Hi there. I wanted to address some of the common themes in the comments: "Resident Evil 3 was worse than Tomb Raider." - Probably. For me, my connection with the original TR is stronger than my love for the original RE3, so TRA is, personally, more insulting than RE3R was. "This is a reimagining, a new game, not a remake." - I agree. I explain and acknowledge that at several points. I still think this new game, inspired by the original, misses the mark though. "They had to change these things to make it fit with Legend and Underworld." - I'm aware of and explain this. I also explain why I think that making it part of that trilogy was a bad idea. "Well, *I* liked Anniversary." - Cool. I'm glad. I don't enjoy disliking games, I would have much rather this remake been something that I liked. As it is, I had a bad time with this game and I spent 90 minutes explaining my reasons why. "You're too hung up on the original." - Maybe. Towards the end of the video, I quote Game Maker's Tool Kit on how Resident Evil 2 (2019) was successful because, despite being a significantly different reimagining, it evoked the same emotions and responses as the original game. I agree with him. RE2 was my personal GOTY for 2019. Tomb Raider Anniversary doesn't achieve that. Its design brings about entirely different responses, which I explain at length throughout the video. "This must be click bait." - I can see why you might think that, but I respectfully disagree. To me, this is the worst remake I have played, and I have 90 minutes of receipts as to why that is. The title and thumbnail have certainly been effective, this has quickly become one of my most popular videos, but that's also just kind of how TH-cam works. Hate the meta game of the platform, not the uploader.
as much as i think this game falls short of the original (living up to it is an extremely tall order), i think this and the legend trilogy as a whole is infinitely better than the reboot trilogy
resident evil 2 2019 is utter garbage is totally different game with name of resident evil 2 the only true remake of resident evil is 1 from 2002 gamecube then is faithfull and no reimagining tomb raider anniversary is not exactly the same becouse original level are poligonal with ps1 limitation stone are square texturized they reimagined all the level in faithfull mode with high poligons is a gorgeus remake,
It seem to me that many people who accuse you for being nostalgia blinded....actually nostalgia blinded themself since TRA was their childhood memory. I actually played TR1 after TRA in my adulthood and I do agree mostly with everything you said. I think you was very fair in this video. Also Toby Gard takes too much credit for creating Lara Croft.He just made good design for Lara, but everything afterwards was team effort that he had not interest to respect. No wonder his involvement didn't helped(and maybe even damaged) TRA.
Oh I loved the last tomb raider games. The action was way better by a mile. And she looks a ton cuter compared to how she used to look. The only problem I had with re3r... it's too short. But the gameplay was great. And the story was good. I wanted Capcom to change more. It is a remake after all. I wanted more not least. People was fighting about that sh*t in the comment area?
Same and legend wasn’t bad just super short but I think they wanted to do that because it fit more with the time. Super short action packed back in 06 /07 /08 was a huge thing. But think they could have atleast had about 5 more levels imo.
Anniversary and Legend were prime Tomb Raider for me. Fluid Gameplay, Combat that isn’t completely shitty and Lara was the goat. I don’t get why people can’t enjoy both games, they were both brilliant in their own right.
People can of course enjoy both games. As I often say, "You don't need permission to like or dislike a game, regardless of what others think". Personally, I don't like Anniversary anywhere near as much as the original. What I don't like is when people immediately dismiss a game without having played it. I had lots of this back when I first got my Saturn at secondary school. Most people had Playstations instead, fine, but don't then slag off the Saturn as 'crap' just based on public opinion and media bias (which was rife back in the 90s, especially from GamesMaster Magazine and Digitiser). I did similar in my childhood with the Master System/NES and Megadrive/SNES until I matured and found myself preferring the SNES after all.
Anniversary is one of my all time favorite games. I also love the original Tomb Raider. They're two completely different games. And I love them both. Sad you didn't enjoy this one.
I like original over anniversary. There were changes they made to the gameplay/levels that turned me away from it. I took the backseat for this one and watched my brother play it.
I loved it too. To suggest that it is gaming's worst remake is bizarre. I have noticed recently that the actual knowledge in videos like this are really lacking. I think they are being made by people who did not play them the first time around and so they are working with second-hand information and are just making the videos for the sake of views.
Complains that you can't see the final goal the moment you step into level one - complains that you can see the final goal the moment you step into The Lost Valley. Complains that boss fights don't use environmental puzzle elements - complains that the T-Rex fight does have environmental puzzle elements that are "mandatory" (they're not, you can just shoot it till it dies). Complains that weapons get taken away - complains that weapons get given back because it's not the "right" way. Complains that weapon isn't given back because it requires the mysterious and arcane game mechanic of checking the enemy for loot just like every other game in existence. Complains that the T-Rex fight copies the Bane fight from a game that came out four years later on a different console generation! Just stop.
I agree, I feel like this absolute gut job of Anniversary was totally unnecessarily ruthless. Especially when he contradicts what Toby Gard, the creator of Lara, says about wanting to make the T-Rex fight feel more special as he originally intended. They intended to do a lot of things with the original but had technological restraints, so the fact that Toby was a consultant in Legend and Anniversary makes me feel this is where the series should have kept on going. And a lot of his comments feel disrespectful to the creator of Lara Croft's vision.
I disagre. I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many. Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles: TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action. TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies: - Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game - The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game. - The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world. - The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
@@takeyourtime3328 I played TR1 and I still prefer Anniversary. I mean the LAU trilogy is where Lara would have gone if not for technological restraints according to Lara's creator Toby Gard.
Funny when the original TR came out, it was on Sega Saturn and you didn't save...at all, ever. I remember having TR get togethers because my whole family wanted to know what happens (aunts, uncles and cousins) and her name was Lara like mine. We stayed up to ridiculous o'clock getting through levels. Good times.
@@filippetrovic845 No, they're not. I have tried Legend long after I completed the survivor trilogy. It is BETTER than TR 2013, better than Shadow. If the new game is gonna be like legend, I'm all for it.
@@filippetrovic845 The newer games are absolute tripe, more killing people and finding horrible ways to die than actually doing puzzles which is what the original TR was about.
"a game of chess against level designers where each of us was trying to outdo the others in a way that felt personal and engaging" - slowly walks into an unmissable gigantic blade and keels over
@@KBXband The original is miles better for a lot of people, especially people like myself who grew up in the 90’s playing the original trilogy. While I don’t really enjoy this game at all, I can at least understand why somebody else might really enjoy it. I don’t really like anything Tomb Raider has released after the third game, so maybe I’m biased. This guy is knitpicking for sure, but for someone to paint the original as a better game is not that baffling to me considering most people I know agree that the original trilogy are the best games in the series. Personally, the newer ones, including anniversary even though it’s not exactly new, are so boring that I can’t play them for more than 20 minutes.
This video could very much as well have been a critique of how gaming and games has changed between 1996 and 2007. There's no manual saving because it was seen as very backwards in 2007. There's no backtracking because backtracking is now seen as an example of bad game design. I personally don't agree with either of these two but Its just me. Semi manual aiming was also very much a product of its day, but I see it as positive change. To me Anniversary is one of the best proper remakes of any games. It keeps the spirit of the original (in my opinion) but updates it to modern technology and gameplay concepts. I love this game and I would definitely recommend it as entry game for anyone wanting to get into Tomb Raider. The fact they managed to get the story to fit within the Legend-Anniversary-Underworld continuity is just an added boon. And as far as that Sanctuary of the Scion puzzle, I actually solved it manually. I copied the pattern on a piece of paper and solved it in school during a break between the lessons. It was super rewarding to do it that way, actually.
My two cents, but I'll try to keep it short and straight to the point: 1. Backtracking is only a bad thing when the game isn't made with that concept in mind. I think games like anything in the Zelda series, or any RPG new or old can get away with that because they're not designed to be straight and narrow. With maybe an exception here and there. 2. I personally don't enjoy manual aiming all that much, but that's probably because I just can't adapt to it like most people can. I know you said semi manual, but I don't see that much of a difference between the two. 3. I for one, HATED the tank controls of the original games. With the first one, that might have made sense, since the PS1 controller didn't have the analog sticks yet, but by the time the 3rd one was released, there was no excuse. 4. OG Lara was more calm and collected in every situation she was in, and sometimes even had witty dialogue. That made her kind of a badass. I wanted to like her 2013 counterpart, but I think whoever wrote her character just had no understanding of what made Lara Croft who she is. Either that, or some miscommunication happened behind the scenes. And because some Crystal Dynamics properties are coming back, the first 3 TR games being remastered makes me happy, but also has me a little worried.
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many. Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles: TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action. TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies: - Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game - The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game. - The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world. - The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
@@takeyourtime3328to be fair, I doubt many people who didn't play the originals are playing the remasters with tank controls, so to then, the originals *are* unplayable.
And this desperate attempt to shoehorn the TR1 story into the Legend timeline is antithetical to the story of TR1, where Lara is clearly already a seasoned and famous adventurer.
@@ThagomizerI don't recall anniversary showing her as inexperienced. Larson was just her first human kill. She still seems pretty experienced especially since Natla still goes to her to find the tomb
This has got to be one of the hottest takes I’ve ever seen for tomb raider games. I think anniversary being the worst remake in gaming is a stretch, while not being the most faithful remake the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
As a kid who got the original TR as a birthday gift and one wasn’t skilled enough nor had a save card I replayed those first lvls on repeat but sadly never got past lvl 4. But I cherished anniversary as with added age + the ability to save I got to go back and finally complete the story I started a decade before. Not sure why your not a fan as I love both but for me it was one of my all time favs, and I own them all.
Although I generally agree, limited saves were never a good thing and I'm glad that even the original TR got rid of it in later games and the PC versions. It's just a holdover from the dying arcade era that drained your quarters.
This game definitely has a... complicated history. After Core Design was booted from the series, they began working on a project, Tomb Raider Anniversary, which Eidos lightly accepted. After Legend was complete, Crystal Dynamics wanted to do Underworld. But then they caught wind of what Core Design was doing. Crystal did very well on Legend, and the idea of having to compete with Core, the original developers remaking their legendary game, was scary. But adamantly Eidos wanted an Anniversary game for Lara's 15th Anniversary. Core's version was around 80% complete, so Crystal rushed a polished, playable opening level as fast as they could. Both were presented to Eidos, and Crystal's was picked for looking for looking cleaner and more presentable, as that was their only way to win. However, this meant Crystal had to prioritize Anniversary, a game they didn't actually want to make. It had to be out first, and it had to be out soon. If they screwed up Anniversary, the success of Legend would mean nothing, and Underworld, would not be made. They had to split their team in half, and Toby Gard was brought in despite vocally being against remakes as a concept. He had no interest in the game, he did it for the paycheck, as he was needing it at the time. The sales for TRA are the lowest in the series, even now. Missed the 15th Anniversary by a year, and the game tried to advertise a remake of TR1... exclusively to new fans. Anniversary and Underworld both suffered a lot, in some different and some similar ways, thanks to the split of staff and the situation. Core Design died, unable to get their foot in the door and being forced to scrap their almost-complete remake of Tomb Raider 1. It all happened because Crystal was scared of losing what they had just gotten, and Eidos still being the ever-awful Eidos.
