@@TheragotzProductions To be honest, the most I remember about Angel of Darkness is that Music Video^^ But yeah its a big shame that most games potential gets hindered by time constraints. But then again some creative decisions many people love were actually created because of constraints Oh btw really great video ! I only played Tomb Raider as a child, but nowadays I like to watch reviews of the franchise because most RUclipsrs talking about Tomb Raider allways seems so passionate and well versed and you are also a good example of that^^
" again some creative decisions many people love were actually created because of constraints" -- that's an interesting paradox we have here :) thanks for your feedback, I fear the day the Tomb Raider 2013/ Chronicles/ Legend communities will ever find out about this video haha!
@@skornie123 Hello there :) i just wanted to share a video response to your comment, so I can show the world that The Angel of Darkness wasn't as sucky as many people would have it... y'know ^^ check it out if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/K11NjVtTdK4/видео.html
It's so weird. I've watched a few TR game tier lists and each and every one is so extremely different. I guess that's actually kinda cool that every game in the series has its fans and the fanbase seems pretty harmonious despite these wildly differing opinions.
FULL CREDITS FOR THE MUSIC: The music was also credited in the end credit as well as in the comment section below. Please message me if I forgot anything but remember the description is limited so I had to condense everything. For more clarity, timestamps have been added. (00:00:10) Overjoyed by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/3zDGj... (00:02:32) Golden Hour by LAKEY INSPIRED Stream on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/3BuQZE... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/xJkTdzolo00/видео.html (00:06:10) Better Days by LAKEY INSPIRED Stream on Spotify on Spotify: spoti.fi/2YxsvYG Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/2HiP-Sdtbck/видео.html (00:10:26) Wonder by LAKEY INSPIRED Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/lEPbgyl-PiA/видео.html (00:15:10) Blue Boi by LAKEY INSPIRED Free Download / Stream on Spotify: goo.gl/aLkwM5 Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/hQT6WMJ-Fco/видео.html (00:18:40) That Girl by LAKEY INSPIRED Stream on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/1arV5j... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/ZT89A89s5DM/видео.html (00:27:19) Distant by LAKEY INSPIRED Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/t_z77ic5lmM/видео.html (00:36:06) Memories With You by LAKEY INSPIRED Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/q6bvMAHQg6A/видео.html (00:44:23) My Ride by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5Dv9x9... (00:52:25) Going Up by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/7GCjiz... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/nu89JpZ--vA/видео.html (00:59:54) Falling by LAKEY INSPIRED Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/... Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/yprrhUE7qMQ/видео.html (01:08:43) Thinking of You by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5e3dOX... (01:17:06) Pure by KV Watch: ruclips.net/video/6q57kOJuJRc/видео.html Free Download / Stream on Spotify: alplus.io/Pure Music provided by Audio Library Plus (01:24:26) Jazzaddict's Intro by COSIMO FOGG Free Download / Stream on Spotify: bit.ly/jazzaddicts-intro Music promoted by Audio Library ruclips.net/video/hY4yspCQRaM/видео.html (01:29:23) Chill Day by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5dTiWD... (01:34:12) Days Like These by LAKEY INSPIRED Original Upload: ruclips.net/video/RTGEoh-vPIc/видео.html Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/DMyudUrFlQQ/видео.html (01:39:59) Midnight Bounce by LAKEY INSPIRED Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/3PMLPK... MUSIC BY LAKEY INSPIRED » RUclips Channel: ruclips.net/channel/UCOmy... » Spotify: goo.gl/aLkwM5 » SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired MUSIC BY COSIMO FOGG: » SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/cosimo-fogg » Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7ia0O... All titles under Creative Commons - Attribution 3.0 Unported- CC BY 3.0 Full License HERE - creativecommons.org/licenses/... Music promoted by: Chill Out Records NCM, Audio Library, Audio Library Plus [where indicated]
My list and arguments: #1 Tomb Raider 2. Nostalgia, the only TR game we played with friends all the time, great memories. Levels are awesome. For some reason I like the human enemies and the atmosphere in each map. Tombs, jungles and rainforests don't really spike my imagination like a sunken ship or an abandoned opera house does. One of my favorite games of all time. #2 Tomb Raider 1. Played this game for the first time in 2019 and damn it was good. Love the atmosphere! Great levels. #3 Tomb Raider 3. Very hard and confusing levels. Loved the Antarctica and Nevada levels. Hated London. Fun to watch someone else play and struggle with this. The feeling of progression through the game was diminished by letting players choose where they'd go next. #4 Tomb Raider 4. Some puzzles were too hard, but still a fun game. Needed some level variety, can't remember any in particular. #4 Tomb Raider 5. The Submarine level was cool and the first one. Others I didn't like. Shouldn't have been made. #5 Tomb Raider 6. Watched my dad play this while I had pneumonia and over 40c fever. This game is the epitome of anti-nostalgia for me. Seeing this game reminds me of vomiting and feeling like dying. I have only tested the newer ones, but they didn't feel like Tomb Raider to me. The movement was changed so drastically that I just don't feel it.
TR3 was my first, and I remember I can't even finish the first part of the level. I had to watch my brother finish the game. What a game, still love it.
FINALLY. Someone who gets that Tomb Raider 3 is a hidden gem. A lot of people hated this title ONLY because of how difficult it was. Not because of the mechanics, not because of the graphics but because they couldn't figure it out and the ratings it got in the 90s, I feel was unfair. If the world was ending and I had enough time to play 2 games until my imminent death I'd Play Metroid Prime 2 and Tomb Raider 3. I remember someone critiquing Metroid Dread (another beautiful game) in a negative way only because the guy couldn't advance because he didn't shoot the walls to clear a path, so he said the game didn't make sense and it was a bad game. I feel that was how people rated Tomb Raider 3 in the past. Tomb Raider 3 is what shaped me into how I play games today. It's a masterpiece and the OST is so good that I'll listen to it to this day.
This was so enjoyable to watch! I love hearing anybody talk about classic Tomb Raider and the way you praise the gold expansions made me remember how great they were, and even some things that I had missed myself like the secret areas in The Lost Artifact. Thanks for this :)
Thank you so much for this heart-warming comment. The Gold expansions are imo part of classic Tomb Raider. A new Top Raider video about The Last Revelation is in the making but given that I do everything alone and have been quite busy lately, it may take a couple weeks before it's out. In the meantime, if you're interested, there are more Top Raider videos about II + Gold and III + Lost Artifact, check the playlist : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
Hey, I agree with almost everything you said except for TR Legend and TR 2013. There's something many people don't get, the new trilogy is how Lara slowly becomes a tomb Raider throughout the 3 games.. In TR 2013 Lara was a survivor, In Rise she was more of a hunter, and in shadow she's finally become a tomb Raider :)
I actually liked the RPG elements in 2013, surviving and stuff, I just didn't get why the focus on action. I had the same issue with Legend. I like your triptych vision of the last trilogy, that's exactly how I felt. And thanks for watching and for your feedback :P
@@TheragotzProductions Thanks for the reply! And I agree, the RPG elements were great, but TR 2013 did have some flaws, the puzzles were too easy, and didn't require a lot brains, idk maybe it's just me... But yeah I do tend to defend the reboot games more probably cause survivor timeline is my favorite... I've played all the games and still I love the reboot and I just can't stand how people hate on the reboot Lara it makes me so pissed... Also I think TR 2013 was more focused on action because like she needs to learn to survive it's just how it goes survivor-hunter-tomb raider, like she has to go through stuff before becoming a tomb raider... Anyway, I can't wait to see your new video!
A survivor? She's mowing down hordes of men. She's not surviving, she's a one woman army killing a whole island of cultists. Past the opening, and cutscenes where she's getting tortured, she's a machine of death.
I plan on showing this to many of friends who are fans of Tomb Raider. As a person who was also there for the first game, I agree with alot of your list. One of the highest quality reviews I've seen. Will be sharing to the Tomb Raider Reddit page as well! Thanks for the content!
Hey ! Thanks for commenting :) you know you're free to share this with anyone you want, provided they have the sense of humor lol. This video is starting to have a terrible like/dislike ratio cuz people take things so seriously gee 🤪
I'm 20mins in but thought I'd share that I really enjoy your level of awareness of the games and franchise as a whole so far, giving very unbiased analysis in your attention to detail of the games. Bravo 👍
That's really nice thanks, I happen to publish Tomb Raider-related videos every month, though the algorithm seems to ignore them altogether lol, have a look whenever you can :) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
Well imho, TR3 is scary not because it is hard (if you play on PC it's ok with the save system), it's scary because of the Antarctica/RX Tech Mines/Lost City of Tinnos combo. So many jumpscares. If you played 2 and Anniversary, fear no man and jump into it... don't forget the brilliant Lost Artifact expansion too if you can :)
@@TheragotzProductions I have played it again. I own a copy. It was the second tomb raider game i played as a child. First i got Tomb raider 2 as a gift from my aunt and then my grandma bought me Tomb raider 3 in Christmas a year after it was released. I just remember it being the harder of all those games. I was first stuck on madubu gorge for a year maybe.... It would be excellent if the original trilogy was remade to the standards of the anniversary.
In my personal opinion Tomb Raider 3 is my favorite of the franchise too. It came out at the point my Tomb Raider (and Lara Croft) fandom was at peak. I liked the variety and new game elements, which I found memorable and nostalgic.
All I really care about when playing Tomb Raider is fighting animals (and to some extent mythical creatures and ancient warriors) and exploring ancient locations filled with traps, secrets and puzzles. TR1 is still my favourite of them all, although it has levels that I don't like as much. TR2, 3 and 4 have many great levels but I don't really like the modern locations (London is the worst) and all the guns for hire. Legend is my least favourite because it has barely any animals but tons of humans to fight. There are some good puzzle areas but that's it. I also immensely dislike what started in TR4 and has been that way (except in Underworld) to this day: enemies disappearing after they die. One of my favourite things in TR is to activate all 11 wolves and the bear in City of Vilcabamba, have a big fight around the city and then see where all the enemies died and how the fight went.
This is simply fantastic, you keep a good balance when reviewing and perhaps I’m biased but TR3 was my favourite as well, I know I’m late to the party but I wish I’d found this at time of publication, I have watched this over several times, like your style, keep it up.
Chronicles gets a lot of criticism, but i still like it. The atmosphere that it provides (mainly because of the BGM and the environment) is why i like it so much. Gave me a lot of good childhood memories (:
Hey, that's nice, thanks for watching ! I believe TR2013 deserves a shot, you never know, it has a solid fanbase after all, it's just not my cup of tea but it's all relative to my preferences and does not reflect the overall quality of the game. I guess it depends what you're looking for :)
@@george4568 I mean it's not like I'm ranking them without giving a review, my personal impressions, or more objective issues/ strengths in each game. So if it's your favorite that's literally your problem. But it's not mine and will probably never be :)
Don’t believe this guy. So one guys opinion is more important to you then thousends of opinions that say it is the best Tomb Raider game ? Play the game man, it is fantastic
1:12:55 There were plenty of things I enjoyed in the latest trilogy, but this one aspect sends them to the bottom of my list; the see-saw between playing on rails and open world noodling around. Neither of these things are Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is about *purposeful exploration* in a dangerous and unknown environment. And no, it's not negotiable or subject to evolution; that aspect is the absolute essence of Tomb Raider. But, when you are a Triple A worthy franchise, you are liable to get the Triple A lowest common denominator treatment. At least they were good Triple A games, I suppose.
Thank you for this in-depth rating video! I rarely enjoy a TR video as mush as I did yours, it's detailed, entertaining and packed with factual info. Despite me disagreeing w most of the positions in your tier-list, you did the very thing an analyst should, you made me question my perception of each game, and I loved it. Also you've convinced me to play Shadow, I was really sceptical towards it, bc character of Lara as well as the plots of Rise and 2013 just killed TR for me, I gave up on the series, so I had no idea about all the work they've done w/ tombs and puzzles there. I also hated the in-your-face tactics they went for w this reboot, and I was glad you mentioned it as well! I'm curious what you make of the Core Anniversary game now that it's leaked. There's still a lot for fans to work with, but the general direction devs wanted to take w this game is quite clear. And as for TRAOD, all defence points come down to its aesthetic for most people. Level design, music, colour scheme, "classic" tombraider-ish feeling of plot. All this makes AOD one of my favourites despite atrocious controls. As biased as it is, I'd place AOD at A-tier no less. Honestly though, even if development went smoothly, this game would've flopped (just not as hard). They planned to implement way too many excessive mechanics (like roleplay and economics, stealth could be fine), that wouldn't "refresh" the game for next-gen, but clutter it and distract from its advantages. Not to mention its repetitive formula that already got old at the time (as you mentioned). But frankly, it's an ever present issue of all TR generations, which is truly sad. I remember how TRU was bashed by public for not bringing anything "new" to the game. And I was outraged bc it seemed perfect to me in terms of immersion and aesthetic. Later, Shadow was criticised for the same thing (as far as I've seen). Which makes me wonder what's gonna be the next step to revive the franchise once again.
