Alright, I sat down and watched without being a jittery excited mess. The amount of research, filming, editing that you put into this is straight up amazing (that goes for all your videos). The wait was WELL worth it, I've only had a big grin on my face when I watch it. I'm gonna start repeating myself here, but these things need to be said! You crafted this excellent, in-depth AF review, AND you gave us sad fans a some justice and a hopeful ending. It's just so fricking cool, and I'll thank you forever. I also for the 1000th time, thank you for hitting me up to contribute to this, can't even begin to express how psyched I am to have helped in any way. So glad I clicked on that Chronicles vid all those months ago! XD I seriously look forward to your non-TR content as well. Also, I loved all the gags in this, I was having to pause it after every shakey red screen part because I was laughing so hard. WTF DUDE, I TOLD YOU I HATE LAUGHING!!!
Funny thing, in the French version of the game when Werner says “Get out” he instead says “A terre” which translate to get down. This completely shatters the murder mystery tension because we already know there is a third person being the killer.
It’s kind of accurate in a sense, when he says ‘get out’ in English it seems a bit random and abrupt as if hes been interrupted by something and is pushing her to safety. That’s how I think it’s supposed to be interrupted anyway
Trilogy or not, it's a shame they didn't do that one game right, walking around in cities and having real dialogue was really needed in TR, but now we're not getting that because they decided to combine it with random strength level ups that work as keys and stamina bar.
if ever a game needed a remaster, it's this one. it's unlikely, but we live in hope. i just can't accept the new iteration of lara. it's such a far cry from this bold, badass bitch we grew up with.
@@rezaka116 You are right, but I sorta understand them. We will not be the ones that will pay them if they go bankrupt. Making video games is TONS expensive these days.
I swear the new games aint it shes like crying all the time, no tombs, shooting like 500 guys all the fucking time and shes still crying like wtf and the plot is whack i know they wanted to show the ‘rise’ of the tomb raider but its soooo boring i swear
He did actually. When she was hanging on the ledge of the pit and the entrance was about to crumble, Werner turned back and ran away. Even though he was just trying to save his own life, that's the last thing Lara saw and maybe from her perspective she felt abandoned.
The ending of this video had me literally tear up. You really nailed it when you spoke about AOD’s final scene being a sad farewell to our Lara as she walks into the darkness. I can never watch that scene without my heart breaking a little. Thank you for this tribute, Steve. AND THANK YOU for introducing me to the Dark Angel Symphony! I’m the biggest TR fan I know, and I’ve never heard of this! Soo excited to listen. I’m excited to see your continuing series, but it’ll be with a slightly heavy heart as we leave the Classic era behind.
This game is my FAVOURITE game of all time and I totally agree with your “I felt sad playing this game.” The game could have been the greatest game ever but couldn’t thrive due to delays. It makes me so sad that the game didn’t get its rightful sequels 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
In what world can this title even remotely be considered underrated?^^ Tr 6 is by far the worst part of all in my opinion. I even refuse to call this a game because of all those bugs and the worst controls ever. Its just an unplayable piece of crap. For me the franchise died with this part. The soundtrack was the only good thing in this. The classic series from 1-5 (with the exception of tr4 which also sucks^^) will always be the one and only true tr experience :D The creators should never have stopped developing the games in the classic engine, maybe then this would've turned out as a good game.
@Rahat Zaman i love egypt as a setting, too. It was absolutely amazing in tr 1. But in tr 4 its just too much. Tomb raider is known for its multiple settings per game, but in tr 4 it was just that one. Sure, it had some cool levels, but most of them feel repetetive, dark and dreary to me. And lots of puzzles are illogical, the gap in cairo for example, that is knee-high. Why is that a thing, when there is no mechanic in the game to just crawl through it?^^ when i play tr 1-3 or 5, in the end, i always think "oh, its already over" while tr 4 i think "damn, when does this finally end?" Then, i like the linear level design of the tr classic series and don't like the backtracking in tr 4 to previous levels. It feels just tedious to me. And the last thing is the enemies. Tr means simplicity to me: draw your guns and shoot. But in tr 4, there are lots of enemies, that you cannot kill if you don't have explosive ammo. Or you need to kill them in a specific way. That was just annoying to me. Also the last boss: you can't kill him, just run away and burry him? No, that's not lara croft. Lara croft is born to kill. ^^ that is why i personally don't like tr 4 :D
@@CaptainMarci104 I feel like you missed a big part that was talked about here. The story in this game is hella good. This game is a byproduct of a publisher pushing the devs to just release the game. This game is still very VERY under developed. A remaster of this could push this to where they wanted it to. Even I at a young age could tell that they couldn’t do what they wanted because of how the Paris hub looked. Always stuck me as odd how it empty it was. The story was the only reason why I played the game.
This Retrospective of the game really does bring out both the good and the bad with the game, while also notifying people who don't have full perspective of the game, how much this entry to the series actually means to a lot of the Classic fans, myself included. It would be the last time we would see the Lara we were so used to playing for the last 7 years and to see her swansong be such a downfall for her, really does make her eventual exit from the franchise, that much more emotionally painful. I also thoroughly enjoyed Steve's explanation on how Lara Croft impacted British culture and pop culture in general, all while not being an actual human being like most cultural icons are. Being in commercials, promotional material and even spokespeople for companies, the fictitious character really has been here, there and everywhere. I do want to congratulate Steve for doing so well with this entry and I can assure you that it was definitely worth waiting over three months for. Amazing work and I am certain that lots of Tomb Raider fans, especially the Classic fans, will always cherish this video with all their hearts (just like mine) and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Thank you so much for this video, much love from me and TR community!
Well, I fell in love with Lara Croft even before I played any game or watched any movies (at that time, my only heroes were Sailor Moon and Xena) when I finally was able to play one of the games, it was Legend. And I loved it. I loved that trilogy, mostly because of Lara herself, I love how badass, yet classy lady she was. And then I've put my hand on AoD and I loved it too. I never though her personality was changed.... Until 2013 reboot 😒😒😒 I miss old Lara, but for me, old Lara was the one from Legend trilogy....
I was 7 when this game came out I had to BEG my parents to buy me this. I mean BEG like grovel because he was so worried about Lara being a “murderer” I was really let down by the engine because I had been really really good at the platforming in previous games, Tomb Raider was one of my favorite games and first games, got the game series in 1999
I wasn't born during the time when the first tomb raider classics made their debut. I played them years after, in the early 2000, with my father on a macintosh (he was playing while i watched lol). After that, i have to say that the Lara from the 90's is my favourite of all of them, not only for the nostalgia factor. There is something that made her absolutely unique and special. And replaying the classics on steam during the quarantine confirmed that. So , seeing the last part of the video made me a little sad. Hope the 90s Lara will come back from the darkness one day Great video BTW
This might've mentioned before, but the reason that Bernard keeps saying that he's busy is that because you talked with Pierre first, thus getting the task of obtaining box for *him*. If you've immediately went to Bernard, then he'd say other things and you'd need to bring the box to him instead. Finished watching edit: You almost made me cry towards the end, dammit. And that ending was... damn...
Hope you see this comment. Angel of Darkness is actually in my Top 3 favourite TR games, I'm well aware of everything wrong with it, but it's not enough to stop the good things it does have. I still remember entering Von Croy's apartment, carefully reading his notes, learning about the plot and lore, as the music creeps you out and you wait for the cleaner to strike... I was waiting to tell you all about the game that could've been, but you researched it yourself, so there's no need for me to do so. Hell, you made me learn something new, I had never heard about the Eckhardt fight having the Himalayas, dinosaurs and Egypt hallucinations, which would've been AMAZING, but oh well. The final moment of this game always makes me happy and sad, specially thanks to the music. It's sad to see Lara vanish, never returning, but I'm happy that I got 6 adventures that I'll never forget. And you managed to make it happier with this video's ending, so props to you. And now for something funny, I saw how in the footage you shot down the Louvre guards and the Strahov guys in Galleries Under Siege. In Rennes's Pawnshop you pick up a taser, which is non-lethal and a one shot kill, so not only did you make Lara kill innocent people, but you made things harder on yourself fof no reason. xp
I follow the community to this day for this game and they are still working very hard on fixing this. I replay this gem every so often as well with new stuff that they people made and I personally have a love/hate relationship with this game. This is the best version of Lara in my opinion. Shame we never saw her again. I will continue to visit this game in the years to come regardless of all the issues it has. Thanks a lot of the video. You did AOD justice.
Angel of Darkness was my first PS2 Game and will always have a special place in my heart. I loved this Retrospective - thank you for this!! Especially the ending omg
I hated that red ghost bastard too, idk how anyone managed to get past it without looking up a guide. I loved this retrospective! Balanced and fair as always, I'm glad I found this channel.
