Been waiting for so long, and it happened! Yes! So what have we learned about this game? A statue with a literal golden valley, a well endowed minor, and a bullshit last level. Can't wait for Angel of Darkness!
At least Venice took place in a small district you could suppose was in the hands of the Fiama Nera's gang. Here's Lara is just fighting with monster statues and 2 killers during the day while people are watching from their windows like "hello police ? what do you mean you can't arrest her ?"
I found that third chapter spooky as heck when I was a kid. Those little monsters remind me of the small enemies from the school in the original Silent Hill.
Indeed same here, the whole Island section was scary as hell, even now when I play those levels it still is scary 😃 but this section is my favorite as well. I love me some scary shit 😀
I imagine the weird shit in Chronicles is just Winston and the gang filling the blanks or outright making stuff up to make it more cool. Things make more sense that way.
This is my exact headcannon for why Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is so over the top. I just imagine it's Otacon retelling the story but embellishing it to make it cooler 😂
10:47 Lara: _"You want to try the back pockets?"_ Me: Uh... Wow Lara, what are yo- *_*Lara does a point blank NUT SHOT*_* Announcer: *_G A M E_* My sides are in orbit now. The editing is IMPECCABLE. I am loving these series man! Amazing job!
"The tragic family backstory we all know and love....." Yeah I don't know how much we love that when the basis of every Crystal Dynamics game is LARA MISSES HER MUMMY AND/OR DADDY. WE GET IT. COME UP WITH A NEW PLOT HOOK PLEASE. SEND LARA AFTER A SHINY THING BECAUSE SHE WANTS IT. NOT BECAUSE DADDY WENT AFTER IT FIRST.
Honestly, it worked really well in the LAU trilogy. It made sense and was executed well. Lara wanted to figure out what happened to her mother and that is completely fair IMO. In the reboot however, no ma’am. Like grow up already.
"Lara Croft, daughter of Lord Henshingly Croft, was raised to be an aristocrat from birth. After attending finishing school at the age of 21, Lara's marriage into wealth had seemed assured, but on her way home from a skiing trip her chartered plane had crashed deep in the heart of the Himalayas. The only survivor, Lara learned how to depend on her wits to stay alive in hostile conditions a world away from her sheltered upbringing. 2 weeks later when she walked into the village of Tokakeriby her experiences had had a profound effect on her. Unable to stand the claustrophobic suffocating atmosphere of upper-class British society, she realised that she was only truly alive when she was travelling alone. Over the 8 following years she acquired an intimate knowledge of ancient civilisations across the globe. Her family soon disowned their prodigal daughter, and she turned to writing to fund her trips. Famed for discovering several ancient sites of profound archaeological interest she made a name for herself by publishing travel books and detailed journals of her exploits. " From the manual of the first tr. To be honest I assumed her family died there when I read it back in 1997 lol.
Well I know people usually don't like Chronicles very much but to me it is still my favourite and most nostalgic Tomb Raider game. And I think it is arguably the most visually appealing of the classic games.
I agree that this game clearly did not have the passion or effort put into it that the other classics did. You can tell by its length and lack of details for example no connections between levels. I also noticed the lack of soundtrack for this game, which is essentially music from the Last Revelation played over and over. You are also right in that this game has many good ideas though which were sadly not implemented properly or well. I do still enjoy it though as a huge classic Tomb Raider fan even though it is very short. What I will say at least is that the glitches in Red Alert are associated with the PC version as far as I know. I have played through my PS copy many times and never had any problems with bugs in this game at all.This has been a really enjoyable series, especially coming from a new player. Thanks and I'm looking forward to see how you cope with Angel of Darkness!
"Don't ask questions, just accept" We all are waiting for your Angel of Darkness review at the moment. It is gonna be your magnum opus, for sure. Meanwhile, did you consider reviewing TR2: Golden Mask and TR3: Lost Artifact expansion packs? I know there is a very extraordinary Las-Vegas level in Golden Mask that is weird as shit.
Well, good news from the future of 2022. There’s a fan patch (called the Tomb Raider Chronicles decompilation project) which makes the game more stable. And from what I’ve read, it fixes the glitches in the Red Alert level.
Fun fact: In the Chronicles "new generation" artwork for Angel of Darkness, many locations can be seen that were cut like a Turkey and Germany sections. Places that are only mentioned by codenames in AoD data. Just throwing it out there, amazing video as always!! Can't wait for AoD next
On one hand this really felt like a fair assessment, on the other hand I remember enjoying this game much more than I feel like I should have after this video :D But to be fair, I have only ever played the Ireland and VCI levels once (and Russia is still my fave TR5 section when it comes to gameplay), and I played Red Alert with Stella's walkthrough opened at all times - not to check what to do (although it sometimes got to that too, such as luring the cyborg), but to check when NOT TO SAVE. It made it more difficult because I had to pass longer passages without dying, but it also avoided all bugs save (ha!) for the pits already being there on my way to the cyborg, just like you had. I also saved ammo meticuously throughout all the levels, knowing it's finite. I would literally reload for wasting one bullet more that necessary :D I appreciate that you acknowledged all the weird stuff (the creatures in the Ireland section, for example, and VCI having a functional teleporter...) and also the stuff like Larson and Pierre not actually dying because they have to be alive for TR1. Btw Werner's "associate" is actually his father. Also Zip's additional line in the PS version??? Damn! Honestly I wonder how people fiinshed the game without any walkthrough, especially with the new moves. I have heard plenty about TR5 before playing it, hell I had TRLE levels behind me before I finished TR5, so I had an advantage, but how did people play it and finished it at the time it came out? As fun as it would've been for that to be the same opera as in TR2, this one is in Rome and TR2 took place in Venice so... ah, sadly, probably a different one :D Okay but I think one thing we can acknowledge about TR5 is how much worldbuilding it gave us. New characters, locations, artefacts... would people even see Larson and Pierre as a duo without TR5? They're never even at one place at the same time in TR1! Right, I'll cut it short. There was some really funny editing, the background plot thickens too... It was definitely worth the wait, it was clearly pretty thought out. I'm very curious about your approach to AoD...