The final level in chronicles reminds me of that Syphon filter 2 mission where you need to escape the labs while hunted down by armored guards with machine pistols and you can only either run or kill them with grenade launcher
Yeah having no gun has been a recurring feature of Tomb Raider games, but Chronicles did it on a way larger scale. Have a look at this video if you'd like some nostalgia rush about Chronicles : ruclips.net/video/Vw2Ljxxe0To/видео.html
In My Opinion, Tomb Raider 2013 Mathias Is The Best, Well Written Antagonist In The Entire Series, & Edges Out Natla As My Favorite Tomb Raider Baddie. Tomb Raider 3 Is Also My favorite. Excellent Video!
I watched it all and i subscribed because you deserve it for this mammoth effort. Kudos, i enjoyed this very much. I was 7 in 96 when i played the original for the first time. I was blown away. I never got around to 2 or 3, and I'm excited to go back now.
Hi thank you ! be sure to have a look at the Top Raider playlist (link below) as more recent videos are also better quality. There's a new one coming soon too about iconic levels in gen 1 Tomb Raider ;) (ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN)
Shadow feels like the Arkham Knight of Tomb Raider, at the time people were sick of the formula, but looking back it's just the perfection of the gameplay from the previous entries
Nope, it’s bad. It forces you to walk, it strips your moves, it has frequent loading sequences, it has broken climbing, it has too much story (which isn’t even good), it can’t decide whether it wants to be realistic or very unrealistic, it has frequent jump scares and button-making events, the climbing is too magnetic but inconsistent, etc. Basically, it has all of the worst parts of the new trilogy, and it has more of them.
First I want to say I love the video. As an old time Tomb Raider fan, one who played the first game so much when it came out that I can still finish it with 100% completion and using no health packs or any guns but the pistols (the game is just that ingrained in my muscle memory at this point, the same way some people are with Mario or other games from their formative years,) it's nice to see someone give this much love and attention to something that has been such a significant part of my life. I think in many ways you do a much better job of disecting these games than most of the critics at the time did. That said....a few things... Video games have in many respects gone (and are going) through the same evolution that video, or movies did. The reason that older video games , specifically older 3D games, lacked intricate narratives was due to technological limitations. Trust me, if they could have the original Core team would have fleshed out the story in the first game, some of them have even gone on record saying as much. The fact that the first Tomb Raider even had cut scenes at all can be seen as proof of this. I agree with almost everything you say in this video except that. This emphasis on story in later games is simply the evolution of games as an art form, and the increasing sophistication of the tools used to make them. We can go back and forth on how the execution and integration of that story is implemented, but to say that there's too much emphasis on story is, to me (and it's just my opinion) a little insane.\ Also, and I'm sure this is a little held belief, I think you left out one key factor in your critique of these games. Namely impact/influence. It's funny that you mention early in the video about how you don't care about Uncharted, yet Uncharted never would never have happened without Tomb Raider. The 2013 reboot and the subsequent sequels wouldn't have been nearly the same without Uncharted and the mechanics and ideas that it injected into the Tomb Raider formula. Personally I can't conceive of either franchise existing today without the other. When the first Tomb Raider came out there was nothing like it, and it's impact on the gaming industry as a whole is almost immeasurable in my opinion. Sure the series had ups and downs, and as you kind of mention, it was starving for new ideas for a while. That's where uncharted came in to kinda reboot the franchise by starting a new one; new minds and a new development team, which lead to innovation. Uncharted was Tomb Raider just without Lara and in a lot of ways the first Uncharted game was little more than a blatant rip off of previous Tomb Raider games but with perhaps better execution of ideas. The success of the Uncharted franchise, I think, is the main reason Lara Croft is still alive and in really good shape. But I suppose you're making an argument for your favourite Tomb Raider games rather than the most important, so perhaps all this is moot. As to the "Traditional Tomb Raider"...I'm not even sure that is a thing. The first game had you maybe 1-2% in combat, the rest was pure exploration, puzzle solving and jumping back so you could time jumps (lol). The second game was maybe like 5% combat and already critics were like there's too much fighting. As technology progressed combat became more of a focal point, and then less, and then more and then less. But my point is that, and you made this pint as well, is that Tomb Raider has gone back and forth between it's own identity. Is it an action game, or is it an exploration game with some combat to mix things up? Tomb Raider has never really had a true identity (until now, I think) on how that balance should work. Just sayin. The last point I have is that, and this is just my opinion, it's hard for me to judge the reboot trilogy separate from one another. I feel like real thought went into how each game would build on the previous to the point where I honestly feel like they left things out of the 2013 game specifically because they didn't think Lara should be able to do that yet. It's this evolution (and you really feel it if you play the games iin succession) that I think makes those games so special and why I think they have to be considered as 3 acts in one story, rather than 3 games. I understand that's hard because story wise they have very little to do with each other, but my opinion on this remains firm. There's an understanding that she's the way she is in Rise because of what she went through in TR2013, and in Shadow because of the two preceding games. I think that progression matters and to re-iterate a previous point, I don't think that would have been possible with technological limitations developers had imposed on them in previous eras. From the opening hour of TR2013 to the final moments of Shadow, you really get a sense of growth, of character development. And so it comes down to this...the evolution of video games as both as an interactive medium and an art form , and the level of appreciation we should give to the desperate pieces of that medium. Does character development matter? Does combat depth, frequency and difficulty matter? Is enemies spamming grenades like a bloody celebration matter? Grenade out, grenade out grenade out.... (I'm sure you understand). Anyway sorry for this less than sober (and much longer than intended) rant...and thanks for the great video. Keep the Tomb Raider love alive, and lets all collectively pray that this next Tomb Raider game that is apparently supposed to unify all the story lines from Core and Eidos and Crystal Dynamics doesn't muck thinks up, if it ever gets made, lol.
That's the kind of comment I made that video for, thank you :) You're right about videos games taking the same evolution as movies. This is not a rant, this is constructive criticism, there's a huge difference. Funny because I agree with like 95% of what you wrote, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough in the vid, that's the problem when you speak a language that's not your mother tongue to begin with, but that video is getting old and I think I'm doing (at least) slightly better now, well I hope :P so just to be sure we understand each other, I'm writing all that's coming with a big friendly smile on me face. If at some point the phrasing makes it look it's mean, then I do apologize ^^ That being said. I know fully well that technological limitations prevented stories to be implemented with more depth and scope but in my opinion, Tomb Raider has never had to have "good stories" to be "good games". I spent my summer 2019 reading the interviews of the people working at core Design then. A gold mine of anecdotes and information that actually helped me get that ranking done. I take some parts of these interviews in this video and in other videos because that's soooo interesting. Shame now that basic PR communication has replaced the kind of "authentic" interviews we had back then. What you say about the reboot is exactly what I said at some point, but I don't think it was in that video though. If there's one reason why I hail Tomb Raider 2013, it's for bringing in a bunch of new players. Thing is, you'll notice most of them usually like the same "family" of Tomb Raider games, naming TR2, Legend and 2013 aka the most action-focused. Limiting Tomb Raider as a franchise to these games is overlooking a good part of what Tomb Raider has been. Because Tomb Raider is more than just that. It's also a world you can lose yourself in, just exploring and doing stuff like that, the kind of stuff we had with TR1, TR3, TR4, TRU, ROTTR and SOTTR, games that encourage/reward exploration and do not put everything on your way (my biggest issue with TR2013, it's not exploration, it's gardening). I maintain that 2013 is NOT a bad game as such, but as a Tomb Raider game it's clearly a stepback in terms of gameplay, NOT in terms of story. When a game is too focused on the story, it tends to forget it's a game. And if I want to play an interactive movie, I play Heavy Rain/Fahrenheit (depends where you live). I'm saying this with some irony but actually I like that kind of games... when it's Mass Effect. Tomb Raider doesn't need that in my opinion, and the simple cutscenes we had were more than enough to give us context, purpose and meaning without overdramatizing everything. That's the beauty of the classic era, "they had little but they did a lot" (quoting myself lol). Character development matters, indeed. But you're one of the few to tell me that there's is a sense of *consistent* growth between these three games. I agree in the sense that's what they tried to do, but from the opening of 2013 to the final moments of SoTTR (aka "The Path Home"), you rather get the impression that everything that came before RoTTR doesn't really matter. There's an easter egg of the Endurance in Lara's Home/ RoTTR and you get see a few "artifacts" of 2013 here and there in the manor but... other than that, the only visible "link" we have is Jonah (and in the background Lara's father and Trinity). Again from RoTTR to SoTTR it's different since Trinity is explicitly the bad guy, which was merely hinted at in the first game. So if we take a little metaphor : I acknowledge that 2013 is relevant plot-wise because it lays the foundation of what's coming. So it's a bit like the first season of a TV series? Well, if the TV series is well written, the first season is necessarily the "least good" though it remains necessary. But I stray from my path, and actually I just feel Lara from 2013 is different from the Lara we had after that, and I know I'm not the only one to think this way. But in cases like that, it's subjective, that's why I don't get to talk abot story/character development in my reviews, because it's really based on personal appreciation. 2013 story didn't work with me. But I must say, even in cinema, I don't like blockbusters. I prefer contemplative movies haha :D To sum up before next point : the amount of writing they dedicated to "reshaping" Lara to make her more suitable to 2013 standards could have been dedicated to building the world around her. I'm preparing a video about that atm, stay tuned it's coming soon. World-building imo is as relevant as character development, and when you think about that you realize 2013 was simply too focused on Lara. OK you could argue it was part of her character development, but the game necessarily "suffered" from that, Tomb Raider has always been more than just... Lara, THIS was the path TR was taking before the baby was handed down to CD. The three games draw inspiration from real life lore and mythology, even 2013! But the writers really went in-depth with the last two. In 2013 all that is kind of superficial, or instrumental to Lara's ascension as "the tomb raider". In fact everything in this game is instrumental to that. I'm also aware that today's Lara owes a lot to Drake, just like he did to her back in the day, but again, even though all forms of art cannot avoid being influenced by each other, they can try to take their own paths rather than trying to copy-paste what was already done, which I feel 2013 unfortunately did at the expense of all the potential and legacy two generations of games represented. ROTTR and SOTTR are very different from a game design perspective, my only problem with 2013 were the artistic/game design decisions that were made for pure marketing purposes. Perhaps Lara needed this to attract new players but now they're having bad time trying to reconcile all the Laras for their so-called unification, I made a video about that as well. 2013 was an exception in the history of Tomb Raider, just like Legend and TR2, and I'm never surprised to read when people who liked it didn't like Shadow, and that unsurprisingly happens VERY often on the social media. But taken from a distance, with all the games being compared on an equal footing, Shadow is more Tomb Raiderish than 2013 obviously was. And even if Lara needed this, which I can definitely agree with, in theory, there were multiple other ways this could have been achieved. I don't recall ever talking about "traditional Tomb Raider" though but as I said, it's getting old and I don't remember all the scripts haha. Sometimes I use concepts because they convey an idea that's simple to pass over, not necessarily because I believe they (should) exist, like "the West" for example :) Anyway, sorry it took so long, you could actually help me script my videos at this point lol. Stay tuned and cheers for the critical thinking, the Internet needs more people like that. See you ^^
Watched the whole thing and I agree with you in most things. TR4 is my fav from the classics though, but i actually never finished TR3. If you say it's so good i will finish it one day.
I quite liked TR Chronicles though, well, I liked the spooky Ireland levels and the first 2 of the VCI headquarters levels, made me feel like a secret agent! I'm not surprised TR3 got the top spot, it's also my favourite. Anything past the PS1 era though, just doesn't say "Tomb Raider" to me.
TR3 will always be my most beloved of ALL video games ever. It was my first video game (and I was an adult when it came out) . It goes like this: TR3, TR2, Blood Omen 2, Legacy of Kain Defiance , TR4 and then other things, who cares... :) Thanks for taking me down memory lane, it's been a sweet journey. ~Denise
It must be hard to enter the realm of video games with Tomb Raider 3, it's not the most friendly of the lot but at least you're ready for anything now haha :)
I was absolutely sure you were French but then you confirmed it with such a reference ("j'suis pas venu là pour souffrir okay"). Beautiful video, very interesting, very well edited. You make really good points ! And such a great accent! Going to look up your channel further! (personally I cou'd never make my videos in English... You're damn impressive!). Et là je me demande pourquoi j'ai écrit tout cela en anglais...!
Merci Loïc ! Hésite pas à faire un tour sur la playlist dédiée à Tomb Raider, certaines vidéos ont les sous titres en français :) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
@@TheragotzProductions ahah pas de soucis je vais regarder ça ! Je regarde pratiquement que des chaînes anglaises habituellement, donc très content de trouver un français que je trouve intéressant ! (Bien sûr il y a Savun et quelques autres mais ça n’a rien à voir :) )
@@TheragotzProductions j'ai attendu tellement longtemps avant de jouer à shadow après avoir été vraiment déçu par les deux premiers épisodes et avoir entendu l'avis de certains. Mais effectivement c'est de très loin le meilleur de la nouvelle trilogie ! I really don't get the hate!