The irony is Legend is what lead to Crystal's downfall. Whilst it did sell relatively well, fans became very skeptical of both Core and Crystal, as legend was rather... Lackluster, which lead to low sale figures of anniversary, leading to underworld, leading to another reboot. I never understood what Core was thinking when making the remake for the psp of all consoles. It barely looked better than the original.
This is actually one of my favorite remakes ever, next to RE2 and 4. I played the original game when it first came out and loved and when I played this version I loved it too, even with many things being changed I enjoyed it. I think it would have been boring for me if it had been the exact same thing. I did enjoy listening to the commentary tracks. they had this guy who designed the levels and he was saying how he originally intended the levels to be. but because of the way the game loaded areas up, they were unable to make the levels work right. They had originally intended for Lara to find the doorway that you can see the exit of the first area beyond and then you had to find the lever that would open it. Then she would have had to come back and run through avoiding the darts that were flying across the path. I think they were calling it the gauntlet. For some reason the loading in the game preventing this from happening. it was unable to render certain areas properly. So they were forced to make it so Lara worked her way around. He hated that now there was a medipak that Lara could get if you decided to run past the darts to the closed door. Of course no one really cared to get it since at this early point in the game you probably had enough and didn't need more. Then there's the village where the bear comes out of that barn. People had no idea it was supposed to be a village. I think they said that it was based on a real location that no longer existed. so they just designed the area the way they did. It looks like it's within a cave. Then the place that it was based on was discovered in real life and looked nothing like they had designed. So they designed it after the village that was discovered. Or at least what it used to look like. The cistern in the original was a huge area. you could get lost in there. I think they said that they got rid of the whole thing because players weren't really fond of the area. so they just left the part where you had to lower and raise the water level and tiny areas around the room that reminded us a little of those larger areas. I was actually happy they got rid of the cistern.
I enjoyed Tomb Raider Anniversary exceedingly and would even call it one of the best games for the PS2. It was my first Tomb Raider experience, introduced me to Lara Croft and what got me hooked to the franchise. Devs were clearly passionate for the remake of such classic property. In short, a legendary title and my personal favorite TR game.
Gaming's worst remake? Very far from that. Check Resident Evil 3 (2020). Ah, I really love Anniversary btw. In my opinion one of the best remakes I've ever played.
what are your thoughts on the newly announced Tomb Raider 1-3 remasters? i think they look really exciting and i'm definitely gonna look into picking them up!
I think it's a great remake and a great game overall. From the first Crystal Dynamic trilogy, it may be my favourite. It has a few frustrating moments, but it's really good.
Fun fact: CORE design was originally working on their own remake but Crystal Dynamics had it cancelled by the higher ups and started working on this remake.
Also can I just say, they mauled the aesthetic of those last few levels. The original had some really cool like... flesh pit stuff going on but Anniversary? Just... mostly generic ancient building stuff... such a letdowj
I own the Tomb Raider Collection (Xbox 360 version) on my Series X. These three games are MASTERPIECES in my opinion. I completed Anniversary, Legend and Underworld 3-4 years ago. Looking forward to REPLAYING all three titles either this year or next
Nah, this game is great. Sure it has its shortcomings but I still come back to play it every other year. I always thought its controls were great, when playing it with keyboard and mouse. I can‘t go back to the original tank controls.
"This game is great because I play it every other year". Just because you enjoy a game does not make it a quality game. R6s fans can tell you all about it. I love re2 remake but I do not think its great.
Also it was a stolen idea from core design’s tomb raider anniversary. I’m thankfully not nostalgic blind like most people and can see its many other issues/problems
Having replayed both the original game and the Anniversary version in the past year, I think Anniversary is a great game and it honestly only drops the ball in a few areas -- mainly in tone, atmosphere, and difficulty. And some slight cuts to the size of the game. The level design is really good though and it feels good to play with better controls and the addition of the grapple hook.
The Cistern level didn't have an unintended softlock. That only happens because you can drop yourself without dying into the spike pit. That said, I utterly detest how that level was done in the remake. Exploring the side rooms was the entire point of the level.
I personally enjoy The Angel of Darkness's gameplay and settings more than Crystal Dynamic remake and trilogy despite of technical issue and some plothole.
Thanks so much for a shout out. Just wanted to clarify I didn't extract anything. I merely spent 10 years searching for the source files of the cancelled Tomb Raider: 10th anniversary edition by the original devs. Eventually it was sent to me and I published it. With help of the community, it was turned into "playable" version we have today. It is officially the last game ever made by Core Design, the creators of Tomb Raider and I dedicated all my efforts to ensure it's preserved. Job isn't done though as I hope to find more assets eventually
It was released when games starting catering for casual play. Am just glad games are becoming challenging again like the souls like games and hundreds of old school Fps games like prodeus, and metroidvanias. I just hope for tomb raiders 30th anniversary on 2026 will have a crash bandicoot type remake of the original
That's a pretty similar experience to what happened with my first time seeing the character cowboy in the original he just looked like Larson with a hat like Larson just put on a Superman disguise and thought we wouldn't notice.
I always knew Crystal Dynamics from their PS1 platformers like Pandemonium... bouncy, jumpy whimsical colourful things where your character jumps about 30 feet in the air and feels light as a feather... Very strange that they've transposed these cartoon physics onto Tomb Raider where you could just believe Lara was at peak human physical performance. I can understand why some people would like that, but for that and story reasons the Crystal Dynamics TRs lost me pretty early on. Thank god for the remasters eh
As an old-timey tomb raiderer myself, I see where you're coming from. Someone hit the nail on the head saying it's just different nostalgies at play, if we want to talk about the nostalgia angle. I remember when the Legend came out I was in the team of the disappointed gamers, who saw the entry as being a dumbed-down version of what tomb raider used to be, albeit a fun one. We used to say yo mama hid the secrets in Legend. But as time passed by the Legend trilogy has grown on me. It's the 2013 reboot forward games that I simply couldn't get myself into. One thing I have to say is that the somewhat simplification of the gameplay (and I'm not talking simply about the tank controls, because frankly, those overstayed their welcome as it were) was a sad necessity to be implemented one way or another. TR had a reputation for being ridiculously hard back then, when the era of casual gaming was starting to roll. I can see why they did it, I think it's fair to look at it at something that they needed to do to save the franchise after the lovable, but visually and gameplaywise obsolete classics and the unfinished AOD disaster that followed. And the quick-time events... sadly, it's a product of its time. A lot of games had the QTE's back then, with various developers copying the mechanism into their games without second thought. I think it's also meant to better showcase some relationship between Lara and somewhat favourite knuckleheads of the franchise, mainly the himbo-fied Larson. The outpour of the fanfics and theories back in the day was intense, I took it as a nod to fans. Especially with her kneeling on his chest, I mean come on! I agree though that there was place for a proper fight somewhere between sneers and unrealized sexual tension between the two. TL'DR great video, reminded me of why I was very skeptical about the Legend trilogy back in the day. The TRA remake certainly underlines the main issues in red, making it an excellent example. Lots of love!
Funny how everybody in this fandom used to love this game, then suddenly started to hate on it like a decade after its release because it's so trendy to hate on Crystal Dynamics
@@henriquebraganca123 yeah, i couldn't enjoy AoD and peole pretend TRA and Legend were not TR while AoD story and gameplay kinda ... not very TR, imo. I was really tired of the slow tank control and stamina mechanic of AoD.
@@henriquebraganca123 well, AOD had something tr was lacking since arguably the second game and still didn't have it even at underworld. That being innovation. Keep in mind Reboot 2 and Rise were liked as well.
"It's so trendy to hate on CD". People don't hate on CD because it's trendy. They don't like them because they are opportunists who have zero respect for tomb raider or Lara Croft. Remember Legacy of Cain? I mean, just look at reboot 2 trilogy. I'd argue people were tired of tomb raider not being tomb raider at rise/shadow and went "what went wrong" bringing us here.
It’s more likely those of us who didn’t like it didn’t have access to social media nor the ability to make videos back when it first came out so our opinions went completely unheard. And this is coming from someone who used to like TRA and only disliked it _after_ beating the original on my own and could compare the two better. Then I saw Core Design’s remake & that their plans for it were basically what Black Mesa is to Half Life. We seriously got robbed. Nowadays I’m a bit more tolerant of TRA in that Crystal can have it so long as it’s the Wii version only due to all the cool stuff that one adds (preferably updating it to include the PSP outfits), with a fully finished TRAE replacing all other TRA versions.
Thank you for articulating so many of the reasons I’ve always hated Anniversary. It’s an unpopular opinion for sure, but it’s unplayable for me. The streamlined approach to level progression took out all of the exploration aspect that I loved from the original TRs, and it seemed like the developers just made the controls and physical mechanics a lot harder than they needed to be to overcompensate for the dumbed down puzzle solving. The controls were hard to the point of being physically impossible at times as a PC gamer using a mouse and keyboard. I also hated how drab everything looked. So many levels in the original were vivid and vibrant, but everything in Anniversary just looked gray. It was so depressing, especially in the Egypt levels.
This video has TOTALLY nailed how it didn’t click with me..I played the original in 1996 and it was breathtaking..I was excited to play this but remember I lost interest an hour in..it dropped the ball entirely and I believe all the positive comments are from people who weren’t around to play the original on release
I loved Anniversary as a love letter to the greatest game of all time, but there’s no question they did some levels dirty! Looking at you Colosseum, Cistern, and Sanctuary of the Scion. Oh and all of Atlantis.
Absolutely. Tomb Raider Anniversary is the only TR game I actually rage-quit on. And remember: I've completed Angel of Darkness from start to finish not once, but twice.
I started TRA and was impress how they made the level design and wanted to compare to the original. I never played TR before and tried TR1 for the first time. It was rough at first but I forced myself to at least reach the T-rex section (I stopped there with TRA). I ended up completing TR1 without noticing. Jumped in TR2-5 before going back to TRA. Played all TR since and a big fan my favorites are TR1-3. The first TR are almost Tactical Platformer with the square base layout, something no other platformer did since.
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many. Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles: TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action. TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies: - Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game - The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game. - The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world. - The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
This is actually my favorite TR game along with the original. Really enjoyed the new areas as well. I could do without the QTE thought but it wasn't too bad, and the adrenaline dodge added some depth to the old gunplay style.
If I recall, the Magnums are actually hidden in a secret in the Mines. I don't recall Knife-Guy dropping them, but I could find the Magnums on a secret ledge behind you at one point in the Mines. That said, there is no more opprotunities to grab the Magnums if you missed this secret in Anniversary in the final 2 levels, I do feel like there should have at least been a pick-up for them before the very final boss incase you missed these. While I do still enjoy Anniversary as a faster-paced version of TR1, I do agree with your complaints. The Headshot especially is bad, I've easily beaten the PSP version of Anniversary pistols-only due to it.