Dude the opening alone got a hard like from me. Compositing, 3D animation and editing is so on point. Its also nice that the objects like the box are like 2D which reminds me of the items in TR 1. Havent even watched the whole review yet but I am already so happy right now^^
I was actually embarrassed watching this for the developers. There have been some errors in the past but this is ridiculous. I can't understand how this was even allowed to be released. So glad I stuck to just the first 4 games for my childhood. Fantastic videos though. Appreciate all the effort you put into them.
@@Creative_WelshmanI see what you mean. Eidos Interactive wanted Core Design to produce a new Tomb Raider game year in, year out, but Core were not able to keep up with the demands Eidos placed on them. Somehow from my perspective Eidos seemed to care more about financial solvency rather that the quality of the Tomb Raider titles released yearly on the original PlayStation. No wonder Angel of darkness was rushed before its release date. I personally think Eidos destroyed the series with with their own greed and I resent the fact they stole the franchise from Core Design and gave it to Crystal Dynamics !
@@tomspence8506 I see what you mean. I don't know what they were expecting when they rushed core to get Angel of darkness out to coincide with the second Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movie.
This game felt like an expansion pack, and not whole new title. It offers nothing new to the table (except few moves), and is the first title which graphically doesn't advance from previous one (at least in my eyes). Can' t wait for AOD review!
It is especially noticeable in the PC version, that didn't implemented/miss-implemented bump mapping in the game, something that was present in last revelation...
Regarding 5:20, when i got my own TR chronicles copy, it turned out that it was a beta version, that had Jean Yves included in the FMV sequences instead of the bald guy. There were no voice acting, just a background music. Of course i was too young to realise that it was an unfinished version of the game (and i think there were no differences at all with gameplay)
The Robotnik theme for Larson & Pierre is solid gold! It just fits with so many cartoon villain types like Cyril Sneer and the AOSTH's version of Doc Eggman himself. Sorry Chris from Raidercast, Milkshake now has some competition for those two's main theme.
I finished watching all your Tomb Raider retrospectives late last night. These videos are so much fun! No joke, I am totally replaying these games now, because so many happy (and frustrating) memories came flooding back. Both my 9 and 7 year old are giving the original tomb raider a go too! I can't wait for the next video!... Poor ol' Angel Of Darkness. :D
I'm late, but I'm so glad I found these videos to binge in one night. Not enough people are talking about classic TR, your videos are so detailed and dedicated! ♥️ The early videos Winston skits had me holding in really loud late night laughter 😭
i found your channel when looking for context on why AOD is so bad and ended up watching the whole TR retrospective, this was fucking great, I love this series so much and thoroughly enjoyed it. Target audience reached
Just finished my playthrough for this one and I, again, 100% agree with you, espacially on your opinion on red alert. Gosh, this was sooo unpleasant! I want to add one more thing I found really annoying: In TR4 when you load a save and Lara die, you will get back to the main menu and the selection of the main menu entries will be "Load Game". This made it easier for me to directly get back into action. In TR5 when you load a save and Lara die, you also get back to the main menu BUT the selection will be on "New Game", which - if you got used to it in TR4 with "Load Game" - will start the intro cutscene and the flying camera scene. This isn't bad if it happen to you 1-2 times, but - if you are a bad gamer like me - this will happen A LOT. ARGH! Thank you so much for your review!! Really enjoyed it! Looking forward to TR6 after I finished it :)
@@SteveOfWarr I replayed it recently and I found it to still be appalling in places but super charming in others (and that even though I'm french and the parisian levels are top cringy fun festival for me). I guess you'll play the vanilla version but on PC there's a cool mod that changes the control a bit; that makes them less annoying in close environnement (but less precise for the classic TR plateforming sections). You sould give it a try for the second run. 🙂
I watched all the episodes you made on the previous games and had to stop myself from jumping straight to that one, I have such fond memories of it. And I ran into pretty much the exact same problem as you in the last level, which is still somehow one of my favorite Tomb Raider levels of all time (aesthetically that is). Know that however much you may make fun of us, you have a fan of your work in France. Keep it up, this is youtube gold.
These retrospective videos are so much fun to watch. Chronicles was my first Tomb Raider game but I never played past Rome. I'm now thanking myself for stopping where I did!
I have watched a shit ton of retrospectives and reviews of old games I grew up with and today I discovered your channel and your retrospective of tomb raider and it’s the best I’ve seen and as someone currently in quarantine it brought me a lot of joy thank you 🙏
aw, you should of mentioned there was one good thing about this game that changed a lot: the pc version came bundled with the tomb raider level editor, tools to make your own tomb raider levels! something so wildly loved that the modding community for tomb raider is still super strong to this day!
I'm currently on a TR Retrospective binge watch and dAMN, I played this game first when I was about 7 years old and I encountered the exact bug of the cyborg never being able to follow me because he kept falling into the gaps and I never knew what I did wrong. Years later I replayed the game and I encountered the same problem again. I never knew my habit of oversaving messed up the Cyborg's AI.....I love how hilarious and educational this was for me at the same time
Man really enjoyed your reviews of these games. I loved them as a kid and still cherish them but you were able to cut through the rose-tinted view I have and make perfectly valid criticisms. It's amazing how much I accepted (or didn't notice) as a kid but you really revealed how flawed these games were without being deliberately provocative or mean spirited. Balanced, kind and above all, you are right! Well done. With such a beloved series, not an easy thing to do at all!
That said, to be fair, he seems somewhat critical on things that was just how games were at the time... Poor "tutorial" communication and a certain meanness in the level design were common in ps1 games and are still common in any situation not "default" in gameplay... I could say the same in "shadow of the tomb raider" swimming sections and non linear stealth sections...
Just wanted to say, you are pretty damn good. Like, your reviews are super entertaining and you are one of the people I can watch even when I disagree. Great video again. And I genuinely can't wait for the Angel of Darkness review. On the subject of the game, I realise that's the one I never finished. But I actually have a clear memory of the level where Lara is young; I found it super intimidating as a kid.
I loved the for whom the bell tolls part, got me laughing for a straight minute! lol Been binge watching this series and you seriously deserve more subs, everything is perfect.
