for me, this is the one that holds all the nostalgia, all the childhood memories of growing up in England playing Tomb Raider, and the sheer amount of hype surrounding this series.

[@birms3287]

Damn. I revisited 3 a couple years ago and it was terrible with that. Like straight up things you would never know, like for example: One level where a part of the wall that looks exactly like every other part of every wall is a pushable block. Basically impossible to have found without a guide. I played 1 recently. It was much better about that, but still obtuse. I was hoping 2 would be better D;

[@neilbufton2926]

I had no nostalgia for 3 and man I just couldn't get into it put a good few hours in and never got into it. I put some serious hours into revolations and I was able to make good progress, but it's soo long and feel repetitive because limited settings.

[@KasumiRINA]

@@birms3287 Remaster added action indicator so you will see an ! mark or a hand near the block. Also switching between old and new graphics and sometimes using flycam helps a lot. I like having these QoL features.

[@skygoneinc9962]

Where's the tombr raider 3 vid?

[@p1ssedoffchristof48]

Have some patience yeah bruv?

[@yipperdeyip]

Or the Syphon Filter 2 and 3 video!

[@koronator]

He might be busy dying for the 100th time to those unfair death traps in TR3 as we speak.

[@coreywong6229]

In a vault warehouse somewhere in Area 51 next to the alien.

[@Priscilla_Skoolie]

Listening to you meticulously dissect the different types of enemies and things you've learned on the first level is crazy to me. I was like 6-10 years old when I first played this game and I absolutely did not pick up on any of this lol I saw enemy I shoot enemy i run 😅

[@Wawawawawhe]

I have so many fond memories of this game. Awesome to see you cover it!

[@comstr]

EIDOS was run by Ian Livingstone. The SAME Ian Livingstone of Fighting Fantasy instant-death-puzzle-combat gamebooks. This is not a coincidence.

[@backgammonbacon]

He had nothing to do with the making of these games though, the entire thing was designed by a small young team at core design....who had profit sharing contracts and were made multimillionaires. The first game was already finished by the time EIDOS came on board.

[@julienandrus4169]

Stop teasing about the dark souls review

[@Despairity2]

Day 254894 of waiting for Josh to cover MGS1

[@bronsontolliver9027]

Give up the ghost.

[@bassistheplace246]

Spoiler: it *was* any good

[@AlexMueller1982]

Yeah nearly 700 years of waiting Sounds reasonable 😂 but yes, it was a good Game.

[@alighieri99g81]

​@AlexMueller1982 Not being able to understand hyperbole is a sign of developmental disorders

[@robertwaldo3055]

​@alighieri99g81 the same could be true for sarcasm

[@Lidavel]

Gaming is such a magical way of connecting us. I also always imagined that guy at the end of the first level was speaking some other language like Italian or Spanish. Playing the remasters with subtitles blew my mind. Nice to know I wasn't alone.

[@bbuny10]

When I think about Tomb Raider 3, I think about seeing my mom get to a level where she had to fight a woman shooting green fireballs from her hands at you. This genuinely scared me, I was born in 92, and I def had nightmares about it. Stumbling through the jungle and then seeing my mom dominate the game like a pro was a key part of my childhood I remember doing the guns cheat a LOT in Tomb Raider 2 lol. Sidestep right left right back forth turn around 3 times backflip roll I believe? And that damned snow mobile! And the demo Discs!!! Yes!!! Loved the video, and you made the story make sense

[@gzs7483]

THE SPEEDBOAT HAS A SPEEDBOOST?!

[@toff8965]

Hey @joshstrifeplays, another trick that you may not have known about is the climbing flourish. While hanging from a ledge, press and hold the walk button before climbing up. Lara will do a flourish where she rises to a hand stand before swinging her legs over. I honestly can't think of any practical use for this, but it's a neat trick to know. Cheers!

[@Jonno8825]

You know EXACTLY what the flourish is for... teenagers or the horny men

[@olandoblen5791]

I disagree with your take on the armed enemies. You can outrange them (M16 e.g), you can take cover behind corners, wait until they turn around, jump over them, roll behind them, even jumping sideways or backwards will make them miss you often times. So this tanking of damage is not the way to go

[@AngryCosmonaut]

Yeah, standing still in TR combat is like not rolling or blocking in Dark Souls. You can do it, but it's not the intended way to play.

[@7177YT]

Loved that game and was captivated by the story back in the day. Thanks for bringing find memories back!

[@Maggerama]

Great insights this time, Josh! You kept me ultra-engaged throughout.