30 years of "Tomb Raider": How I lost and found Lara again
On October 25, 1996, "Tomb Raider" was first released for Sega Saturn, followed shortly after by PC and PlayStation versions. 30 years later, Lara Croft is one of the most well-known figures in gaming history.
I am twelve years old when I stand in this cave in the Andes in 1996 and fall in love. Not with the protagonist Lara Croft, but with the game «Tomb Raider». For the first time in my young gamer life, I feel like I am inside the game.
I can hardly believe how loose and light-footed Lara moves. Her climbing skills give the game an unprecedented verticality. And that's not all: the skirmishes with the bats, wolves, and dinos make my adrenaline skyrocket. From today's perspective, all of this is obviously outdated. The tank controls are anything but dynamic, and the combat with auto-aim is hardly challenging.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
The puzzles, however, are challenging. Today, objects I can interact with practically scream at me. In 1996, there is no such thing. I have to figure out for myself that some blocks can be moved. Stand in front of the block, hold down the action button, press the directional pad. It takes hours until I grasp that.
I have spent countless hours on them to this day in the «Tomb Raider» games. Although the love faded after the first three parts, it flared up again with the Survivor trilogy in the 2010s. With the upcoming remake of the first part, «Legacy of Atlantis», my fire should burn once more.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
From Laura Cruz to Lara Croft
The first part is developed by Core Design, a British studio known until then primarily for «Rick Dangerous». The core team consists of five people: series creator Toby Gard, Paul Douglas, Gavin Rummery, Neal Boyd, and Heather Gibson. They receive selective help, for instance for the Saturn port or the music.
The heroine looks completely different at first. The team rejects a male hero as being too «Indiana Jones»-esque, so the South American mercenary Laura Cruz is supposed to take over. Only during the course of development does she become the British Lara Croft. The team is said to have found her surname in an English phone book. Comic character Tank Girl and singer Neneh Cherry serve as role models. Early concept drawings show Lara with a bouquet of severed heads. Quite punk for the Countess of Abingdon.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
In any case, much is different in the early phase. Lara's father is still called Lord Henshingly Croft; he only gets the first name Richard for the 2001 feature film. Her parents are still alive and merely avoid their daughter because they dislike her unaristocratic lifestyle. And according to her official biography, Lara fears exactly one thing in this world: her aunt's corgi, which has bitten her multiple times.
In her debut, Lara consists of around 250 polygons. Over the years, the number grows to 6,292 in «Legend» and 32,816 in «Underworld» (2008), which earns her a Guinness World Record in 2010 as the «most detailed video game character». In «Rise of the Tomb Raider» (2015), it is 200,000. Another detail is hard to imagine today: in the first part, Lara's famous ponytail is missing. It constantly collided with her body, which is why the developers removed it.
My love is crumbling
«Tomb Raider II» introduces vehicles to the series in 1997. Anyone who has read my text on the remaster knows how little I think of them. Also new is Winston, Lara's butler. In the game, he is technically an enemy because he constantly follows Lara around. I and many others lock him in the freezer of Croft Manor. Because during the obstacle course in the garden, he constantly gets in my way and thus prevents new best times. The gag later becomes canon. In a DLC for «Rise of the Tomb Raider», there is a note in which Winston complains about his near-hypothermia.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
Part 3 is released in November 1998. For the first time, a part is no longer strictly linear, and I choose between three locations at the beginning. By now I am 14 and, as a classic late bloomer, just starting to discover my preference for the female sex. The sex symbol Lara comes just at the right time for me. By the way, the fact that her bust size was a programming error is a myth. Toby Gard answered an out-of-place interview question sarcastically, and that became the legend. But Lara's breasts don't hold my attention for long. The gameplay, the presentation, and the story are simply more of the same. Just like the upcoming parts.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
Lara-Mania: From game to pop star
After the success of the first parts, Lara becomes a phenomenon far beyond the gaming industry. Here are a few examples:
- In June 1997, she poses in the magazine «The Face» in virtual outfits by Gucci and Alexander McQueen. By April 2025, she is said to have graced over 2,300 magazine covers.
- Skateboards, boxer shorts, toothbrushes, chocolates, and luxury fountain pens. There is hardly a product that isn't printed with Lara.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
- Lara is also allowed to pass on her name. For example, Lara tulips grow in Amsterdam. A racehorse, however, is not allowed to be named after her. The fear is too great that the nag might fail at the very first obstacle.