Fun fact: they even had Czech dubbing in the game... however, for some reason, they used most of that dub for paris soldiers/security, instead of czech soldiers when Lara was in Prague. :)
A really good, in depth review of the game that indeed put an end to an era of the classic TRs. I remember the hype back in the day. Fans were waiting for some innovative from Core, a new chapter in Lara's story. Promo materials looked really intriguing (I still remember that early teaser with a gloomy atmosphere, the hint of a murder and the handcuffs hanging from the celling-a clear sign that Lara is going to get into a trouble with the law). I kind of grew up with the old TRs, I was even invested in the fandom enough to actively participate in creating content for webpages for years-one of them was at that time the most prominent page dedicated to Tomb Raider in my country. I loved to search for seemingly accessible areas and get there, and do various tricks, like steering the skidoo underwater ;) and I once made my own level. I remember well the disappointment TAOD was and the uncertainty in the fandom about the future of the series (there has been talk about Eidos going bankrupt etc. if I recall correctly). It would easy to mock this game that is clearly unfinished and I myself remember mostly bugs and falling through disappearing floor, missing textures and even walls (especially in the Asylum area), awful controls, frustrating sections, characters appearing out of nowhere and the information about cut content. Years later I've heard about Core Design not really being able to deal with such large project next to Eidos pushing for the release (to do them some justice, they gave them more time; but it was not enough) what put the things into a new perspective. I appreciate the amount of work you've put into creating this video. Your review is fair and indeed introspective, it’s a perfect summary to your series (that ending, as you pointed out, with Lara disappearing into shadows, has really some poetic and nostalgic feeling). You've showed also some good sides of the game (like the design of the levels). I guess this is what make people to remember it and trying to fix it even now with patches. Nobody cares about an utter crap. But if something shows a lot of unused potential-this, this is what makes people to try to save a little piece of the universe. ;) It seems also that Core had a lot of ideas for new funcionalities, but many of them were half-developed-in the result it looked as if the game couldn't really decide what it wants to be. A few genres combined, some options puzzling because of the cut content/interactions. Let's take Kurtis's special skills and weapon as an example. A big hype, then most of it ends up cut, because: time. Ironically, Indiana Jones and the Emperor Tomb, that was released around the same time implemented almost identical weapon to Kurtis's Chirugai (and it was playable). Speaking of Kurtis-years ago I didn’t realize how creepy was that scene of their first meeting. As usual, I loved the little extra scenes and edits you added to this video. It makes it more interesting (btw. nothing will beat the section about the casual life of Atlanteans from your review of the original TR though XD). It seems you can always learn something new (e.g. I've heard about the flashback part in Egypt being cut out, but never about the more complex final boss fight; it sounded almost like that special sections in Batman Arkham series with hallucinations and would make the final of the game much better). Also a very interesting theory about Jean Yves being the victim rather that Van Croy. Seriously, why Lara goes so psycho and says that he left her, since he was digging under the Great Pyramid though the better part of the Chronicles? ;) Kudos for you, Steve, to making this series of introspective reviews, that are really unique in the style. I enjoyed every single of them. I hope that one day you will also make reviews of the classic Gold series (especially The Last Artifact, it was one of my favorites), but I understand that now you might need some break after working on this TR project. Looking forward to your other videos though.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and also for continuing to support the channel. I'm extremely relieved that you and other have really enjoyed this one and reading comments like yours makes me feel like it was all worth it 🙂
I do miss this version of Lara and while the later games did certainly try to capture that spirit, it still doesn't feel the same. Great review and I'm very interested in the Dark Angel Symphony music.
So glad I was able to make it to the premier, and I mean every word of this: You've seriously out-done yourself here. It's probably the most balanced review of this game I've seen and it works so well. It almost makes me want to replay the game which - when it comes to AoD - isn't something I normally think about doing.
I was half expecting another one of the "TRAOD GLITCHY AND BAD DURR HURR LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE" reviews like so many out there, but I was positively proven wrong. In fact, as much as I hate listening about how buggy the game is for the millionth time, I found it entertaining this time. It didn't feel condescending or mocking towards the title or Core in any way. It's refreshing to see a review of AoD, that actually mentions the game's missed potential and the meaning it had for the classic series (and the franchise in general).
@Kurotetsu it was entertaining. once you get used to controls. she was the first lara with great story, personality, and gameplay. even graphics wise. it was gonna be sooo big. games like gta vice city iirc came that year and this one looks as fresh
Superb work, as always, Steve! Core's new trilogy had its wings chopped off before it could fly, and good God, was it sad to see it crash. This has been one hell of a journey. From their humble beginnings, to this ambitious masterpiece that could have been. The retrospective is far from over, but man, when Curtis and Lara went past you in that last skit... I felt that. Core Design is gone, as is their version of Lara. But their impact on our lives will endure through time, because there are fans like you willing to revisit these, often and unfairly, overlooked games that EIDOS and Crystal Dynamics seemingly love to ignore. It's thanks to works like your retrospective and the dedicated fans who've dug through each game's code, design documents, and created fan works out of, that Old-School Tomb Raider will remain relevant, no matter how much time passes. And to that end, I'm glad that you've taken time of your life to produce these videos about them. Because they reminded me of why I fell in love with Tomb Raider in the first place. I'll be there on Day One of the Legend video :) Keep up the great work!
Angel of darkness is my favorite Core Design game, and every time I play it knowing what they wanted it to be and what it could have been it makes me so sad and angry. Just a few more weeks of development and this could still be the Lara we have today. Just a few more weeks and core design could still exist. I won't deny that the released product is lacking so many things and broken in so many places it feels like somebody leaked the game halfway through development and they just rolled with it, but I could forgive it all if it weren't for the damn controls. They're truly painful. I have patches on my PC version to make it way way more agreeable and fun, but I played it on the ps2 with my boyfriend for the first time a few weeks ago and I got a refresher on just how much the controls truly put the final nail in the coffin. And don't even get me started on the cliffhanger at the end. You could easily say it's symbolic of this era of Lara Croft, almost as if Core knew this was going to be their last game. She picks up the object of her latest mystery, it leads her toward her new ally and friend: her new Von Croy, and with a small reassuring smile she steps into the darkness and we never see her again, left to always wonder what would come next for our legendary heroine. Thanks for making this video, it makes me really happy to know this game hasn't been forgotten about and not everybody froths at the mouth at the mere idea of it, without even being aware of it's background and the potential it had
This game is roped in with Disney's Black Cauldron and The Thief & the Cobbler. You know there's a good thing in there somewhere and you just want to dig your hands right in and pull it out. Great Review. Bring on Tomb Raider Legend.
58:50 Another thing from Murti’s notes is that the Cabal had many secret alliances and rivalries between members conspiring against both each other and Eckhardt. The most active was the partnership between Karel and Boaz, whom both were the ones to hide the last painting in the vault so as to use it as a trump card against Eckhardt if they needed to control him. Presumably this part got changed or something but the thing that seems intended to remain but is very poorly explained or not explained at all in the final game is that Karel was the one stalking Von Croy so as to find out about the Louvre painting and take it for himself. The reason he killed Von Croy disguised as Eckhardt was to cover his tracks, framing Lara being to distance himself from the murder further. However, when he saw how stubborn and resourceful Lara was, he decided to use her to help take down Eckhardt when the time was right, subtly guiding her by disguising himself as other characters she’d met/would meet with Bouchard in Prague being the main example. Also, you’re supposed to jump at the sleeper to end the level but I guess the trigger was placed too close to the platform, hence why simply stopping at the edge seemed to be enough. Until watching your video, I had no idea not needing to jump was even a thing. I just jumped at the sleeper on impulse every time.
@morbidisyourdoomsws Technically she doesn't even die until Kurtis cuts her head off: she just gets transformed into a mutant in the Pod's womb and literally reborn. She also seems to merge with it and work as a hive mind or something: according to Murti, the adult Pod's attack sounds are Boaz herself calling her attacks anime style, telling Kurtis to suffer & scream for her, and calling him a maggot. After recording Eva's lines, Peter and/or Martin warped and distorted them to sound demonic/monstrous. I've heard the original source files which share the same folder as her cutscene dialog. Despite having the same voice, her unedited boss lines are VERY BDSM sounding. It's a similar idea to what Half Life 2 did with the zombies but sort of less nightmarish?
With this production quality I am genuinely impressed how you haven't blown up. The fact I actually remember one of your old halo videos from 10 years ago.. I'll gladly await your next TR video, Steve.
I honestly would love a remake/remaster of this game, it could be an opportunity to do stuff that they couldn’t do in the original, bugs could be fixed, gameplay could be changed to be like Legend/Reboot, cut parts could be added, graphics could use Unreal Engine. Loads of stuff could be done with a AoD Remake, and a possibility of a trilogy since it was originally going to be one.
Literally the best retrospectives of the Tomb Raider games! The quality of these videos is unparalleled... Such legacy must be preserved! Thank you Steve!
Oh... My... 😧 Steve! What the hell?! You have really surpassed yourself 😱 *This is amazing!!!* 😉👏✨ Thank you so much for including everything I expected to see: the goods, the bads, the community patches, the Core perspective, the gameplay, the thoughts, the hopes, the music... And that end was so poetically gamer: *I LOVED IT!* _(Of course using your meme humor which I enjoy so much)_ Thank you for all the work you have put into this video and show your love for the franchise😃 You're the best!!!!💪✨ And thank you for sharing that beautiful music rework from _The Angel of Darkness_ , definitely gonna check them 🎶💙
I remember playing this game when I was young and I got that glitch where Lara screams endlessly when dying from a high height. Thanks for scaring me for life AOD!
At 1:00:38, “And then as the music dies down, she walks off into the darkness. Her theme playing softly, on a single violin.” Master Warr... (Sniffles) That part with Lara Croft walking off into the darkness happens to be my last goodbye to Core Design’s Lara Croft, and the music that plays in that scene, just made me cry in total sadness, and made me say: Lara Croft... (Sniffles) We will never forget you... And all of the amazing adventures that you have led us into... But this... (Tears enter my eyes) I’m sorry it had to end this way... I really, REALLY wanted to see what would happen next! But... this is where I’ll say my final farewell to you... So long old friend... (Bows my head, as my tears fall to the ground) 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔
One of my favorite What-could-have-been's in video games. Oddly enough, even though this is the more broken game, it also felt much more memorable than Tomb Raider Chronicles ever was. Thanks for the memories!