I've come across that channel as I was trying to help someone through Tomb Raider IV, binged all 6 of your videos on TR and I can't wait to see more (despite our divergence of opinion, especially on IV). As for Chronicles, I always considered it fun when I was young and playing it on the PS1, although now I DEFINITELY see how shrunkened the level design has gotten; none of the levels ever display anything as large, ambitious, memorable, or even as cohesive as what you'd expect from the rest of the series. It's kind of like the "Direct-to-DVD Disney Sequel" of the series... which I guess the fact that it has several stories of no importance like Cinderella 2 or Beauty & The Beast 3 makes that comparison spot-on. IT'S EVEN STRUCTURED THE SAME! To be fair, the bite-sized/compact level design makes it less labyrinthian and reliant on your sense of observation, so it does kinda give it a "pop-corn" quality at least for the first two zones, and with how hard the rest of the series is by comparison, I think it's by far the easiest 'of the sequels' to get into for a noob (emphasis on 'of the sequels', TR 1's first level is forgiving and pretty good as an "invisible tutorial level" and the rest of the game is sound). That said, the last part of the game is something I NEVER managed to finish as a kid on the PS1, and watching you there... yeah, it looks pretty bad and I'm starting to know why it was a roadblock. That's where I am right now btw on the PC version and I'll check if it's as bad as you've said, pray for me. The Spear of Destiny storyline had by far the best combination of narrative & level design I believe, the Island part I liked the atmosphere and most of the story but the levels could've used some more work, and Rome is mostly bland on all fronts. It's the complete opposite of TR IV in many ways: levels are very small and linear (and sometimes don't even connect well with each other), there's a clear lack of ambition, focus and passion, not even an attempt to execute potentially interesting concepts, by far the shortest classic TR game, despite having a few good stories they're completely pointless while TR IV has hands down the best one and the most influential, barely much thought put into most of the puzzle solving... It just feels half-assed, but I could imagine people who disliked how difficult/obtuse TR IV was would prefer this more straightforward approach. If I hadn't known what was happening behind the scenes, I would've totally thought that Core was ashamed of TR IV and tried to make its antithesis as a sequel. PS: Yup, the skyboxes look terrible on PC, in a way the game looks better on PS1 because the PS1 flaws kind of hides the cheapness of the game, it's more homogenised. I'd say the difference between PS1 & PC version of TR V is like a less extreme case of Sonic Adventure (DC) VS Sonic Adventure DX (GC & HD). As for the DC version? They removed the dynamic shadows from the DC version of TR IV. And all character shadows altogether actually. Yup, that lazy of a port. PS2: I hate how you gotta mod some of the games to have them work at all, it was a hurdle to get TR V working without crashing before the first FMV. All the games listed on Steam before Legends don't even have a language option, so I gotta download a separate install that's almost the size of the games to have a full French version (I love Lara's French voice btw despite her rocky beginnings, it always stayed the same from TR1 to Underworld, and even did Guardian of Light & Temple of Osiris).
33:55 The first time they play intro theme randomly is in the first Tomb Raider once you enter the building in City of Vilcabamba. They have tons of places where they randomly play the theme there. In Tomb Raider 2, the short version is usually playing to show you're on the right track after pulling some random level. I dunno why you're so negative about TR5 doing the same thing.
I’ve been binge watching these retrospectives 😍 They are so good! Love your humour! I almost died laughing at the pusheen! 😂 I too have a pusheen, no gift receipt would be needed with me 😂 Thanks so much for all the work you put into these! They’ve been providing me with so much entertainment and joy the past couple of days ☺️
The stealth thing existed in Tomb Raider as early as TR3 with the only difference being they didn’t have any stealth takedown animations/cutscenes then, such as sneaking past certain guards in the two Area 51 levels or looping around a guard and frogman/scuba diver to get Lud’s Gate’s last secret and steal a second UPV. Walking to avoid being heard (despite the thunderous footsteps) was nothing new, but they still didn’t explain you could do KOs with the crowbar and chloroform. The last guard you can use chloroform on (the one you spy on to get a keypad code) really chaffs my scrot with how hard it is to line Lara up to use it without being seen. Also, Lara was taking her top off in Ireland’s FMV because she was getting ready for bed and was changing into her jammies when Father Patrick turned up. It’s also worth mentioning that 16 is the age of consent here in the UK so Core were safe, but you’d have no way of knowing Lara was that old without looking it up and it’s still frowned upon if one side of such a relationship or hookup is much older than that as it implies they were an actual pedo all along and were just waiting for their partner to hit that age to get off on a technicality. See Randy Pitchford and his “medieval times Magic Trick on a USB drive” bullshit for such an example.
Man ! The level of quality for these videos are insane, i have been binge watching your videos for the past few days and they are insane. I have found you by accident after starting playing the first tomb raider for the first time this week, one of my best discoveries on RUclips.
To be fair about the 3rd level, Lara is trying to obtain the philosopher's stone, who can produce an elixir of immortality, so the gladiators and the lions could be immortals because of it.
The amount of effort that went into this is truly awe-inspiring...and by that I mean playing as much of Chronicles as you did. I mean I'm sure the video took a lot of hard work...but wow, playing THAT much of Chronicles, huh? I tip my hat to you, good sir. ...also I'm with ya, I actually really liked the creepy level. It did seem a bit odd for Tomb Raider, but I still really dug that overall aesthetic.
While I do like this game (probably only due to nostalgia), one mechanic that bothered me was the trapdoor at the end of Trajan's Markets. It felt like they were pulling the old Temple-of-Xian trick again.
I played this game when it first came out, beat it and never really replayed it or watched any playthroughs until today. And I'm left wondering, how in the world did I figure out this game back then? I cant imagine doing that now
Just finished playing all classic TR games. In the start I really enjoyed playing Chronicles after the slogfest that TR4 became in the end. I enjoyed having smaller and easier levels after the long interconnected levels of TR4 and knowing that it only has 13 levels (instead of 35) made me enjoy it even more. But then the last 2 levels happened and it killed the game completely for me. I fully agree with your opinion on that part of the game.
