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Which Tomb Raider Games / Timeline is your favorite?

Which Timeline is your favorite Tomb Raider timeline?

  • Original Timeline

  • Legend Timeline

  • Survivor Timeline


Results are only viewable after voting.

SnapShot

Member
Discuss

1996 - 2003

220px-Tomb_Raider_-_The_Last_Revelation.png


  • Tomb Raider 1, 2, 3, Last Revelation, Chronicles, Angel of Darkness

2006 - 2008

images


  • Legend, Anniversary, Underworld

2013 - 2018

images


  • Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
 
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Xenon

Member
While I loved the original Tomb Raider, i just can't go back to that gameplay. The Legend games were just ok to me. The first two of the latest series were amazing games.

If I took these two games back in time to my younger self during the original TR he'd say I lost my mind for even considering the original was better.
 

Arachnid

Member
I love the Legend timeline. I started with the original, but it was the Legend version of Lara that really made me fall in love with the character. She was dual wielding badass doing backflips over krakens and fighting literal gods, and she oozed personality.

I like the reboot timeline, but Lara is a shadow of her former self (actually, there wasn't a single interesting character across the entire trilogy, unlike the other timelines) in it and the gameplay got tedious after the first game since it was more of the same until the very end. Gameplay wise, I'm sure they're probably technically better than the older games, but they just didn't wow me by todays standards like the older entries did.

So Legend (not including Underworld) > Original > Reboot
 
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ssringo

Member
Tough choice but I'd have to go with the Legend trilogy because I enjoyed those as a whole the most. OG Tomb Raider is iconic and was the first PC game I bought with money earned from an actual job. But across 6 games it became rather stale.

I thought TR2013 was a fantastic reboot for Lara and was super excited to see further progression. Rise was an okay second entry but Shadow was very meh. I've tried playing through it a couple times and just can't. I find Lara too unlikable and Jonah needs to fuck off already.
 
It's hard to choose between the original and legend timeline but I'll go with Legends since the original games started to fall off. First game in the reboot was fantastic but then the next two just tanked. Looking forward to whatever direction they take the series in next, they need to move away from dark, gritty Lara and make the series fun again.
 

Rival

Gold Member
I finally finished Shadow last week after having it for a couple years. I loved the last 3. Never played the middle ones. How do they hold up? Originals are just too ancient for me to enjoy. I never really cared for them when they were new.
 

SnapShot

Member
I finally finished Shadow last week after having it for a couple years. I loved the last 3. Never played the middle ones. How do they hold up? Originals are just too ancient for me to enjoy. I never really cared for them when they were new.
They hold up pretty well, controls much better than the original games, lara is very likeable, level design is well thought out, soundtrack is great, and more... just go for it =}
 
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JORMBO

Darkness no more
The originals have the best gameplay and exploration. I think they hold up fine enough today and I play through some of them every few years.

LAU are good but pretty short and easy. A step back from the originals in the gameplay department, but Lara was still a fun character.

Survivor games are good for what they are. Lara as a character is very boring though.

I would say originals > LAU > Survivor
 

Fredrik

Member
Haven’t played all the original ones but 1 and 2 are the reason I love the IP. The exploration and platforming is legendary awesome and the action was more about dodging than shooting.

I think Anniversary, Legend and Underworld are great as well but they do stumble at certain sections. Not far behind though.

2013 had the best movielike story but it was too linear for me and hardly had any tombs at all. Rise is the best of the new ones, had the best gameplay, more tombs and I really liked the open hub maps with gear based unlocks, great DLC as well.
Shadow is great in certain segments but is really bad at times, story is trash, so I’m not that big of a fan, didn’t like how they changed Lara as well, everything is out of character.