Ouais Shadow est pas mal du tout effectivement ! Le plus dur pour moi ça a été de classé Underworld/Last Revelation/Rise of the Tomb Raider. J'ai également une chaîne en français si mon contenu t'intéresse : ruclips.net/channel/UC-8k7Kvl4sAFWUWGHp9025g -- pour le RUclips francophone on souffre tous un peu du syndrome Squeezie, se faire remarquer à tout prix, moi je veux juste discuter de trucs qui intéressent les gens avec qui je parle, du coup effectivement c'est moins explosif et plus posé. Puis bon être bilingue ça t'aide à comprendre 70% des blagues que je fais ;)
@@TheragotzProductions je me suis abonné à tes deux chaînes (meme si je suis moins Final Fantasy). Oui le youtube français est assez pauvre sur les analyse de jeu (enfin de ce que je trouve pour le moment). Je me suis lancé dedans (sans vouloir faire de pub pour ma chaîne) mais c’est très difficile d’être régulier avec le boulot à côté :) en tout cas superbe vidéo sur les tomb raider ! Bravo!
Hello, it's me again. Just to let you know, I deleted my comment calling Tomb Raider 3 one of the worst instalments. My first time truly playing the game was only a couple of weeks ago, and that comment came from a place of being disappointed with Tomb Raider 2 as well as just copying what a good chunk of fans were saying, so I do apologise for writing such an unfair and forced comment. So now that I played and finished it proper, what do I think? Overall I was conflicted at first due to some unforgiving and frustrating challenges here and there, but as I played along, the game continued to surprise me. I recently finished the first three games, and I would say it's my second favourite behind the original. Needless to say, I have a much more natural opinion of the game. I'm halfway through The Last Revelation and I'm really digging it. This is a good list. Understandable points, and decent detail. I'm thinking of giving it a like although AoD deserves to be at the bottom.
Hello ! Don't worry, everyone is free to give their opinion, that's the rule and I embrace different views... I really think AoD isn't that bad and had more ambitions, with less resources, than TR2013 and yet in the end I spent more time digging AoD in spite of its flaws more than Chronicles or TR2013 simply because these two forced their stories down my throat and didn't give me what I expect in games like this. I like freedom a lot in Tomb Raider : being able to take my time, lose myself in the environments, as diverse as they can be, and just think things through... TR3 gave me that feeling more than any other Tomb Raider, it's also the most diverse TR game "geographically" speaking, and even if my first TR game was TR1 back in '97 - date of its French release - I'm still convinced that TLR, TR2 and TR3 did better, each in their own respects, especially when you consider the little amount of time they had. I took on some of these "material" aspects when ranking them and it took me like a year just to refine the scripts... yeah it's not a list coming out of nowhere like certain popular channels did *clear throat*. Otherwise I'm not so much of a TR3 activist, I just acknowledge the work behind it and am really impressed! TR3 brings you all kinds of stuff, crazy ones sometimes, that imho just place it above any other titles in this franchise. It's unexpected, very ambient, not so action-focused, very diverse, including the gameplay... yes it's clunky but 1998 is not 2008. That controls are clunky in TR3 is OK, they were still using the same engine... That the camera is sickening in TRU is less understandable - for PC players. TLR is fine but it lingers too much, especially after Alexandria. You can feel they were exhausted. Thanks for your comment o/
TR: 7/10 TRII: 8/10 TRIII: 8/10 TRLR: ?/10 Chronicles: 5/10 AOD: 5/10 Legend: 8/10 Anniversary: 8/10 Underworld: 7/10 TR 2013: 6/10 Rise of the TR: 8/10 Shadow of the TR ?/10 Im replaying shadow and Last Revelation so my opinion of them is more accurate. Otherwise all of the TR games have certain qualities to them I like and dislike. Take Underworld for example. It has some of the best....and worst level designs in the entire series. Anyone else like South Mexico? I did. It also lacked replay value compared to the others without starting a new game. Its certainly more realistic to start with ammo then run out. Ancient civilizations buried underwater probably didn't have ARs laying around. The first TR was SO BORINGGGG that first half but the second half was quite charming and had atmosphere. That's it for me though. My analysis would take a massive comment and nobody has time to read my thoughts on the entire series. TRII alone has a big lore between the Italian and Chinese making Lara a puppet to bring the Seraph. Gonna go finish TRLR
How did you manage to edit what it says in the time bar (what number and game we are up to). I have never seen anything like that before and it is amazing. Great job, loved the video 👍
Theragotz Productions It’s great to see TR3 get some love. My favourite for a long time was TR2, but as I became a better player I appreciated the difficulty of TR3 more. Barkhang Monestry is my favourite level.
Yeah it's a decent level and the true "heart" of TR2 in my opinion. I used to like TR2 a lot and it's #2 in this list simply because of "The Golden Mask". TR3 is just crazy good, there's no arguing with how CRAZY that game is. It's "adventures" in the proper sense of the term, you never know what's waiting around the corner, the story and plot are simple but well executed and the level design makes the best of the two previous games. It might look ugly now for players who forgot what video games looked like two decades ago, but I'm still convinced it's the best. It's also my favorite.
Theragotz Productions Completely agree with you, but what do you mean TR3 is ugly. Compared to the first 2 it is absolutely gorgeous. I only just started and completed TR3 last year, and I was born post 2000 and have played many beautiful current games. To me, (I have only played the first 3 tomb raiders) TR3 and TR2 hold up incredibly well for their age, with the orignal Tomb Raider the only one to have aged slightly. That being said, the Level design is nothing like you will ever see in current games, and is a main reason as to why I keep playing these games. Also the difficulty in TR3 is astounding. This is not some new modern game where to make the game harder you change the health on enemies or change the amounts of ammo you get. This is TR3, there is no setting to change. You can play either ‘difficult’ or not play at all. Sorry for the long reply, just gotta say how great the video was once again. So much effort put in. Thanks a lot 😊
No problem! Yeah I meant "ugly" from today player's perspective, I see no ugliness as far as I'm concerned (this is something I say at some point in the review ;)) but I understand the plea of players who have to go through sometimes weird structures, as stated in the review. Someone who's never played 90s games will automatically think the first TRs are bad. But as far as the gameplay and level design are concerned, TR3 stands out and I'm so impressed they managed to do that game in such a small amount of time :O when I say they were pushing boundaries (in the review), I'm literally quoting from the devs themselves. Most of the things I say in the reviews of the six "classic games" usually come from interviews and yeah, they were surprised TR3 had such negative feedback. And The Lost Artifact OMG this extension is crazy.
I really enjoyed this video. I can tell a lot of effort went into it and I actually tend to enjoy rankings I disagree with more than those I agree with because they make me think of games from a new and interesting perspective so thanks for that. This is my personal ranking, very different from yours but if we all agreed on everything life would be boring: 12: Shadow 11: Underworld 10: Rise 9: TR4 8: TR3 7: 2013 6: Legend 5: Anniversary 4: Chronicles 3: AoD 2: TR2 1: TR1
Man, I was almost excommunicated for saying that TR3 is the best, levels such as temple ruins and madubu gorge have never been reproduced since which is a shame. Excellent video, I agree almost on every point you mentionned
I like it too, it was my first video game after all. I got all the (personal) reasons to get it in the top 3 but objectively speaking, there's a lot of things that other games just improved. Classic gen is represented by no less than 2 games in the top 5. Tr2 and Tr3 have all that made TR good but they did it better. The only thing we lost and I miss are the historical settings, especially in Tr2. It' all in the reviews anyway 😉😁
The first game is objectively better than the past 3 (the reboot trilogy.) I don’t understand why people care more about graphics, a bad story, and ease of completion more than they care about depth of gameplay; go watch a movie. So, even if you don’t judge them compared to their concurrent competition, it still shouldn’t have been rated lower than any of the recent ones.
Ah the original TRI-IV were superior each in their own way. Each one is a unique take on a particular subject for sure. It's hard to pick the best one, but TRIII might be the one. It just oozes atmosphere and especially the antarctica part is spooky as shit, obviously taking inspiration from john carpenters the thing.
Yeah ! Popular culture has had a huge impact on the way TR3 was designed. Antarctica might indeed be the best case in point and yeah, reference to John Carpenter was lit af 🔥
Thanks a bunch, that's nice to hear! You know what to do to help me then haha :P there's new Top Raider videos coming every month, look up the playlist if you're interested : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN - I publish vids about all main Tomb Raider games and different topics ^^
Tomb Raider 3 was the most unforgiving game of the ones I've played. I think a story like the Last Revelation with mechanics of the Chronicles would have made the perfect game you were describing, which definitely is not Tomb Raider 3. I could be heavily biased towards the Last Revelation as it was the game that introduced me to the series, but it always felt more personal than the rest and the voice acting was superb. Enemy variety, too, was awe-inspiring and let's face it, it had the best soundtrack of all classic games. I don't hate TR3; in fact, I love it to death. I just have a bone to pick with the game. The first time I've encountered the 6-handed statue in Shiva Temple, as it slowly sprang to life with murderous intent and chased me to death, could very well have been the last time I'd ever play any Tomb Raider game or any slightly scary action/adventure game. That shit was so scary. It took a long time for me to get used to, but they would give me goosebumps and made me sweat for so long. I'd have dropped the joystick and say "fuck video games" then and there. TRV Chronicles was the rotten fruit of the modern-day predatorial capitalistic work environment where the creative force is led by incompetent and money-grubbing management with no aspirations other than to make more cash by milking the talent of their creators, sucking them dry to their bones. My guess is that the levels that were cut from both TR3 and TR4 have likely ended up, in some way or shape, in Chronicles, but the formula had gotten so old by the 4th instalment that it didn't matter. Anniversary is my second favourite in the series. If it weren't for Anniversary, I'd never spare the time or will to play the first game and it gave me an excuse to visit both the original and replay the modern remaster. I think it was the best 2nd gen TR game, followed by Underworld; a wasted potential IMO.
Très bonne vidéo 👍 C'est toujours intéressant de voir le classement des fans qui ont joué à tous les jeux 😊 D'ailleurs, rien à voir mais votre anglais est tellement bon que j'ai du rechercher ce que certains mots voulaient dire 😅
Finally, someone who doesn’t default to AoD in the very bottom spot! This is my all time favourite game, and I can see the flaws but it’s by far not the worst
Thanks a lot, there's a new Top Raider video coming every month, check the playlist here if you so desire : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
The only TR game you'll ever see me bashing is 2013, for obvious reasons. AoD and TRC were done knowing they wouldn't be perfect, and I know the guys at Core Design did their best to save the day. 2013 was presented like the next coming of Jesus and it was way below the quality we had before, even (and especially) AoD. Hence AoD ranking higher than 2013.
I'm currently playing TR2, even though I have all of the TR games and my laptop is more than capable of playing the latest games at max details with RTX enabled.
TR3 was my fave too. It took me a year to finish it without guide or internet. IT WAS SO DIFFICULT!!! India and the Pacific levels and Nevada were my fave. London the worst. Antartica too difficult but I enjoyed some sections.
Excellente vidéo, merci beaucoup pour tout le travail que tu as accompli. Même si mon classement n’est pas vraiment le même mais j’adore les TR de l’ère de Core Design qui ont bercé mon enfance, oui même le 5 c’est le moins bon mais j’avais bien aimé si on le voit juste comme une extension du 4 plutôt qu’un épisode à part entière. Après il me semble que tu le précise bien mais j’ai l’impression que la vidéo n’est pas sous titré en français entièrement mais pas grave j’ai compris l’idée générale de chaque épisode 👍
finally someone agrees with me when i say i hate tomb raider 2013 it really doesn’t feel like the original tomb raider we all grew up with it felt like some uncharted rip off or a game it tried to be but isn’t
Last place is reserved for all Square Enix TR games. One before the last belongs to Crystal Dynamics ones. Then jointly TRAOD & TRC, then TRLR, then TR2, then TR1 and LbnL (= 1st place) TR3. Bonus levels included for all.
OK so agreed on your previous comment about TR3/TRLA being the best, but reducing the rest to "all SE games" and "all Crystal games" is bad faith, sorry mate, won't follow you there, they're all so much different ! Chronicles almost brought some of the developers to the brink of depression and wasn't even wanted by the people who were working in it, it was forced down their throat and they almost vomitted blood doing it, just because EIDOS wanted it. AoD was a failure, and it was a shame because it had so much potential... but again: EIDOS. Legend and TR2013 were beside the point but Anniversary was a cool remake, very faithful to the spirit of the original, which I played in 1997, so one year after release, Underworld had a fantastic gameplay with lush environments and a good focus on platforms, ROTTR/SOTTR are closer to the spirit of early TR games than TRC/AoD could ever dream to be. But thanks for commenting anyways.