18:11 If we consider Sergei is basically Vladmir Putin right down to being a warmongering bond villain and that "eyes are the windows to the soul", it's less that he looks like he doesn't have eyeballs and more that his eyes are accurately showing us what's in there. EDIT: Since nobody seemed to get it, the punchline is that Sergei (and Putin by extension) has no soul.
This is absolutely interest for TR5 Retrospective. I remember I've always play TR4 and TR5, because they're always my favorite TR games series and here's my though and some theory/analyzing of TR5. As you said about Level 2: Trajan's Market how she is arrived without cutscene or anything else. According to development, at the beginning level 2 has extended room where suppose Lara's arrived but the idea is scrapped or deleted. After finished Level 3 and moved to Russian level, Lara's weapons is gone because this is not sequel, it's just a story telling which I'm so confused when I was very, very young, If I can remake TR5 as Sequel but same story, same level but longer, more location level and more story, rather Winston and other just telling Lara's Past. (Also, weapons should be stay). In VCI, her dual pistols is just vanish while on FMV cutscene, her Dual Pistols is 100% there but I understand why CD decided to stay only HK Gun for challenge. (Maybe) I remember those horrible nightmare bug of Red Alert! level and I can't beat the level, because Core didn't notice there's bug and rush up to released rather to double check before released. And last thing is collecting Golden Rose, my idea is what if they add unlock outfits or playing Bonus Level just like TR3, or TR5 Gold but nope, nope, nope........ Only Galleries and TR6: Next Gen Trailer (Only PS1) and that's all. (BTW, I liked the trailer of TR6: Next Gen before change to AoD).
TR: Chronicles is a fun one with it's interesting variety of levels. I love the line "Time to turn the tables." TR3 is my most favorite TR game. I am on Tomb Raider: Underworld right now. I am enjoying it and it's beauty. Along tine ago I played the demo and enjoyed that.
Goddammit, I laughed way too hard at the cillit bang reference. Another absolutely fantastic video, I look forward to rewatching it over and over and over again with the other TR retrospective videos. Seriously you put so much work into these videos, the quality is always consistently high and even in this one where you clearly had the most issues with the game you do still make such an effort to be balanced. Thank you for making such amazing content. Tomb Raider Chronicles is one of those games I always knew existed but didn't really know what it was about, never got around to playing it and never knew anyone who had it. And now I do know, I actually really like the idea of making an anthology game for someone like Lara Croft. It's a shame there were so many problems and Core were clearly burnt out by the series, with some more passion and polish I think this could have been a great experience. So yeah, amazing video, entertaining as always, eagerly awaiting Angel of Darkness, and on a final note... your cat is very cute :D
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Been waiting for so long, and it happened! Yes!
So what have we learned about this game? A statue with a literal golden valley, a well endowed minor, and a bullshit last level. Can't wait for Angel of Darkness!
Ngl "well endowed minor" had me laughing a lot 🤣🤣
@@SteveOfWarr Well she is British so in the UK at least she's legal unless the law was changed
Please do TRAOD!😆
Lol you're everywhere!
I was gonna say the same about you my good man lol
The Rome levels must have taken place in 2020 seeing as the streets are so deserted.
Bazinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng
@Alice Of Sherwood Actually, it takes place in 1995
At least Venice took place in a small district you could suppose was in the hands of the Fiama Nera's gang. Here's Lara is just fighting with monster statues and 2 killers during the day while people are watching from their windows like "hello police ? what do you mean you can't arrest her ?"
"He bit me in the fanny" had me dying for 10 minutes
Lmao 😂😂🤣🤣😂😂
I found that third chapter spooky as heck when I was a kid. Those little monsters remind me of the small enemies from the school in the original Silent Hill.
Indeed same here, the whole Island section was scary as hell, even now when I play those levels it still is scary 😃 but this section is my favorite as well. I love me some scary shit 😀
Same. It's definitely a favorite still. Then again I also loved the submarine and the part with the Iris. Amazing game❤
I imagine the weird shit in Chronicles is just Winston and the gang filling the blanks or outright making stuff up to make it more cool. Things make more sense that way.
I genuinely laughed.
To be fair there is plenty of weird stuff in the other games as well.
This is my exact headcannon for why Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes is so over the top. I just imagine it's Otacon retelling the story but embellishing it to make it cooler 😂
10:47 Lara: _"You want to try the back pockets?"_
Me: Uh... Wow Lara, what are yo-
*_*Lara does a point blank NUT SHOT*_*
Announcer: *_G A M E_*
My sides are in orbit now. The editing is IMPECCABLE. I am loving these series man! Amazing job!
That kick was awesome though 😉
It wasn't a kick it was a knee!
"The tragic family backstory we all know and love....."
Yeah I don't know how much we love that when the basis of every Crystal Dynamics game is LARA MISSES HER MUMMY AND/OR DADDY. WE GET IT. COME UP WITH A NEW PLOT HOOK PLEASE. SEND LARA AFTER A SHINY THING BECAUSE SHE WANTS IT. NOT BECAUSE DADDY WENT AFTER IT FIRST.
/s be strong here =P (deserved to a degree)
@@MrPonpokono Well...How could Lara be a strong, interesting female character unless she tomb raids due to her Daddy issues?!
Honestly, it worked really well in the LAU trilogy. It made sense and was executed well. Lara wanted to figure out what happened to her mother and that is completely fair IMO.
In the reboot however, no ma’am. Like grow up already.
"Lara Croft, daughter of Lord Henshingly Croft,
was raised to be an aristocrat from birth. After
attending finishing school at the age of 21,
Lara's marriage into wealth had seemed
assured, but on her way home from a skiing
trip her chartered plane had crashed deep in
the heart of the Himalayas. The only survivor,
Lara learned how to depend on her wits to stay
alive in hostile conditions a world away from
her sheltered upbringing. 2 weeks later when
she walked into the village of Tokakeriby her
experiences had had a profound effect on her.
Unable to stand the claustrophobic suffocating
atmosphere of upper-class British society, she
realised that she was only truly alive when she
was travelling alone. Over the 8 following
years she acquired an intimate knowledge of
ancient civilisations across the globe. Her
family soon disowned their prodigal daughter,
and she turned to writing to fund her trips.