Finally someone actually talking about this game, i have seriously wondered if the game existed at all and maybe my memory of it was just my mind playing tricks on me since nobody ever talks about it, when i picked this up in a bargain bin at a Gamestop over a decade ago i had high hopes of it being good since i loved the original on ps1, i quit playing it in less than a week, i loved the enhanced graphics but everything else was just horrible.
One of my faves of all time, because it was one of my first, so I'm heavily biased 😂. Not having played the original also influenced my opinion of it I'm sure.
This is also the reason why im Biased for the original, it was my very very first game on the brand new Playstation 1, back in 1996 i think. in recent years i bought the entire bundle of all tomb raider games, and i did try out anniversary, but i did not liked it much. currently im on a triple monitor setup, 7680x1440p, and i managed to run Tomb Raider 1 in an emulator, and set a custom resolution to my resolution, and to my absolute big suprise, it actually worked. and was able to play the original on a triple monitor setup. whats even crazier is that i managed to add direct X 9 to the emulator, and because of that i could also add the program ReShade, and even add Ray Tracing shaders, and have much better lighting effects. Long story short, i dont need an Remake/Remaster/Reimagining, now that i can remaster the game to my own tastes with ReShade.
Yes i think bias and "which you played first" influences opinions. I played Oblivion before morrowind or daggerfall and much prefer Oblivion over any of the other Elder Scrolls games. But hardcore fans will say "Its too simple" or such.
I don't get the amount of dislikes for the video, it is quite spot on. I think since the 2013 reboot was so shitty, people actually have the impression that Anniversary is good. Tomb Raider died with The Last Revelation, wich is sadly quite fitting for the game that kills Lara Croft in the end.
There's a difference between a game being more challenging skill-wise, and a game being more challenging due to frustration. This was what irritated me about Anniversary Edition. Yes, the grid based design of the original levels was far easier to follow, and meant that things were strict in terms of jumps and grabbing ledges, but this one had so many frustrating niggles when traversing ledges, timing jumps perfectly, and the annoying way the camera lined you up with jumps you weren't even aiming for. I honestly don't heavily dislike it, and it's definitely not the worst remake of a game I've played, but on a personal level I felt they were always going to struggle to replicate the impact of the original one. Heck, I don't think even TR2 and 3 managed to have that effect on me, despite being more polished. TR2 was too combat heavy, 3 was closer, but I just didn't take to the vehicles, and whilst TLR and Chronicles were underrated in my opinion, I felt they were running out of ideas by that point. At least Anniversary Edition does its best to stick to the original format. All the bow and arrow stuff in the Survivor games I just couldn't get into, sorry. I know I'm not going to be popular for saying such things. I don't normally give sales much clout when it comes to judging how good a game is, given how well the FIFA games always sell, for example, but the fact Anniversary sold about a seventh of the amount that the original did is no great surprise.
I played the remake on the 360. I loved it. I say this as someone who still has his copy of the original Tomb Raider for PS1. It's a good remake. A bit buggy though. I had to return it 3 times due to the same ledge on the first level begging out. I couldn't grab that ledge on 3 separate copies. The fourth copy worked fine.
I used to adore Anniversary but in recent years my opinion on the game has soured. This video hit every point on why I think this game is inferior to the Core Design classic. The controls are imprecise at the most trickiest platforming moments. Cut content left and right because the game designers didn’t want to bother was the biggest issue. This game is up there with the RE2 and 3 remake, has the heart in the right place all fail compare to their inspirations. All the time and effort these games used to make these pointless remakes could have been used for a brand new game with brand new ideas. But because the gaming industry is creatively bankrupt, we get these inferior reinterpretations of classic games.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is one of the best Tomb Raider games I've played. I'm sorry that you didn't like it, but it seems you're too blinded by your love for the original to appreciate this reimagining. You also seem to despise modern game design philosophies (evidenced by your incessant complaints that the game was streamlined) so it's obvious this remake is not going to cater to your very old school way of thinking.
It’s not a remake though. It’s a reimagining. I feel he clearly understands how amazing the original game is and sees how this reimagining that’s highly based off the original failed to recreate and understand what made the original loved by so many. As can be seen by the poor sales and reception by many fans. Iv always had a lot of fun with TRA and have it on every system but from day one I always felt disappointed and that somethings missing.
I also dislike Anni as a remake but I agree with you, he has a unreasonable hate towards it and game design in general as you said. There were some quite wrong points in this video.
@@emircan457 Didn't help his case when he started out with "pointless remakes" and using Dead Space Remake as an example! Just feels like he's "Stanning" for the Originals out of some FEAR they'll be FORGOTTEN while trying to sell "weak points" like "Controls" as a "Selling point!" I mean calling underworld "Fanfiction" and insulting how they changed and expanded abit on OG Tomb Raider's villain and Lara's motivation is abit much! Comes off as "WTF is with these's remakes! Just make Remasters, don't do anything new! Let me REBUY what I liked originally!" When I'll say, what I like about remakes more then Remasters is sometimes shit gets CHANGED that I'm PLAYING the same game without playing "the same game!" Sort of like Resident Evil 1 Classic and Resident Evil 1 Remake! Hell to be funny many "exploits" and "secrets" OG players knew that they try to exploit have NASTY surprises waiting for them if they TRY (like the Lion Gem Eye puzzle) and I will admit, I only played the OG BECAUSE of the Remakes/Reimaging Inspiring me to try them (hearing all the WELL the OG was LEAGUES better) and frankly! It's funny to find OG games that HAD spirit, but frankly the Remakes were FOR THE BETTER and OG that are JUST AS GOOD AS THE REMAKES (and frankly as I said, It doesn't feel like I'm COMPLETELY playing the same game, yet I am, so I have that "Something new" feel, instead of BOREDOM because a REMASTER looking like a Remake is me just playing the SAME SHIT I 100% previously! It's why as much as the Crash and Spyro remakes look good and I did try them! I don't care to BUY the game because I 100% their OG before! So I really don't care to do their remakes the same! and with TH-cam I can just REWATCH the NEW scenes so frankly I see no reason to buy them! But I did buy the new Crash Game because it was NEW)
Anniversary always left a sour taste in my mouth. So much cut out from the original. And every change for the worse. The combat is worse than the original. Finding ammo and medkits no longer matters, giving you less of a reason to explore. Every single boss a dodge the charging bull deal. Every single one. It's a bad, boring basic design, and they still executed it poorly. Then they added quick time events in the most basic boring manner possibly. The level design is a joke compared to the original. They butchered the Lost Valley so completely I really can't believe they made a level that felt so big and awe inspiring into a literal hallway with nothing to discover or explore. Atlantis now looks generic and plays generically. The Atlantean Boss looks nothing like it's original design and lacks the impact or terror of being spawned on a tiny ledge with that thing dropping down at you. No cutscene. Just gameplay. The movement is no longer reliable, so even running and jumping sucks now. The guns lack impact, and the overdone combat is worse than the basic design of the original some how. Also the original game looked better. Graphics can't make up for art design. How did they mess it up so bad, I will never fathom.
Remasters are essentially the same gameplay code but with new or heavily reworked art. What you described was a port. If the game code and graphics code and art assets are a straight rip from the original, that’s just a port no different than a port from PS2 to Xbox. That said I think the Jak remaster for PS3 was a remaster because they redid a lot or all of the art assets I thought. Those are not the same character models found in the original game. Those were new models specifically created for the remaster.
I fondly remember this game. I loved at the time as a pre-teen just as much as Tomb Raider Legend and Underworld. The lonely and eerie atmosphere to all the environments as you explore them was very well done. The graphics were fairly decent on the PS3 too. Exploring Croft Manner was a treat as well, I remember the music from that part of the the most.
I was happy to have a nicer version of the original. It was very frustrating! Glitches, horrible camera and moments when she doesn't respond to certain ledges, hookshot works when it wants and those damn time trials! Why do the force those dramatic camera pans while the clock keeps ticking?
I kinda don't agree with you in terms of how you say the precision is lost in Anniversary. It's still very much there. You just have to be a precise player. I have zero issues with controls in this game. Just gotta have good quick judgment, and be very responsive. I think it's a fantastic remake, and my only real complaint with the game is that they didn't make the Atlantians nearly as frightening as I had hoped. I was also kinda hoping they would make a boss battle out of collecting the first Scion piece. That "statue" awakened and was buried by the rubble. I would've loved to have seen that as a battle, either in that moment, or later in the game.
Legend : Lara massacres half of the world population while joking about it like an absolute sociopath. Anniversary : Lara is disgusted by having killed one guy. Are we sure this is the same timeline ?
The context sensitive controls in this game made me quit by like level 3. I liked that weird precision the early games had, whereas in this one Lara deciding she doesn't want to reach for that ledge or perch on that pillar seriously got on my nerves.
"Lara's movement has been completely revised" - this is why I didn't like Legend. To me the original controls were what made Tomb Raider what it was; it felt like a different series after that.
Hey Sam. This is the first video of yours I've watched, but I'll definitely be watching others and I've subscribed. I don't agree with everything you've said in this video, and I think that's to be expected. We're both human. But this is very well produced and put together video and I really enjoyed it. I hope to see more like it in the future!
Aa far as saving goes, maybe you managed the drama in your deaths for maximum effect, but most players I knew just saved constantly, before every chancy jump and before every fight, with backups in case we mismanaged our resources. I'll take frequent autosaves over that hassle. The other design choices mighr not be ideal, but the saving is a quality of life issue, and doesn't do anything but cut down the hassle of doing it manually.
I rarely dislike videos, but this one I have to. As a massive fan of the original games (TR1 to AOD), and as a person who still replays those almost every single year I have to say that TRA was an amazing game. So much better than TRL and TRU. And of course it's a masterpiece compared to the survivor trilogy which I regret even playing once.
Definitely right about the cheap deaths. In the original a running jump measured running 1 tile then the jump tapping backwards moved back 1 tile etc and the rules of movement were strict but fair.