Ok, wow, that ending hit me right in the feels. Back when Legend came out, I didn't think too much about how much about this game because I didn't give this game enough of a chance despite pre-ordering it and getting hyped because didn't hit my expectations, but your final thoughts really struck a cord.
This video is incredible. I loved every second of it because this game is way too underrated IMO. For a few years now, I have been planning and writing a rewrite to the ENTIRE Tomb Raider series in order to make EVERY SINGLE GAME connected in a way that I think is just a joy to read through. I'm basing so much of the rewrite off of the lore of AOD while adding in TONS of elements on top. Watching through this video gave me so many ideas on how to make the writing even better. I resonated with a lot of the flaws that you saw the game had, and I agreed with you on story elements a surprising amount. (For example, Eckhardt should have been the one t kill Von Croy.) Thank you so much for this video, I truly appreciate the effort. Edit: at the time of writing this, I still had about 10 minutes left. That ended made me cry inside, HARD.
I seriously believe that the gaming industry hasn’t seen a game like AOD ever! Like nothing is even remotely similar. The game was so unique and really special to sensible TR fans and anyone who has taste. People love saying that this game is bad or whatever and in saying that, they diminish an incredibly interesting story and besides it’s faults (which every game has) and an amazing game! TR AOD was the first TR game I had ever played and I can’t help but feel as though people would rather hate on the product rather than allow themselves to invest their time, energy and interest into the game and forming there own opinion........ anyway really nice video 💖
I really liked the game. The biggest issue for me it was the controls. Very hard to play it. It was buggy. It needed some fixes. But I really liked the story and the levels.
Wow it was really a sweet ending. I have laugh way more than I could expect (the impersonation of Gunderson was so funny). The editing were so on point and the beggining was unexpected to say the least.I still doesn't feel Kurtis at this time for me it was an edgy character but who could have been better if they introduced him at the beggining of the game and not at the middle. In my opinion Core neeeded a new team to make the game work and more peoples and even the help from a new developer perspective. But they tried and maybe failed but it wasn't entirely their fault. I'm glad you have highlight the community passion for this game. Because the fans are amazing to find the most unexpected things about the franchise. As for me I have enjoyed Angel of Darkness at the time of the release but I have a personal memory attached to it. It was the game It was the game my father and I used to play when my parents was divorced so each time I was going on my father appartment we played this game together and laugh a lot and try to be better than the other at finishing the levels. Tomb Raider was always our bond as son and father. But when I finally finished the game without him I know I have grown up. I was ready to accept the reality that this Lara I have played a lot was gonna get replaced by another version of the character and I will be welcoming the next installment of the franchise with a warm heart but without forgetting the others games I have played countless time as a child as a treasured memory. At the day of today I'm currently replaying for the dozen time all the TR games but with friends and that's a different take than when you are alone because we can each others shares some annecdotes about our way of playing and discovering the game but the controls are clunky and the levels way more linear than I could remember. I hope you will gonna treat the others games with as much respect you have done with the classics :)
This somehow got in my recomnded and I enjoyed this so much, thank you! As a person who's first ps2 game was this, nice to see it to me remembered among the community.
Oh my god. I can't believe I finally found someone doing a retrospectives on TR. This video was absolutely amazing, along with editing, commentary and humor. I will watch all your remaining TR vids. Great job man :)
To get Bernard to talk to you, you need to not have spoken to Pierre first. Even then Bernard has to be bribed and spoken to nicely in order to give you his route into the club. Pierre not only helps you for free but his route in St Aicard’s graveyard is more fun, with collapsing ledges and a monkey swing wire. Murti Schofield’s notes also reveal that Bernard is Pierre’s dad. According to one of the TR25 streams, they ran a scam at Le Serpent Rouge and hid a bunch of cash and possibly gold they stole from Bouchard in the trinket box. (It was supposed to light up people’s faces if they opened it but we wouldn’t see inside, like the package in Pulp Fiction) They’d get into a fight later after Lara gives one of them the box as they both appeared to want to hoard the loot to themselves. It was also a reason why they couldn’t go back for the box besides the cabal mercs searching the club for Bouchard: they couldn’t risk his men catching them.
In a perfect world, lol i would kill to see this game not just remade but lovingly given a second developing chance. Preferably by any core staff that are still out there. But again in a perfect world.. I personally think if they just delayed this game as much as they needed, it would of changed the history of tomb raider itself in a really good way!
I grew up playing this game, and I have so many fond memories of it, even getting stuck at the ghost battle, which my dad and myself decided we’d call into the eidos interactive hotline to get help. We eventually finished the game together. Such a great bundle of memories.
Just wanted to say, thank you so much for covering all these games, it's not like the people that own this IP ever really re-released them in a way to run on modern places, too busy Rising three times I guess, and I feel like not a lot of people remember what Tomb Raider was. You did a great job covering things and being fair to everything!
I'm a huge Tomb Raider fan since Tomb Raider 2 came out. I watched all your TR Retrospective videos one after the other in the last few days, and I must say they are some of the most accurate and passionate videos I've ever seen about my favourite games. You did an amazing job, I literally couldn't skip not even a minute, it's not easy to make people laugh while you give them that huge amount of information. And the end of this one really made me feel emotional! Thank you, Steve!
I saw this on my recommended and thought "this dude is gonna critique it just like everybody else did" but i'm so glad i stayed and watched the whole video! this was so interesting and i absolutely loved this! and the ending was lovely!
I never comment on videos.. but I felt the need to finally comment and say Thankyou for producing these tomb raider retrospectives. Tomb raider holds a special place in my heart and reminds me of playing them as a young kid. I love your videos on them and basically watch them on repeat whenever I feel down or anxious and can’t sleep at night, as the nostalgia and your gags always make me happy! Can’t wait for the next one :)
It's my first time watching one of your videos and what a fantastic review! The end made quite sad as well... I hated the cliffhanger as I couldn't be sure at the time whether we will see that Lara ever again but retrospectively, it is a bittersweet moment. It still bugs me what they wanted but couldn't do with that game. Truly one of the biggest what-could-have-beens...
If you can make it past the first few levels and surrender to the horrendous controls you break through to a truly great TR game. 17 years and 8 replays later, it's one of my favourites - and only partly because I feel a little bit sorry for and protective of it. The highs outweigh the lows - the music, the bonkersness of the levels, fun puzzles and a plot that makes some kind of sense for a change. Over time the cringiness of the controls, the combat and the 'My legs feel stronger now' just add to the fun and challenge. Such a brilliant review Steve - so full of passion and love - and I love all the comments, that make me realise I'm not the only saddo who adores this franchise and still replays TR games in a loop. Can't wait to see what you do with Legend and my personal favourite Underworld.
Man, the first video of this series I watched was the TR2 one, and now that I've finished all five Core-games videos, I wanted to THANK YOU for the amount of work you put into these. They are amazing, and as a long time fan, it has been a nostalgia trip for me. And the ending to this video. I honestly shed a tear, it was wonderfully executed. I just can't explain what I felt, but I just couldn't hold it. Again, thank you.
So worth the wait, man!! I was so excited for this game back in ‘03 with all the hype, the developers had really sold this as such an experience. The developer rushed them so they could have the game out the same time as the 2nd Angelina Jolie movie, and it really shows. It’s been next on my TR replay and I’ve been honestly dreading the revisit. But thank to this video bro, “I feel stronger now!”
Thanks for your hommage to the series. I watched all your vids of TR this evening. Was a ride I enjoyed. I'm a fan since childhood and you did do it a good service!
This retrospective series of the original Tomb Raider games was hands down, one the best set of videos I've seen to date! Steve, you've outdone yourself in so many ways, I look forward to seeing more of your work and how far it'll go. Keep up the fantastic work and keep the war going! ;)
Haha, the door that she is "not strong enough" to open at 39:49 is an emergency exit door complete with a bulkhead emergency luminaire above it and more relevantly a crash bar to open it. Like literally ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO OPEN THIS DOOR IS RUN INTO IT. I love this game for all its myriad faults. I like to think that there's an alternate reality where core didn't fuck up and this much more interesting and grown up take on the character was the future of the franchise (gawd, how I hate that word) rather than the increasingly generic approach we wound up with.
Never thought I'd get emotionally affected by a video about a game I never got to play. The first two games were some of my absolute favourites as a kid, and still are to this day. And when I finally get around to playing the others in the Core series, I'm sure I'll feel the same way. About most of them, at least. Good job on this series! It really helps remind a fan as to why they loved the old games so much.
This review was so good!! I think you've really outdone yourself with this one. I really appreciate that you were constructive and also brought out the game's positives which unfortunately get overshadowed by the game's flaws in other reviews. I also really liked that you mentioned the community today and its effort to bring the game back to life and unearth secrets. Finally, I couldn't stop laughing at 38:29. This is something I've thought myself for years 😂. Thank you for putting this out there and for all the work you did!
Bravo for this Retrospective, your hard work and effort went great throughout the whole video and I think you captured every detail you mentioned amazing like you've done wih your other videos. This has been the best one up to date and I can't wait to see what else you have store in the future with Tomb Raider or your other projects well done SteveofWarr!