@@TheragotzProductions Huh, I see I should have started with "IMHO". As if done here too - truth be told, I really don't like the three SE games - they are possibly great in terms of graphics, sound, gameplay, etc.. - but they do not fare well at all as TR games. I really think they are just action-packed, dumb-down eye-catchers for the younger gen of gamers. Picture any char in place of Lara (some skilled not-too--muscled bad-ass a la young Steven Seagal) and you have the same game. CrD ones do better, but still - much less exploration, much more action, the puzzles are almost idiot-proof, etc.. And ALL are arbitrary. The QT events and motorcycle parts are just utter garbage. I have spent maybe half the time on exploring the whole Legend (finished it in 1 sitting) or Underworld (completed over a weekend) in comparison to the time I have spent exploring a single classical TR level. Anniversary is a bit of diff story - it's OK, but it's JUST an old TR1 in a new package, and besides some close-to-impossible grapple-related-jumps, it was made too easy and did not provide much of exploration possiblities. Chronicles were OK, but brought nothing new to the table (sorry buddy, I personally care about the team that did it much less than they do for the money I paid for it). TRAOD was / may have been a great idea, but the execution sucked noodles - I do know a lot of backstory there, I sympathize, I understand - but in the end, it changes nothing on the fact the game is crappy (broken controls, shitty camera, glitches all over the place, bugs spread evenly accross the whole game, levels which feel unfinished - we all know they are, almost irrelevant character interactions, arbitrary upgrades that make no sense, etc..). Again, I paid for it, expecting a decent game, and not the crap I got instead. Oh, one last thing - I'm not trying to start a flame war here. In theory, we could objectively go over positives and negatives of each and compare them, try to evaluate various aspects and rate them, etc.. but in the end it's all about the PLEASURE and FUN each respective game gives to the player. Based solely on that I'm fully OK with you / other people having a diff opinion(-s) to the one of mine. If nothing else, it spawned a debate 1 year ex post facto, which is nice ;-)
Lol dw I respect everybody's opinion and I like arguments, it's just that writing sometimes seems so offensive but I'm not in that kind of spirit usually. Especially with someone who apparently has played The Lost Artifact, which makes you one of the few (really, we're few). And I like really long messages, it's always nice to exchange, that's what makes the 21st century interesting. I just find the "all of this is good" and "all of this is bad" very limitating and untrue, and that's in general, not just video games. I honestly think that SE games are not all that bad, especially SOTTR, it's far from the action-pack game you describe and I'm sure you noticed. That holds true for TR2013 but that's all, they changed after that. ROTTR paved the way and SOTTR kind of brought the icing on the cake. I remember when Chronicles came out, I was so excited after TLR and that "thing" was released I was like "whaaat?". Now that the devs have started to speak out, it became clear how much they hated this game, and it shows. That's why it's at the very bottom, because I cannot endorse the psychological torture they must have gone through for that. Same for AoD : great ideas and evidence that you can "renew" the franchise and keep its singular spirit, but the game was incomplete, we all know that, an incomplete game cannot possibly rank in a top 5. TR2013 I don't even bother talking about that anymore, it's the best selling game in the franchise but it's anything but a TR game. You made a precise description of what I think this game is. You're totally right when you point out how short the CD era was, especially Legend. Underworld is brief but it's OK since you have the secret/relic mechanics to keep you hooked. Let's say that the level design saves the thing. I'm really sorry you think SE games are crap, especially if you bought them, but maybe one day you'll see SOTTR with the same eye as I do, because I still believe it is great. The puzzles, tombs, weapon mechanics with special ammunition... all that was like a throwback at everything I was looking for in a TR game (TRIII being my fav, as you know). Of course I want the old Lara back because her pesonality was different but I also think that this trilogy was just a step towards what's coming next. I'm confident in the future. Be it CD or SE, it is clear that both trilogies have evolved to the rightest of directions: Legend/TR2013 were all "experiments" to attract new audiences (I won't use adjectives by fear of offending a few people lol), whereas Underworld/SOTTR all confirmed that they know how to make a Tomb Raider game, they just want to please everyone and their games suffer from that. But that's a problem that contaminates the game market as a whole, not just SE, as i said at the end of the ROTTR chapter (and I think SE fares way better than other some companies in this respect). Knowing that, we either accept that the gaming industry is changing for the worse or we don't, as long as, as you said, you enjoy the experience.
Such a nuanced list! Thanks for your time and effort as I reacquaint myself with an often flawed, but always loved franchise. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt like TR2013 played out like one long corridor...
I think it's good TR games try out different things, but yeah games like 2013 and Legend felt like long, long corridors for me and I don't like that kind of level design at all so this is why they're ranking so low in the list. TR2 is up there only because of "The Golden Mask".
@@TheragotzProductions Oh totally - and I can see why the designers applied that kind design to TR2013 and to Legend - both of which have respectably large fan clubs. For me, I think Legend was streamlined enough so that it "went down easy" so it personally didn't feel quite so tedious. And I can see why TR2 made it as high as it did with the Golden Mask carrying the ranking. Also, I appreciate the commentary for AoD; I think it's often a bit underrated despite its very real flaws; as you mention, a bit more time and TLC from the developers would have done wonders to produce a more finished product
Nice ! Legend has its moments I must say, very good ups, very bad downs. Thanks for the feedback, comment and sub, new Top Raider videos will pop out very soon, and I'm working (hard) on having them published every month if you're interested in Tomb Raider as a franchise :)
I LOVED the story, I persevered through all the glitches and issues, the ability to save anywhere was a godsend because I was honestly saving every few minutes. I found it to be really engrossing, more than some of the other ones I could play easily.
@@TheragotzProductions TRA did improve half of TRs levels. But Atlantis was stripped off the fun, and my favourite level palace Midas lost its charm. Plus I did love the wind sections of TR 2013, as I loved rafting in TR3.
Tomb Raider 2013 is the second best Uncharted game. Tomb Raider III was my first and Anniversary, my favorite. I actually played Tomb Raider I on a PC demo, but didnt get it, since i was too young, so i dont consider it proper experiencing it. I cant count how many hours i spended on TR III Croft Manor.
My List IF we count TR reboots as "Tomb Raider": 1. TR III 2. Tomb Raider Legend 3. Tomb Raider Underworld 4. TR II 5. TR Chronicles 6. TR Anniversary 7. Rise of the Tomb Raider 8. TR IV 9. TR Angel of Darkness 10. TR 2013 I skipped TR I and Shadows because I didn't play it (but will do)
I've recently been playing all the games for PS1+2 in order from start to finish. Currently on Anniversary. As I've been playing them, I've been trying to rank them too. The 2nd and 3rd are at the top of my list, with Legend at the absolute bottom. That game was just too short and unchallenging. It felt like a giant tutorial.
Wonderful, enjoy the marathon. Playing them all is compulsory to understand the hard choices I had to make for this video. Legend as such is not bad, but as a Tomb raider game it lags behind the others for sure. Wait until you start the 2013 reboot 😂 and HAVE FUN 😜
@@TheragotzProductions Too much emphasis on combat which has aged poorly in the old games, as well as environments particularly in the first half that repeat too much and look uninteresting.
Tomb Raider 3 wasn't bad, but it was unfairly difficult without the use of a walkthrough. I could get through the first two games without a walkthrough, but pretty much every level in TR3, I was having to pull up a walkthrough. And that's not even counting the secrets. Also, I loved the action of TR2, it felt like you really had to manage your resources, and you were rewarded for good combat engagements when the enemies dropped health and ammo, and punished for bad ones. While the enemies themselves weren't an issue in TR3, the sheer amount of instant kill hazards was just dumb. Also the final boss in TR3 is horrendous.
Thanks for sharing that! TR3 is way more tolerable on PC and I never had issues with instant kill mechanics because you can save as much as you want (and what's the difference between that and a QTE except the keys don't show on screen ?). Playing it in a "no save" challenge or "limited save" challenge makes it incredibly difficult, but I'm not sure difficulty is what should define a Tomb Raider game. Telegraphy is relative : on a first playthrough, yeah agreed some parts of the game are unnerving, but when you know what to do, where to go etc., it works just fine and you can fully enjoy that crazy experiment that TR3 was :) As for TR2, if you liked the idea of having to manage your resources, then you should like TR3 even more, because I never ever had an issue with ammo or health packs in TR2. Since there are more enemies than other clasic games, there are more drops, and the secrets are visible in the world so easier to find (and get the ammo that comes with it). But they're both very good games, independently from their extensions ^^
🙂 then you should probably have a look at this video where I discuss why Underworld is the Tomb raider game with the best level design ruclips.net/video/ePEyXZew26k/видео.html
wow love this video, first time that i completely agree with TR games ranking, dude we need to have a drink and have long tomb raider talk ahah. But seriously that's how i will rank TR games as well. Me personally I love TRC but i know its just nostalgia, because my dad when i was a kid knew i was fan of tomb raider and instead of buying me TR3 he bought me TRC thinking oh it is a tomb raider game they are all the same, but still i was very happy when i got it. But objectively looking I would give the same rank to TRC as you did. And yeah TR3 is best TR game in whole franchise felt so complete from story to gameplay. Other one that I really liked was Underworld but again its just felt bit incomplete for same reasons you have mentioned in your video, I always have that feeling that needed just small nudge to be amazing TR game. But TR3 I would not add anything, I would not remove anything its perfect as is, only thing that it needs its true to heart remake, one day when I'm billionaire that would be the first thing I would spend my millions on lol
I was enjoying this until I saw Tomb Raider 1996s placement. Ouch! I rate it highly above tomb raider 3 and even more so TR tLR! But each to their own!! Really interesting to see someones views and an interesting watch xx
Hi, thanks for commenting. TR1 was my first TR and I explain why it's #8. You can even watch a new, better version of the TR1 review here : ruclips.net/video/TsXMRyerOAQ/видео.html . Same thing for Tomb Raider III, I used to hate it because "itwaznoTombRaider2lol" but then I realized that everything I liked in a Tomb Raider game was in there, and that it was a very decent game in spite of its 8 short months of production :)
I want to write a long comment to defend Angel of Darkness, but my fingers arent strong enough yet...
I like it very much you know, and come on, I wasn't that harsh :) ! I wish it was complete and Core could do what was intended in the first place.
@@TheragotzProductions
To be honest, the most I remember about Angel of Darkness is that Music Video^^
But yeah its a big shame that most games potential gets hindered by time constraints.
But then again some creative decisions many people love were actually created because of constraints
Oh btw really great video !
I only played Tomb Raider as a child, but nowadays I like to watch reviews of the franchise because most RUclipsrs talking about Tomb Raider allways seems so passionate and well versed and you are also a good example of that^^
" again some creative decisions many people love were actually created because of constraints" -- that's an interesting paradox we have here :) thanks for your feedback, I fear the day the Tomb Raider 2013/ Chronicles/ Legend communities will ever find out about this video haha!
@@skornie123 Hello there :) i just wanted to share a video response to your comment, so I can show the world that The Angel of Darkness wasn't as sucky as many people would have it... y'know ^^ check it out if you're interested: ruclips.net/video/K11NjVtTdK4/видео.html
Yeah ikr
It's so weird. I've watched a few TR game tier lists and each and every one is so extremely different. I guess that's actually kinda cool that every game in the series has its fans and the fanbase seems pretty harmonious despite these wildly differing opinions.
We all have our reasons but the end result is the same. We love Lara and the adventures she goes on.
#12 Chronicles (00:02:32)
#11 Tomb Raider 2013 (00:10:15)
#10 The Angel of Darkness (00:18:35)
#09 Legend (00:27:19)
#08 Tomb Raider I (00:36:01)
#07 Underworld (00:44:18)
#06 The Last Revelation (00:52:25)
#05 Rise of the Tomb Raider (00:59:54)
#04 Shadow of the Tomb Raider (01:08:43)
#03 Anniversary (01:17:06)
#02 Tomb Raider II (01:24:26)
#01 Tomb Raider III (01:34:12)
Conclusion (01:44:56)
FULL CREDITS FOR THE MUSIC:
The music was also credited in the end credit as well as in the comment section below. Please message me if I forgot anything but remember the description is limited so I had to condense everything. For more clarity, timestamps have been added.
(00:00:10) Overjoyed by LAKEY INSPIRED
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/3zDGj...
(00:02:32) Golden Hour by LAKEY INSPIRED
Stream on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/3BuQZE...
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/xJkTdzolo00/видео.html
(00:06:10) Better Days by LAKEY INSPIRED
Stream on Spotify on Spotify: spoti.fi/2YxsvYG
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/2HiP-Sdtbck/видео.html
(00:10:26) Wonder by LAKEY INSPIRED
Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/...
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/lEPbgyl-PiA/видео.html
(00:15:10) Blue Boi by LAKEY INSPIRED
Free Download / Stream on Spotify: goo.gl/aLkwM5
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/hQT6WMJ-Fco/видео.html
(00:18:40) That Girl by LAKEY INSPIRED
Stream on Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/1arV5j...
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/ZT89A89s5DM/видео.html
(00:27:19) Distant by LAKEY INSPIRED
Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/...
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/t_z77ic5lmM/видео.html
(00:36:06) Memories With You by LAKEY INSPIRED
Original Upload: soundcloud.com/lakeyinspired/...
Music promoted by Chill Out Records - No Copyright Music ruclips.net/video/q6bvMAHQg6A/видео.html
(00:44:23) My Ride by LAKEY INSPIRED
Spotify: open.spotify.com/track/5Dv9x9...
(00:52:25) Going Up by LAKEY INSPIRED
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I hope you become RICH!!!
Anniversary beats the original? I don't think so
This is absolutely incredible. Thank you for your hard work on this. One of the best write ups/videos I’ve seen detailing this incredible series.
Omg! Lol I keep seeing your comments on Tomb Raider Videos! Love your videos C-Milk 😍🙏🏼 keep it up and keep safe! Can’t believe you like TR too!!!! 💕
Man its always weird seeing my boi C-Milk on random YT videos comments😆
Your hard work is appreciated.
So is your feedback !
but kinda aint.... this should have 2,6m views
@@c88rrado Thanks ! Give it time, and I'm still working to produce even more content, in better quality. New video Monday.
