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Old 10-02-20, 15:58   #1
paulojr_mam
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Default How was it when you first played this game?

Self-explanatory question. How was it when you played it, when and where did you play, did you have any contact with TR before and why did you decide to play it. I'll give my answer as an example.

When I first played TR, a few years ago, I had already played TR Underworld on the PS2, had seen the Angelina Jolie movies and had played the first few levels of Chronicles. I don't know why I decided to play TR1996, but I suppose I had finished TR2013 and was disappointed with it and wanted something more in-line with what I knew TR to be like. So I played on PC and I was and am amazed. First that the tank controls work well in an action-oriented game, I didn't think they would. And I remember I thought I'd dislike holding action for Lara to grab ledges but it quickly became second-nature. The delayed jump took a bit longer getting used to. I felt the game was ingenius, atmospheric and the graphics, for the time, are really impressive too. And, to be fair, this game and the TRs that came after have kinda ruined gaming for me, because to me no other game I played came even close to these games genius. In retrospect, I also thought this game would have more scenes and Lara would have more dialogue than she did. When the game ended, I felt satisfied but also a bit sad that that experience had ended.

Last edited by paulojr_mam; 10-02-20 at 16:01.
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Old 10-02-20, 18:30   #2
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The first time I played the original Tomb Raider was right after playing TR4 and TR2. I felt strange that Lara hadn't her braid but after i became used to it. I really enjoyed playing in Peru section, and loved even more when I reached to Egypt, the atmosphere was pretty nice in those sections. Regardless the sky was all black in both sections

Years later I discovered there was an expansion: Unfinished Business, but it was for PC only, so I couldn't play when I was younger.

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The delayed jump took a bit longer getting used to.
I agree. I've died so many times because of this delayed jump (Since I was used with TR4 and TR2 style) but I could beat the game and the experience was amazing and unforgettable.
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Old 10-02-20, 19:54   #3
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I read a magazine article ages ago which mentioned TRI. It was around the game’s debut in 1996. I never forget it, I though for a moment: “A female Indiana Jones knock-off? How worse could it be?”

To prove myself right, I sought for a demo like crazy. Finally I found a demo and rushed home to play it. I loved the game, it was literally love in first sight. I regretted about how I even dared to accuse the gem and bought the full game after a few weeks.

I bought TRII on first day, and well... I still regret it. I skipped TRIII and delved right into TRIV on its release day. But it wasn’t until Chronicles that I became a true TR fan. The game’s gameplay, graphics, locations and story blew me away. I started desperately waiting for AoD.
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Old 10-02-20, 22:52   #4
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I got my Playstation 1 right when it was being replaced by the PS2. There were barely any games being sold, and I didn't really know what to get (my idea was so I could borrow my friend's games, but it turns out my system didn't play pirated games). TR1 was sticking out, and I remembered my classmate being a huge TR fan, so I decided to check it out.

I was scared to death every time I tried to play it (I was 11), I could never get past the first switch door in the very first level (though I also didn't know that I was supposed to use the switch). The game was so silent, so dark, really unsettling, and I was especially terrified of finding a bear ever since I saw it in the idling demos. Later I tried to ask my mom to keep me company, and I managed to reach City of Vilcabamba, but didn't go further.

Only when I started using walkthroughs I decided to complete it (at around 13), and even by then I was scared to death (turned off sounds, for example), but at the same time I really liked the level design of it.

Now it's my favorite of the whole series.
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Old 11-02-20, 01:25   #5
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I played TR1 for the first time about a year ago, when I saw it in a used game store for cheap and bought it on a whim. I don't have a PS1 but thankfully my old PS2 is backwards compatible. Had never played any other TR game before.

Once I got used to the archaic controls, I really started to appreciate TR1 and it quickly became one of my favorite games I ever played. It's like the perfect mix of action and puzzle solving for my taste with more emphasis on the puzzles. Solving some of the levels like The Cistern took me forever time to complete, but I managed to beat the whole game and only had to look online for help once. I really like how TR1 rewards you for being patient, observant, and thinking critically. I don't think I've ever played another game like it.
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Old 11-02-20, 15:05   #6
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I really enjoyed playing in Peru section, and loved even more when I reached to Egypt, the atmosphere was pretty nice in those sections. Regardless the sky was all black in both sections
Isn't that supposed to be in a cave? I always assumed it was inside a cave and I found it very interesting an underground sphinx (and latter an underwater sphinx)!
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Old 11-02-20, 16:30   #7
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My dad played the games (1-AOD) and so did I.
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Old 12-02-20, 02:23   #8
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These are fun to read! Keep them coming.

I was born in '94, so I was just a tot when TR1 came out. But I played a lot of PS1 (mainly Tomb Raider and Spyro!) in the early 2000s. I had copies of TR2, TR4, and TRC when I finally got TR1. I think I was in high school...or maybe it was shortly after I graduated? Anyway, sometime around 2012 my mom bought me a sealed copy of TR1. I mean, I had picked it out and ordered it ($40 on Ebay if I remember right) but she paid for it and gave it to me for Christmas. Pretty much it was a collectors item, but I wanted it to play it obviously. Tore that bad boy open and got the full experience. Dug out the PS1 to play it on the OG console and everything!

I was already a die hard fan by the time I played it, but even then, 10+ years after it came out, I thought this game is really special when I played it. TR1 is just excellently crafted. Great atmosphere, super fun gameplay, and charmingly weird. Skateboard kid, meatly Atlantis? Really memorable characters and moments. It's no wonder to me that this game was a massive hit. I think it's not just one of the best PS1 games, but one of the best games ever made.

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I really like how TR1 rewards you for being patient, observant, and thinking critically. I don't think I've ever played another game like it.
Well said!!
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Old 12-02-20, 14:17   #9
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I used to read Video game magazines (PC version games) before Tomb Raider existed, and in one magazine I found a demo of a new game called Tomb Raider, and it was 'city of vilcabamba' level, and I was blow away with it with the visuals, and the fact it was third person perspective, where we see lara Croft in front of us. Most of us at the time were used to 2D platform games or games like Doom where you saw hands and guns only.

I was so totally immersed in the game, and loved the easy controls, I had to rush out to a computer games store and buy the game.

Unlike a lot of members on here who came to Tomb Raider late and had many games available for them to play, I had to wait for the launch of each Tomb Raider game and get my hands on a PC disk game, and was full of excitement ready to play the new game and share thoughts about it on the Internet, once I got 'dial up' Internet via my phoneline. Dial up internet was really slow, unlike todays modern broadband, but at least i was connected to the outside world
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Old 12-02-20, 14:24   #10
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Unlike a lot of members on here who came to Tomb Raider late and had many games available for them to play, I had to wait for the launch of each Tomb Raider game and get my hands on a PC disk game, and was full of excitement ready to play the new game and share thoughts about it on the Internet, once I got 'dial up' Internet via my phoneline. Dial up internet was really slow, unlike todays modern broadband, but at least i was connected to the outside world
Were there discussions about TR in the internet at the dial up era?! Can't imagine that.
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