Steve, I just wanted to give you a huge thank you for making this video. You did AOD justice like no one ever did on the youtube community! Not only have you managed to review the game very objectively, but you also took your time to show advantages that AOD had and the potential of what could have been the best Lara Croft's adventure yet. But, mainly, I am impressed with the fact that you managed to capture how a lot of us classical TR fans feel about the game today. Thank you for that!
I loved the final bit. I admit, I can't deal with people who frantically shit on the LAU timeline and especially on the Survivor timeline while acting as if the original Lara was the most perfect character ever (my personal fav Lara is the LAU one, followed by Survivor). Instead, you found the perfect balance of pointing out what went wrong but also how important OG Lara was and what her legacy is. And that moment with Lara and Kurtis (who I personally love but it's more a head canon thing than based on the game) in the end was bittersweet and really well done. I have Kurtis' diary, too, a beautiful piece of fan merch. Looking forward to you entering the LAU timeline. Unless you criticize the amazing banter in Legend, then I have to unfollow you. XD Just kidding, I know it's divisive but I personally love it and missed it dearly in Underworld. Anyway, long-winded comment, TL;DR: Amazing video and so funny in places. Really dives into what this game could have been but sadly never was. Here's to OG Lara and Kurtis, wherever they are.
The Tomb Raider games lost a certain charm that they once had when the series went to Crystal Dynamics. The atmosphere was gone, the tombs were too easy and there was that stupid grappling hook. The game also continued the trend of Lara having her parents die that started in the comics and continued into the films before being incorporated into the legends and survivor series, I wish they would just drop that stupid plot point and make Lara a strong confident woman who does what she wants.
@@CreativeWM_Personal I see what you mean but I have to disagree that this is a problem. The gameplay evolved because - as pointed out in some of Steve's videos - the OG series had some insane, mind-boggling level design beyond the original game. Moments of trial and error, traps you could only avoid if you knew they were coming (the falling debris in TR III) and levels so large and confusing that you completely lose track (again, TR III London or basically all of Last Revelation). LAU and Survivor are products of their respective time with gameplay of their time. Are they perfect? No. But they present a much more cohesive character for Lara and much better world-building, all things which weren't that important in the 90s. They finished what AoD started, telling engaging stories with actual characters. They also present accessible games for casual players while providing challenges for more dedicated ones like time trials, different difficulty settings etc. It's just wrong to compare gameplay from the mid 90s to late 2000s and current era. I loved the original TR games. I played them all on release from TR II on but I can also acknowledge how poorly they aged. All I mean to say is that the way some people in the fandom treat the CD era games is simply unfair and tinted by nostalgia, I guess. Sorry for the long comment.
@@raffaelm6558 They don't really provide a challenge. The level design is simplified and resource management is completely gone. At least LAU was enjoyable on it's own merits but 2013 onwards are pretty much copying every modern Triple A trend.
I beat this game when it came out (tomb raider lifer). Years later I got to boss test for Legend and they asked me how this game ended. I legit couldn’t remember a damn thing. Thank you thank you !!! for reminding me. Your dedication and thoroughness on these videos is kick ass. I’m gonna watch all of them now, thank you.
I’d been looking forward to this video coming out, and holy heck it was worth the wait. This is an amazing review. I remember playing this game as a teenager when it released and actually enjoying it. I found it was incredibly difficult at times though, but I enjoyed challenging games. It wasn’t till I was a bit older that I realised how broken the game actually was, and that that was a reason for the difficulty I had with it... I thought your review was very fair and I actually felt sad at the end. Which was a good thing, honest! The way you described Lara’s last scene was perfect.
Damn. You got me crying over here. This whole situation is just bittersweet. I'll always miss this Lara. We may never get a new game with her. But her old games will live on forever. Her fanbase won't let her become lost media
I honestly loved the story of this game so much, such a rich tapestry that could have been incredible if it continued. Can't stand the new direction of the reboot or the plot, it just doesn't feel right! A few things though, how different do you look with your hair down?! And i didn't realise till quite late on that you were dressed as Kurtis Trent! Another fantastic video, truly an inspiration with the effort and quality of your content. Now chop chop with Tomb Raider Legend ;)
i absolutely saw so so much potential for this videogame thrown away! it has lots of things that i don't like but it still has a special place in my heart as a massive fan of Tomb Raider, so glad you could see the potential in it too!
Brilliant video! Well worth the wait! And that ending... god damn. I recognised the theme and the reference immediately and was like "Nice!" but then I noticed what got added to the song... Immediate goosebumps! I've really enjoyed this Retrospective series! The blast of nostalgia brings a smile to my face every time a new video comes out! While I do enjoy the reboot games to a certain extent, OG Lara was my childhood, just like she was for many others... I miss her!
Thank you! Be sure to check out the full version of the song in the description and drop a like on NorskChick's vid too. She dis really well with that ☺️
Yeah sorry that's kinda what RUclips barfed up when I turned monetisation on. I've actually removed some to try and mitigate it but if it's too much I'll remove more 👌
I like your sense of humour in these videos. Especially the joke with the boaz constricter, gold. Weirdly I liked this game when it came out. It has its flaws but its only watching videos like this did I realise how bad this game was technically.
I don't normally comment on videos but these retrospectives are something else. I wanted to dive into a nostalgic conversation about these classics so just before Christmas I thought I'd see what I could find. I came across these and was apprehensive at first but I'm so glad I took a chance. I'd watch in bed, I'd look forward to getting up to watch another and then repeat again in the evening. I had to watch twice and wish I could see them as if it was the first time again. You've inspired me to play them all again after about 12 years. Excellent videos Steve! Oh and the shocker joke was genius.
You can win the bet and sell the watch before meeting bouchard, basically they clearly didn't design what to do it you got the watch later. Renard also will talk to you in the PS2 version, but only if you've not spoken to Pierre and it hasn't randomly decided to bug out. Guy who knocks Lara and Kurtis out is the doorman to the church who won't let you in. Well, he's disguised as him, at least. Yeah, I get a lot out of AoD, even though it's a mess. Onto the unfinished business/gold expansions before the CrysDyn games, or CrysDyn first?
![Digital Circus Episode 4 [TRAILER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/abZtsmMUbJo/mqdefault.jpg)
Alright, I sat down and watched without being a jittery excited mess. The amount of research, filming, editing that you put into this is straight up amazing (that goes for all your videos). The wait was WELL worth it, I've only had a big grin on my face when I watch it. I'm gonna start repeating myself here, but these things need to be said! You crafted this excellent, in-depth AF review, AND you gave us sad fans a some justice and a hopeful ending. It's just so fricking cool, and I'll thank you forever.
I also for the 1000th time, thank you for hitting me up to contribute to this, can't even begin to express how psyched I am to have helped in any way. So glad I clicked on that Chronicles vid all those months ago! XD I seriously look forward to your non-TR content as well.
Also, I loved all the gags in this, I was having to pause it after every shakey red screen part because I was laughing so hard. WTF DUDE, I TOLD YOU I HATE LAUGHING!!!
You and
darkevilsharowlord66 have been a source of entertainment for me for years and I just knew those gags in this were the work of yours ahaa
@@TombRaiderSyd Heh, wish I could take the credit, but that was all Steve's amazing work! All I did was clang on a few piano keys at the end. XD
And how!! 🔥🔥🔥
You nailed it Steve
ruclips.net/video/6ZBmhk0lsEY/видео.html I'm surprised this wasn't mentioned in the section of how much aod media was created. XD
Me after watching a 1h and 13 minutes long review of a game that I NEVER played: *i feel stronger now*
this is the comment
Same
OMG! SAME
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
DESERVES MORE LIKES
This channel is criminally underrated.
Agreed! Steve of War and Avalanche Reviews are the two best gaming retrospective pages I’ve encountered
@@KSS1992 The Channel feel stronger now
True
True!
Being talented is a scary cancer on pewdiepie's youtube
Funny thing, in the French version of the game when Werner says “Get out” he instead says “A terre” which translate to get down. This completely shatters the murder mystery tension because we already know there is a third person being the killer.
In fairness, he could have been challenging Lara to a dance-off
It’s kind of accurate in a sense, when he says ‘get out’ in English it seems a bit random and abrupt as if hes been interrupted by something and is pushing her to safety. That’s how I think it’s supposed to be interrupted anyway
ça m'a gêné pendant tout le jeu alors que j'avais que dix ans, j'aurais pu passer à côté comme un con mais c'était tellement obvious !
@@DjokaireInc j'avais rien capté à l'histoire perso.
The worldbuilding and intended storyline for AOD were so good. Such a shame we didn't get the gloriously dark and deep trilogy it deserved to be.
Trilogy or not, it's a shame they didn't do that one game right, walking around in cities and having real dialogue was really needed in TR, but now we're not getting that because they decided to combine it with random strength level ups that work as keys and stamina bar.
Its dripping with atmosphere
if ever a game needed a remaster, it's this one. it's unlikely, but we live in hope.
i just can't accept the new iteration of lara. it's such a far cry from this bold, badass bitch we grew up with.
The only games that get a remake are profitable ones, not the ones that need it.
Same i miss badass Lara without daddy issues
@@rezaka116 You are right, but I sorta understand them. We will not be the ones that will pay them if they go bankrupt. Making video games is TONS expensive these days.