My list and arguments:
#1 Tomb Raider 2. Nostalgia, the only TR game we played with friends all the time, great memories. Levels are awesome. For some reason I like the human enemies and the atmosphere in each map. Tombs, jungles and rainforests don't really spike my imagination like a sunken ship or an abandoned opera house does. One of my favorite games of all time.
#2 Tomb Raider 1. Played this game for the first time in 2019 and damn it was good. Love the atmosphere! Great levels.
#3 Tomb Raider 3. Very hard and confusing levels. Loved the Antarctica and Nevada levels. Hated London. Fun to watch someone else play and struggle with this. The feeling of progression through the game was diminished by letting players choose where they'd go next.
#4 Tomb Raider 4. Some puzzles were too hard, but still a fun game. Needed some level variety, can't remember any in particular.
#4 Tomb Raider 5. The Submarine level was cool and the first one. Others I didn't like. Shouldn't have been made.
#5 Tomb Raider 6. Watched my dad play this while I had pneumonia and over 40c fever. This game is the epitome of anti-nostalgia for me. Seeing this game reminds me of vomiting and feeling like dying.
I have only tested the newer ones, but they didn't feel like Tomb Raider to me. The movement was changed so drastically that I just don't feel it.
TR3 was my first, and I remember I can't even finish the first part of the level. I had to watch my brother finish the game. What a game, still love it.
Shame on youtube for not promoting this video! Great job my friend.
That's really nice, thanks ! I have to rely on my small audience to promote it :)
@@TheragotzProductions bro would u like to checkout my channel?
Sure. What would you like me to check out on your channel? I didn't see any content!
@@TheragotzProductions not this one bro, its different account. U mind if I post a video here? Or do u wana add up on twitter?
Yeah share it here, no problem !
FINALLY. Someone who gets that Tomb Raider 3 is a hidden gem. A lot of people hated this title ONLY because of how difficult it was. Not because of the mechanics, not because of the graphics but because they couldn't figure it out and the ratings it got in the 90s, I feel was unfair. If the world was ending and I had enough time to play 2 games until my imminent death I'd Play Metroid Prime 2 and Tomb Raider 3.
I remember someone critiquing Metroid Dread (another beautiful game) in a negative way only because the guy couldn't advance because he didn't shoot the walls to clear a path, so he said the game didn't make sense and it was a bad game. I feel that was how people rated Tomb Raider 3 in the past.
Tomb Raider 3 is what shaped me into how I play games today. It's a masterpiece and the OST is so good that I'll listen to it to this day.
I've finally realised that AoD Lara moves around like your character in GTA3.
Haha. GTA3 though is not that much of a platformer. It's mostly on PC it's a mess !
TRIII is my favorite too! Also agree with Chronicles at the bottom, what a step down from The Last Revelation that was.
This was so enjoyable to watch! I love hearing anybody talk about classic Tomb Raider and the way you praise the gold expansions made me remember how great they were, and even some things that I had missed myself like the secret areas in The Lost Artifact. Thanks for this :)
Thank you so much for this heart-warming comment. The Gold expansions are imo part of classic Tomb Raider. A new Top Raider video about The Last Revelation is in the making but given that I do everything alone and have been quite busy lately, it may take a couple weeks before it's out. In the meantime, if you're interested, there are more Top Raider videos about II + Gold and III + Lost Artifact, check the playlist : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
@@TheragotzProductions I just watched them all and loved them! Can't wait for your video on TR4 😊
so glad you popped up in my recommended section! great list!!
Why does Underworld Lara look like an aspiring Instagram model to me after all these years?
Hey, I agree with almost everything you said except for TR Legend and TR 2013. There's something many people don't get, the new trilogy is how Lara slowly becomes a tomb Raider throughout the 3 games.. In TR 2013 Lara was a survivor, In Rise she was more of a hunter, and in shadow she's finally become a tomb Raider :)
I actually liked the RPG elements in 2013, surviving and stuff, I just didn't get why the focus on action. I had the same issue with Legend. I like your triptych vision of the last trilogy, that's exactly how I felt. And thanks for watching and for your feedback :P
Oh I forgot. There's a new Top Raider video coming soon !
@@TheragotzProductions Thanks for the reply! And I agree, the RPG elements were great, but TR 2013 did have some flaws, the puzzles were too easy, and didn't require a lot brains, idk maybe it's just me... But yeah I do tend to defend the reboot games more probably cause survivor timeline is my favorite... I've played all the games and still I love the reboot and I just can't stand how people hate on the reboot Lara it makes me so pissed... Also I think TR 2013 was more focused on action because like she needs to learn to survive it's just how it goes survivor-hunter-tomb raider, like she has to go through stuff before becoming a tomb raider...
Anyway, I can't wait to see your new video!
A survivor? She's mowing down hordes of men. She's not surviving, she's a one woman army killing a whole island of cultists. Past the opening, and cutscenes where she's getting tortured, she's a machine of death.
I’ll choose Chronicles and AOD over the last 6 games without any doubt!
Btw, you did an amazing job! Thanks for your hard work!
factssss
I plan on showing this to many of friends who are fans of Tomb Raider. As a person who was also there for the first game, I agree with alot of your list. One of the highest quality reviews I've seen. Will be sharing to the Tomb Raider Reddit page as well! Thanks for the content!
Hey ! Thanks for commenting :) you know you're free to share this with anyone you want, provided they have the sense of humor lol. This video is starting to have a terrible like/dislike ratio cuz people take things so seriously gee 🤪
I'm 20mins in but thought I'd share that I really enjoy your level of awareness of the games and franchise as a whole so far, giving very unbiased analysis in your attention to detail of the games. Bravo 👍
That's really nice thanks, I happen to publish Tomb Raider-related videos every month, though the algorithm seems to ignore them altogether lol, have a look whenever you can :) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
You put so much work into this video and it really shows. This is hands down the best analysis of the tomb raider games I’ve watched. Great work!!
My thoughts exactly. Replayed anniversary and then two. Now i am really scared to go play the third game again. It was always the hardest one for me.
Well imho, TR3 is scary not because it is hard (if you play on PC it's ok with the save system), it's scary because of the Antarctica/RX Tech Mines/Lost City of Tinnos combo. So many jumpscares. If you played 2 and Anniversary, fear no man and jump into it... don't forget the brilliant Lost Artifact expansion too if you can :)
@@TheragotzProductions I have played it again. I own a copy. It was the second tomb raider game i played as a child. First i got Tomb raider 2 as a gift from my aunt and then my grandma bought me Tomb raider 3 in Christmas a year after it was released. I just remember it being the harder of all those games. I was first stuck on madubu gorge for a year maybe.... It would be excellent if the original trilogy was remade to the standards of the anniversary.
Definitely !
3 was my first. Got nowhere lol. I played the manor a lot haha
this was the best analysis of the tomb raider saga i've ever heard. clever.
Thanks, there's more in the playlist if you want. Nice music by the way :)
@@TheragotzProductions exploring... Thank you
Its insane for how long u can speak for each game. Pretty nice and reasonable list. Made me want to play TR3 again. My wife is gonna hate me for that
Haha! Or maybe she could try play it herself ^^ thanks !
In my personal opinion Tomb Raider 3 is my favorite of the franchise too. It came out at the point my Tomb Raider (and Lara Croft) fandom was at peak. I liked the variety and new game elements, which I found memorable and nostalgic.
All I really care about when playing Tomb Raider is fighting animals (and to some extent mythical creatures and ancient warriors) and exploring ancient locations filled with traps, secrets and puzzles. TR1 is still my favourite of them all, although it has levels that I don't like as much. TR2, 3 and 4 have many great levels but I don't really like the modern locations (London is the worst) and all the guns for hire.
Legend is my least favourite because it has barely any animals but tons of humans to fight. There are some good puzzle areas but that's it.
I also immensely dislike what started in TR4 and has been that way (except in Underworld) to this day: enemies disappearing after they die. One of my favourite things in TR is to activate all 11 wolves and the bear in City of Vilcabamba, have a big fight around the city and then see where all the enemies died and how the fight went.
This is simply fantastic, you keep a good balance when reviewing and perhaps I’m biased but TR3 was my favourite as well, I know I’m late to the party but I wish I’d found this at time of publication, I have watched this over several times, like your style, keep it up.
I just love Tomb Raider retrospectives!
Thanks, there's more content in the playlist if you want to look it up :) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
Chronicles gets a lot of criticism, but i still like it. The atmosphere that it provides (mainly because of the BGM and the environment) is why i like it so much. Gave me a lot of good childhood memories (:
Hello! If you want to share more about Chronicles, you may want to watch this video ruclips.net/video/Vw2Ljxxe0To/видео.html :)
@@TheragotzProductions thank you, man. Loved your video 😀
Tomb Raider 2013 is fantastic. My only problem are the unlikable characters.
I wanted to give a try to TR 2013, but this vídeo saved me
Hey, that's nice, thanks for watching ! I believe TR2013 deserves a shot, you never know, it has a solid fanbase after all, it's just not my cup of tea but it's all relative to my preferences and does not reflect the overall quality of the game. I guess it depends what you're looking for :)
Flpstrike it’s fantastic. I don’t know what this video is on about
@@george4568 Yeah I wonder what the guy who spent 1k hours doing just this was actually thinking... Hum, you should probably ask him ^^
@@george4568 I mean it's not like I'm ranking them without giving a review, my personal impressions, or more objective issues/ strengths in each game. So if it's your favorite that's literally your problem. But it's not mine and will probably never be :)
Don’t believe this guy. So one guys opinion is more important to you then thousends of opinions that say it is the best Tomb Raider game ? Play the game man, it is fantastic
1:12:55 There were plenty of things I enjoyed in the latest trilogy, but this one aspect sends them to the bottom of my list; the see-saw between playing on rails and open world noodling around. Neither of these things are Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is about *purposeful exploration* in a dangerous and unknown environment. And no, it's not negotiable or subject to evolution; that aspect is the absolute essence of Tomb Raider. But, when you are a Triple A worthy franchise, you are liable to get the Triple A lowest common denominator treatment. At least they were good Triple A games, I suppose.
Thank you for this in-depth rating video! I rarely enjoy a TR video as mush as I did yours, it's detailed, entertaining and packed with factual info. Despite me disagreeing w most of the positions in your tier-list, you did the very thing an analyst should, you made me question my perception of each game, and I loved it. Also you've convinced me to play Shadow, I was really sceptical towards it, bc character of Lara as well as the plots of Rise and 2013 just killed TR for me, I gave up on the series, so I had no idea about all the work they've done w/ tombs and puzzles there. I also hated the in-your-face tactics they went for w this reboot, and I was glad you mentioned it as well!
I'm curious what you make of the Core Anniversary game now that it's leaked. There's still a lot for fans to work with, but the general direction devs wanted to take w this game is quite clear.
And as for TRAOD, all defence points come down to its aesthetic for most people. Level design, music, colour scheme, "classic" tombraider-ish feeling of plot. All this makes AOD one of my favourites despite atrocious controls. As biased as it is, I'd place AOD at A-tier no less. Honestly though, even if development went smoothly, this game would've flopped (just not as hard). They planned to implement way too many excessive mechanics (like roleplay and economics, stealth could be fine), that wouldn't "refresh" the game for next-gen, but clutter it and distract from its advantages. Not to mention its repetitive formula that already got old at the time (as you mentioned).
But frankly, it's an ever present issue of all TR generations, which is truly sad. I remember how TRU was bashed by public for not bringing anything "new" to the game. And I was outraged bc it seemed perfect to me in terms of immersion and aesthetic. Later, Shadow was criticised for the same thing (as far as I've seen). Which makes me wonder what's gonna be the next step to revive the franchise once again.
Wow! I really loved your analysis. And I was also really pleased to see the "I'm Scottish" clip from RPM. :-D
Incredible video as always!
Thanks, new Tomb Raider vid every month. If I reach 1k subs I'll do them twice a month 🙂
The final level in chronicles reminds me of that Syphon filter 2 mission where you need to escape the labs while hunted down by armored guards with machine pistols and you can only either run or kill them with grenade launcher
I loved Chronicles especially the young Lara levels, having no Guns makes the game more interesting.
Yeah having no gun has been a recurring feature of Tomb Raider games, but Chronicles did it on a way larger scale. Have a look at this video if you'd like some nostalgia rush about Chronicles : ruclips.net/video/Vw2Ljxxe0To/видео.html
In My Opinion, Tomb Raider 2013 Mathias Is The Best, Well Written Antagonist In The Entire Series, & Edges Out Natla As My Favorite Tomb Raider Baddie. Tomb Raider 3 Is Also My favorite. Excellent Video!
I watched it all and i subscribed because you deserve it for this mammoth effort. Kudos, i enjoyed this very much. I was 7 in 96 when i played the original for the first time. I was blown away. I never got around to 2 or 3, and I'm excited to go back now.
Hi thank you ! be sure to have a look at the Top Raider playlist (link below) as more recent videos are also better quality. There's a new one coming soon too about iconic levels in gen 1 Tomb Raider ;) (ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN)
@@TheragotzProductions sure man! Let me get off work this evening and I'll try to go over and check that 👍
Shadow feels like the Arkham Knight of Tomb Raider, at the time people were sick of the formula, but looking back it's just the perfection of the gameplay from the previous entries
Indeed! 2013 just had the benefit of surprise and the direction is good... but I don't think it's a good Tomb Raider game.
