If you've come to Tomb Raider through the remasters, or you're waiting on the Netflix anime, you'll have run into fans talking about different "eras". Here's what the Classic Era means and why people are still on about it.
What Counts as the Classic Era?
It's the six games Core Design made between 1996 and 2003, released mainly on PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Dreamcast:
- Tomb Raider (1996)
- Tomb Raider II (1997)
- Tomb Raider III (1998)
- Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (1999)
- Tomb Raider: Chronicles (2000)
- Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (2003)
These are the games that made Lara Croft a cultural icon and pushed 3D exploration forward. They ran from chasing the Scion to facing Marco Bartoli in dragon form and poking around meteorites in Antarctica, and along the way we got Lara's past with her mentor Werner Von Croy, her presumed death and memorial in Chronicles, and the dramatic, somewhat divisive finale in Angel of Darkness.
Why Fans Still Love the Classic Era
Asked why they still play games this old, fans gave a few different answers.
"The classic era of TR is such a huge part in gaming history. These 90's games were such a huge milestone back in the day and it's a great way to learn how gaming has evolved. So many games have taken inspiration from this era, and if you didn't know it's time to find out why," said Apollo_353.
For a lot of them it comes down to the controls. Potkanice said: "Once you take a bit of time to learn the controls, the traversal of the levels becomes extremely satisfying. The whole place is a playground and you're in complete control of your every move."
TR Archives put it down to atmosphere, and how you could "get lost in the ambience of solving puzzles with beautiful background music playing. The hours would fly by."
Breaking New Ground
Gamer_0wl said: "She redefined what it means to be a platformer, just like how Mario did back in the 90s. The combat was thrilling, the puzzles made you think, the music was beautiful, and Lara Croft made it all come together perfectly. She is the Heroine of Video Games, the Tomb Raider."
SOP-9 pointed at the "complicated and deep level design like no other, hard and satisfying platforming, insane bosses, the best sense of adventure ever!"
Where a Lot of People Started
For plenty of fans this was their introduction to gaming full stop. Kobrakid80 said: "She was the first video game character I ever came across when my mother began playing the very first Tomb Raider when I was just 3 years old. Lara is the reason I fell in love with gaming."
There's a family angle to it too. Olga said her "dad bought me classic Tomb Raider 2 when I was a kid and said that I'm 'brave just like that character.' I loved that game ever since."
Kurt made the case for newcomers: "They were revolutionary for their time, it was the first real 3D action adventure game. The remastering of the graphics with the original environment does the game a great justice, especially for people who didn't grow up on PS1 graphics."
The Sense of Discovery
The thread running through all of it is the solitary exploration. Seth said: "The feeling of wonder that's captured in the classics are like nothing else. A powerful sense of discovery and loneliness as you go through ancient tombs. The soundtrack is fire, too."
Nadine likes the balance of it: "You explore so many ancient places, solve riddles and there are not so many enemies. The background music sequences are the best!"
The dual pistols, the backflips, the remarks to villains and the secret-found jingle have all stuck with people.
TLDR;
Six Core Design games between 1996 and 2003, that's the Classic Era, and fans keep going back for the 3D platforming, the atmosphere, the puzzles and the sense of discovery.