Tomb Raider Showdown: Original Vs Anniversary Vs Remastered?

A bit of caution for the narrative - this is TR Anniversary (released in 2007 by Crystal Dynamics) and not the TR Anniversary Edition, which was never released (it was originally developed by Core Design and was planned for release in 2006 as the celebration of 10th anniversary of the OG game). Then.. Tank controls pretty much reflect the real life movement and those gamers, who keep on complaining about them only wine about their own inability to be in full control of Lara's movement and the consequences of their own actions - as well as it is an admittal of their own over-reliance on automation, which is typical (aka ever-present) for all "modern" controls schemes. The classis "old-school" TR games (let's talk about the first three only - they are my favourites, including the respective expansions) did not push the players to "rush" through the levels and definitely did not guide them, as if afraid they may miss something. Quite the opposite - it was expected (and rather usual, frankly) to get stuck in a level for a few hours, days or even weeks by (e.g.) not being able to solve a puzzle or find a secret or beat a boss - or just be lost on where to go next - but once any player beat a level on their own, it was its own reward - and all those players could feel good about themselves. Most did, trust me. A personal note here - I didn't have to replay any of the LAU trilogy games a/o levels more than once or twice to get it 100% completed - except for time trials, which was a bothering mode of gameplay, as I'm not a speedrunner and not even a fan of this genre. Also, I think this particular mode was either a "modern gaming trend" addition for the less patient and less contemplative players, or forcing the franchise to become something it wasn't and should never have been. Anyhow, to me it translates to dumbed-down and "let us guide you by the hand" approach to game design for those LAU games. BTW the OG trilogy vs LAU - am I the only one who looked at the number of levels per each game & the average length of gameplay through a whole particular installment - and then looking at the prices of those games? LAU games cost me ~80EUR and provided some 2 days of "fun" and I think I still have the DVDs somewhere - while the OG trilogy of games (with exp.) cost me roughly the same and are on all my PCs ever-since I bought them - and I do know that I keep the CDs and boxes at my shelf in the best condition possible.

The originals and remastered feel a lot better to control than Anniversary, as the later has terrible physics and Lara feels like she's skating on ice. Also the jumping is almost entirely automated and there's no momentum or on-air mechanics. Basically, the game is a series of scripts, and all you have to do is press jump where the developers pre-established you should press jump.

One thing is important to note, in the original Tomb Raider, if you miss a jump it's because YOU fucked up. I'm really tired of people blaming the game. In the modern games, Lara is basically a magnet. Jump in the general direction and she'll automatically go where the game wants her to go. In the originals, YOU controlled Lara. If you suck at the controls, get better.

I platinumed the Tomb Raider Trilogy on PS3 (Legend, Anniversary, Underworld), they were really fun games, any difficulty spikes were USUALLY a case of Get Good, but sometimes like when you're in that one section of Anniversary where you have to ascend that really large room in the Lost Island The Great Pyramid and the flying enemies keep throwing blasts that make Lara stagger and fall off the platforms into the lava, it was really annoying.

I hate LAU and Survivor Lara, but just look at Anniversary Lara. She is absolutely beautiful

I played all three versions and i have to say my favourite way is the remastered graphics with the tank controls! Starting the remastered i tried using the modernised controls but it just felt soooo wrong! Not being able to do the side and backwards flips was like a sacrilege lol I instantly switched to the tank controls and it was SO HARD to get used to!!! It was a real torture, but as soon as i got the hand of it just came naturally! Actually playing another game in-between i tried to move the characters with the arrow keys and not the analogue stick!!!! I really hope they gonna remake the later games as well!!! A Legends remake would be a dream comw true!!!!

Thanks to the Remastered trilogy, there's now only one TR game I haven't played, that being TR5: Chronicles. Prior to the Remastered trilogy, the only other TR game I hadn't played until a month ago was TR1 believe it or not. My first TR game was TR3 so it holds a special place in my heart and I have yet to play the Remastered version of it, but my all-time favorite TR game is TR4: The Last Revelation. I've heard there's an Easter egg in TR3 with coordinates and if you look up the coordinates, it's for Giza, Egypt where a large chunk of TR4 takes place. This is a potential hint that we may get a future remaster and considering TR I-III Remastered has sold well, I think we will...