I hope CD can and is allowed to take it back to the roots in some form. Not holding my breath that old Lara will ever come back, only thing left at this point is the ponytail, but if they can somehow build on the exploration and turn her into female Indiana Jones again it could be good.
 

assurdum

Banned
God I missed so much the PSX era of TR. I adore even the third chapter. Incredible atmosphere, I'd like to revive such experience. Though TR Anniversary was also a little gem really underrated and a perfect transposition of the first, considered how terrible aged the gameplay mechanics of the original. Anyway all considered neither the survivor arc is bad at all in the gameplay, but moaning Lara is the worst thing happened to her. If just the last wasn't that uninspired and flat compared the previouses. Incredible graphic showcase but tedious mechanics and the fuck they did with the story. They literally ruined everything was decent of the trilogy.
 
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Zeroing

Banned
I remember being very young playing the original ones on my PC. You got the sense of true exploration, discovering tombs, puzzles... angel of darkness was a mess, I stopped playing at the "I feel stronger now" speech, after she pushes something...

original timeline was the best tho

In Angel of darkness and underworld Lara turns Goth... we all went trough that phase lol

Anyway, now we have Lara having Dad issues, multiple personality disorder, the game make us feel really stupid when the puzzles lights up...

Square Enix does not even knows what tomb Raider is about anymore. Is a mess of different things...
 

assurdum

Banned
I remember being very young playing the original ones on my PC. You got the sense of true exploration, discovering tombs, puzzles... angel of darkness was a mess, I stopped playing at the "I feel stronger now" speech, after she pushes something...

original timeline was the best tho

In Angel of darkness and underworld Lara turns Goth... we all went trough that phase lol

Anyway, now we have Lara having Dad issues, multiple personality disorder, the game make us feel really stupid when the puzzles lights up...

Square Enix does not even knows what tomb Raider is about anymore. Is a mess of different things...
Angel of Darkness wouldn't be terrible at all if it wasn't for the Paris level. They tried to introduce more open aspects as some RPG mechanics but it was sooo bad executes. The game changes drastically after Paris and come back to the old route; but I suspect the trivial development didn't given the time to polish and eliminate the bad parts, it's quite evident.
 
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Sony

Nintendo
Not really comparable. But I'd say I like the original run the most. The setting, puzzles, eerieness and sense of exploration was i.m.o. better than the others. That said, I liked underworld and also really like the latest three.
 

Airbus Jr

Banned
Survivor

The new tomb raider has surpassed the original

I used to love the Angeline Jolie Lara Croft design but the new one really grows on me

Congratulations for Crystal Dynamics for these amazing game
 
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xrnzaaas

Gold Member
I will say the original for the nostalgia factor, but I wouldn't want to find out how badly they've aged. It's a shame that only TR1 got an anniversary edition. I just like the focus on exploration and puzzles.
 
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LastBattle

Member
Tomb Raider original will always hold a special place in my heart. Christmas morning 1996. Couldn’t believe how amazing the 3d graphics looked at the time and the T-Rex chase scene was mind blowing. I’ve never played legends games. Tomb Raider and Rise were both great. I haven’t played shadow yet. Of what I’ve
Played I’d have to go with the originals due to nostalgia.
 
Discuss

1996 - 2003

220px-Tomb_Raider_-_The_Last_Revelation.png


  • Tomb Raider 1, 2, 3, Last Revelation, Chronicles, Angel of Darkness

2006 - 2008

images


  • Legend, Anniversary, Underworld

2013 - 2018

images


  • Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Played more or less every entry in the series, not an hardcore fan of the series in general, but if I have to choose one, I go with the survival series
Pretty fucking fantastic
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
only ones i've played are Tomb Raider (2013) + Rise of the Tomb Raider. so them i guess. i wanted to play Shadow but never bothered. it's basically just the same story and gameplay.
 

ShaikhCroft

Member
Definitely the original one. When I played Tomb Raider 2 for the first time back in 1997, I instantly fallen in love with the franchise. Levels from the TR 2 like The Great Wall, Venice, Floating Islands, Wrecks of Santa Maria still are some of my favorite gaming levels.