Famed for discovering several ancient sites of
profound archaeological interest she made a
name for herself by publishing travel books
and detailed journals of her exploits. "
From the manual of the first tr. To be honest I assumed her family died there when I read it back in 1997 lol.
@@APEABOUTSIMS I agree
I almost ruined my desk with my coffee when the "How old is Lara again?" moment happened. That was glorious!
"Come let's get out of here and i will buy you a milkshake🥛" LOL! That line from Pierre always used to make me crack up with laughter!
Well I know people usually don't like Chronicles very much but to me it is still my favourite and most nostalgic Tomb Raider game.
And I think it is arguably the most visually appealing of the classic games.
The Winston impression you did at about 4:00, cracks me up every time I watch this.
I've watched this video twice because... Reasons
By the way, so good to see Monsieur Baguette Aux Chocolat Sur La Table is back
Haha the one and only 🤣 Glad to hear you enjoyed the video enough to watch it twice 😊😊
I agree that this game clearly did not have the passion or effort put into it that the other classics did. You can tell by its length and lack of details for example no connections between levels. I also noticed the lack of soundtrack for this game, which is essentially music from the Last Revelation played over and over. You are also right in that this game has many good ideas though which were sadly not implemented properly or well. I do still enjoy it though as a huge classic Tomb Raider fan even though it is very short.
What I will say at least is that the glitches in Red Alert are associated with the PC version as far as I know. I have played through my PS copy many times and never had any problems with bugs in this game at all.This has been a really enjoyable series, especially coming from a new player. Thanks and I'm looking forward to see how you cope with Angel of Darkness!
Chronicles is essentially a goodish quality TRLE game with fancy FMVs and voice acting
"Don't ask questions, just accept"
We all are waiting for your Angel of Darkness review at the moment. It is gonna be your magnum opus, for sure. Meanwhile, did you consider reviewing TR2: Golden Mask and TR3: Lost Artifact expansion packs? I know there is a very extraordinary Las-Vegas level in Golden Mask that is weird as shit.
Well, good news from the future of 2022.
There’s a fan patch (called the Tomb Raider Chronicles decompilation project) which makes the game more stable. And from what I’ve read, it fixes the glitches in the Red Alert level.
And I am from the future future of 2025! Chronicles is getting a remaster and I assume the bugs will be fixed then.
Fun fact: In the Chronicles "new generation" artwork for Angel of Darkness, many locations can be seen that were cut like a Turkey and Germany sections. Places that are only mentioned by codenames in AoD data.
Just throwing it out there, amazing video as always!!
Can't wait for AoD next
Also in the PS1 Version, there is a exclusive teaser trailer for angel of darkness as Next gen
22:25
Comrade Pat: Tell my story... *5 minute monologue*
Lara: No
On one hand this really felt like a fair assessment, on the other hand I remember enjoying this game much more than I feel like I should have after this video :D But to be fair, I have only ever played the Ireland and VCI levels once (and Russia is still my fave TR5 section when it comes to gameplay), and I played Red Alert with Stella's walkthrough opened at all times - not to check what to do (although it sometimes got to that too, such as luring the cyborg), but to check when NOT TO SAVE. It made it more difficult because I had to pass longer passages without dying, but it also avoided all bugs save (ha!) for the pits already being there on my way to the cyborg, just like you had. I also saved ammo meticuously throughout all the levels, knowing it's finite. I would literally reload for wasting one bullet more that necessary :D
I appreciate that you acknowledged all the weird stuff (the creatures in the Ireland section, for example, and VCI having a functional teleporter...) and also the stuff like Larson and Pierre not actually dying because they have to be alive for TR1. Btw Werner's "associate" is actually his father.
Also Zip's additional line in the PS version??? Damn! Honestly I wonder how people fiinshed the game without any walkthrough, especially with the new moves. I have heard plenty about TR5 before playing it, hell I had TRLE levels behind me before I finished TR5, so I had an advantage, but how did people play it and finished it at the time it came out?
As fun as it would've been for that to be the same opera as in TR2, this one is in Rome and TR2 took place in Venice so... ah, sadly, probably a different one :D
Okay but I think one thing we can acknowledge about TR5 is how much worldbuilding it gave us. New characters, locations, artefacts... would people even see Larson and Pierre as a duo without TR5? They're never even at one place at the same time in TR1!
Right, I'll cut it short. There was some really funny editing, the background plot thickens too... It was definitely worth the wait, it was clearly pretty thought out. I'm very curious about your approach to AoD...
The MGS3 time paradox completely caught me off guard hahaha. Awesome video.
Pierre obviously got into the colosseum by the power of being french.
Those two people who disliked are called Henshingly.
Cannot wait for AOD!
haha totally stealing that
Dude the opening alone got a hard like from me. Compositing, 3D animation and editing is so on point. Its also nice that the objects like the box are like 2D which reminds me of the items in TR 1. Havent even watched the whole review yet but I am already so happy right now^^
I was actually embarrassed watching this for the developers. There have been some errors in the past but this is ridiculous. I can't understand how this was even allowed to be released. So glad I stuck to just the first 4 games for my childhood. Fantastic videos though. Appreciate all the effort you put into them.
Eidos happened thats what
Chronicles actually is my favorite out of the original series.
4, cronicles and angel of darkness are all very unfair, broken, bugged and far too long.
@@Creative_WelshmanI see what you mean. Eidos Interactive wanted Core Design to produce a new Tomb Raider game year in, year out, but Core were not able to keep up with the demands Eidos placed on them. Somehow from my perspective Eidos seemed to care more about financial solvency rather that the quality of the Tomb Raider titles released yearly on the original PlayStation. No wonder Angel of darkness was rushed before its release date. I personally think Eidos destroyed the series with with their own greed and I resent the fact they stole the franchise from Core Design and gave it to Crystal Dynamics !
@@tomspence8506 I see what you mean. I don't know what they were expecting when they rushed core to get Angel of darkness out to coincide with the second Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movie.
6:33 Lara in Jackie Chan’s voice, “I’m sorry I’ll bring this back thank youuuuuu!”
This series is amazing! I have enjoyed it SO much. Best thing I’ve watch in a longggg time so thank you!