I miss the REAL Lara Croft I grew up with. Miss her wit, sarcasm and sexiness.
I swear the new games aint it shes like crying all the time, no tombs, shooting like 500 guys all the fucking time and shes still crying like wtf and the plot is whack i know they wanted to show the ‘rise’ of the tomb raider but its soooo boring i swear
Lara: "Egypt Werner, you walked away and left me"
Me: "NO HE FUCKING DIDN'T!"
Lara believes what she wants to believe. She a woman 😄
She Amanda'd poor Werner here.
He did actually. When she was hanging on the ledge of the pit and the entrance was about to crumble, Werner turned back and ran away. Even though he was just trying to save his own life, that's the last thing Lara saw and maybe from her perspective she felt abandoned.
This game made Lara look like a bitch lol
@@astrius4125 She did the same tho, they're even?
The ending of this video had me literally tear up. You really nailed it when you spoke about AOD’s final scene being a sad farewell to our Lara as she walks into the darkness. I can never watch that scene without my heart breaking a little. Thank you for this tribute, Steve. AND THANK YOU for introducing me to the Dark Angel Symphony! I’m the biggest TR fan I know, and I’ve never heard of this! Soo excited to listen. I’m excited to see your continuing series, but it’ll be with a slightly heavy heart as we leave the Classic era behind.
This is officially my comfort video. I watch it whenever I'm stressed or can't fall asleep ❤
This game is my FAVOURITE game of all time and I totally agree with your “I felt sad playing this game.” The game could have been the greatest game ever but couldn’t thrive due to delays. It makes me so sad that the game didn’t get its rightful sequels 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
your favorite game? For once you can really say "I'm the only one"
@@clem-hk2di there are actually quite a lot of fans who love the angel of darkness. Me included
me toooo agreee
Completely agree x
The score for AoD is probably my favourite in a video game!
this will always be the most underrated Tomb Raider game ever, I hope one day we get a proper remake since there is such a demand for it.
its cause the story telling that was there, is still possible is so strong 🥺🖤
In what world can this title even remotely be considered underrated?^^ Tr 6 is by far the worst part of all in my opinion. I even refuse to call this a game because of all those bugs and the worst controls ever. Its just an unplayable piece of crap. For me the franchise died with this part. The soundtrack was the only good thing in this. The classic series from 1-5 (with the exception of tr4 which also sucks^^) will always be the one and only true tr experience :D The creators should never have stopped developing the games in the classic engine, maybe then this would've turned out as a good game.
@Rahat Zaman i love egypt as a setting, too. It was absolutely amazing in tr 1. But in tr 4 its just too much. Tomb raider is known for its multiple settings per game, but in tr 4 it was just that one. Sure, it had some cool levels, but most of them feel repetetive, dark and dreary to me. And lots of puzzles are illogical, the gap in cairo for example, that is knee-high. Why is that a thing, when there is no mechanic in the game to just crawl through it?^^ when i play tr 1-3 or 5, in the end, i always think "oh, its already over" while tr 4 i think "damn, when does this finally end?" Then, i like the linear level design of the tr classic series and don't like the backtracking in tr 4 to previous levels. It feels just tedious to me. And the last thing is the enemies. Tr means simplicity to me: draw your guns and shoot. But in tr 4, there are lots of enemies, that you cannot kill if you don't have explosive ammo. Or you need to kill them in a specific way. That was just annoying to me. Also the last boss: you can't kill him, just run away and burry him? No, that's not lara croft. Lara croft is born to kill. ^^ that is why i personally don't like tr 4 :D
A remake with the controls of the newer games would be pretty cool.
@@CaptainMarci104 I feel like you missed a big part that was talked about here. The story in this game is hella good. This game is a byproduct of a publisher pushing the devs to just release the game. This game is still very VERY under developed. A remaster of this could push this to where they wanted it to. Even I at a young age could tell that they couldn’t do what they wanted because of how the Paris hub looked. Always stuck me as odd how it empty it was. The story was the only reason why I played the game.
This Retrospective of the game really does bring out both the good and the bad with the game, while also notifying people who don't have full perspective of the game, how much this entry to the series actually means to a lot of the Classic fans, myself included. It would be the last time we would see the Lara we were so used to playing for the last 7 years and to see her swansong be such a downfall for her, really does make her eventual exit from the franchise, that much more emotionally painful. I also thoroughly enjoyed Steve's explanation on how Lara Croft impacted British culture and pop culture in general, all while not being an actual human being like most cultural icons are. Being in commercials, promotional material and even spokespeople for companies, the fictitious character really has been here, there and everywhere. I do want to congratulate Steve for doing so well with this entry and I can assure you that it was definitely worth waiting over three months for. Amazing work and I am certain that lots of Tomb Raider fans, especially the Classic fans, will always cherish this video with all their hearts (just like mine) and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Thank you so much for this video, much love from me and TR community!
The end had me in tears 😭
I'm not going to follow you on twitter. I don't even have an account.
Well, I fell in love with Lara Croft even before I played any game or watched any movies (at that time, my only heroes were Sailor Moon and Xena) when I finally was able to play one of the games, it was Legend. And I loved it. I loved that trilogy, mostly because of Lara herself, I love how badass, yet classy lady she was. And then I've put my hand on AoD and I loved it too. I never though her personality was changed.... Until 2013 reboot 😒😒😒 I miss old Lara, but for me, old Lara was the one from Legend trilogy....
I was 7 when this game came out I had to BEG my parents to buy me this. I mean BEG like grovel because he was so worried about Lara being a “murderer” I was really let down by the engine because I had been really really good at the platforming in previous games, Tomb Raider was one of my favorite games and first games, got the game series in 1999
The sad story of Angel of Darkness compelled me to buy the Dark Angel Symphony CDs and physical journal. Thanks, Steve!!
I wasn't born during the time when the first tomb raider classics made their debut. I played them years after, in the early 2000, with my father on a macintosh (he was playing while i watched lol). After that, i have to say that the Lara from the 90's is my favourite of all of them, not only for the nostalgia factor. There is something that made her absolutely unique and special. And replaying the classics on steam during the quarantine confirmed that. So , seeing the last part of the video made me a little sad.
Hope the 90s Lara will come back from the darkness one day
Great video BTW
This might've mentioned before, but the reason that Bernard keeps saying that he's busy is that because you talked with Pierre first, thus getting the task of obtaining box for *him*. If you've immediately went to Bernard, then he'd say other things and you'd need to bring the box to him instead.
Finished watching edit: You almost made me cry towards the end, dammit. And that ending was... damn...
Hope you see this comment.
Angel of Darkness is actually in my Top 3 favourite TR games, I'm well aware of everything wrong with it, but it's not enough to stop the good things it does have. I still remember entering Von Croy's apartment, carefully reading his notes, learning about the plot and lore, as the music creeps you out and you wait for the cleaner to strike...
I was waiting to tell you all about the game that could've been, but you researched it yourself, so there's no need for me to do so. Hell, you made me learn something new, I had never heard about the Eckhardt fight having the Himalayas, dinosaurs and Egypt hallucinations, which would've been AMAZING, but oh well.
The final moment of this game always makes me happy and sad, specially thanks to the music. It's sad to see Lara vanish, never returning, but I'm happy that I got 6 adventures that I'll never forget. And you managed to make it happier with this video's ending, so props to you.
And now for something funny, I saw how in the footage you shot down the Louvre guards and the Strahov guys in Galleries Under Siege. In Rennes's Pawnshop you pick up a taser, which is non-lethal and a one shot kill, so not only did you make Lara kill innocent people, but you made things harder on yourself fof no reason. xp
I follow the community to this day for this game and they are still working very hard on fixing this. I replay this gem every so often as well with new stuff that they people made and I personally have a love/hate relationship with this game. This is the best version of Lara in my opinion. Shame we never saw her again. I will continue to visit this game in the years to come regardless of all the issues it has. Thanks a lot of the video. You did AOD justice.
Angel of Darkness was my first PS2 Game and will always have a special place in my heart. I loved this Retrospective - thank you for this!! Especially the ending omg
I hated that red ghost bastard too, idk how anyone managed to get past it without looking up a guide. I loved this retrospective! Balanced and fair as always, I'm glad I found this channel.
This has truly been one of the most well-produced, entertaining things I have had the pleasure of watching during this plague.
Fun fact: they even had Czech dubbing in the game... however, for some reason, they used most of that dub for paris soldiers/security, instead of czech soldiers when Lara was in Prague. :)
A really good, in depth review of the game that indeed put an end to an era of the classic TRs. I remember the hype back in the day. Fans were waiting for some innovative from Core, a new chapter in Lara's story. Promo materials looked really intriguing (I still remember that early teaser with a gloomy atmosphere, the hint of a murder and the handcuffs hanging from the celling-a clear sign that Lara is going to get into a trouble with the law). I kind of grew up with the old TRs, I was even invested in the fandom enough to actively participate in creating content for webpages for years-one of them was at that time the most prominent page dedicated to Tomb Raider in my country. I loved to search for seemingly accessible areas and get there, and do various tricks, like steering the skidoo underwater ;) and I once made my own level. I remember well the disappointment TAOD was and the uncertainty in the fandom about the future of the series (there has been talk about Eidos going bankrupt etc. if I recall correctly).
