Rocket From the Crypt: A Tomb Raider (1996) Retrospective

[@Purplespikyjoe]

The first time I played Tomb Raider was at my cousin's house when I was ten. All of both our families were in the room watching; mums, dads, aunts and uncles. At the end of the training mission when Lara said "now to get these wet clothes off" my little ten year old face turned bright red.

[@runarvollan]

@@Purplespikyjoe No wonder a patch was made. She still had her pistols and belt though:-p

[@TheBeird]

One of my all time favourite games. Played it when I was 11 after my brother bought it for me out of the blue, and it was a frequent play in my Saturn. This and Mario 64 blew my mind, but Tomb Raider captured my imagination just a little bit more. It's so tense, it's like a stealth horror game! And yeah dude! When I saw Annihilation and got to the ending, I thought of Tomb Raider! And Duck Soup by the Marx Brothers . . .

[@malamri424]

Great video as always 🙌

[@ClockedIt]

Fantastic video bud. Like you, I was there when it first came to the Saturn and that's the version I got in 96, still have, still play and have the most nostalgia for. Tomb Raider 1 is the best game in the series by far for many of the reasons you highlighted. Atmospheric platforming adventure perfection.

[@n64fan60]

I first saw TR on a friend's SEGA Saturn. I was amazed! 😅

[@eric90000]

Awesome stuff! Really enjoyed this, well done sir. I know you said the steam versions are best, and I fondly remember burning discs of the PC versions but with the PS1 audio tracks...but I have a feeling the new remastered collection may be the superior version. Apparently you can toggle between the updated and original graphics, and also retain the original tank controls (if you're like me and hate change). Also, the support for modern PC resolutions without needing patches is pretty sweet - seems like they may have done it justice from what I have seen. Keep these videos coming, the Sega Mega Games video was genuinely incredible, actually gonna add that to the watch later list again!

[@retromuel]

Yeah I guess I made it sound like I was a bit down on the new remasters but actually I'm kind of looking forward to giving them a whirl and I'm happy that these classics are going to be available on modern formats. Thanks for the lovely compliment and thanks for watching.

[@McMullet94]

Tomb raider oj Saturn is amazing ! Playing thru Last revelation on the Cast now!

[@havoc7069]

Great video! Makes me want to go back and give this game a good shot as it never really clicked with me. It said you captured the game with the ossc pro. Since I don’t know many others who have it would you recommend it? I have a tink 5x and I’m not sure it’s worth the upgrade.

[@retromuel]

Thanks very much! It's a great device yeah. I would recommend it for anyone with an original OSSC/GBS Control etc but probably not if you already have a tink 5X to be honest. It does have a couple of advantages like 120hz output, 1440p, full 4:4:4 processing etc but it's not a huge upgrade and is pretty expensive obviously (I had a 5X myself a year or two ago).

[@WesMordine]

Amazing how Crystal Dynamics has turned Lara into exacyly the opposite of what her creators intended (confident, sexy, classy and self-reliant) and into that thing only barely ressembling a woman in the Netflix show

[@SP95]

Still better controls than Prince of Persia lol

[@seagullphilosopher2173]

The sound design in the early Tomb Raiders, chiefly the first, is unmatched to this day in gaming in my opinion. Like you say the use of silence and ambience mixed sparingly with those gorgeous Nathan McCree tracks is phenomenal. Modern gaming has lost this subtelty. Look at the new Tomb Raider games or just any game now and the soundtracks are totally forgettable. Yes they may even use full orchestras now but to ill effect. The art of the leitmotif and use of silence has been lost for some reason. Final fantasy has suffered greatly from this as well, the reliance on melodies and "stage" themes in the earlier games have proved far more memorable and impactful. The only good music from the FF7 remakes is the older tunes, the new additions are bland and uninteresting. Early Resident Evil games also used this mix of silence, ambience and melody to masterful effect as well. Also agree that the first Tomb Raider is still the best. 2 and 3 had greater number of textures and colours but that sandy elegance and the number of enemies in the original outing is just so perfect.