Thank you I'm glad you enjoy it!
This game felt like an expansion pack, and not whole new title. It offers nothing new to the table (except few moves), and is the first title which graphically doesn't advance from previous one (at least in my eyes). Can' t wait for AOD review!
It is especially noticeable in the PC version, that didn't implemented/miss-implemented bump mapping in the game, something that was present in last revelation...
The Game Statistic’s drunk ramblings on this game is some of my favorite assessments
Please never stop creating Steve! Your content is entertaining and insightful. You sir, are a very good man!! 💪🏼
❤❤❤
Regarding 5:20, when i got my own TR chronicles copy, it turned out that it was a beta version, that had Jean Yves included in the FMV sequences instead of the bald guy. There were no voice acting, just a background music. Of course i was too young to realise that it was an unfinished version of the game (and i think there were no differences at all with gameplay)
The Robotnik theme for Larson & Pierre is solid gold! It just fits with so many cartoon villain types like Cyril Sneer and the AOSTH's version of Doc Eggman himself. Sorry Chris from Raidercast, Milkshake now has some competition for those two's main theme.
This and your previous videos made me laugh out loud many, many times. You are indeed a comic genius sir.
40:24 Death Beetles! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
This is SO GOOOOOOOD had me laughing the whole way through 🤣
I finished watching all your Tomb Raider retrospectives late last night. These videos are so much fun! No joke, I am totally replaying these games now, because so many happy (and frustrating) memories came flooding back. Both my 9 and 7 year old are giving the original tomb raider a go too! I can't wait for the next video!... Poor ol' Angel Of Darkness. :D
Watched all your TR retrospective videos...Now i cant wait to see your thoughts about AOD
Greetings from Germany :)
Ah, excellent! Looking forward to reading your thoughts on AoD 😊
@Forsaken Pumpkin I work a full time job around this. Fuck off
I like how the thumbnails are him reanacting the title screens
I'm late, but I'm so glad I found these videos to binge in one night. Not enough people are talking about classic TR, your videos are so detailed and dedicated! ♥️ The early videos Winston skits had me holding in really loud late night laughter 😭
I love your Tomb Raider retrospectives, it’s clear you put so much effort into them, thank you for entertaining me for a while👌
i found your channel when looking for context on why AOD is so bad and ended up watching the whole TR retrospective, this was fucking great, I love this series so much and thoroughly enjoyed it. Target audience reached
Just finished my playthrough for this one and I, again, 100% agree with you, espacially on your opinion on red alert. Gosh, this was sooo unpleasant!
I want to add one more thing I found really annoying:
In TR4 when you load a save and Lara die, you will get back to the main menu and the selection of the main menu entries will be "Load Game". This made it easier for me to directly get back into action.
In TR5 when you load a save and Lara die, you also get back to the main menu BUT the selection will be on "New Game", which - if you got used to it in TR4 with "Load Game" - will start the intro cutscene and the flying camera scene. This isn't bad if it happen to you 1-2 times, but - if you are a bad gamer like me - this will happen A LOT. ARGH!
Thank you so much for your review!! Really enjoyed it! Looking forward to TR6 after I finished it :)
Steve, well done! Yet another excellent Retrospective. AoD will be one for the books haha
Thank you! It certainly will be haha!
@@SteveOfWarr I replayed it recently and I found it to still be appalling in places but super charming in others (and that even though I'm french and the parisian levels are top cringy fun festival for me). I guess you'll play the vanilla version but on PC there's a cool mod that changes the control a bit; that makes them less annoying in close environnement (but less precise for the classic TR plateforming sections). You sould give it a try for the second run. 🙂
I watched all the episodes you made on the previous games and had to stop myself from jumping straight to that one, I have such fond memories of it. And I ran into pretty much the exact same problem as you in the last level, which is still somehow one of my favorite Tomb Raider levels of all time (aesthetically that is).
Know that however much you may make fun of us, you have a fan of your work in France.
Keep it up, this is youtube gold.
These retrospective videos are so much fun to watch. Chronicles was my first Tomb Raider game but I never played past Rome. I'm now thanking myself for stopping where I did!
Dude how is your channel not popular yet, great humor and editing.
Just found the channel and was thinking the same thing.
I have watched a shit ton of retrospectives and reviews of old games I grew up with and today I discovered your channel and your retrospective of tomb raider and it’s the best I’ve seen and as someone currently in quarantine it brought me a lot of joy thank you 🙏
You honor me with such high praise! Thank you my dude 😊
Even for bugs and mistake, this game is still iconic imo
aw, you should of mentioned there was one good thing about this game that changed a lot: the pc version came bundled with the tomb raider level editor, tools to make your own tomb raider levels! something so wildly loved that the modding community for tomb raider is still super strong to this day!
Brilliant final moments with the Breaking News. Love your channel and how you can go from dramatic to funny in a matter of seconds.
Im in the middle of my finals and this channel helped me survive studying and other bad shit that happened in my life , thank u man👉🏼🥺👈🏼
I'm currently on a TR Retrospective binge watch and dAMN, I played this game first when I was about 7 years old and I encountered the exact bug of the cyborg never being able to follow me because he kept falling into the gaps and I never knew what I did wrong. Years later I replayed the game and I encountered the same problem again. I never knew my habit of oversaving messed up the Cyborg's AI.....I love how hilarious and educational this was for me at the same time
Man really enjoyed your reviews of these games. I loved them as a kid and still cherish them but you were able to cut through the rose-tinted view I have and make perfectly valid criticisms. It's amazing how much I accepted (or didn't notice) as a kid but you really revealed how flawed these games were without being deliberately provocative or mean spirited. Balanced, kind and above all, you are right! Well done. With such a beloved series, not an easy thing to do at all!
That said, to be fair, he seems somewhat critical on things that was just how games were at the time... Poor "tutorial" communication and a certain meanness in the level design were common in ps1 games and are still common in any situation not "default" in gameplay... I could say the same in "shadow of the tomb raider" swimming sections and non linear stealth sections...
Just wanted to say, you are pretty damn good. Like, your reviews are super entertaining and you are one of the people I can watch even when I disagree. Great video again. And I genuinely can't wait for the Angel of Darkness review.
