With the recent announcement that Embracer Group might remake several well-known Square Enix games, fans have been anxious to know what will happen to Tomb Raider. Fans loved the mystery and excitement of helping Lara Croft solve puzzles and search for the lost city of Atlantis in the original game, and despite it already getting an overhaul with Tomb Raider: Anniversary in 2007 and a reboot with Tomb Raider in 2013, there’s always room for improvement.
Anyone who remembers Tomb Raider’s wonky mechanics, bizarre game physics, and of course, locking poor old Winston in the freezer will appreciate these hilarious memes while they wait and see what lies ahead for the Tomb Raider franchise and its iconic heroine Lara Croft.
Calculating Every Jump Lara Makes
The first Tomb Raider game in 1996 definitely featured Lara’s famous polygons on full display, but many players were focusing on something else; calculating if could make a jump depending on how far away from the ledge she was. This added an extra element of risk to the game and made fans feel like they were really going on a dangerous adventure.
Taking the “look before you leap” adage seriously, Core Eidos made it crucial for players to figure out how much of a running start Lara would need to clear certain chasms. The gameplay physics is something that Crystal Dynamics changed with Tomb Raider: Anniversary, so wherever Lara jumps in new games, she anatomically grabs a ledge without needing to estimate anything, making the gaming experience less exciting in the moment.
The Inevitability Of Locking Winston In The Freezer
As anyone who’s ever played Lara’s Home will tell you, it’s a right of passage to lock Winston in the freezer, and as this meme suggests, it might even be a necessity. Though it isn’t one of the most challenging Tomb Raider levels, being followed around by a butler carrying an extremely noisy tray of tea provides an extra layer of stress players usually don’t want to bother with.
There are a few ways to avoid Winston, but most of the time, on every floor, around every corner, the doddering old Croft heirloom can be heard groaning, his tray rattling until suddenly he appears out of nowhere to throw a player off their exercises. Doesn’t he realize Lara doesn’t want hot tea after a brisk workout?
What A Difference A Few Thousand Polygons Make
Pioneering 3D graphics is something only die-hard fans know about the original Tomb Raider, making the progress of Lara’s character model from the first game to the streamlined nature of later installments that much more important and impactful. Every fan has their preferred way Lara should look, and often it has to do with when they got interested in the Tomb Raider franchise.
These days, it might be easy for fans to take for granted how much Lara Croft has developed as a character over the last three decades. In 1996, she was comprised of less than 250 polygons, and known for the “edgy” silhouette shown in this meme. Ironically today, her chest may have gotten smaller, but her polygon count is in the thousands.
Lara Croft Outsmarting Trinity
In the trilogy of new Tomb Raider games, Lara Croft faces The Order of Trinity, an ancient cabal loosely patterned after the Illuminati that seeks to control the course of human events using ancient artifacts gathered from all over the world.
Even with all of Trinity’s military might, technical expertise, and political influence through the church, this meme suggests it’s still no match for Lara Croft. Ever since her arrival on Yamatai, anytime it goes another artifact, be it Star Phenomenon or the Silver Box of Ix Chel, Lara Croft is there to stop it.
Lara Croft Always Causing Armageddon
For all the many cults, supernatural entities, and conniving treasure hunters Lara Croft has faced off against to prevent the end of the world, this meme suggests she certainly has a way of contributing to doomsday scenarios herself. Just finding the four parts of the Scion nearly result in an armageddon-like event.
Part of the appeal and excitement of following Lady Croft on her adventures is the fact that she’s a tomb raider and enters into ancient places that no one is supposed to tread, like the lost city of Atlantis. But if she doesn’t find them, Natla or Larson surely will.
Lara Croft And Her Iconic Handstands
In an effort to make Lara Croft more realistic, the rebooted Tomb Raider games gave her a less sexualized character model and tried to make her skill set a little more believable. That meant no more NCAA-level handstands or swan dives, but despite the noticeable changes to Lara’s flexibility, these games were well received.
Some of the older Tomb Raider games were critically panned but still popular, especially if they included Lara’s famous maneuvers. For instance, Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness might have had its flaws, but Lara still had the same signature gymnastic moves she debuted in Tomb Raider, which made her unique and seem larger-than-life.
Tomb Raider Games Having Unlimited Space For Relics
Longtime fans of the Tomb Raider franchise know all the cheat codes, from getting access to all weapons and unlimited medipacks, to obtaining unlimited ammo for Lara’s dual pistols. But according to this meme, one thing that Lara’s never had to worry about is having enough space for keeping all her relics.
Cheat codes exist even for newer games like Rise of the Tomb Raider because Lara carries a limited supply of ammo on her person, but somehow she has a way to carry an unlimited amount of the ancient artifacts she comes across without any issue.
Lara Croft Can Face Dinosaurs But Die From A Spike
Lara has faced some pretty incredible foes over the years, from tigers, sharks, and mercenaries, to gods, demons, and ghosts, but this meme suggests that in her early games there was one thing more dangerous than all of them put together; spikes.
Found at the base of ravines, protruding from walls, or at the bottom of chasms, spikes were Lara’s worst nightmare. Whether it’s one spike or a dozen, Lara became a rag doll at the slightest puncture, which would be pretty unbelievable if Tomb Raider didn’t also include elements like cloned Atlanteans.
Always Finding The Right Item At The Right Time
In order to keep herself locked and loaded for whatever new challenge awaits, Lara always needs to switch out her weapons as she progresses through the game. Luckily, it seems like she never has to go without, even in the Tomb of Tihocan level, featuring areas no one has set foot in for thousands of years.
Like this meme suggests, somehow ancient civilizations happen to have the upgrades or the ammunition for the exact caliber of gun that Lara has, no matter what part of the world she’s in. It would be weird if it wasn’t such a necessary plot hole.
Natla Is Truly Immortal
At the end of Tomb Raider, Lara sends Natla tumbling into the abyss, sure that she’s prevented the Atlantean goddess from using the Scion to repopulate Atlantis and rule from its citadel. As it turns out, Natla didn’t die and would continue to be a thorn in Lara’s side for many games to come.
When Crystal Dynamics remade the game as the first part of their trilogy, Natla reappeared as Lara’s arch-nemesis, with a completely new look and a slightly different agenda bringing about the Seventh Age. Some fans wouldn’t be surprised to see Natla pop up in whatever new project Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics develop under Embracer.