I agree with pretty much all of your points here. The only things I disagree on are: Egypt is the worst location in the whole game compared to the original with Atlantis either tying with it outright or a close second. Used toilet paper aesthetic, all rooms are separated with boring hallways (some trapped Prince of Persia SOT Trilogy style) like a movie set or theme park attraction, too many traps especially in Obelisk of Khamoon and a bullshit ambush in a narrow hall at the end. I do like some puzzles like the retracting ledges near the Bast temple, scarab scale for the sand trapdoor, the moving statues and the Horus & Set statue room’s water puzzle but that’s it. I really like Peru minus some missing rooms like the timed door, big explorable village & bear pool. Some textures look crap but the levels aren’t too bad. In fact, the only Peru level I hate and don’t count in this praise is Tomb of Qualopec. The valley isn’t as open now but I do like being able to climb higher in the canopy, something that Core’s TRAE tribute mods like TRA Retold did as well. Speaking of TRAE, will you do a full video on it, its history, it’s leaked alpha (both platforms and all playable builds including discord exclusive updates by Ghostblade that fix shader, transparency & some crashing bugs on the latest playable patch) attempt at a restoration project ala DNF 2001, Core’s plans for it back then and TRLEs inspired by it? I’d watch the hell out of it as I’m dying to play a fully playable finished version, fan game like DNF 2001 or otherwise. For the TRLE’s inspired by it, I highly recommend the unfinished TRA Retold by Joe “Teeth” Mudd which is pretty damn fun if rather janky (he went into detail in Steve of Warr’s discord exactly why he stopped and has effectively disowned the project entirely due to those reasons), and Tomb Raider Redux by AngelofDarkness which is complete (more or less as it took so long he rushed two specific parts near the end). Both are two of the best TRLEs ever and the former not only got me into them but was my exposure to the Legend Jenni Milward, fan voice of Lara and author of the AOD book adaptation. I don’t know if you got one of the physical release copies of TRAE while Ash was doing them, but that may be worth looking it too if you did or can get one.
I agree with almost all points except the level art design. Great video btw! I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many. Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles: TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action. TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies: - Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game - The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game. - The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world. - The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
I don't believe that we will have a group of game developers that want to create a game players will learn to love and enjoy their way. Its as though the joy of making a game you want to make for the sake of making a good game has been exchanged for making sales figures.
The only two games that I concider "Remake" as in "It improves and extrapolates elements without taking away the mood of the original experience" are : -Metroid Zero Mission -Resident Evil on Gamecube
True . Other remakes missed the mark or are unnecessary overall. Even RE2 isnt a perfect remake . A great game but a different take overall instead of a remake .
AM2R, the unnoficial Metroid 2 remake is also amazing. So is Streets of Rage remake (also unnoficial), which is a remake of the first 3 games with lots of new stuff
@@anthonypimentel7218 Okay those are alright except AM2R. It was an awesome fan-game but it took this ominous and rather strange atmosphere and turned into metroid prime in 2D. Nothing against it on its own and it fits very good but OG Metroid 2 was more vicious and downright creeply bizarro thanks to its basic design but also in the vision they had originally.
personally I never saw this game as anything other than TR for a generation who don't have the patience for the original. That being said I totally agree the controls felt floaty, which was an instant turn off. The rigid nature of the original's control scheme was what made the whole thing work.
Glad I watched this video since I wasn't sure when the annoying as hell QTEs started showing up in the games and I'm glad I dodged the bullet. The originals, while a product of its time, still allowed enough freedom of choice on how you wanted to tackle basically every problem on your own and when you finally figured a way to get through that problem, and then suddenly your friend showed you a different way to resolve it... that made for great times. QTEs have their time and place, but sticking it on boss fights like the T-Rex just really ruins the memories for me. The other aspect was like what you mentioned, the whole exploration just got lost in the newer games. The first time in Egypt on top of the giant Sphynx and doing that blind jump into the air with my friends watching in horror... until you landed right on the invisible platform, it can't be replicated with the Anniversary's engine. Some areas just felt HUGE because of how the ps1's visual limited how much you can actually see, and there's a lot of times you had to use the look around option to try to spot that hidden pathway that's not obvious to the eye from a few angles. I don't think the linear design is bad, just it robs you of what made the original game's blind explorations feeling like you're actually finding something you weren't meant to normally find in this out of the way niche on a ledge or that panicky blind swim underwater and not knowing if there's anything at the end. The last thing was the limited save points also was a factor in making you subconsciously THINKING about how much you're willing to risk vs the reward of a guaranteed safe point in your progress. Do you push on just a bit more and risk having to redo your last hour of progress, or take the safe bet and hope there's another save crystal later on? When you mastered that level or section, you can replay the game and just breeze through and bypass all those save crystals knowing full well where and when the next "critical" save crystal will be and that feeling's just awesome (until you forget to hold the grab button on the long jump and Lara failed to grab the ledge and you fall to your death...)
What an unusual set of opinions. I can believe they are genuine, even if I disagree with most of them, although the question in the title does seem like pure clickbait. There are also some things that were even explained by the devs in the commentary track and ignored by you in the video, like the way everything seemed grander in the original due to the novelty and technical limitations, including that bridge and the t-rex. About the t-rex, I don't think there's anything remarkable about it at all beyond the theatrics of encountering it for the first time. It's just another basic enemy with the same AI as the rest, only bigger and with more health. It would have been a very lame enemy if left unchanged.
The "magnetizing" issue you're describing in the controls section of the video can be fixed by playing with manual grab on, which gives you more control and also aligns more with the fans of the original TR games, as manual grab was the only option back then.
This was the hardest of all the Tomb Raider series for me up until this point. I don't recall the controls being the issue but maybe that was it, there were a couple of wall swinging sequences that drove me nuts before I got them. Lara died 10,000 deaths. Literally.
@kirak1561 Angel of Darkness kept glitching out on me, areas wouldn't load, I'd keep falling through different floors in levels, and the clunky controls didn’t help either, especially on that rave catwalk
1:22:26 The PSP version does have the splashes but there's less of them and they blend into the waterfall so you have to look really close just to see them. Visually they're a less messy looking version of the Wii ones.
Anniversary was good, the only BS thing in it was the time trials, some levels needed like 30 mins to complete on the faster side, aint nobody replaying a 30 min level only to find out you were off by 10 seconds.
The original will always be my favorite, the remake simply doesn't have the same atmosphere and that feeling of almost constant danger. It's like the OG is a game for adults and the remake is a streamlined flashy game for teens. Btw, I grew up in the 90s, playing the Core Design games on PC, so those will always be my favorite ones.
I have never played the original Tomb Raider. I got Tomb Raider Anniversary as a free game with my graphics card. I found it one of the best Tomb Raider games ever. It feels better than TR: Legend to me. Not to mention later incarnations.
I get that it's tone and such are different but, I'm sorry the original Tomb Raider for anyone going to it blind was a mess- even back then. So many death pits were cheap and impossible to avoid if you didn't know about it. You were fighting against the developers- not the game. The game got brutal and the fact it's save system was so unforgiving and checkpoint based on PS1 tells me they geared the difficulty extra hard to combat rentals since that was a thing devs did and even RE1 & 2 were effected by. And as far as I know- on the PC version of the OG Tomb Raider that save system isn't even there, you had quick saves- because they know their game was BS hard & PC gamers can't return games. Even Resident Evil knew insta-deaths + limited frustrating saves were a bad idea. There's very few of them in the PS1 games. TR1 was an important game but even playing it back then I hated playing it. It's technological feats are compounded by cheap deaths. After watching Josh Strife Hayes review of the game I knew that I was good skipping buying TR 1. I would have never beat it. Anniversary isn't faithful but that's honestly is a positive. Shame it lost a bit of the edge of exploration but it's an improvement in every, other, way in my opinion.
The 2020 remake of XIII holds the record for worst remake. It's so bad it was literally unplayable. A different team later picked it up and made it sort of playable but there is little you can do to shine a turd.
Hi there. I wanted to address some of the common themes in the comments:
"Resident Evil 3 was worse than Tomb Raider." - Probably. For me, my connection with the original TR is stronger than my love for the original RE3, so TRA is, personally, more insulting than RE3R was.
"This is a reimagining, a new game, not a remake." - I agree. I explain and acknowledge that at several points. I still think this new game, inspired by the original, misses the mark though.
"They had to change these things to make it fit with Legend and Underworld." - I'm aware of and explain this. I also explain why I think that making it part of that trilogy was a bad idea.
"Well, *I* liked Anniversary." - Cool. I'm glad. I don't enjoy disliking games, I would have much rather this remake been something that I liked. As it is, I had a bad time with this game and I spent 90 minutes explaining my reasons why.
"You're too hung up on the original." - Maybe. Towards the end of the video, I quote Game Maker's Tool Kit on how Resident Evil 2 (2019) was successful because, despite being a significantly different reimagining, it evoked the same emotions and responses as the original game. I agree with him. RE2 was my personal GOTY for 2019. Tomb Raider Anniversary doesn't achieve that. Its design brings about entirely different responses, which I explain at length throughout the video.
"This must be click bait." - I can see why you might think that, but I respectfully disagree. To me, this is the worst remake I have played, and I have 90 minutes of receipts as to why that is. The title and thumbnail have certainly been effective, this has quickly become one of my most popular videos, but that's also just kind of how TH-cam works. Hate the meta game of the platform, not the uploader.
as much as i think this game falls short of the original (living up to it is an extremely tall order), i think this and the legend trilogy as a whole is infinitely better than the reboot trilogy
resident evil 2 2019 is utter garbage is totally different game with name of resident evil 2 the only true remake of resident evil is 1 from 2002 gamecube then is faithfull and no reimagining tomb raider anniversary is not exactly the same becouse original level are poligonal with ps1 limitation stone are square texturized they reimagined all the level in faithfull mode with high poligons is a gorgeus remake,
It seem to me that many people who accuse you for being nostalgia blinded....actually nostalgia blinded themself since TRA was their childhood memory. I actually played TR1 after TRA in my adulthood and I do agree mostly with everything you said. I think you was very fair in this video.
Also Toby Gard takes too much credit for creating Lara Croft.He just made good design for Lara, but everything afterwards was team effort that he had not interest to respect. No wonder his involvement didn't helped(and maybe even damaged) TRA.
Oh I loved the last tomb raider games. The action was way better by a mile. And she looks a ton cuter compared to how she used to look. The only problem I had with re3r... it's too short. But the gameplay was great. And the story was good. I wanted Capcom to change more. It is a remake after all. I wanted more not least. People was fighting about that sh*t in the comment area?
In short, people should actually watch your video and listen to everything before making bitching comments...
Strange. I enjoyed the hell out of Tomb Raider Anniversary. To me it's the best TR in Crystal Dynamics name.
100% agree, Anniversary is my all time favorite
Same and legend wasn’t bad just super short but I think they wanted to do that because it fit more with the time. Super short action packed back in 06 /07 /08 was a huge thing. But think they could have atleast had about 5 more levels imo.
@Callieforniiaa yeah Legends was fun. I think I liked it because of the terrible Angel of darkness experience I had. lol still Love Aod tho.
same here
Me too, I loved Anniversary 🤣🤷🏻♀️
Anniversary and Legend were prime Tomb Raider for me. Fluid Gameplay, Combat that isn’t completely shitty and Lara was the goat.
I don’t get why people can’t enjoy both games, they were both brilliant in their own right.
People can enjoy both, you are just for some reason confused this 1 person doesnt like it 🤪
honestly i felt that the gameplay was worse in the crystal dynamics era. they managed to make it even more clunky which was strange.