Since I love puzzle and platforming more than action, the classics are the more favorite to me. I really really wish CrystalD remake Tomb Raider 2 just like Capcom remade the Resident Evil 2!

LAU was good actually but I prefer the original over it!

The Survivor trilogy is good as a modern day game. But as I told earlier I prefer more puzzles and platforming. Shadow had the most puzzles among the latest trilogy.
 

sublimit

Banned
I remember being very young playing the original ones on my PC. You got the sense of true exploration, discovering tombs, puzzles... angel of darkness was a mess, I stopped playing at the "I feel stronger now" speech, after she pushes something...

original timeline was the best tho

In Angel of darkness and underworld Lara turns Goth... we all went trough that phase lol

Anyway, now we have Lara having Dad issues, multiple personality disorder, the game make us feel really stupid when the puzzles lights up...

Square Enix does not even knows what tomb Raider is about anymore. Is a mess of different things...
The problem is that the Japanese business side of SE (the people who have the money and power) i doubt they have a clue of what kind of game the original series used to be. They have seen the games obviously but i doubt they understood them beyond a superficial level.

I don't know if this is true today but i do know that back when the acquisition happened and SE bought Eidos ,the Western branch of SE was basically constituted by former Eidos people ,the same people whom Crystal Dynamics had very close ties with ever since Legend,and if these people are still in charge of SE Western branch they are the ones who give the green light for Crystal to rape the franchise and turn it into another Uncharted/TLoU clone.

So the problem is Eidos never really cared for Tomb Raider (which was evident in the way they treated Core Design and forced them to make a TR game every year) and Crystal Dynamics never understood it.
 

radewagon

Member
Legends series by far. It's easily the best version of Lara and the writing is fun and witty. The exploration and action are well balanced as well.

New Tomb Raider is great, but loses to Legend because the writing is mostly horrible.

And original... man, I grew up with it. I loved it. It's clunky. It was clunky back then and it's clunkier now. The grid based platforming is pretty great, but combat against any enemy with a gun is poorly implemented and in no way an enjoyable experience.
 

Zeroing

Banned
I know its cool to hate the new games or whatever, but personally they are three of my favorite games of the last generation
It is not about that, for some on us, the new tomb raider series does not excel in any category. It is a bipolar game, or a toss everything we know type of game. Puzzle game, "open" world, shooter etc.
 
The 4th ones by far.

They are amazing games with a godlike ambiance, and these Tomb Raider games were SOME REAL challenging adventures. 25 years ago it was so sick and intimidating, i loved that feeling wich doesn't exist anymore with this legendary IP since a very long time.

All the others Tomb Raider are bad or boring.
 

Kokoloko85

Member
Originals because i enjoy the platforming and puzzles.
Remakes with the new design would be great.

Like sequels to the survivor story we just got if that makes sense, more actual tomb raiding
 
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KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
The originals are the better ones. Exploration and puzzle IS Tomb Raider. Not shooting and crafting.
But I have to say I really liked TR Anniversary. I think it's one of the best (if not the best).
 

BigLee74

Member
Nothing beats the original games, played at the time they came out. The sense of scale and adventure, the music and ambient sound effects, the overall atmosphere - unbeatable. I absolutely loved them.

The second generation was a good attempt at modernising them, but a lot of the charm was lost. Quicker traversal meant the scale was lost, and the levels just seemed more linear and much simpler overall. Still great games.

The modern trilogy? Technical marvels, and great adventure games. But they don’t play anything like the originals.
 

SnapShot

Member
I low-key like all 3 timelines, I found Survivor Timeline games great for chilling without too much complex puzzles.
 

TexMex

Member
The original trilogy by a mile. Last Revelation and Chronicles are okay. Angel of Darkness is almost unplayably terrible.

I do like the modern games well enough, especially Rise.
 

Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
I consider Legend & Underworld to be extensions of the original. I know Legend was billed as a reboot upon release, but I felt it was just more like a soft reboot.
 
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