Nope, it’s bad. It forces you to walk, it strips your moves, it has frequent loading sequences, it has broken climbing, it has too much story (which isn’t even good), it can’t decide whether it wants to be realistic or very unrealistic, it has frequent jump scares and button-making events, the climbing is too magnetic but inconsistent, etc. Basically, it has all of the worst parts of the new trilogy, and it has more of them.
Fantastic video. And I fully agree about Tomb Raider 2013.
First I want to say I love the video. As an old time Tomb Raider fan, one who played the first game so much when it came out that I can still finish it with 100% completion and using no health packs or any guns but the pistols (the game is just that ingrained in my muscle memory at this point, the same way some people are with Mario or other games from their formative years,) it's nice to see someone give this much love and attention to something that has been such a significant part of my life. I think in many ways you do a much better job of disecting these games than most of the critics at the time did.
That said....a few things...
Video games have in many respects gone (and are going) through the same evolution that video, or movies did. The reason that older video games , specifically older 3D games, lacked intricate narratives was due to technological limitations. Trust me, if they could have the original Core team would have fleshed out the story in the first game, some of them have even gone on record saying as much. The fact that the first Tomb Raider even had cut scenes at all can be seen as proof of this. I agree with almost everything you say in this video except that. This emphasis on story in later games is simply the evolution of games as an art form, and the increasing sophistication of the tools used to make them. We can go back and forth on how the execution and integration of that story is implemented, but to say that there's too much emphasis on story is, to me (and it's just my opinion) a little insane.\
Also, and I'm sure this is a little held belief, I think you left out one key factor in your critique of these games. Namely impact/influence. It's funny that you mention early in the video about how you don't care about Uncharted, yet Uncharted never would never have happened without Tomb Raider. The 2013 reboot and the subsequent sequels wouldn't have been nearly the same without Uncharted and the mechanics and ideas that it injected into the Tomb Raider formula. Personally I can't conceive of either franchise existing today without the other. When the first Tomb Raider came out there was nothing like it, and it's impact on the gaming industry as a whole is almost immeasurable in my opinion. Sure the series had ups and downs, and as you kind of mention, it was starving for new ideas for a while. That's where uncharted came in to kinda reboot the franchise by starting a new one; new minds and a new development team, which lead to innovation. Uncharted was Tomb Raider just without Lara and in a lot of ways the first Uncharted game was little more than a blatant rip off of previous Tomb Raider games but with perhaps better execution of ideas. The success of the Uncharted franchise, I think, is the main reason Lara Croft is still alive and in really good shape. But I suppose you're making an argument for your favourite Tomb Raider games rather than the most important, so perhaps all this is moot.
As to the "Traditional Tomb Raider"...I'm not even sure that is a thing.
The first game had you maybe 1-2% in combat, the rest was pure exploration, puzzle solving and jumping back so you could time jumps (lol). The second game was maybe like 5% combat and already critics were like there's too much fighting. As technology progressed combat became more of a focal point, and then less, and then more and then less. But my point is that, and you made this pint as well, is that Tomb Raider has gone back and forth between it's own identity. Is it an action game, or is it an exploration game with some combat to mix things up? Tomb Raider has never really had a true identity (until now, I think) on how that balance should work. Just sayin.
The last point I have is that, and this is just my opinion, it's hard for me to judge the reboot trilogy separate from one another. I feel like real thought went into how each game would build on the previous to the point where I honestly feel like they left things out of the 2013 game specifically because they didn't think Lara should be able to do that yet. It's this evolution (and you really feel it if you play the games iin succession) that I think makes those games so special and why I think they have to be considered as 3 acts in one story, rather than 3 games. I understand that's hard because story wise they have very little to do with each other, but my opinion on this remains firm. There's an understanding that she's the way she is in Rise because of what she went through in TR2013, and in Shadow because of the two preceding games. I think that progression matters and to re-iterate a previous point, I don't think that would have been possible with technological limitations developers had imposed on them in previous eras. From the opening hour of TR2013 to the final moments of Shadow, you really get a sense of growth, of character development.
And so it comes down to this...the evolution of video games as both as an interactive medium and an art form , and the level of appreciation we should give to the desperate pieces of that medium. Does character development matter? Does combat depth, frequency and difficulty matter? Is enemies spamming grenades like a bloody celebration matter? Grenade out, grenade out grenade out.... (I'm sure you understand).
Anyway sorry for this less than sober (and much longer than intended) rant...and thanks for the great video.
Keep the Tomb Raider love alive, and lets all collectively pray that this next Tomb Raider game that is apparently supposed to unify all the story lines from Core and Eidos and Crystal Dynamics doesn't muck thinks up, if it ever gets made, lol.
That's the kind of comment I made that video for, thank you :)
You're right about videos games taking the same evolution as movies. This is not a rant, this is constructive criticism, there's a huge difference. Funny because I agree with like 95% of what you wrote, perhaps I didn't make myself clear enough in the vid, that's the problem when you speak a language that's not your mother tongue to begin with, but that video is getting old and I think I'm doing (at least) slightly better now, well I hope :P so just to be sure we understand each other, I'm writing all that's coming with a big friendly smile on me face. If at some point the phrasing makes it look it's mean, then I do apologize ^^
That being said. I know fully well that technological limitations prevented stories to be implemented with more depth and scope but in my opinion, Tomb Raider has never had to have "good stories" to be "good games". I spent my summer 2019 reading the interviews of the people working at core Design then. A gold mine of anecdotes and information that actually helped me get that ranking done. I take some parts of these interviews in this video and in other videos because that's soooo interesting. Shame now that basic PR communication has replaced the kind of "authentic" interviews we had back then.
What you say about the reboot is exactly what I said at some point, but I don't think it was in that video though. If there's one reason why I hail Tomb Raider 2013, it's for bringing in a bunch of new players. Thing is, you'll notice most of them usually like the same "family" of Tomb Raider games, naming TR2, Legend and 2013 aka the most action-focused. Limiting Tomb Raider as a franchise to these games is overlooking a good part of what Tomb Raider has been. Because Tomb Raider is more than just that. It's also a world you can lose yourself in, just exploring and doing stuff like that, the kind of stuff we had with TR1, TR3, TR4, TRU, ROTTR and SOTTR, games that encourage/reward exploration and do not put everything on your way (my biggest issue with TR2013, it's not exploration, it's gardening). I maintain that 2013 is NOT a bad game as such, but as a Tomb Raider game it's clearly a stepback in terms of gameplay, NOT in terms of story. When a game is too focused on the story, it tends to forget it's a game. And if I want to play an interactive movie, I play Heavy Rain/Fahrenheit (depends where you live). I'm saying this with some irony but actually I like that kind of games... when it's Mass Effect. Tomb Raider doesn't need that in my opinion, and the simple cutscenes we had were more than enough to give us context, purpose and meaning without overdramatizing everything. That's the beauty of the classic era, "they had little but they did a lot" (quoting myself lol).
Character development matters, indeed. But you're one of the few to tell me that there's is a sense of *consistent* growth between these three games. I agree in the sense that's what they tried to do, but from the opening of 2013 to the final moments of SoTTR (aka "The Path Home"), you rather get the impression that everything that came before RoTTR doesn't really matter. There's an easter egg of the Endurance in Lara's Home/ RoTTR and you get see a few "artifacts" of 2013 here and there in the manor but... other than that, the only visible "link" we have is Jonah (and in the background Lara's father and Trinity). Again from RoTTR to SoTTR it's different since Trinity is explicitly the bad guy, which was merely hinted at in the first game. So if we take a little metaphor : I acknowledge that 2013 is relevant plot-wise because it lays the foundation of what's coming. So it's a bit like the first season of a TV series? Well, if the TV series is well written, the first season is necessarily the "least good" though it remains necessary. But I stray from my path, and actually I just feel Lara from 2013 is different from the Lara we had after that, and I know I'm not the only one to think this way. But in cases like that, it's subjective, that's why I don't get to talk abot story/character development in my reviews, because it's really based on personal appreciation. 2013 story didn't work with me. But I must say, even in cinema, I don't like blockbusters. I prefer contemplative movies haha :D
To sum up before next point : the amount of writing they dedicated to "reshaping" Lara to make her more suitable to 2013 standards could have been dedicated to building the world around her. I'm preparing a video about that atm, stay tuned it's coming soon. World-building imo is as relevant as character development, and when you think about that you realize 2013 was simply too focused on Lara. OK you could argue it was part of her character development, but the game necessarily "suffered" from that, Tomb Raider has always been more than just... Lara, THIS was the path TR was taking before the baby was handed down to CD. The three games draw inspiration from real life lore and mythology, even 2013! But the writers really went in-depth with the last two. In 2013 all that is kind of superficial, or instrumental to Lara's ascension as "the tomb raider". In fact everything in this game is instrumental to that.
I'm also aware that today's Lara owes a lot to Drake, just like he did to her back in the day, but again, even though all forms of art cannot avoid being influenced by each other, they can try to take their own paths rather than trying to copy-paste what was already done, which I feel 2013 unfortunately did at the expense of all the potential and legacy two generations of games represented. ROTTR and SOTTR are very different from a game design perspective, my only problem with 2013 were the artistic/game design decisions that were made for pure marketing purposes. Perhaps Lara needed this to attract new players but now they're having bad time trying to reconcile all the Laras for their so-called unification, I made a video about that as well. 2013 was an exception in the history of Tomb Raider, just like Legend and TR2, and I'm never surprised to read when people who liked it didn't like Shadow, and that unsurprisingly happens VERY often on the social media. But taken from a distance, with all the games being compared on an equal footing, Shadow is more Tomb Raiderish than 2013 obviously was. And even if Lara needed this, which I can definitely agree with, in theory, there were multiple other ways this could have been achieved.
I don't recall ever talking about "traditional Tomb Raider" though but as I said, it's getting old and I don't remember all the scripts haha. Sometimes I use concepts because they convey an idea that's simple to pass over, not necessarily because I believe they (should) exist, like "the West" for example :)
Anyway, sorry it took so long, you could actually help me script my videos at this point lol. Stay tuned and cheers for the critical thinking, the Internet needs more people like that. See you ^^
Watched the whole thing and I agree with you in most things. TR4 is my fav from the classics though, but i actually never finished TR3. If you say it's so good i will finish it one day.
I quite liked TR Chronicles though, well, I liked the spooky Ireland levels and the first 2 of the VCI headquarters levels, made me feel like a secret agent! I'm not surprised TR3 got the top spot, it's also my favourite. Anything past the PS1 era though, just doesn't say "Tomb Raider" to me.
TR3 will always be my most beloved of ALL video games ever. It was my first video game (and I was an adult when it came out) . It goes like this: TR3, TR2, Blood Omen 2, Legacy of Kain Defiance , TR4 and then other things, who cares... :) Thanks for taking me down memory lane, it's been a sweet journey. ~Denise
Oh and I was scared of the dolphin- TR3, (again I was a full-grown adult woman) LOLS.
It must be hard to enter the realm of video games with Tomb Raider 3, it's not the most friendly of the lot but at least you're ready for anything now haha :)
And don't worry about the dolphin, I get scared about pretty much anything in classic Tomb Raider... and still today -_-'
@@TheragotzProductions I didn't realize it was considered hard, I just thought I was stupid, lol.
I was absolutely sure you were French but then you confirmed it with such a reference ("j'suis pas venu là pour souffrir okay"). Beautiful video, very interesting, very well edited. You make really good points ! And such a great accent! Going to look up your channel further! (personally I cou'd never make my videos in English... You're damn impressive!). Et là je me demande pourquoi j'ai écrit tout cela en anglais...!
Merci Loïc ! Hésite pas à faire un tour sur la playlist dédiée à Tomb Raider, certaines vidéos ont les sous titres en français :) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
@@TheragotzProductions ahah pas de soucis je vais regarder ça ! Je regarde pratiquement que des chaînes anglaises habituellement, donc très content de trouver un français que je trouve intéressant ! (Bien sûr il y a Savun et quelques autres mais ça n’a rien à voir :) )
@@TheragotzProductions j'ai attendu tellement longtemps avant de jouer à shadow après avoir été vraiment déçu par les deux premiers épisodes et avoir entendu l'avis de certains. Mais effectivement c'est de très loin le meilleur de la nouvelle trilogie ! I really don't get the hate!
Ouais Shadow est pas mal du tout effectivement ! Le plus dur pour moi ça a été de classé Underworld/Last Revelation/Rise of the Tomb Raider. J'ai également une chaîne en français si mon contenu t'intéresse : ruclips.net/channel/UC-8k7Kvl4sAFWUWGHp9025g -- pour le RUclips francophone on souffre tous un peu du syndrome Squeezie, se faire remarquer à tout prix, moi je veux juste discuter de trucs qui intéressent les gens avec qui je parle, du coup effectivement c'est moins explosif et plus posé. Puis bon être bilingue ça t'aide à comprendre 70% des blagues que je fais ;)
@@TheragotzProductions je me suis abonné à tes deux chaînes (meme si je suis moins Final Fantasy). Oui le youtube français est assez pauvre sur les analyse de jeu (enfin de ce que je trouve pour le moment). Je me suis lancé dedans (sans vouloir faire de pub pour ma chaîne) mais c’est très difficile d’être régulier avec le boulot à côté :) en tout cas superbe vidéo sur les tomb raider ! Bravo!