@@-pressxtostart-nah just you
People can of course enjoy both games. As I often say, "You don't need permission to like or dislike a game, regardless of what others think". Personally, I don't like Anniversary anywhere near as much as the original. What I don't like is when people immediately dismiss a game without having played it. I had lots of this back when I first got my Saturn at secondary school. Most people had Playstations instead, fine, but don't then slag off the Saturn as 'crap' just based on public opinion and media bias (which was rife back in the 90s, especially from GamesMaster Magazine and Digitiser). I did similar in my childhood with the Master System/NES and Megadrive/SNES until I matured and found myself preferring the SNES after all.
What about underworld
Anniversary is one of my all time favorite games. I also love the original Tomb Raider. They're two completely different games. And I love them both. Sad you didn't enjoy this one.
Totally agree
I like original over anniversary. There were changes they made to the gameplay/levels that turned me away from it. I took the backseat for this one and watched my brother play it.
THE REAL TOMB RAIDER
I loved it too. To suggest that it is gaming's worst remake is bizarre. I have noticed recently that the actual knowledge in videos like this are really lacking. I think they are being made by people who did not play them the first time around and so they are working with second-hand information and are just making the videos for the sake of views.
I completely agree
One of the better remakes...
I'd love to see the rest of the series in this style.
it is one of the best remakes. love the art and respect for source material
Minus the misguided approach to certain encounters, imo. The introduction of the T-Rex and centuars in the original was :chef's kiss.
I'd rather see all TR games disappear from existence than receiving the anniversary treatment
ugh hell no. the controls here somehow manage to feel worse and more tanky than the originals.
@@rhyswhittington8759get used to it
I have never a control problem with Lara in Anniversary. Really enjoyed the game.
Complains that you can't see the final goal the moment you step into level one - complains that you can see the final goal the moment you step into The Lost Valley. Complains that boss fights don't use environmental puzzle elements - complains that the T-Rex fight does have environmental puzzle elements that are "mandatory" (they're not, you can just shoot it till it dies). Complains that weapons get taken away - complains that weapons get given back because it's not the "right" way. Complains that weapon isn't given back because it requires the mysterious and arcane game mechanic of checking the enemy for loot just like every other game in existence. Complains that the T-Rex fight copies the Bane fight from a game that came out four years later on a different console generation! Just stop.
That's youtube critique channels in a nutshell
I agree, I feel like this absolute gut job of Anniversary was totally unnecessarily ruthless. Especially when he contradicts what Toby Gard, the creator of Lara, says about wanting to make the T-Rex fight feel more special as he originally intended. They intended to do a lot of things with the original but had technological restraints, so the fact that Toby was a consultant in Legend and Anniversary makes me feel this is where the series should have kept on going. And a lot of his comments feel disrespectful to the creator of Lara Croft's vision.
I disagre.
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many.
Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles:
TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action.
TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies:
- Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game
- The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game.
- The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world.
- The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
@@takeyourtime3328 I played TR1 and I still prefer Anniversary. I mean the LAU trilogy is where Lara would have gone if not for technological restraints according to Lara's creator Toby Gard.
Aka. I dont need to watch an hour of this dribble and can move straight to dislinking. Thanks
Absolutely love Anniversary. I recently played the Legend trilogy and loved every minute of it.
It was basically a closure to a franchise and we accepted it as such. It was great for what it was.
I played it after TR: Legend. Despite worse graphics, the gameplay was unique and more immersive.
Defending the crystal save system is unbelievable
Yeah, "die unnecessarily because surprise traps and rewind 10+ minutes of progress" isn't really a mechanic people enjoy.
Funny when the original TR came out, it was on Sega Saturn and you didn't save...at all, ever. I remember having TR get togethers because my whole family wanted to know what happens (aunts, uncles and cousins) and her name was Lara like mine. We stayed up to ridiculous o'clock getting through levels. Good times.
@@laramost1403 what do you mean? There were Save Crystals in the Saturn version. Were you not aware you could save at those checkpoints?
@@W0lfMan26 except for dark souls players XD
@vermithraxplays1615 Even then, they've been adding more and more checkpoints. No more gauntlet to get to the boss.
Anniversary is great, as is legend. A logical evolution from the originals, not like the dumb 2013 "I want to be like Uncharted" trilogy
Omg i been saying this. TR 2013 for some reason had alot of praise but it was a poor TR game.
@@yeahhbuddy3932It redefined what is TR. Now we can say that old TR games are bad TR games.
@@filippetrovic845 lmao. You like crappy games fair play.
@@filippetrovic845 No, they're not. I have tried Legend long after I completed the survivor trilogy. It is BETTER than TR 2013, better than Shadow. If the new game is gonna be like legend, I'm all for it.
@@filippetrovic845 The newer games are absolute tripe, more killing people and finding horrible ways to die than actually doing puzzles which is what the original TR was about.
I love Anniversary and it is in my top 3 Tomb Raider games. Agree to disagree, I suppose!
You like pizza?! I hate it, well agree to disagree i spose... 🤪
@@-pressxtostart- What does "spose" mean?
You have taste my guy
"a game of chess against level designers where each of us was trying to outdo the others in a way that felt personal and engaging"
- slowly walks into an unmissable gigantic blade and keels over
To be clear none of the obstacles in the original are unavoidable this guy just sucks at playing (and judging games).
I feel like most of these people havent watched the video
Strange, it is my favourite out of the Crystal Dynamic Games
That remake is one of my favorite games PERIOD. I've never had any issues with the controls playing it on PS2 and PS3.
Anniversary is my favorite Game in the TR-Series followed by Legend.
The music, the gameplay, the visuals. Perfect to me.
Which is why I am baffled that this dude is painting the original better than Anniversary. I prefer the anniversary. It's better.
@@KBXband The original is miles better for a lot of people, especially people like myself who grew up in the 90’s playing the original trilogy. While I don’t really enjoy this game at all, I can at least understand why somebody else might really enjoy it. I don’t really like anything Tomb Raider has released after the third game, so maybe I’m biased. This guy is knitpicking for sure, but for someone to paint the original as a better game is not that baffling to me considering most people I know agree that the original trilogy are the best games in the series. Personally, the newer ones, including anniversary even though it’s not exactly new, are so boring that I can’t play them for more than 20 minutes.
@@InChristWeTrust999 I can respect that.
@@KBXband Different strokes for different strokes brother. I think nostalgia plays a big part in my bias too
Anniversary is a worse remake of the first tomb raider
This video could very much as well have been a critique of how gaming and games has changed between 1996 and 2007. There's no manual saving because it was seen as very backwards in 2007. There's no backtracking because backtracking is now seen as an example of bad game design. I personally don't agree with either of these two but Its just me. Semi manual aiming was also very much a product of its day, but I see it as positive change.
To me Anniversary is one of the best proper remakes of any games. It keeps the spirit of the original (in my opinion) but updates it to modern technology and gameplay concepts. I love this game and I would definitely recommend it as entry game for anyone wanting to get into Tomb Raider. The fact they managed to get the story to fit within the Legend-Anniversary-Underworld continuity is just an added boon.
And as far as that Sanctuary of the Scion puzzle, I actually solved it manually. I copied the pattern on a piece of paper and solved it in school during a break between the lessons. It was super rewarding to do it that way, actually.
My two cents, but I'll try to keep it short and straight to the point:
1. Backtracking is only a bad thing when the game isn't made with that concept in mind. I think games like anything in the Zelda series, or any RPG new or old can get away with that because they're not designed to be straight and narrow. With maybe an exception here and there.
2. I personally don't enjoy manual aiming all that much, but that's probably because I just can't adapt to it like most people can. I know you said semi manual, but I don't see that much of a difference between the two.
3. I for one, HATED the tank controls of the original games. With the first one, that might have made sense, since the PS1 controller didn't have the analog sticks yet, but by the time the 3rd one was released, there was no excuse.
4. OG Lara was more calm and collected in every situation she was in, and sometimes even had witty dialogue. That made her kind of a badass. I wanted to like her 2013 counterpart, but I think whoever wrote her character just had no understanding of what made Lara Croft who she is. Either that, or some miscommunication happened behind the scenes.
And because some Crystal Dynamics properties are coming back, the first 3 TR games being remastered makes me happy, but also has me a little worried.
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many.
Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles:
TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action.
TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies:
- Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game
- The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game.
- The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world.
- The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
@@takeyourtime3328Those differences may matter to those that played TR1 first. To people playing TRA first, TR1 is outdated and unplayable
@@chaomix4494such a dump statement knowing tr 1-3 remastered was released and many playing it
@@takeyourtime3328to be fair, I doubt many people who didn't play the originals are playing the remasters with tank controls, so to then, the originals *are* unplayable.
Anniversary takes place before legends. It's pretty common knowledge. Larson was supposed to be her first kill. But good indepth analysis
And this desperate attempt to shoehorn the TR1 story into the Legend timeline is antithetical to the story of TR1, where Lara is clearly already a seasoned and famous adventurer.
@@ThagomizerI don't recall anniversary showing her as inexperienced. Larson was just her first human kill. She still seems pretty experienced especially since Natla still goes to her to find the tomb
This has got to be one of the hottest takes I’ve ever seen for tomb raider games. I think anniversary being the worst remake in gaming is a stretch, while not being the most faithful remake the positives definitely outweigh the negatives.
As a kid who got the original TR as a birthday gift and one wasn’t skilled enough nor had a save card I replayed those first lvls on repeat but sadly never got past lvl 4. But I cherished anniversary as with added age + the ability to save I got to go back and finally complete the story I started a decade before. Not sure why your not a fan as I love both but for me it was one of my all time favs, and I own them all.
Although I generally agree, limited saves were never a good thing and I'm glad that even the original TR got rid of it in later games and the PC versions. It's just a holdover from the dying arcade era that drained your quarters.
This game definitely has a... complicated history.
After Core Design was booted from the series, they began working on a project, Tomb Raider Anniversary, which Eidos lightly accepted.
After Legend was complete, Crystal Dynamics wanted to do Underworld. But then they caught wind of what Core Design was doing.
Crystal did very well on Legend, and the idea of having to compete with Core, the original developers remaking their legendary game, was scary.
But adamantly Eidos wanted an Anniversary game for Lara's 15th Anniversary.
Core's version was around 80% complete, so Crystal rushed a polished, playable opening level as fast as they could.
Both were presented to Eidos, and Crystal's was picked for looking for looking cleaner and more presentable, as that was their only way to win.
However, this meant Crystal had to prioritize Anniversary, a game they didn't actually want to make. It had to be out first, and it had to be out soon.
If they screwed up Anniversary, the success of Legend would mean nothing, and Underworld, would not be made.
They had to split their team in half, and Toby Gard was brought in despite vocally being against remakes as a concept.
He had no interest in the game, he did it for the paycheck, as he was needing it at the time.
The sales for TRA are the lowest in the series, even now.
Missed the 15th Anniversary by a year, and the game tried to advertise a remake of TR1... exclusively to new fans.
Anniversary and Underworld both suffered a lot, in some different and some similar ways, thanks to the split of staff and the situation.