It would easy to mock this game that is clearly unfinished and I myself remember mostly bugs and falling through disappearing floor, missing textures and even walls (especially in the Asylum area), awful controls, frustrating sections, characters appearing out of nowhere and the information about cut content. Years later I've heard about Core Design not really being able to deal with such large project next to Eidos pushing for the release (to do them some justice, they gave them more time; but it was not enough) what put the things into a new perspective.
I appreciate the amount of work you've put into creating this video. Your review is fair and indeed introspective, it’s a perfect summary to your series (that ending, as you pointed out, with Lara disappearing into shadows, has really some poetic and nostalgic feeling). You've showed also some good sides of the game (like the design of the levels). I guess this is what make people to remember it and trying to fix it even now with patches. Nobody cares about an utter crap. But if something shows a lot of unused potential-this, this is what makes people to try to save a little piece of the universe. ;) It seems also that Core had a lot of ideas for new funcionalities, but many of them were half-developed-in the result it looked as if the game couldn't really decide what it wants to be. A few genres combined, some options puzzling because of the cut content/interactions. Let's take Kurtis's special skills and weapon as an example. A big hype, then most of it ends up cut, because: time. Ironically, Indiana Jones and the Emperor Tomb, that was released around the same time implemented almost identical weapon to Kurtis's Chirugai (and it was playable). Speaking of Kurtis-years ago I didn’t realize how creepy was that scene of their first meeting.
As usual, I loved the little extra scenes and edits you added to this video. It makes it more interesting (btw. nothing will beat the section about the casual life of Atlanteans from your review of the original TR though XD). It seems you can always learn something new (e.g. I've heard about the flashback part in Egypt being cut out, but never about the more complex final boss fight; it sounded almost like that special sections in Batman Arkham series with hallucinations and would make the final of the game much better). Also a very interesting theory about Jean Yves being the victim rather that Van Croy. Seriously, why Lara goes so psycho and says that he left her, since he was digging under the Great Pyramid though the better part of the Chronicles? ;)
Kudos for you, Steve, to making this series of introspective reviews, that are really unique in the style. I enjoyed every single of them. I hope that one day you will also make reviews of the classic Gold series (especially The Last Artifact, it was one of my favorites), but I understand that now you might need some break after working on this TR project. Looking forward to your other videos though.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this and also for continuing to support the channel. I'm extremely relieved that you and other have really enjoyed this one and reading comments like yours makes me feel like it was all worth it 🙂
I do miss this version of Lara and while the later games did certainly try to capture that spirit, it still doesn't feel the same. Great review and I'm very interested in the Dark Angel Symphony music.
Her voice and personality was more British instead of the “Hollywood British” they gave her in all the games that came after
Good point! She had The Spirit! She was also very bad ass. :)
Core Design Lara Croft is still The only true Lara for me!
So glad I was able to make it to the premier, and I mean every word of this: You've seriously out-done yourself here. It's probably the most balanced review of this game I've seen and it works so well. It almost makes me want to replay the game which - when it comes to AoD - isn't something I normally think about doing.
hey good to see you again!
The review is fair, the presentation is fun, and the production value puts most indie films to shame. God damn, Steve, you spoil us!
I was half expecting another one of the "TRAOD GLITCHY AND BAD DURR HURR LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE" reviews like so many out there, but I was positively proven wrong. In fact, as much as I hate listening about how buggy the game is for the millionth time, I found it entertaining this time. It didn't feel condescending or mocking towards the title or Core in any way. It's refreshing to see a review of AoD, that actually mentions the game's missed potential and the meaning it had for the classic series (and the franchise in general).
And he actually praises the few good things about the game. We love an honest king ✨✨✨
@Kurotetsu it was entertaining. once you get used to controls. she was the first lara with great story, personality, and gameplay. even graphics wise. it was gonna be sooo big. games like gta vice city iirc came that year and this one looks as fresh
Crystal Dynamics to Core Design: "Move along ma Cher, you make the place look crowded."
Superb work, as always, Steve! Core's new trilogy had its wings chopped off before it could fly, and good God, was it sad to see it crash. This has been one hell of a journey. From their humble beginnings, to this ambitious masterpiece that could have been. The retrospective is far from over, but man, when Curtis and Lara went past you in that last skit... I felt that. Core Design is gone, as is their version of Lara. But their impact on our lives will endure through time, because there are fans like you willing to revisit these, often and unfairly, overlooked games that EIDOS and Crystal Dynamics seemingly love to ignore. It's thanks to works like your retrospective and the dedicated fans who've dug through each game's code, design documents, and created fan works out of, that Old-School Tomb Raider will remain relevant, no matter how much time passes. And to that end, I'm glad that you've taken time of your life to produce these videos about them. Because they reminded me of why I fell in love with Tomb Raider in the first place.
I'll be there on Day One of the Legend video :)
Keep up the great work!
Angel of darkness is my favorite Core Design game, and every time I play it knowing what they wanted it to be and what it could have been it makes me so sad and angry. Just a few more weeks of development and this could still be the Lara we have today. Just a few more weeks and core design could still exist.
I won't deny that the released product is lacking so many things and broken in so many places it feels like somebody leaked the game halfway through development and they just rolled with it, but I could forgive it all if it weren't for the damn controls. They're truly painful. I have patches on my PC version to make it way way more agreeable and fun, but I played it on the ps2 with my boyfriend for the first time a few weeks ago and I got a refresher on just how much the controls truly put the final nail in the coffin.
And don't even get me started on the cliffhanger at the end. You could easily say it's symbolic of this era of Lara Croft, almost as if Core knew this was going to be their last game. She picks up the object of her latest mystery, it leads her toward her new ally and friend: her new Von Croy, and with a small reassuring smile she steps into the darkness and we never see her again, left to always wonder what would come next for our legendary heroine.
Thanks for making this video, it makes me really happy to know this game hasn't been forgotten about and not everybody froths at the mouth at the mere idea of it, without even being aware of it's background and the potential it had
This game is roped in with Disney's Black Cauldron and The Thief & the Cobbler. You know there's a good thing in there somewhere and you just want to dig your hands right in and pull it out.
Great Review. Bring on Tomb Raider Legend.
My jaw dropped when you mentioned the notes about the final boss battle. If they remake/remaster this game, I hope they add those elements.
This is the best review of "angel of darkness" that I've ever seen in my whole life. Fantastic job! 😄
58:50 Another thing from Murti’s notes is that the Cabal had many secret alliances and rivalries between members conspiring against both each other and Eckhardt. The most active was the partnership between Karel and Boaz, whom both were the ones to hide the last painting in the vault so as to use it as a trump card against Eckhardt if they needed to control him.
Presumably this part got changed or something but the thing that seems intended to remain but is very poorly explained or not explained at all in the final game is that Karel was the one stalking Von Croy so as to find out about the Louvre painting and take it for himself. The reason he killed Von Croy disguised as Eckhardt was to cover his tracks, framing Lara being to distance himself from the murder further. However, when he saw how stubborn and resourceful Lara was, he decided to use her to help take down Eckhardt when the time was right, subtly guiding her by disguising himself as other characters she’d met/would meet with Bouchard in Prague being the main example.
Also, you’re supposed to jump at the sleeper to end the level but I guess the trigger was placed too close to the platform, hence why simply stopping at the edge seemed to be enough. Until watching your video, I had no idea not needing to jump was even a thing. I just jumped at the sleeper on impulse every time.
@morbidisyourdoomsws Technically she doesn't even die until Kurtis cuts her head off: she just gets transformed into a mutant in the Pod's womb and literally reborn. She also seems to merge with it and work as a hive mind or something: according to Murti, the adult Pod's attack sounds are Boaz herself calling her attacks anime style, telling Kurtis to suffer & scream for her, and calling him a maggot.
After recording Eva's lines, Peter and/or Martin warped and distorted them to sound demonic/monstrous. I've heard the original source files which share the same folder as her cutscene dialog. Despite having the same voice, her unedited boss lines are VERY BDSM sounding.
It's a similar idea to what Half Life 2 did with the zombies but sort of less nightmarish?
Very emotional ending. Thank you. Bitter-sweet... Well said ❤
With this production quality I am genuinely impressed how you haven't blown up. The fact I actually remember one of your old halo videos from 10 years ago..
I'll gladly await your next TR video, Steve.
Fuck... even two years later, and after watching the video at least 5 times already.... that ending man..... i cried again.
I honestly would love a remake/remaster of this game, it could be an opportunity to do stuff that they couldn’t do in the original, bugs could be fixed, gameplay could be changed to be like Legend/Reboot, cut parts could be added, graphics could use Unreal Engine.
Loads of stuff could be done with a AoD Remake, and a possibility of a trilogy since it was originally going to be one.
The amount of care and effort you put into your videos is genuinely inspiring Steve. Fantastic work!
Thank you Mander! 😅👍💪😁
Literally the best retrospectives of the Tomb Raider games! The quality of these videos is unparalleled... Such legacy must be preserved! Thank you Steve!
Oh... My... 😧
Steve! What the hell?! You have really surpassed yourself 😱
*This is amazing!!!* 😉👏✨
Thank you so much for including everything I expected to see: the goods, the bads, the community patches, the Core perspective, the gameplay, the thoughts, the hopes, the music... And that end was so poetically gamer: *I LOVED IT!*
_(Of course using your meme humor which I enjoy so much)_
Thank you for all the work you have put into this video and show your love for the franchise😃
You're the best!!!!💪✨
And thank you for sharing that beautiful music rework from _The Angel of Darkness_ , definitely gonna check them 🎶💙
Steve bringing the tombraider goods again!! Can't wait for this one!