Hello, it's me again. Just to let you know, I deleted my comment calling Tomb Raider 3 one of the worst instalments. My first time truly playing the game was only a couple of weeks ago, and that comment came from a place of being disappointed with Tomb Raider 2 as well as just copying what a good chunk of fans were saying, so I do apologise for writing such an unfair and forced comment.
So now that I played and finished it proper, what do I think? Overall I was conflicted at first due to some unforgiving and frustrating challenges here and there, but as I played along, the game continued to surprise me. I recently finished the first three games, and I would say it's my second favourite behind the original. Needless to say, I have a much more natural opinion of the game. I'm halfway through The Last Revelation and I'm really digging it.
This is a good list. Understandable points, and decent detail. I'm thinking of giving it a like although AoD deserves to be at the bottom.
Hello ! Don't worry, everyone is free to give their opinion, that's the rule and I embrace different views... I really think AoD isn't that bad and had more ambitions, with less resources, than TR2013 and yet in the end I spent more time digging AoD in spite of its flaws more than Chronicles or TR2013 simply because these two forced their stories down my throat and didn't give me what I expect in games like this.
I like freedom a lot in Tomb Raider : being able to take my time, lose myself in the environments, as diverse as they can be, and just think things through... TR3 gave me that feeling more than any other Tomb Raider, it's also the most diverse TR game "geographically" speaking, and even if my first TR game was TR1 back in '97 - date of its French release - I'm still convinced that TLR, TR2 and TR3 did better, each in their own respects, especially when you consider the little amount of time they had. I took on some of these "material" aspects when ranking them and it took me like a year just to refine the scripts... yeah it's not a list coming out of nowhere like certain popular channels did *clear throat*. Otherwise I'm not so much of a TR3 activist, I just acknowledge the work behind it and am really impressed!
TR3 brings you all kinds of stuff, crazy ones sometimes, that imho just place it above any other titles in this franchise. It's unexpected, very ambient, not so action-focused, very diverse, including the gameplay... yes it's clunky but 1998 is not 2008. That controls are clunky in TR3 is OK, they were still using the same engine... That the camera is sickening in TRU is less understandable - for PC players. TLR is fine but it lingers too much, especially after Alexandria. You can feel they were exhausted. Thanks for your comment o/
This video deserves 1 million views.
Haha maybe in 50 years 😂
TR: 7/10
TRII: 8/10
TRIII: 8/10
TRLR: ?/10
Chronicles: 5/10
AOD: 5/10
Legend: 8/10
Anniversary: 8/10
Underworld: 7/10
TR 2013: 6/10
Rise of the TR: 8/10
Shadow of the TR ?/10
Im replaying shadow and Last Revelation so my opinion of them is more accurate. Otherwise all of the TR games have certain qualities to them I like and dislike.
Take Underworld for example. It has some of the best....and worst level designs in the entire series. Anyone else like South Mexico? I did. It also lacked replay value compared to the others without starting a new game. Its certainly more realistic to start with ammo then run out. Ancient civilizations buried underwater probably didn't have ARs laying around. The first TR was SO BORINGGGG that first half but the second half was quite charming and had atmosphere. That's it for me though. My analysis would take a massive comment and nobody has time to read my thoughts on the entire series. TRII alone has a big lore between the Italian and Chinese making Lara a puppet to bring the Seraph. Gonna go finish TRLR
How did you manage to edit what it says in the time bar (what number and game we are up to). I have never seen anything like that before and it is amazing. Great job, loved the video 👍
It was done automatically by RUclips as long as the creator does certain things, which I did :) thanks !
Theragotz Productions It’s great to see TR3 get some love. My favourite for a long time was TR2, but as I became a better player I appreciated the difficulty of TR3 more. Barkhang Monestry is my favourite level.
Yeah it's a decent level and the true "heart" of TR2 in my opinion. I used to like TR2 a lot and it's #2 in this list simply because of "The Golden Mask". TR3 is just crazy good, there's no arguing with how CRAZY that game is. It's "adventures" in the proper sense of the term, you never know what's waiting around the corner, the story and plot are simple but well executed and the level design makes the best of the two previous games. It might look ugly now for players who forgot what video games looked like two decades ago, but I'm still convinced it's the best. It's also my favorite.
Theragotz Productions Completely agree with you, but what do you mean TR3 is ugly. Compared to the first 2 it is absolutely gorgeous. I only just started and completed TR3 last year, and I was born post 2000 and have played many beautiful current games. To me, (I have only played the first 3 tomb raiders) TR3 and TR2 hold up incredibly well for their age, with the orignal Tomb Raider the only one to have aged slightly. That being said, the Level design is nothing like you will ever see in current games, and is a main reason as to why I keep playing these games. Also the difficulty in TR3 is astounding. This is not some new modern game where to make the game harder you change the health on enemies or change the amounts of ammo you get. This is TR3, there is no setting to change. You can play either ‘difficult’ or not play at all.
Sorry for the long reply, just gotta say how great the video was once again. So much effort put in. Thanks a lot 😊
No problem! Yeah I meant "ugly" from today player's perspective, I see no ugliness as far as I'm concerned (this is something I say at some point in the review ;)) but I understand the plea of players who have to go through sometimes weird structures, as stated in the review. Someone who's never played 90s games will automatically think the first TRs are bad. But as far as the gameplay and level design are concerned, TR3 stands out and I'm so impressed they managed to do that game in such a small amount of time :O when I say they were pushing boundaries (in the review), I'm literally quoting from the devs themselves. Most of the things I say in the reviews of the six "classic games" usually come from interviews and yeah, they were surprised TR3 had such negative feedback. And The Lost Artifact OMG this extension is crazy.
You need more subscribers!! Great video Thank you so much.
Thanks ! Well, you already know what to do then lol :P
@@TheragotzProductions you have a new sub keep up the great work.
I really enjoyed this video. I can tell a lot of effort went into it and I actually tend to enjoy rankings I disagree with more than those I agree with because they make me think of games from a new and interesting perspective so thanks for that. This is my personal ranking, very different from yours but if we all agreed on everything life would be boring:
12: Shadow
11: Underworld
10: Rise
9: TR4
8: TR3
7: 2013
6: Legend
5: Anniversary
4: Chronicles
3: AoD
2: TR2
1: TR1
Man, I was almost excommunicated for saying that TR3 is the best, levels such as temple ruins and madubu gorge have never been reproduced since which is a shame. Excellent video, I agree almost on every point you mentionned
I agree about TR3, great video.
I can't wrap my mind around the fact you put the first TR only at #8. Easily the best one.
I like it too, it was my first video game after all. I got all the (personal) reasons to get it in the top 3 but objectively speaking, there's a lot of things that other games just improved. Classic gen is represented by no less than 2 games in the top 5. Tr2 and Tr3 have all that made TR good but they did it better. The only thing we lost and I miss are the historical settings, especially in Tr2. It' all in the reviews anyway 😉😁
The first game is objectively better than the past 3 (the reboot trilogy.) I don’t understand why people care more about graphics, a bad story, and ease of completion more than they care about depth of gameplay; go watch a movie. So, even if you don’t judge them compared to their concurrent competition, it still shouldn’t have been rated lower than any of the recent ones.
Ah the original TRI-IV were superior each in their own way. Each one is a unique take on a particular subject for sure. It's hard to pick the best one, but TRIII might be the one. It just oozes atmosphere and especially the antarctica part is spooky as shit, obviously taking inspiration from john carpenters the thing.
Yeah ! Popular culture has had a huge impact on the way TR3 was designed. Antarctica might indeed be the best case in point and yeah, reference to John Carpenter was lit af 🔥
My favorites are legend and anniversary
I recently published a video about these games, have a look, you might enjoy it : ruclips.net/video/ePEyXZew26k/видео.html
The last revelation is better than 3.
a lot of work u deliver to us THANKS for that
And that's every month on this channel :P ! thanks for the sub and for commenting :)
@@TheragotzProductions good to see there are more people hangin on the old series... tr1-5 were my favs dont need new ones tbh
Enjoyed the video! You deserve more subs
Thanks a bunch, that's nice to hear! You know what to do to help me then haha :P there's new Top Raider videos coming every month, look up the playlist if you're interested : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN - I publish vids about all main Tomb Raider games and different topics ^^
you are amazing and so smart, i loved this so much💖 thank you
Tomb Raider 3 was the most unforgiving game of the ones I've played. I think a story like the Last Revelation with mechanics of the Chronicles would have made the perfect game you were describing, which definitely is not Tomb Raider 3. I could be heavily biased towards the Last Revelation as it was the game that introduced me to the series, but it always felt more personal than the rest and the voice acting was superb. Enemy variety, too, was awe-inspiring and let's face it, it had the best soundtrack of all classic games. I don't hate TR3; in fact, I love it to death. I just have a bone to pick with the game. The first time I've encountered the 6-handed statue in Shiva Temple, as it slowly sprang to life with murderous intent and chased me to death, could very well have been the last time I'd ever play any Tomb Raider game or any slightly scary action/adventure game. That shit was so scary. It took a long time for me to get used to, but they would give me goosebumps and made me sweat for so long. I'd have dropped the joystick and say "fuck video games" then and there.
TRV Chronicles was the rotten fruit of the modern-day predatorial capitalistic work environment where the creative force is led by incompetent and money-grubbing management with no aspirations other than to make more cash by milking the talent of their creators, sucking them dry to their bones. My guess is that the levels that were cut from both TR3 and TR4 have likely ended up, in some way or shape, in Chronicles, but the formula had gotten so old by the 4th instalment that it didn't matter.
Anniversary is my second favourite in the series. If it weren't for Anniversary, I'd never spare the time or will to play the first game and it gave me an excuse to visit both the original and replay the modern remaster. I think it was the best 2nd gen TR game, followed by Underworld; a wasted potential IMO.
Très bonne vidéo 👍 C'est toujours intéressant de voir le classement des fans qui ont joué à tous les jeux 😊 D'ailleurs, rien à voir mais votre anglais est tellement bon que j'ai du rechercher ce que certains mots voulaient dire 😅
Finally, someone who doesn’t default to AoD in the very bottom spot! This is my all time favourite game, and I can see the flaws but it’s by far not the worst
Haha, here's part 2 of the review, for even more praise ;) ruclips.net/video/K11NjVtTdK4/видео.html
This is truly awesome, thank you
I hope you don’t mind me saying that I could listen to you speak alllllll day long. 😊
Nice video, well structured, you got a new subscriber!
Thanks a lot, there's a new Top Raider video coming every month, check the playlist here if you so desire : ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN
Thank you for not bashing TR5 and AoD
The only TR game you'll ever see me bashing is 2013, for obvious reasons. AoD and TRC were done knowing they wouldn't be perfect, and I know the guys at Core Design did their best to save the day. 2013 was presented like the next coming of Jesus and it was way below the quality we had before, even (and especially) AoD. Hence AoD ranking higher than 2013.
I'm currently playing TR2, even though I have all of the TR games and my laptop is more than capable of playing the latest games at max details with RTX enabled.
Enjoy ! Is that your first playthrough?
1:43:45 Are you referring to The Game Statistic's review of TR3? Lol
Yes :), I make a lot of references to his reviews actually, because they're great.
TR3 was my fave too. It took me a year to finish it without guide or internet. IT WAS SO DIFFICULT!!! India and the Pacific levels and Nevada were my fave. London the worst. Antartica too difficult but I enjoyed some sections.
6:00 listening this while working out and somehow misheard it as “grandma nazi”. Sure way to make a listener to rewind 😂😂
I agree with you. Thank u
Chronicles?? Who hurt you 🤪 TR3-5 kept me company on those long friendless nights in sixth form in the late 00s.
great content my friend! thank you
Thank YOU!
Tr3 was my favorite as well. In my opinion, 1, 2, and 3 can't be compared to the rest as they are classics.
Excellente vidéo, merci beaucoup pour tout le travail que tu as accompli. Même si mon classement n’est pas vraiment le même mais j’adore les TR de l’ère de Core Design qui ont bercé mon enfance, oui même le 5 c’est le moins bon mais j’avais bien aimé si on le voit juste comme une extension du 4 plutôt qu’un épisode à part entière. Après il me semble que tu le précise bien mais j’ai l’impression que la vidéo n’est pas sous titré en français entièrement mais pas grave j’ai compris l’idée générale de chaque épisode 👍
Merci ! Après la publication je n'avais plus envie de gérer les sous titres ça prend trop de temps 😔
My fav is underwolrd and TLR4
What is the name of TRLE TR2 remake level u mention towards the end?
That would be Tomb Raider 2 Revised ruclips.net/video/fMwYR09a3vM/видео.html
'Underworld' is the best Tomb Raider game ever made and the best game in the franchise
finally someone agrees with me when i say i hate tomb raider 2013 it really doesn’t feel like the original tomb raider we all grew up with it felt like some uncharted rip off or a game it tried to be but isn’t
Last place is reserved for all Square Enix TR games. One before the last belongs to Crystal Dynamics ones. Then jointly TRAOD & TRC, then TRLR, then TR2, then TR1 and LbnL (= 1st place) TR3. Bonus levels included for all.