Core Design died, unable to get their foot in the door and being forced to scrap their almost-complete remake of Tomb Raider 1.
It all happened because Crystal was scared of losing what they had just gotten, and Eidos still being the ever-awful Eidos.
The irony is Legend is what lead to Crystal's downfall. Whilst it did sell relatively well, fans became very skeptical of both Core and Crystal, as legend was rather... Lackluster, which lead to low sale figures of anniversary, leading to underworld, leading to another reboot.
I never understood what Core was thinking when making the remake for the psp of all consoles. It barely looked better than the original.
@@kingalastor936 PSP was the hot new “toy” on the market that’s why
TR Anniversary is legendary. Love it.
This is actually one of my favorite remakes ever, next to RE2 and 4. I played the original game when it first came out and loved and when I played this version I loved it too, even with many things being changed I enjoyed it. I think it would have been boring for me if it had been the exact same thing. I did enjoy listening to the commentary tracks. they had this guy who designed the levels and he was saying how he originally intended the levels to be. but because of the way the game loaded areas up, they were unable to make the levels work right. They had originally intended for Lara to find the doorway that you can see the exit of the first area beyond and then you had to find the lever that would open it. Then she would have had to come back and run through avoiding the darts that were flying across the path. I think they were calling it the gauntlet. For some reason the loading in the game preventing this from happening. it was unable to render certain areas properly. So they were forced to make it so Lara worked her way around. He hated that now there was a medipak that Lara could get if you decided to run past the darts to the closed door. Of course no one really cared to get it since at this early point in the game you probably had enough and didn't need more. Then there's the village where the bear comes out of that barn. People had no idea it was supposed to be a village. I think they said that it was based on a real location that no longer existed. so they just designed the area the way they did. It looks like it's within a cave. Then the place that it was based on was discovered in real life and looked nothing like they had designed. So they designed it after the village that was discovered. Or at least what it used to look like. The cistern in the original was a huge area. you could get lost in there. I think they said that they got rid of the whole thing because players weren't really fond of the area. so they just left the part where you had to lower and raise the water level and tiny areas around the room that reminded us a little of those larger areas. I was actually happy they got rid of the cistern.
I enjoyed Tomb Raider Anniversary exceedingly and would even call it one of the best games for the PS2. It was my first Tomb Raider experience, introduced me to Lara Croft and what got me hooked to the franchise.
Devs were clearly passionate for the remake of such classic property.
In short, a legendary title and my personal favorite TR game.
game's trash
I also hate Anniversary's interpretation of TR1's story and Lara's character. None of it improved upon the story of TR1 in the slightest.
Gaming's worst remake? Very far from that. Check Resident Evil 3 (2020). Ah, I really love Anniversary btw. In my opinion one of the best remakes I've ever played.
what are your thoughts on the newly announced Tomb Raider 1-3 remasters? i think they look really exciting and i'm definitely gonna look into picking them up!
I'll be grabbing it on release :)
I hope it's on disc
I'm excited.
This guy seems to be just a "remake bad" bot.
Is that surprising coming from a loser neo Nazi?
You mad
I think it's a great remake and a great game overall. From the first Crystal Dynamic trilogy, it may be my favourite. It has a few frustrating moments, but it's really good.
Fun fact: CORE design was originally working on their own remake but Crystal Dynamics had it cancelled by the higher ups and started working on this remake.
I'm not surprised they would do something like that.
Also can I just say, they mauled the aesthetic of those last few levels. The original had some really cool like... flesh pit stuff going on but Anniversary? Just... mostly generic ancient building stuff... such a letdowj
I own the Tomb Raider Collection (Xbox 360 version) on my Series X. These three games are MASTERPIECES in my opinion. I completed Anniversary, Legend and Underworld 3-4 years ago. Looking forward to REPLAYING all three titles either this year or next
Nah, this game is great. Sure it has its shortcomings but I still come back to play it every other year. I always thought its controls were great, when playing it with keyboard and mouse. I can‘t go back to the original tank controls.
"This game is great because I play it every other year".
Just because you enjoy a game does not make it a quality game. R6s fans can tell you all about it.
I love re2 remake but I do not think its great.
I wonder if people debate over not liking a certain sandwich they do, then get angsty over it 🤪
Also it was a stolen idea from core design’s tomb raider anniversary. I’m thankfully not nostalgic blind like most people and can see its many other issues/problems
EXCUSE ME! Tomb Raider Anniversary is by far the best one of of them all! sure better than the modern trash we have now!
Having replayed both the original game and the Anniversary version in the past year, I think Anniversary is a great game and it honestly only drops the ball in a few areas -- mainly in tone, atmosphere, and difficulty. And some slight cuts to the size of the game. The level design is really good though and it feels good to play with better controls and the addition of the grapple hook.
Dropping the ball in " tone, atmosphere, and difficulty" feels like a pretty big deal since those are the things that make a game special...
The Cistern level didn't have an unintended softlock. That only happens because you can drop yourself without dying into the spike pit. That said, I utterly detest how that level was done in the remake. Exploring the side rooms was the entire point of the level.
I personally enjoy The Angel of Darkness's gameplay and settings more than Crystal Dynamic remake and trilogy despite of technical issue and some plothole.
Thanks so much for a shout out. Just wanted to clarify I didn't extract anything. I merely spent 10 years searching for the source files of the cancelled Tomb Raider: 10th anniversary edition by the original devs. Eventually it was sent to me and I published it. With help of the community, it was turned into "playable" version we have today. It is officially the last game ever made by Core Design, the creators of Tomb Raider and I dedicated all my efforts to ensure it's preserved. Job isn't done though as I hope to find more assets eventually
Thanks for clarifying. Some awesome efforts, man. ❤️
It was released when games starting catering for casual play. Am just glad games are becoming challenging again like the souls like games and hundreds of old school Fps games like prodeus, and metroidvanias.
I just hope for tomb raiders 30th anniversary on 2026 will have a crash bandicoot type remake of the original
literally had no idea that cowboy in the ambush FMV wasn't Larson till today
That's a pretty similar experience to what happened with my first time seeing the character cowboy in the original he just looked like Larson with a hat like Larson just put on a Superman disguise and thought we wouldn't notice.
I always knew Crystal Dynamics from their PS1 platformers like Pandemonium... bouncy, jumpy whimsical colourful things where your character jumps about 30 feet in the air and feels light as a feather... Very strange that they've transposed these cartoon physics onto Tomb Raider where you could just believe Lara was at peak human physical performance. I can understand why some people would like that, but for that and story reasons the Crystal Dynamics TRs lost me pretty early on.
Thank god for the remasters eh
As an old-timey tomb raiderer myself, I see where you're coming from. Someone hit the nail on the head saying it's just different nostalgies at play, if we want to talk about the nostalgia angle. I remember when the Legend came out I was in the team of the disappointed gamers, who saw the entry as being a dumbed-down version of what tomb raider used to be, albeit a fun one. We used to say yo mama hid the secrets in Legend. But as time passed by the Legend trilogy has grown on me. It's the 2013 reboot forward games that I simply couldn't get myself into.
One thing I have to say is that the somewhat simplification of the gameplay (and I'm not talking simply about the tank controls, because frankly, those overstayed their welcome as it were) was a sad necessity to be implemented one way or another. TR had a reputation for being ridiculously hard back then, when the era of casual gaming was starting to roll. I can see why they did it, I think it's fair to look at it at something that they needed to do to save the franchise after the lovable, but visually and gameplaywise obsolete classics and the unfinished AOD disaster that followed.
And the quick-time events... sadly, it's a product of its time. A lot of games had the QTE's back then, with various developers copying the mechanism into their games without second thought. I think it's also meant to better showcase some relationship between Lara and somewhat favourite knuckleheads of the franchise, mainly the himbo-fied Larson. The outpour of the fanfics and theories back in the day was intense, I took it as a nod to fans. Especially with her kneeling on his chest, I mean come on! I agree though that there was place for a proper fight somewhere between sneers and unrealized sexual tension between the two.
TL'DR great video, reminded me of why I was very skeptical about the Legend trilogy back in the day. The TRA remake certainly underlines the main issues in red, making it an excellent example. Lots of love!
Funny how everybody in this fandom used to love this game, then suddenly started to hate on it like a decade after its release because it's so trendy to hate on Crystal Dynamics
And not only that, now people suddenly love Angel of Darkness, even though that game almost killed the franchise.
@@henriquebraganca123 yeah, i couldn't enjoy AoD and peole pretend TRA and Legend were not TR while AoD story and gameplay kinda ... not very TR, imo. I was really tired of the slow tank control and stamina mechanic of AoD.
@@henriquebraganca123 well, AOD had something tr was lacking since arguably the second game and still didn't have it even at underworld.
That being innovation.
Keep in mind Reboot 2 and Rise were liked as well.
"It's so trendy to hate on CD".
People don't hate on CD because it's trendy.
They don't like them because they are opportunists who have zero respect for tomb raider or Lara Croft.
Remember Legacy of Cain?
I mean, just look at reboot 2 trilogy.
I'd argue people were tired of tomb raider not being tomb raider at rise/shadow and went "what went wrong" bringing us here.
It’s more likely those of us who didn’t like it didn’t have access to social media nor the ability to make videos back when it first came out so our opinions went completely unheard. And this is coming from someone who used to like TRA and only disliked it _after_ beating the original on my own and could compare the two better. Then I saw Core Design’s remake & that their plans for it were basically what Black Mesa is to Half Life. We seriously got robbed.
Nowadays I’m a bit more tolerant of TRA in that Crystal can have it so long as it’s the Wii version only due to all the cool stuff that one adds (preferably updating it to include the PSP outfits), with a fully finished TRAE replacing all other TRA versions.
Thank you for articulating so many of the reasons I’ve always hated Anniversary. It’s an unpopular opinion for sure, but it’s unplayable for me. The streamlined approach to level progression took out all of the exploration aspect that I loved from the original TRs, and it seemed like the developers just made the controls and physical mechanics a lot harder than they needed to be to overcompensate for the dumbed down puzzle solving. The controls were hard to the point of being physically impossible at times as a PC gamer using a mouse and keyboard.
I also hated how drab everything looked. So many levels in the original were vivid and vibrant, but everything in Anniversary just looked gray. It was so depressing, especially in the Egypt levels.
This video has TOTALLY nailed how it didn’t click with me..I played the original in 1996 and it was breathtaking..I was excited to play this but remember I lost interest an hour in..it dropped the ball entirely and I believe all the positive comments are from people who weren’t around to play the original on release
All I can say is I loved TR anniversary
I loved Anniversary as a love letter to the greatest game of all time, but there’s no question they did some levels dirty! Looking at you Colosseum, Cistern, and Sanctuary of the Scion. Oh and all of Atlantis.
Absolutely. Tomb Raider Anniversary is the only TR game I actually rage-quit on. And remember: I've completed Angel of Darkness from start to finish not once, but twice.