I watched the entire 73 minutes and I'm so glad I did. This was incredible, man! I'm looking forward to what's next. Subscribed!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
I remember playing this game when I was young and I got that glitch where Lara screams endlessly when dying from a high height. Thanks for scaring me for life AOD!
glad its only on ps2
@@kacperciesowski6198 PC and a DVD game version of it.
At 1:00:38,
“And then as the music dies down,
she walks off into the darkness.
Her theme playing softly, on a single violin.”
Master Warr... (Sniffles)
That part with Lara Croft walking off into the darkness
happens to be my last goodbye to Core Design’s Lara Croft,
and the music that plays in that scene,
just made me cry in total sadness,
and made me say:
Lara Croft... (Sniffles)
We will never forget you...
And all of the amazing adventures
that you have led us into...
But this... (Tears enter my eyes)
I’m sorry it had to end this way...
I really, REALLY wanted to see what would happen next!
But...
this is where I’ll say my final farewell to you...
So long old friend...
(Bows my head, as my tears fall to the ground)
😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔
One of my favorite What-could-have-been's in video games. Oddly enough, even though this is the more broken game, it also felt much more memorable than Tomb Raider Chronicles ever was.
Thanks for the memories!
Ok, wow, that ending hit me right in the feels. Back when Legend came out, I didn't think too much about how much about this game because I didn't give this game enough of a chance despite pre-ordering it and getting hyped because didn't hit my expectations, but your final thoughts really struck a cord.
This video is incredible. I loved every second of it because this game is way too underrated IMO. For a few years now, I have been planning and writing a rewrite to the ENTIRE Tomb Raider series in order to make EVERY SINGLE GAME connected in a way that I think is just a joy to read through. I'm basing so much of the rewrite off of the lore of AOD while adding in TONS of elements on top. Watching through this video gave me so many ideas on how to make the writing even better. I resonated with a lot of the flaws that you saw the game had, and I agreed with you on story elements a surprising amount. (For example, Eckhardt should have been the one t kill Von Croy.) Thank you so much for this video, I truly appreciate the effort.
Edit: at the time of writing this, I still had about 10 minutes left. That ended made me cry inside, HARD.
I look forward to your story
That bonus package with music and the journal. Woah.
Talk about being passionate!!!
only Steve of Warr can make a video this length and keep literally every single part of it engaging and entertaining.. cheers matey
Just amazing work!..thank you Steve! ..now just Anniversary, legend and underworld. ....no pressure!
Cant waite to hear what he will say about underworld music and main screen . u gyys remb the Underworlds main screen that house and rain..
Amazing! Angel of Darkness could have easily been the best Tomb Raider ever.
I seriously believe that the gaming industry hasn’t seen a game like AOD ever! Like nothing is even remotely similar. The game was so unique and really special to sensible TR fans and anyone who has taste. People love saying that this game is bad or whatever and in saying that, they diminish an incredibly interesting story and besides it’s faults (which every game has) and an amazing game! TR AOD was the first TR game I had ever played and I can’t help but feel as though people would rather hate on the product rather than allow themselves to invest their time, energy and interest into the game and forming there own opinion........ anyway really nice video 💖
I really liked the game. The biggest issue for me it was the controls. Very hard to play it. It was buggy. It needed some fixes. But I really liked the story and the levels.
Wow it was really a sweet ending.
I have laugh way more than I could expect (the impersonation of Gunderson was so funny). The editing were so on point and the beggining was unexpected to say the least.I still doesn't feel Kurtis at this time for me it was an edgy character but who could have been better if they introduced him at the beggining of the game and not at the middle. In my opinion Core neeeded a new team to make the game work and more peoples and even the help from a new developer perspective.
But they tried and maybe failed but it wasn't entirely their fault.
I'm glad you have highlight the community passion for this game. Because the fans are amazing to find the most unexpected things about the franchise.
As for me I have enjoyed Angel of Darkness at the time of the release but I have a personal memory attached to it. It was the game It was the game my father and I used to play when my parents was divorced so each time I was going on my father appartment we played this game together and laugh a lot and try to be better than the other at finishing the levels. Tomb Raider was always our bond as son and father. But when I finally finished the game without him I know I have grown up. I was ready to accept the reality that this Lara I have played a lot was gonna get replaced by another version of the character and I will be welcoming the next installment of the franchise with a warm heart but without forgetting the others games I have played countless time as a child as a treasured memory. At the day of today I'm currently replaying for the dozen time all the TR games but with friends and that's a different take than when you are alone because we can each others shares some annecdotes about our way of playing and discovering the game but the controls are clunky and the levels way more linear than I could remember.
I hope you will gonna treat the others games with as much respect you have done with the classics :)
Nice and fair video about AoD. I'm glad my patches made the experience slightly more enjoyable, thanks for the appreciation.
You're patches practically saved this review haha thank you for all the hard work 😊
This somehow got in my recomnded and I enjoyed this so much, thank you!
As a person who's first ps2 game was this, nice to see it to me remembered among the community.
It's happening sooner than I originally estimated...
Never before have I been more excited about my calculations being wrong!
and mine lol
Oh my god. I can't believe I finally found someone doing a retrospectives on TR. This video was absolutely amazing, along with editing, commentary and humor. I will watch all your remaining TR vids. Great job man :)
First Tomb Raider game I played on my own after watching my dad play the first 3. Good Times
This game makes me so sad, because underneath all the flaws i could see the greatness that could have been
This is the only game that I think REALY NEEDS a remake.
With revamped controls and gameplay, closer story to what was supposed to be.
To get Bernard to talk to you, you need to not have spoken to Pierre first. Even then Bernard has to be bribed and spoken to nicely in order to give you his route into the club. Pierre not only helps you for free but his route in St Aicard’s graveyard is more fun, with collapsing ledges and a monkey swing wire. Murti Schofield’s notes also reveal that Bernard is Pierre’s dad. According to one of the TR25 streams, they ran a scam at Le Serpent Rouge and hid a bunch of cash and possibly gold they stole from Bouchard in the trinket box. (It was supposed to light up people’s faces if they opened it but we wouldn’t see inside, like the package in Pulp Fiction)
They’d get into a fight later after Lara gives one of them the box as they both appeared to want to hoard the loot to themselves. It was also a reason why they couldn’t go back for the box besides the cabal mercs searching the club for Bouchard: they couldn’t risk his men catching them.
LEAVE ME ALONE IM BUSY
In a perfect world, lol i would kill to see this game not just remade but lovingly given a second developing chance.
Preferably by any core staff that are still out there.
But again in a perfect world..
I personally think if they just delayed this game as much as they needed, it would of changed the history of tomb raider itself in a really good way!
I grew up playing this game, and I have so many fond memories of it, even getting stuck at the ghost battle, which my dad and myself decided we’d call into the eidos interactive hotline to get help.
We eventually finished the game together. Such a great bundle of memories.
Just wanted to say, thank you so much for covering all these games, it's not like the people that own this IP ever really re-released them in a way to run on modern places, too busy Rising three times I guess, and I feel like not a lot of people remember what Tomb Raider was. You did a great job covering things and being fair to everything!
This game's story is actually really really good. I hope they remake it. If not for the 25th anniversary, maybe for the 30th.
I'm a huge Tomb Raider fan since Tomb Raider 2 came out. I watched all your TR Retrospective videos one after the other in the last few days, and I must say they are some of the most accurate and passionate videos I've ever seen about my favourite games. You did an amazing job, I literally couldn't skip not even a minute, it's not easy to make people laugh while you give them that huge amount of information. And the end of this one really made me feel emotional! Thank you, Steve!
I saw this on my recommended and thought "this dude is gonna critique it just like everybody else did" but i'm so glad i stayed and watched the whole video! this was so interesting and i absolutely loved this! and the ending was lovely!
I never comment on videos.. but I felt the need to finally comment and say Thankyou for producing these tomb raider retrospectives. Tomb raider holds a special place in my heart and reminds me of playing them as a young kid. I love your videos on them and basically watch them on repeat whenever I feel down or anxious and can’t sleep at night, as the nostalgia and your gags always make me happy! Can’t wait for the next one :)
It's my first time watching one of your videos and what a fantastic review! The end made quite sad as well... I hated the cliffhanger as I couldn't be sure at the time whether we will see that Lara ever again but retrospectively, it is a bittersweet moment. It still bugs me what they wanted but couldn't do with that game. Truly one of the biggest what-could-have-beens...
If you can make it past the first few levels and surrender to the horrendous controls you break through to a truly great TR game. 17 years and 8 replays later, it's one of my favourites - and only partly because I feel a little bit sorry for and protective of it. The highs outweigh the lows - the music, the bonkersness of the levels, fun puzzles and a plot that makes some kind of sense for a change. Over time the cringiness of the controls, the combat and the 'My legs feel stronger now' just add to the fun and challenge. Such a brilliant review Steve - so full of passion and love - and I love all the comments, that make me realise I'm not the only saddo who adores this franchise and still replays TR games in a loop. Can't wait to see what you do with Legend and my personal favourite Underworld.
Steve: Kurtis Trent didn't do it for me...
Also Steve wears Kurtis clothes during entire video
The ultimate Chad move 😎😉🤣
Man, the first video of this series I watched was the TR2 one, and now that I've finished all five Core-games videos, I wanted to THANK YOU for the amount of work you put into these. They are amazing, and as a long time fan, it has been a nostalgia trip for me.