On the subject of the game, I realise that's the one I never finished. But I actually have a clear memory of the level where Lara is young; I found it super intimidating as a kid.
Great video again! I love how much time and effort you put on your videos. Can't wait for the next one!
I loved the for whom the bell tolls part, got me laughing for a straight minute! lol Been binge watching this series and you seriously deserve more subs, everything is perfect.
I've come across that channel as I was trying to help someone through Tomb Raider IV, binged all 6 of your videos on TR and I can't wait to see more (despite our divergence of opinion, especially on IV).
As for Chronicles, I always considered it fun when I was young and playing it on the PS1, although now I DEFINITELY see how shrunkened the level design has gotten; none of the levels ever display anything as large, ambitious, memorable, or even as cohesive as what you'd expect from the rest of the series. It's kind of like the "Direct-to-DVD Disney Sequel" of the series... which I guess the fact that it has several stories of no importance like Cinderella 2 or Beauty & The Beast 3 makes that comparison spot-on. IT'S EVEN STRUCTURED THE SAME!
To be fair, the bite-sized/compact level design makes it less labyrinthian and reliant on your sense of observation, so it does kinda give it a "pop-corn" quality at least for the first two zones, and with how hard the rest of the series is by comparison, I think it's by far the easiest 'of the sequels' to get into for a noob (emphasis on 'of the sequels', TR 1's first level is forgiving and pretty good as an "invisible tutorial level" and the rest of the game is sound).
That said, the last part of the game is something I NEVER managed to finish as a kid on the PS1, and watching you there... yeah, it looks pretty bad and I'm starting to know why it was a roadblock. That's where I am right now btw on the PC version and I'll check if it's as bad as you've said, pray for me. The Spear of Destiny storyline had by far the best combination of narrative & level design I believe, the Island part I liked the atmosphere and most of the story but the levels could've used some more work, and Rome is mostly bland on all fronts.
It's the complete opposite of TR IV in many ways: levels are very small and linear (and sometimes don't even connect well with each other), there's a clear lack of ambition, focus and passion, not even an attempt to execute potentially interesting concepts, by far the shortest classic TR game, despite having a few good stories they're completely pointless while TR IV has hands down the best one and the most influential, barely much thought put into most of the puzzle solving...
It just feels half-assed, but I could imagine people who disliked how difficult/obtuse TR IV was would prefer this more straightforward approach. If I hadn't known what was happening behind the scenes, I would've totally thought that Core was ashamed of TR IV and tried to make its antithesis as a sequel.
PS: Yup, the skyboxes look terrible on PC, in a way the game looks better on PS1 because the PS1 flaws kind of hides the cheapness of the game, it's more homogenised. I'd say the difference between PS1 & PC version of TR V is like a less extreme case of Sonic Adventure (DC) VS Sonic Adventure DX (GC & HD).
As for the DC version? They removed the dynamic shadows from the DC version of TR IV. And all character shadows altogether actually. Yup, that lazy of a port.
PS2: I hate how you gotta mod some of the games to have them work at all, it was a hurdle to get TR V working without crashing before the first FMV. All the games listed on Steam before Legends don't even have a language option, so I gotta download a separate install that's almost the size of the games to have a full French version (I love Lara's French voice btw despite her rocky beginnings, it always stayed the same from TR1 to Underworld, and even did Guardian of Light & Temple of Osiris).
Been watching this for a long time. Only just noticed Chronicles was uploaded. Can't wait to sit down and go through this gem!
At last! I`ve been waiting for so long for this. Thank you.
Enjoyed the Sir Digby Chicken Caesar reference more than I care to admit. You are truly a man of culture!
Discovered you one week ago. Binged watched all your TR videos, you're awesome ! Keep up the quality content, you deserve so much more subscribers !!!
Thank you! ^_^
@@SteveOfWarr And, as a french, I love your accent ^^ Can't wait for you to revisit all the remaining Tomb Raider game !
33:55 The first time they play intro theme randomly is in the first Tomb Raider once you enter the building in City of Vilcabamba. They have tons of places where they randomly play the theme there. In Tomb Raider 2, the short version is usually playing to show you're on the right track after pulling some random level. I dunno why you're so negative about TR5 doing the same thing.
Love your Tomb raider videos , you have a new subscriber my friend :)
I’ve been binge watching these retrospectives 😍 They are so good! Love your humour! I almost died laughing at the pusheen! 😂 I too have a pusheen, no gift receipt would be needed with me 😂 Thanks so much for all the work you put into these! They’ve been providing me with so much entertainment and joy the past couple of days ☺️
Same bro
0:32 Oh Boy , Goosebumps what a screen love it
The stealth thing existed in Tomb Raider as early as TR3 with the only difference being they didn’t have any stealth takedown animations/cutscenes then, such as sneaking past certain guards in the two Area 51 levels or looping around a guard and frogman/scuba diver to get Lud’s Gate’s last secret and steal a second UPV. Walking to avoid being heard (despite the thunderous footsteps) was nothing new, but they still didn’t explain you could do KOs with the crowbar and chloroform. The last guard you can use chloroform on (the one you spy on to get a keypad code) really chaffs my scrot with how hard it is to line Lara up to use it without being seen.
Also, Lara was taking her top off in Ireland’s FMV because she was getting ready for bed and was changing into her jammies when Father Patrick turned up. It’s also worth mentioning that 16 is the age of consent here in the UK so Core were safe, but you’d have no way of knowing Lara was that old without looking it up and it’s still frowned upon if one side of such a relationship or hookup is much older than that as it implies they were an actual pedo all along and were just waiting for their partner to hit that age to get off on a technicality. See Randy Pitchford and his “medieval times Magic Trick on a USB drive” bullshit for such an example.
Wow, you put so much work into this! I loved it. Can't wait for Tomb Raider AOD 😍
This is fantastic. It's a huge amount of work but it's funny, intelligent and keeps you watching. You must make more!
Back pockets @ 10:53 is simply awesome.
I often come back to this video for 4:13. It never fails to make me laugh.