- In 2002, it is not an actress, but the digital Lara who signs a talent contract with the agency Creative Artists Agency.
- Paramount secures the worldwide rights for the film adaptation in March 1998. Angelina Jolie trains with SAS soldiers for the role and brings her real father Jon Voight in front of the camera as Lord Croft. After a second part, the film series goes dormant, but experiences a reboot in 2018. This time with Alicia Vikander in the lead role. Currently, filming is underway for a live-action series on Amazon Prime with Sophie Turner as Lara.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
Crash and restart
From 1996 to 2003, a new part is released every year. That takes its toll. «The Angel of Darkness» (2003) has more graphic designers alone than the entire predecessor team had employees, and yet it becomes the low point. Terrible reviews and technical problems on a conveyor belt. And yet, there is ambition in it. Lara sneaks for the first time and buys her weapons from a Parisian pawnbroker. Composer Peter Connelly records the music at Abbey Road Studios. A side note: The Mona Lisa in the Louvre level wears Connelly's face after a night of heavy drinking, smuggled in by programmer Andrea Cordella.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
The restart comes in 2006 with «Legend» from Crystal Dynamics. Toby Gard returns as co-writer, and Zip and Alister on the headset ensure that Lara no longer has to talk to herself. The remake of the first part, «Anniversary» (2007), introduces the series' first free aiming a year later. For «Underworld» (2008), Crystal Dynamics does the motion capture with gymnastics champion Heidi Moneymaker, who later becomes the regular stuntwoman for many Marvel films.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
I miss this first reboot completely. Not because of a lack of interest, but because of time. Unlike my colleague Phil, who had to take an extra semester because of «World of Warcraft», I focus on studying instead of gaming back then.
The Survivor trilogy turns Lara into a survivor
In 2009, Square Enix secures the rights to «Tomb Raider» from the financially struggling Eidos. The 2013 reboot is internally called «Tomb Raider: Ascension» and is originally a survival horror game on an island. The team concludes that this is too far removed from «Tomb Raider» and swaps the horror for survival. The island remains because it takes everything away from Lara. For the same reason, the dual pistols have to give way to the bow, which is both a tool and a weapon. One million copies sell in 48 hours; to date, it is 14.5 million. This makes it the most successful game in the franchise.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
I like the new direction. I especially like that Lara becomes human. In the first games, she is the heartless Terminatrix. The 2013 title shows me how she became that person. The two follow-up titles are also good, but as with the original trilogy, they offer more of the same.
«Rise of the Tomb Raider» (2015) turns survival into a system, with 16 raw materials, crafting on the fly, and «I Shall Rise» by Karen O as the title song. «Shadow of the Tomb Raider» (2018) is spearheaded by Eidos Montreal and, with Paititi, builds the largest hub in the series to date. The lasting contribution of the third part is accessibility, as difficulty levels for climbing, combat, and puzzles can be set separately, which earns the studio an appearance at the Game Accessibility Summit in Paris.
Source: Crystal Dynamics
Return to the roots
In 2022, Square Enix is doing poorly, which is why the publisher sells the rights to «Tomb Raider» to the Embracer Group. They plan to continue the story of Lara after «Underworld» from 2008 with «Tomb Raider: Catalyst». First, however, a second remake of the first part is released: «Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis» arrives on February 12, 2027.
The game is being created by Flying Wild Hog and Crystal Dynamics. I find it exciting how the game will bring the two Laras together. The Survivor trilogy is narratively the prequel to the 1996 character and thus also to «Legacy of Atlantis». Will Lara remain the cool Terminatrix or will she show her human side?
Source: Crystal Dynamics
At Gamescom, I was already allowed to take a brief look at the new Lara. But it was mostly gameplay; I saw little of the character Lara. But I did see Lara's ponytail. In 1996, it was thrown out because it collided with her body. In 2027, the engine simulates it so precisely that it can get caught in the backpack and come loose again. 30 years of progress, measured by a tuft of hair.
Five people built a game in 1996 that made the third dimension socially acceptable in the living room. From 250 polygons to 200,000, from a phone book name to a Countess with her own tulip variety.
Happy 30th birthday, Lara. And please let Winston out of the freezer before he freezes to death.
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