And the ending to this video. I honestly shed a tear, it was wonderfully executed. I just can't explain what I felt, but I just couldn't hold it. Again, thank you.
So worth the wait, man!! I was so excited for this game back in ‘03 with all the hype, the developers had really sold this as such an experience. The developer rushed them so they could have the game out the same time as the 2nd Angelina Jolie movie, and it really shows. It’s been next on my TR replay and I’ve been honestly dreading the revisit. But thank to this video bro, “I feel stronger now!”
Yeah same thing with cyberpunk all that hype went to shit.
I never knew a review of one of my childhood games would make me cry by the end of it.
Nicely done my friend.
Damn. This was so well made and so enjoyable! Bravo, sir, bravo.
Thanks for your hommage to the series. I watched all your vids of TR this evening. Was a ride I enjoyed. I'm a fan since childhood and you did do it a good service!
This retrospective series of the original Tomb Raider games was hands down, one the best set of videos I've seen to date! Steve, you've outdone yourself in so many ways, I look forward to seeing more of your work and how far it'll go. Keep up the fantastic work and keep the war going! ;)
Playing hollow at the end was a great touch, two games I love coming together
Haha, the door that she is "not strong enough" to open at 39:49 is an emergency exit door complete with a bulkhead emergency luminaire above it and more relevantly a crash bar to open it. Like literally ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO OPEN THIS DOOR IS RUN INTO IT.
I love this game for all its myriad faults. I like to think that there's an alternate reality where core didn't fuck up and this much more interesting and grown up take on the character was the future of the franchise (gawd, how I hate that word) rather than the increasingly generic approach we wound up with.
Never thought I'd get emotionally affected by a video about a game I never got to play. The first two games were some of my absolute favourites as a kid, and still are to this day. And when I finally get around to playing the others in the Core series, I'm sure I'll feel the same way. About most of them, at least.
Good job on this series! It really helps remind a fan as to why they loved the old games so much.
This review was so good!! I think you've really outdone yourself with this one. I really appreciate that you were constructive and also brought out the game's positives which unfortunately get overshadowed by the game's flaws in other reviews. I also really liked that you mentioned the community today and its effort to bring the game back to life and unearth secrets. Finally, I couldn't stop laughing at 38:29. This is something I've thought myself for years 😂. Thank you for putting this out there and for all the work you did!
Your humor is absolutely slapping!!! I laughed so much! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@SteveOfWarr yes, a lot! Great content you make! Keep up the incredible work!
Absolutely brilliant video. So thorough and beautifully edited
58:35 : the sound Karel makes while killing Eckardt with the Periapt Shard is the same the big armored guys made in the VCI levels in Chronicles
Bravo for this Retrospective, your hard work and effort went great throughout the whole video and I think you captured every detail you mentioned amazing like you've done wih your other videos. This has been the best one up to date and I can't wait to see what else you have store in the future with Tomb Raider or your other projects well done SteveofWarr!
Steve, I just wanted to give you a huge thank you for making this video. You did AOD justice like no one ever did on the youtube community! Not only have you managed to review the game very objectively, but you also took your time to show advantages that AOD had and the potential of what could have been the best Lara Croft's adventure yet. But, mainly, I am impressed with the fact that you managed to capture how a lot of us classical TR fans feel about the game today. Thank you for that!
I loved the final bit. I admit, I can't deal with people who frantically shit on the LAU timeline and especially on the Survivor timeline while acting as if the original Lara was the most perfect character ever (my personal fav Lara is the LAU one, followed by Survivor). Instead, you found the perfect balance of pointing out what went wrong but also how important OG Lara was and what her legacy is. And that moment with Lara and Kurtis (who I personally love but it's more a head canon thing than based on the game) in the end was bittersweet and really well done.
I have Kurtis' diary, too, a beautiful piece of fan merch.
Looking forward to you entering the LAU timeline. Unless you criticize the amazing banter in Legend, then I have to unfollow you. XD Just kidding, I know it's divisive but I personally love it and missed it dearly in Underworld. Anyway, long-winded comment, TL;DR: Amazing video and so funny in places.
Really dives into what this game could have been but sadly never was. Here's to OG Lara and Kurtis, wherever they are.
The Tomb Raider games lost a certain charm that they once had when the series went to Crystal Dynamics.
The atmosphere was gone, the tombs were too easy and there was that stupid grappling hook. The game also continued the trend of Lara having her parents die that started in the comics and continued into the films before being incorporated into the legends and survivor series, I wish they would just drop that stupid plot point and make Lara a strong confident woman who does what she wants.
@@CreativeWM_Personal I see what you mean but I have to disagree that this is a problem. The gameplay evolved because - as pointed out in some of Steve's videos - the OG series had some insane, mind-boggling level design beyond the original game. Moments of trial and error, traps you could only avoid if you knew they were coming (the falling debris in TR III) and levels so large and confusing that you completely lose track (again, TR III London or basically all of Last Revelation). LAU and Survivor are products of their respective time with gameplay of their time. Are they perfect? No. But they present a much more cohesive character for Lara and much better world-building, all things which weren't that important in the 90s. They finished what AoD started, telling engaging stories with actual characters. They also present accessible games for casual players while providing challenges for more dedicated ones like time trials, different difficulty settings etc.
It's just wrong to compare gameplay from the mid 90s to late 2000s and current era. I loved the original TR games. I played them all on release from TR II on but I can also acknowledge how poorly they aged. All I mean to say is that the way some people in the fandom treat the CD era games is simply unfair and tinted by nostalgia, I guess. Sorry for the long comment.
@@raffaelm6558 They don't really provide a challenge.
The level design is simplified and resource management is completely gone.
At least LAU was enjoyable on it's own merits but 2013 onwards are pretty much copying every modern Triple A trend.
I beat this game when it came out (tomb raider lifer). Years later I got to boss test for Legend and they asked me how this game ended. I legit couldn’t remember a damn thing. Thank you thank you !!! for reminding me. Your dedication and thoroughness on these videos is kick ass. I’m gonna watch all of them now, thank you.
I’d been looking forward to this video coming out, and holy heck it was worth the wait. This is an amazing review. I remember playing this game as a teenager when it released and actually enjoying it. I found it was incredibly difficult at times though, but I enjoyed challenging games. It wasn’t till I was a bit older that I realised how broken the game actually was, and that that was a reason for the difficulty I had with it... I thought your review was very fair and I actually felt sad at the end. Which was a good thing, honest! The way you described Lara’s last scene was perfect.
Damn. You got me crying over here. This whole situation is just bittersweet. I'll always miss this Lara. We may never get a new game with her. But her old games will live on forever. Her fanbase won't let her become lost media
I honestly loved the story of this game so much, such a rich tapestry that could have been incredible if it continued. Can't stand the new direction of the reboot or the plot, it just doesn't feel right!
A few things though, how different do you look with your hair down?! And i didn't realise till quite late on that you were dressed as Kurtis Trent!
Another fantastic video, truly an inspiration with the effort and quality of your content. Now chop chop with Tomb Raider Legend ;)
i absolutely saw so so much potential for this videogame thrown away! it has lots of things that i don't like but it still has a special place in my heart as a massive fan of Tomb Raider, so glad you could see the potential in it too!
Brilliant video! Well worth the wait!
And that ending... god damn. I recognised the theme and the reference immediately and was like "Nice!" but then I noticed what got added to the song... Immediate goosebumps!
I've really enjoyed this Retrospective series! The blast of nostalgia brings a smile to my face every time a new video comes out! While I do enjoy the reboot games to a certain extent, OG Lara was my childhood, just like she was for many others... I miss her!
Thank you! Be sure to check out the full version of the song in the description and drop a like on NorskChick's vid too. She dis really well with that ☺️
This is pure quality content, I ain’t even mad at the amount of ads in this, please pay this man yt
Yeah sorry that's kinda what RUclips barfed up when I turned monetisation on. I've actually removed some to try and mitigate it but if it's too much I'll remove more 👌
I like your sense of humour in these videos. Especially the joke with the boaz constricter, gold. Weirdly I liked this game when it came out. It has its flaws but its only watching videos like this did I realise how bad this game was technically.
I don't normally comment on videos but these retrospectives are something else. I wanted to dive into a nostalgic conversation about these classics so just before Christmas I thought I'd see what I could find. I came across these and was apprehensive at first but I'm so glad I took a chance. I'd watch in bed, I'd look forward to getting up to watch another and then repeat again in the evening. I had to watch twice and wish I could see them as if it was the first time again. You've inspired me to play them all again after about 12 years. Excellent videos Steve!
Oh and the shocker joke was genius.
The artwork on that merch is absolutely stunning. True Lara 👌🏼🖤🔫🔫
Thank you for the amazing video Steve and all of you amazing people in the TR fandom!
You can win the bet and sell the watch before meeting bouchard, basically they clearly didn't design what to do it you got the watch later. Renard also will talk to you in the PS2 version, but only if you've not spoken to Pierre and it hasn't randomly decided to bug out.
Guy who knocks Lara and Kurtis out is the doorman to the church who won't let you in. Well, he's disguised as him, at least.
Yeah, I get a lot out of AoD, even though it's a mess.
Onto the unfinished business/gold expansions before the CrysDyn games, or CrysDyn first?
I keep coming back just to watch you walking past Lara and Kurtis, this game was truly the end of an era.