I love Underworld and Legend, but Anniversary can't even hold a candle to either the original or Remastered. To me, it just fails to capture the atmosphere and magic of the original, and the gameplay and level design wasn't as satisfying to me in spite of its more "realistic" updates. Honestly, as a diehard fan since the late 90s when I was way too young to be playing these games, I have to say that the Remastered edition is the definitive way to play these games, since it has numerous tiny quality-of-life improvements, with the ability to toggle between the original and updated graphics and control schemes.

Remastered is definitely the best. As a fan I of course did try to play anniversary but omg the controls were really tough(remember that pole trap on that Egypt level, jumping from pole to pole while there's blades and closing doors😂, I literally tried to get past it a hundred times and gave up)

Good video I would recommend try to make your audio for your voice alittle bit just alittle bit louder you sound abit soft. Could just be my own headphones being messed up so you can take my comment with a grain of salt

The problem here is Crystal Dynamics the one that made Anniversary didn’t know what Core had in mind they just kind of put their own spin on it.

Oh, and why are comments turned of for the review of Remastered? Comments are important. I'll write it here though. Tank controls takes some time to get used to, but once you are used to them, they work quite fine, especially for platforming. The great thing about them is that they leave out all of the guesswork. They are very consistent, so if you see a jump, you will quite quickly be able to tell if it is possible to take that jump before you try. Second comment I wanted to make was regarding the level design. I hate how handholdy modern games are, and really appreciate that the developer assumes that the player is able to think for themselves. It has been ages since I played Tomb Raider I, and replaying it has been a blast. At several points I've felt so clever for finding something that I assumed was a secret, only to be surprised that you are actually meant to do that to progress. It is pretty humbling, but also very fun.

The modern controls do feel nice to use at times, but they do come with a few limitations, such as somersaults and backflips requiring you to have a weapon drawn when you start the manoeuvre, also grabbing ledges below you is far more difficult than before as either need to roll from a specific distance as backing away with modern controls requires a gun to be drawn but putting your guns away to grab the ledge takes too much time for her to actually grab it most of the time.

Anniversary Lara in the thumbnail looks hot!

Remastered and it’s not even a question. The quintessential version of playing the TR Trilogy !

Good comparison for all 3 games however lets don’t forget that original game was released 1996 and anniversary 2007 so there is technical limitations back in 1996. Also one is Remake other is Remastered. For me personally anniversary was bit fresh air and you could see how bigger team of development team paid off and also what would be the original game ideally that being said the creator of Lara was in the development of Anniversary. For the remastered I would say that it’s my personal best and for me is how is supposed to be done not more not less and it’s been done like a reward for longtime fans ported to modern consoles I bit polished but not over the top and keep the original vibe. Also with the new controls to be easy for the new players because now days game needs to do most of the job for the players. Old gen playing we grow up with this kind of games and it was fun easy to control and think. I a big fan of the original games but here is coming the problem with console not accessible for everyone this day is kind of vintage and on now days tellys looks like Minecraft hah. Anyways again good comparison 😊

I'm honestly quite impressed they managed to improve the game's visuals to the extent that they did in Remastered, given it's still the original 1996 game engine and levels. While still bottlenecked by that limitation, it is night and day compared to the original. (Although you seem to be playing the original with Bilinear filtering off. It does look a little better with that on, as it removes pixelation.)

I agree with your recommendation. Anniversary first, then remaster, then original. I'm usually one to endorse the original, uber alles. But Tomb Raider is an exception where I do think it has aged poorly, mostly because the awkward controls and platforming just make for needless frustration. Remaster lets you have the original levels without that frustration, plus a lot easier on the eyes.

Original hands down. Nothing can beat the creepy liminal feel of the first 3. Absolutely amazing games.

I find the conclusion to be a bit odd. There is little reason to get the original anymore, as it is practically bundled with Remastered. You can switch between modern and old graphics by the klick of a button, and you can even use the "modern" control scheme while playing with the original graphics. Not to mention the fact that Remastered includes Tomb Raider II and III as well, both in their modernized and old school flavors.