I started TRA and was impress how they made the level design and wanted to compare to the original. I never played TR before and tried TR1 for the first time. It was rough at first but I forced myself to at least reach the T-rex section (I stopped there with TRA). I ended up completing TR1 without noticing. Jumped in TR2-5 before going back to TRA. Played all TR since and a big fan my favorites are TR1-3. The first TR are almost Tactical Platformer with the square base layout, something no other platformer did since.
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many.
Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles:
TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action.
TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies:
- Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game
- The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game.
- The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world.
- The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
This is actually my favorite TR game along with the original. Really enjoyed the new areas as well. I could do without the QTE thought but it wasn't too bad, and the adrenaline dodge added some depth to the old gunplay style.
Agree. No feelings of exploration, it felt like a guided tour of artificial places.
If I recall, the Magnums are actually hidden in a secret in the Mines.
I don't recall Knife-Guy dropping them, but I could find the Magnums on a secret ledge behind you at one point in the Mines.
That said, there is no more opprotunities to grab the Magnums if you missed this secret in Anniversary in the final 2 levels, I do feel like there should have at least been a pick-up for them before the very final boss incase you missed these.
While I do still enjoy Anniversary as a faster-paced version of TR1, I do agree with your complaints.
The Headshot especially is bad, I've easily beaten the PSP version of Anniversary pistols-only due to it.
Finally someone actually talking about this game, i have seriously wondered if the game existed at all and maybe my memory of it was just my mind playing tricks on me since nobody ever talks about it, when i picked this up in a bargain bin at a Gamestop over a decade ago i had high hopes of it being good since i loved the original on ps1, i quit playing it in less than a week, i loved the enhanced graphics but everything else was just horrible.
This was a phenomenal remake!! and as someone who recently played the Original, both are good and the latter is a much more streamlined experience
I would used "dumbed down" rather than streamlined.
@@slaxxxercope
@@JimmyJames10-k7v Ice-cream
@@slaxxxer Doughnut, cake.
One of my faves of all time, because it was one of my first, so I'm heavily biased 😂. Not having played the original also influenced my opinion of it I'm sure.
This is also the reason why im Biased for the original, it was my very very first game on the brand new Playstation 1, back in 1996 i think. in recent years i bought the entire bundle of all tomb raider games, and i did try out anniversary, but i did not liked it much.
currently im on a triple monitor setup, 7680x1440p, and i managed to run Tomb Raider 1 in an emulator, and set a custom resolution to my resolution, and to my absolute big suprise, it actually worked. and was able to play the original on a triple monitor setup. whats even crazier is that i managed to add direct X 9 to the emulator, and because of that i could also add the program ReShade, and even add Ray Tracing shaders, and have much better lighting effects.
Long story short, i dont need an Remake/Remaster/Reimagining, now that i can remaster the game to my own tastes with ReShade.
Yes i think bias and "which you played first" influences opinions. I played Oblivion before morrowind or daggerfall and much prefer Oblivion over any of the other Elder Scrolls games. But hardcore fans will say "Its too simple" or such.
This is not bias, this game is objectively good.
@@gamer-px5cu it can't be objectively good if some people clearly don't like it!
@@Nightopian1982 Sure!
And Uncharted is also bad because i don't like Uncharted.
I don't get the amount of dislikes for the video, it is quite spot on. I think since the 2013 reboot was so shitty, people actually have the impression that Anniversary is good. Tomb Raider died with The Last Revelation, wich is sadly quite fitting for the game that kills Lara Croft in the end.
There's a difference between a game being more challenging skill-wise, and a game being more challenging due to frustration. This was what irritated me about Anniversary Edition. Yes, the grid based design of the original levels was far easier to follow, and meant that things were strict in terms of jumps and grabbing ledges, but this one had so many frustrating niggles when traversing ledges, timing jumps perfectly, and the annoying way the camera lined you up with jumps you weren't even aiming for. I honestly don't heavily dislike it, and it's definitely not the worst remake of a game I've played, but on a personal level I felt they were always going to struggle to replicate the impact of the original one. Heck, I don't think even TR2 and 3 managed to have that effect on me, despite being more polished. TR2 was too combat heavy, 3 was closer, but I just didn't take to the vehicles, and whilst TLR and Chronicles were underrated in my opinion, I felt they were running out of ideas by that point. At least Anniversary Edition does its best to stick to the original format. All the bow and arrow stuff in the Survivor games I just couldn't get into, sorry. I know I'm not going to be popular for saying such things.
I don't normally give sales much clout when it comes to judging how good a game is, given how well the FIFA games always sell, for example, but the fact Anniversary sold about a seventh of the amount that the original did is no great surprise.
I played the remake on the 360. I loved it. I say this as someone who still has his copy of the original Tomb Raider for PS1. It's a good remake. A bit buggy though. I had to return it 3 times due to the same ledge on the first level begging out. I couldn't grab that ledge on 3 separate copies. The fourth copy worked fine.
If you can't catch the ledge just press star button few times and it will work
@@rachidseghir706 I don't think you understood.
@@Neon_Bayhem i had the same issue in the pc version
@@rachidseghir706 it worked just fine on the first try on the fourth copy. It was clearly a bug.
I used to adore Anniversary but in recent years my opinion on the game has soured. This video hit every point on why I think this game is inferior to the Core Design classic. The controls are imprecise at the most trickiest platforming moments. Cut content left and right because the game designers didn’t want to bother was the biggest issue. This game is up there with the RE2 and 3 remake, has the heart in the right place all fail compare to their inspirations. All the time and effort these games used to make these pointless remakes could have been used for a brand new game with brand new ideas. But because the gaming industry is creatively bankrupt, we get these inferior reinterpretations of classic games.
Pretty much the same as me too.
Tomb Raider Anniversary is one of the best Tomb Raider games I've played. I'm sorry that you didn't like it, but it seems you're too blinded by your love for the original to appreciate this reimagining. You also seem to despise modern game design philosophies (evidenced by your incessant complaints that the game was streamlined) so it's obvious this remake is not going to cater to your very old school way of thinking.
It’s not a remake though. It’s a reimagining. I feel he clearly understands how amazing the original game is and sees how this reimagining that’s highly based off the original failed to recreate and understand what made the original loved by so many. As can be seen by the poor sales and reception by many fans. Iv always had a lot of fun with TRA and have it on every system but from day one I always felt disappointed and that somethings missing.
I also dislike Anni as a remake but I agree with you, he has a unreasonable hate towards it and game design in general as you said. There were some quite wrong points in this video.
@@emircan457 Didn't help his case when he started out with "pointless remakes" and using Dead Space Remake as an example! Just feels like he's "Stanning" for the Originals out of some FEAR they'll be FORGOTTEN while trying to sell "weak points" like "Controls" as a "Selling point!" I mean calling underworld "Fanfiction" and insulting how they changed and expanded abit on OG Tomb Raider's villain and Lara's motivation is abit much! Comes off as "WTF is with these's remakes! Just make Remasters, don't do anything new! Let me REBUY what I liked originally!" When I'll say, what I like about remakes more then Remasters is sometimes shit gets CHANGED that I'm PLAYING the same game without playing "the same game!" Sort of like Resident Evil 1 Classic and Resident Evil 1 Remake! Hell to be funny many "exploits" and "secrets" OG players knew that they try to exploit have NASTY surprises waiting for them if they TRY (like the Lion Gem Eye puzzle) and I will admit, I only played the OG BECAUSE of the Remakes/Reimaging Inspiring me to try them (hearing all the WELL the OG was LEAGUES better) and frankly! It's funny to find OG games that HAD spirit, but frankly the Remakes were FOR THE BETTER and OG that are JUST AS GOOD AS THE REMAKES (and frankly as I said, It doesn't feel like I'm COMPLETELY playing the same game, yet I am, so I have that "Something new" feel, instead of BOREDOM because a REMASTER looking like a Remake is me just playing the SAME SHIT I 100% previously! It's why as much as the Crash and Spyro remakes look good and I did try them! I don't care to BUY the game because I 100% their OG before! So I really don't care to do their remakes the same! and with TH-cam I can just REWATCH the NEW scenes so frankly I see no reason to buy them! But I did buy the new Crash Game because it was NEW)
@@emircan457such as?
Anniversary always left a sour taste in my mouth. So much cut out from the original. And every change for the worse.
The combat is worse than the original. Finding ammo and medkits no longer matters, giving you less of a reason to explore.
Every single boss a dodge the charging bull deal. Every single one. It's a bad, boring basic design, and they still executed it poorly. Then they added quick time events in the most basic boring manner possibly.
The level design is a joke compared to the original. They butchered the Lost Valley so completely I really can't believe they made a level that felt so big and awe inspiring into a literal hallway with nothing to discover or explore.
Atlantis now looks generic and plays generically. The Atlantean Boss looks nothing like it's original design and lacks the impact or terror of being spawned on a tiny ledge with that thing dropping down at you. No cutscene. Just gameplay.
The movement is no longer reliable, so even running and jumping sucks now.
The guns lack impact, and the overdone combat is worse than the basic design of the original some how.
Also the original game looked better. Graphics can't make up for art design.
How did they mess it up so bad, I will never fathom.
Remasters are essentially the same gameplay code but with new or heavily reworked art. What you described was a port. If the game code and graphics code and art assets are a straight rip from the original, that’s just a port no different than a port from PS2 to Xbox. That said I think the Jak remaster for PS3 was a remaster because they redid a lot or all of the art assets I thought. Those are not the same character models found in the original game. Those were new models specifically created for the remaster.
I played this on the PS2 back in like 2007, after being really atracted but frustrated by the originals as a kid. I loved it.
I fondly remember this game. I loved at the time as a pre-teen just as much as Tomb Raider Legend and Underworld. The lonely and eerie atmosphere to all the environments as you explore them was very well done. The graphics were fairly decent on the PS3 too.
Exploring Croft Manner was a treat as well, I remember the music from that part of the the most.
I was happy to have a nicer version of the original. It was very frustrating! Glitches, horrible camera and moments when she doesn't respond to certain ledges, hookshot works when it wants and those damn time trials! Why do the force those dramatic camera pans while the clock keeps ticking?
I kinda don't agree with you in terms of how you say the precision is lost in Anniversary. It's still very much there. You just have to be a precise player. I have zero issues with controls in this game. Just gotta have good quick judgment, and be very responsive. I think it's a fantastic remake, and my only real complaint with the game is that they didn't make the Atlantians nearly as frightening as I had hoped. I was also kinda hoping they would make a boss battle out of collecting the first Scion piece. That "statue" awakened and was buried by the rubble. I would've loved to have seen that as a battle, either in that moment, or later in the game.
Legend : Lara massacres half of the world population while joking about it like an absolute sociopath.
Anniversary : Lara is disgusted by having killed one guy.
Are we sure this is the same timeline ?