OK so agreed on your previous comment about TR3/TRLA being the best, but reducing the rest to "all SE games" and "all Crystal games" is bad faith, sorry mate, won't follow you there, they're all so much different ! Chronicles almost brought some of the developers to the brink of depression and wasn't even wanted by the people who were working in it, it was forced down their throat and they almost vomitted blood doing it, just because EIDOS wanted it. AoD was a failure, and it was a shame because it had so much potential... but again: EIDOS. Legend and TR2013 were beside the point but Anniversary was a cool remake, very faithful to the spirit of the original, which I played in 1997, so one year after release, Underworld had a fantastic gameplay with lush environments and a good focus on platforms, ROTTR/SOTTR are closer to the spirit of early TR games than TRC/AoD could ever dream to be. But thanks for commenting anyways.
@@TheragotzProductions Huh, I see I should have started with "IMHO". As if done here too - truth be told, I really don't like the three SE games - they are possibly great in terms of graphics, sound, gameplay, etc.. - but they do not fare well at all as TR games. I really think they are just action-packed, dumb-down eye-catchers for the younger gen of gamers. Picture any char in place of Lara (some skilled not-too--muscled bad-ass a la young Steven Seagal) and you have the same game. CrD ones do better, but still - much less exploration, much more action, the puzzles are almost idiot-proof, etc.. And ALL are arbitrary. The QT events and motorcycle parts are just utter garbage. I have spent maybe half the time on exploring the whole Legend (finished it in 1 sitting) or Underworld (completed over a weekend) in comparison to the time I have spent exploring a single classical TR level. Anniversary is a bit of diff story - it's OK, but it's JUST an old TR1 in a new package, and besides some close-to-impossible grapple-related-jumps, it was made too easy and did not provide much of exploration possiblities. Chronicles were OK, but brought nothing new to the table (sorry buddy, I personally care about the team that did it much less than they do for the money I paid for it). TRAOD was / may have been a great idea, but the execution sucked noodles - I do know a lot of backstory there, I sympathize, I understand - but in the end, it changes nothing on the fact the game is crappy (broken controls, shitty camera, glitches all over the place, bugs spread evenly accross the whole game, levels which feel unfinished - we all know they are, almost irrelevant character interactions, arbitrary upgrades that make no sense, etc..). Again, I paid for it, expecting a decent game, and not the crap I got instead.
Oh, one last thing - I'm not trying to start a flame war here. In theory, we could objectively go over positives and negatives of each and compare them, try to evaluate various aspects and rate them, etc.. but in the end it's all about the PLEASURE and FUN each respective game gives to the player. Based solely on that I'm fully OK with you / other people having a diff opinion(-s) to the one of mine. If nothing else, it spawned a debate 1 year ex post facto, which is nice ;-)
Lol dw I respect everybody's opinion and I like arguments, it's just that writing sometimes seems so offensive but I'm not in that kind of spirit usually. Especially with someone who apparently has played The Lost Artifact, which makes you one of the few (really, we're few). And I like really long messages, it's always nice to exchange, that's what makes the 21st century interesting. I just find the "all of this is good" and "all of this is bad" very limitating and untrue, and that's in general, not just video games. I honestly think that SE games are not all that bad, especially SOTTR, it's far from the action-pack game you describe and I'm sure you noticed. That holds true for TR2013 but that's all, they changed after that. ROTTR paved the way and SOTTR kind of brought the icing on the cake.
I remember when Chronicles came out, I was so excited after TLR and that "thing" was released I was like "whaaat?". Now that the devs have started to speak out, it became clear how much they hated this game, and it shows. That's why it's at the very bottom, because I cannot endorse the psychological torture they must have gone through for that. Same for AoD : great ideas and evidence that you can "renew" the franchise and keep its singular spirit, but the game was incomplete, we all know that, an incomplete game cannot possibly rank in a top 5. TR2013 I don't even bother talking about that anymore, it's the best selling game in the franchise but it's anything but a TR game. You made a precise description of what I think this game is.
You're totally right when you point out how short the CD era was, especially Legend. Underworld is brief but it's OK since you have the secret/relic mechanics to keep you hooked. Let's say that the level design saves the thing. I'm really sorry you think SE games are crap, especially if you bought them, but maybe one day you'll see SOTTR with the same eye as I do, because I still believe it is great. The puzzles, tombs, weapon mechanics with special ammunition... all that was like a throwback at everything I was looking for in a TR game (TRIII being my fav, as you know). Of course I want the old Lara back because her pesonality was different but I also think that this trilogy was just a step towards what's coming next. I'm confident in the future.
Be it CD or SE, it is clear that both trilogies have evolved to the rightest of directions: Legend/TR2013 were all "experiments" to attract new audiences (I won't use adjectives by fear of offending a few people lol), whereas Underworld/SOTTR all confirmed that they know how to make a Tomb Raider game, they just want to please everyone and their games suffer from that. But that's a problem that contaminates the game market as a whole, not just SE, as i said at the end of the ROTTR chapter (and I think SE fares way better than other some companies in this respect). Knowing that, we either accept that the gaming industry is changing for the worse or we don't, as long as, as you said, you enjoy the experience.
Man that top on Tomb Raider 3. Indeed still the best.
And there's more content in the playlist if you'd like ;) ruclips.net/p/PLcjDZtm6UPArMPqNF9wGQ8Y87QP04XUgN (indeed still the best :D)
Such a nuanced list! Thanks for your time and effort as I reacquaint myself with an often flawed, but always loved franchise. Also, I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt like TR2013 played out like one long corridor...
I think it's good TR games try out different things, but yeah games like 2013 and Legend felt like long, long corridors for me and I don't like that kind of level design at all so this is why they're ranking so low in the list. TR2 is up there only because of "The Golden Mask".
@@TheragotzProductions Oh totally - and I can see why the designers applied that kind design to TR2013 and to Legend - both of which have respectably large fan clubs. For me, I think Legend was streamlined enough so that it "went down easy" so it personally didn't feel quite so tedious. And I can see why TR2 made it as high as it did with the Golden Mask carrying the ranking. Also, I appreciate the commentary for AoD; I think it's often a bit underrated despite its very real flaws; as you mention, a bit more time and TLC from the developers would have done wonders to produce a more finished product
Nice ! Legend has its moments I must say, very good ups, very bad downs. Thanks for the feedback, comment and sub, new Top Raider videos will pop out very soon, and I'm working (hard) on having them published every month if you're interested in Tomb Raider as a franchise :)
Underworld
Shadow & Rise of the tomb Raider
Anniversary
Legend
I take it for granted you played Underworld DLCs? Lucky you. "Underworld" could've been so much more but I still like it very much. New video soon.
Angel of darkness will always be my favourite.
Then you should probably like this video about the best levels in AoD in 8 minutes ;) ruclips.net/video/K11NjVtTdK4/видео.html
I LOVED the story, I persevered through all the glitches and issues, the ability to save anywhere was a godsend because I was honestly saving every few minutes.
I found it to be really engrossing, more than some of the other ones I could play easily.
Great video. My list is a bit crazier:
1. TR 1996
2. AOD
3. Underworld
4. Last Revelation
5. Legend
6. Rise
7. TR 3
8. TR 2
9. Shadow
10. TR 2013
11. Anniversary
12. Chronicles
It's a nice list imho. I find it to be very coherent ! In theory I should consider TR2013 > TRA is heresy but hey 🤪 thanks for your feedback ✋
@@TheragotzProductions TRA did improve half of TRs levels. But Atlantis was stripped off the fun, and my favourite level palace Midas lost its charm. Plus I did love the wind sections of TR 2013, as I loved rafting in TR3.
Tomb Raider 2013 is the second best Uncharted game.
Tomb Raider III was my first and Anniversary, my favorite.
I actually played Tomb Raider I on a PC demo, but didnt get it, since i was too young, so i dont consider it proper experiencing it.
I cant count how many hours i spended on TR III Croft Manor.
Hahaha, yeah TR2013 is an excellent uncharted lol. TR1 is worth being experienced imho. It's old-school now but grand experience :)
@@TheragotzProductions Yea, i recently got TR I on GOG, and eventually will experience it "first hand".
My List IF we count TR reboots as "Tomb Raider":
1. TR III
2. Tomb Raider Legend
3. Tomb Raider Underworld
4. TR II
5. TR Chronicles
6. TR Anniversary
7. Rise of the Tomb Raider
8. TR IV
9. TR Angel of Darkness
10. TR 2013
I skipped TR I and Shadows because I didn't play it (but will do)
I've recently been playing all the games for PS1+2 in order from start to finish. Currently on Anniversary. As I've been playing them, I've been trying to rank them too. The 2nd and 3rd are at the top of my list, with Legend at the absolute bottom. That game was just too short and unchallenging. It felt like a giant tutorial.
Wonderful, enjoy the marathon. Playing them all is compulsory to understand the hard choices I had to make for this video. Legend as such is not bad, but as a Tomb raider game it lags behind the others for sure. Wait until you start the 2013 reboot 😂 and HAVE FUN 😜
Tomb Raider 3 is my favourite as well. I can't stand Tomb Raider 2 though.
Oh, why's that?
@@TheragotzProductions Too much emphasis on combat which has aged poorly in the old games, as well as environments particularly in the first half that repeat too much and look uninteresting.
Right, right... like I say in the video. Had "The Golden Mask" never existed, TR2 wouldn't be #2 in my list.
Tomb Raider 3 wasn't bad, but it was unfairly difficult without the use of a walkthrough. I could get through the first two games without a walkthrough, but pretty much every level in TR3, I was having to pull up a walkthrough. And that's not even counting the secrets.
Also, I loved the action of TR2, it felt like you really had to manage your resources, and you were rewarded for good combat engagements when the enemies dropped health and ammo, and punished for bad ones. While the enemies themselves weren't an issue in TR3, the sheer amount of instant kill hazards was just dumb.
Also the final boss in TR3 is horrendous.
Thanks for sharing that! TR3 is way more tolerable on PC and I never had issues with instant kill mechanics because you can save as much as you want (and what's the difference between that and a QTE except the keys don't show on screen ?). Playing it in a "no save" challenge or "limited save" challenge makes it incredibly difficult, but I'm not sure difficulty is what should define a Tomb Raider game. Telegraphy is relative : on a first playthrough, yeah agreed some parts of the game are unnerving, but when you know what to do, where to go etc., it works just fine and you can fully enjoy that crazy experiment that TR3 was :)
As for TR2, if you liked the idea of having to manage your resources, then you should like TR3 even more, because I never ever had an issue with ammo or health packs in TR2. Since there are more enemies than other clasic games, there are more drops, and the secrets are visible in the world so easier to find (and get the ammo that comes with it). But they're both very good games, independently from their extensions ^^
Underworld is my favorite of them all 🔥
🙂 then you should probably have a look at this video where I discuss why Underworld is the Tomb raider game with the best level design ruclips.net/video/ePEyXZew26k/видео.html
Nice video
Thanks!
Pretty good list but personally, I would put 2013 higher and Rise lower although Rise > 2013 imo (based on DLCs alone).
wow love this video, first time that i completely agree with TR games ranking, dude we need to have a drink and have long tomb raider talk ahah. But seriously that's how i will rank TR games as well. Me personally I love TRC but i know its just nostalgia, because my dad when i was a kid knew i was fan of tomb raider and instead of buying me TR3 he bought me TRC thinking oh it is a tomb raider game they are all the same, but still i was very happy when i got it. But objectively looking I would give the same rank to TRC as you did.
And yeah TR3 is best TR game in whole franchise felt so complete from story to gameplay. Other one that I really liked was Underworld but again its just felt bit incomplete for same reasons you have mentioned in your video, I always have that feeling that needed just small nudge to be amazing TR game. But TR3 I would not add anything, I would not remove anything its perfect as is, only thing that it needs its true to heart remake, one day when I'm billionaire that would be the first thing I would spend my millions on lol
I'm a simple man. I like all classic TR games.
Why is there a bar with a running Lara appearing on and off? It's really distracting
So that you know how long a video segment is for each game 😉
I was enjoying this until I saw Tomb Raider 1996s placement. Ouch! I rate it highly above tomb raider 3 and even more so TR tLR! But each to their own!! Really interesting to see someones views and an interesting watch xx
Hi, thanks for commenting. TR1 was my first TR and I explain why it's #8. You can even watch a new, better version of the TR1 review here : ruclips.net/video/TsXMRyerOAQ/видео.html . Same thing for Tomb Raider III, I used to hate it because "itwaznoTombRaider2lol" but then I realized that everything I liked in a Tomb Raider game was in there, and that it was a very decent game in spite of its 8 short months of production :)
Hard to choose between tomb raider 2 and 3
Tomb raider 2 my favourite story
Tomb raider 3 is most hardest in tomb raider series also level is great
Can u pls tell me where is that female saying "ok" from?
It's a French meme : ruclips.net/video/QglFGVDcuX8/видео.html
Careful though, she copyrighted her words of wisdom.
Lol, thanks😂😂😂
Damn, I though I was hard to please...