Man ! The level of quality for these videos are insane, i have been binge watching your videos for the past few days and they are insane. I have found you by accident after starting playing the first tomb raider for the first time this week, one of my best discoveries on RUclips.
23:25 Nice to see you inserted a meme there.
Your videos are excellent, keep up the great work! Tomb Raider forever!
“Come, let’s get off this roof, and… I will buy you a milkshake.”
😂😂😂
This one is like Syphon Filter 3. Such a strange concept.
Started watching your series during quarantine and have really enjoyed each episode - looking forward to the next!
Glad you like them!
To be fair about the 3rd level, Lara is trying to obtain the philosopher's stone, who can produce an elixir of immortality, so the gladiators and the lions could be immortals because of it.
The amount of effort that went into this is truly awe-inspiring...and by that I mean playing as much of Chronicles as you did. I mean I'm sure the video took a lot of hard work...but wow, playing THAT much of Chronicles, huh? I tip my hat to you, good sir.
...also I'm with ya, I actually really liked the creepy level. It did seem a bit odd for Tomb Raider, but I still really dug that overall aesthetic.
While I do like this game (probably only due to nostalgia), one mechanic that bothered me was the trapdoor at the end of Trajan's Markets. It felt like they were pulling the old Temple-of-Xian trick again.
I played this game when it first came out, beat it and never really replayed it or watched any playthroughs until today. And I'm left wondering, how in the world did I figure out this game back then? I cant imagine doing that now
Just finished playing all classic TR games. In the start I really enjoyed playing Chronicles after the slogfest that TR4 became in the end. I enjoyed having smaller and easier levels after the long interconnected levels of TR4 and knowing that it only has 13 levels (instead of 35) made me enjoy it even more. But then the last 2 levels happened and it killed the game completely for me. I fully agree with your opinion on that part of the game.
Tomb Raider Legend deserves one of your retrospestive. :)
They all will eventually 👌
I forgot to mention in your Angel of darkness video how entertaining you are. Great editing and a joy to watch you sir definitely have a new fan :)
Thank you! 😊
@@SteveOfWarr My pleasure Sir :)
You do the BEST tomb raider videos HANDS DOWN!
I've watched them all and to be honest...
I'll be sad when you've finished reviewing them.
"Roman gladiators... did we travel back in tine here?"
I mean.... what about all the dinosaurs she faced? 🤣
Good point 🤣
Excellent use of the Sir Digby Chicken Caesar theme!
48:28 you sounded so David Tennant-ish :') I expected you to shout "brilliant!"
hahaha
18:11 If we consider Sergei is basically Vladmir Putin right down to being a warmongering bond villain and that "eyes are the windows to the soul", it's less that he looks like he doesn't have eyeballs and more that his eyes are accurately showing us what's in there.
EDIT: Since nobody seemed to get it, the punchline is that Sergei (and Putin by extension) has no soul.
Tomb Raider 5 Chronicles is a really good game.
6:02 Excuses acceptées, Monsieur De Guerre :) Damn, I didn't know you could exit crawl spaces that way ! Merci !
This is absolutely interest for TR5 Retrospective. I remember I've always play TR4 and TR5, because they're always my favorite TR games series and here's my though and some theory/analyzing of TR5.
As you said about Level 2: Trajan's Market how she is arrived without cutscene or anything else. According to development, at the beginning level 2 has extended room where suppose Lara's arrived but the idea is scrapped or deleted.
After finished Level 3 and moved to Russian level, Lara's weapons is gone because this is not sequel, it's just a story telling which I'm so confused when I was very, very young, If I can remake TR5 as Sequel but same story, same level but longer, more location level and more story, rather Winston and other just telling Lara's Past. (Also, weapons should be stay).
In VCI, her dual pistols is just vanish while on FMV cutscene, her Dual Pistols is 100% there but I understand why CD decided to stay only HK Gun for challenge. (Maybe)
I remember those horrible nightmare bug of Red Alert! level and I can't beat the level, because Core didn't notice there's bug and rush up to released rather to double check before released.
And last thing is collecting Golden Rose, my idea is what if they add unlock outfits or playing Bonus Level just like TR3, or TR5 Gold but nope, nope, nope........
Only Galleries and TR6: Next Gen Trailer (Only PS1) and that's all. (BTW, I liked the trailer of TR6: Next Gen before change to AoD).
Ultima 8 reference killed it. You are a super dude haha. Have to catch you on a livestream
I am a bit late to the party but what a fantastic job! It was very entertaining to revisit this game through your eyes and your top-notch humour.
The spooky level was the only memorable one for sure.
TR: Chronicles is a fun one with it's interesting variety of levels. I love the line "Time to turn the tables." TR3 is my most favorite TR game. I am on Tomb Raider: Underworld right now. I am enjoying it and it's beauty. Along tine ago I played the demo and enjoyed that.
Fantastic video youre craft is getting better by the video well done man thoroughly enjoyed this
Thank you, my good man!
@@SteveOfWarr no worries man keep up the great work
Masterpiece! You make the best tomb raider content on earth 🤯🤯🤯🤯
Goddammit, I laughed way too hard at the cillit bang reference.
Another absolutely fantastic video, I look forward to rewatching it over and over and over again with the other TR retrospective videos. Seriously you put so much work into these videos, the quality is always consistently high and even in this one where you clearly had the most issues with the game you do still make such an effort to be balanced. Thank you for making such amazing content.
Tomb Raider Chronicles is one of those games I always knew existed but didn't really know what it was about, never got around to playing it and never knew anyone who had it. And now I do know, I actually really like the idea of making an anthology game for someone like Lara Croft. It's a shame there were so many problems and Core were clearly burnt out by the series, with some more passion and polish I think this could have been a great experience.
So yeah, amazing video, entertaining as always, eagerly awaiting Angel of Darkness, and on a final note... your cat is very cute :D
Hahaha thank you, he's one of two cats that we have 😜 Also that Cilit Bang joke... Totally an outtake I decided to leave in 🤣
I enjoyed this spooky weird level with those little creatures the most. To this day it is one of my favourite locations in all of TR
Love your reviews. You put lots of effort into these.
Thank you! 😊😊
36:11 thank you I love this dead meme so much