The context sensitive controls in this game made me quit by like level 3. I liked that weird precision the early games had, whereas in this one Lara deciding she doesn't want to reach for that ledge or perch on that pillar seriously got on my nerves.
"Lara's movement has been completely revised" - this is why I didn't like Legend. To me the original controls were what made Tomb Raider what it was; it felt like a different series after that.
I think legend was more vibrant than anyversary that the only thing i didnt like
Hey Sam. This is the first video of yours I've watched, but I'll definitely be watching others and I've subscribed.
I don't agree with everything you've said in this video, and I think that's to be expected. We're both human.
But this is very well produced and put together video and I really enjoyed it.
I hope to see more like it in the future!
Aa far as saving goes, maybe you managed the drama in your deaths for maximum effect, but most players I knew just saved constantly, before every chancy jump and before every fight, with backups in case we mismanaged our resources. I'll take frequent autosaves over that hassle. The other design choices mighr not be ideal, but the saving is a quality of life issue, and doesn't do anything but cut down the hassle of doing it manually.
that is why I prefer more remasters rather than remakes.
I rarely dislike videos, but this one I have to.
As a massive fan of the original games (TR1 to AOD), and as a person who still replays those almost every single year I have to say that TRA was an amazing game. So much better than TRL and TRU. And of course it's a masterpiece compared to the survivor trilogy which I regret even playing once.
Definitely right about the cheap deaths. In the original a running jump measured running 1 tile then the jump tapping backwards moved back 1 tile etc and the rules of movement were strict but fair.
I never understood how to the T Rex Clash correctly
I agree with pretty much all of your points here. The only things I disagree on are:
Egypt is the worst location in the whole game compared to the original with Atlantis either tying with it outright or a close second. Used toilet paper aesthetic, all rooms are separated with boring hallways (some trapped Prince of Persia SOT Trilogy style) like a movie set or theme park attraction, too many traps especially in Obelisk of Khamoon and a bullshit ambush in a narrow hall at the end. I do like some puzzles like the retracting ledges near the Bast temple, scarab scale for the sand trapdoor, the moving statues and the Horus & Set statue room’s water puzzle but that’s it.
I really like Peru minus some missing rooms like the timed door, big explorable village & bear pool. Some textures look crap but the levels aren’t too bad. In fact, the only Peru level I hate and don’t count in this praise is Tomb of Qualopec. The valley isn’t as open now but I do like being able to climb higher in the canopy, something that Core’s TRAE tribute mods like TRA Retold did as well.
Speaking of TRAE, will you do a full video on it, its history, it’s leaked alpha (both platforms and all playable builds including discord exclusive updates by Ghostblade that fix shader, transparency & some crashing bugs on the latest playable patch) attempt at a restoration project ala DNF 2001, Core’s plans for it back then and TRLEs inspired by it? I’d watch the hell out of it as I’m dying to play a fully playable finished version, fan game like DNF 2001 or otherwise. For the TRLE’s inspired by it, I highly recommend the unfinished TRA Retold by Joe “Teeth” Mudd which is pretty damn fun if rather janky (he went into detail in Steve of Warr’s discord exactly why he stopped and has effectively disowned the project entirely due to those reasons), and Tomb Raider Redux by AngelofDarkness which is complete (more or less as it took so long he rushed two specific parts near the end). Both are two of the best TRLEs ever and the former not only got me into them but was my exposure to the Legend Jenni Milward, fan voice of Lara and author of the AOD book adaptation.
I don’t know if you got one of the physical release copies of TRAE while Ash was doing them, but that may be worth looking it too if you did or can get one.
I agree with almost all points except the level art design. Great video btw!
I think many ppl who never played TR1 don't understand the core differences between the two titles and why TRA gets criticized by so many.
Let me give a quick sum up how I would describe both titles:
TR1 feels like an immersive adventure with platforming and some action.
TRA feels like a video game inspired by hollywood movies:
- Based on the presentation: Why is every big or new opponenet announced by a cutscene? It kills the moment of suprise and reminds the player of a video game
- The level design feels like a parkour park for the most part which kills the immersion. For example the monkey bars. They don't fit the environment and were only implemented to have a new mechanic in the game.
- The smaller level desgin in many places. It kills the immersion of beeing so small in such a big world.
- The combat headshot mechanic and slowmo effect.
I don't believe that we will have a group of game developers that want to create a game players will learn to love and enjoy their way. Its as though the joy of making a game you want to make for the sake of making a good game has been exchanged for making sales figures.
Would say the dead space is a notably good remake adding in a new scare system and the gameplay improvements from 2
Legend, Anniversary and Underworld need more love, underappreciated imo
The only two games that I concider "Remake" as in "It improves and extrapolates elements without taking away the mood of the original experience" are :
-Metroid Zero Mission
-Resident Evil on Gamecube
Facts
True . Other remakes missed the mark or are unnecessary overall. Even RE2 isnt a perfect remake . A great game but a different take overall instead of a remake .
AM2R, the unnoficial Metroid 2 remake is also amazing. So is Streets of Rage remake (also unnoficial), which is a remake of the first 3 games with lots of new stuff
@@anthonypimentel7218 Okay those are alright except AM2R. It was an awesome fan-game but it took this ominous and rather strange atmosphere and turned into metroid prime in 2D. Nothing against it on its own and it fits very good but OG Metroid 2 was more vicious and downright creeply bizarro thanks to its basic design but also in the vision they had originally.
@@Snyperwolf91 facts! It's quite overrated RE2R when you see how much they've actually cut
I loved the hell out of Anniversary may be biased given it was my first Tomb Raider game.
The only good thing about this remake is her chest. At least that was true to the original
Playing this game right now on my ps2. I think it looks impressive on the console. Runs great through opl too.
personally I never saw this game as anything other than TR for a generation who don't have the patience for the original. That being said I totally agree the controls felt floaty, which was an instant turn off. The rigid nature of the original's control scheme was what made the whole thing work.
I agree. I still prefer the original. Can't wait for trilogy coming out next year, best tombraiders for me
Glad I watched this video since I wasn't sure when the annoying as hell QTEs started showing up in the games and I'm glad I dodged the bullet. The originals, while a product of its time, still allowed enough freedom of choice on how you wanted to tackle basically every problem on your own and when you finally figured a way to get through that problem, and then suddenly your friend showed you a different way to resolve it... that made for great times. QTEs have their time and place, but sticking it on boss fights like the T-Rex just really ruins the memories for me.
The other aspect was like what you mentioned, the whole exploration just got lost in the newer games. The first time in Egypt on top of the giant Sphynx and doing that blind jump into the air with my friends watching in horror... until you landed right on the invisible platform, it can't be replicated with the Anniversary's engine. Some areas just felt HUGE because of how the ps1's visual limited how much you can actually see, and there's a lot of times you had to use the look around option to try to spot that hidden pathway that's not obvious to the eye from a few angles. I don't think the linear design is bad, just it robs you of what made the original game's blind explorations feeling like you're actually finding something you weren't meant to normally find in this out of the way niche on a ledge or that panicky blind swim underwater and not knowing if there's anything at the end.
The last thing was the limited save points also was a factor in making you subconsciously THINKING about how much you're willing to risk vs the reward of a guaranteed safe point in your progress. Do you push on just a bit more and risk having to redo your last hour of progress, or take the safe bet and hope there's another save crystal later on? When you mastered that level or section, you can replay the game and just breeze through and bypass all those save crystals knowing full well where and when the next "critical" save crystal will be and that feeling's just awesome (until you forget to hold the grab button on the long jump and Lara failed to grab the ledge and you fall to your death...)
you should not critic a game remake by how much connection you have with the original game.
What an unusual set of opinions. I can believe they are genuine, even if I disagree with most of them, although the question in the title does seem like pure clickbait.
There are also some things that were even explained by the devs in the commentary track and ignored by you in the video, like the way everything seemed grander in the original due to the novelty and technical limitations, including that bridge and the t-rex. About the t-rex, I don't think there's anything remarkable about it at all beyond the theatrics of encountering it for the first time. It's just another basic enemy with the same AI as the rest, only bigger and with more health. It would have been a very lame enemy if left unchanged.
The "magnetizing" issue you're describing in the controls section of the video can be fixed by playing with manual grab on, which gives you more control and also aligns more with the fans of the original TR games, as manual grab was the only option back then.
This was the hardest of all the Tomb Raider series for me up until this point. I don't recall the controls being the issue but maybe that was it, there were a couple of wall swinging sequences that drove me nuts before I got them. Lara died 10,000 deaths. Literally.
Have you played Angel of Darkness & original Tomb Raiders 1-4?
@@kirak1561^
@kirak1561 Angel of Darkness kept glitching out on me, areas wouldn't load, I'd keep falling through different floors in levels, and the clunky controls didn’t help either, especially on that rave catwalk
1:22:26 The PSP version does have the splashes but there's less of them and they blend into the waterfall so you have to look really close just to see them. Visually they're a less messy looking version of the Wii ones.
Ok this has to be bait. Anniversary is great
Anniversary was good, the only BS thing in it was the time trials, some levels needed like 30 mins to complete on the faster side, aint nobody replaying a 30 min level only to find out you were off by 10 seconds.
The original will always be my favorite, the remake simply doesn't have the same atmosphere and that feeling of almost constant danger. It's like the OG is a game for adults and the remake is a streamlined flashy game for teens.
Btw, I grew up in the 90s, playing the Core Design games on PC, so those will always be my favorite ones.
I have never played the original Tomb Raider. I got Tomb Raider Anniversary as a free game with my graphics card. I found it one of the best Tomb Raider games ever. It feels better than TR: Legend to me. Not to mention later incarnations.
Anniversary: if she were a spice she'd be flour.
I get that it's tone and such are different but, I'm sorry the original Tomb Raider for anyone going to it blind was a mess- even back then.
So many death pits were cheap and impossible to avoid if you didn't know about it. You were fighting against the developers- not the game. The game got brutal and the fact it's save system was so unforgiving and checkpoint based on PS1 tells me they geared the difficulty extra hard to combat rentals since that was a thing devs did and even RE1 & 2 were effected by. And as far as I know- on the PC version of the OG Tomb Raider that save system isn't even there, you had quick saves- because they know their game was BS hard & PC gamers can't return games.
Even Resident Evil knew insta-deaths + limited frustrating saves were a bad idea. There's very few of them in the PS1 games.
TR1 was an important game but even playing it back then I hated playing it. It's technological feats are compounded by cheap deaths. After watching Josh Strife Hayes review of the game I knew that I was good skipping buying TR 1. I would have never beat it.
Anniversary isn't faithful but that's honestly is a positive. Shame it lost a bit of the edge of exploration but it's an improvement in every, other, way in my opinion.
The hell is with the clickbait title? Anniversary was a good remake pffft
The 2020 remake of XIII holds the record for worst remake. It's so bad it was literally unplayable. A different team later picked it up and made it sort of playable but there is little you can do to shine a turd.
It's a great game. Yes it isn't quite what I would have liked but it's still damn good.