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Old 17-09-21, 21:56   #11
Samz
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If we get a good TR3 Remake sometime, that could be an interesting way to more properly merge TR3/Lost Artefact by making this canon.
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Old 18-09-21, 06:44   #12
The13thElysium
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I think this is a really brilliant fan-theory The13thEylsium, and I'm surprised it doesn't have more traction, or more people interested.

I would say Sophia is the true main villain of TR3, perhaps not by intention but more so by accident - in the way that she has the last laugh and survives longer than Willard does.

The Lost Artifact's story is of course a bit of a 'retcon-ing' of TR3's ending, since both Sophia and Willard blow up in TR3 when Lara kills them (just like Tony and Puna). TLA's story intro text tells us that the human Willard crawls up out of the crater after Lara, which allows her to find his wallet (so he didn't really explode) and then of course, Sophia makes her return as well, so we know that her explosion at the end of London also meant nothing.

This of course begs the question: did Tony's and Puna's explosions also mean nothing? But for the sake of argument let's just ignore those two).

Perhaps they explode, but then somehow rematerialize again? Maybe they only die due to Lara's gunfire, and Sophia is the only one not shot-to-death by Lara in TR3, but electrocuted. Sophia only get's shot to death later on in TLA's Reunion, meaning this must be her real demise.

Either way, Sophia must've somehow worked out a better and more stable formula of the meteorite's powers than Willard did (even though he used all 4 in a fancy ritual chamber at that) since he still died, even after reverting back to human form, but Sophia somehow continued on. It must be due to her age, as you mentioned. She's been around since the 1800s we can assume, and so probably had more time to work with the meteorite artefact she got in London, as opposed to Willard who started his work in the 90s.

Another interesting piece of information that is often overlooked is: People tend to see Willard as the one in charge of RX-Tech, and that all the guys there are working for him. Yes, maybe he is the lead-scientist on the team. But he's definitely not the boss at the top. The clue for that is given in the opening FMV (text transcript taken from Tomb Raider Traveler's Guide)



The 'sir' clearly implies that Willard is working for someone - but who? Clearly there is some sort of shadowy presence bigger than Willard and behind the entire RX-Tech operation. Willard obviously went rouge at one point and started doing the experiments for his own purposes, but it's clear he isn't the one funding all this. So perhaps SLinc is actually the enterprise behind RX-Tech? Or perhaps there is someone bigger than both Sophia and Willard behind all this?
Thank you! Honestly I'm just happy that anyone took the time to read it! XD
As for the "explosion" when the characters die - i suppose you could explain it as a gameplay mechanic, as Willard returned to his human form, and presumably Sophia was just knocked unconscious in the City level.

As for the mysterious Sir, it's strange that he is never mentioned again, although he could have been anyone!
IIRC wasn't Willard also recovering oil from Antarctica? Maybe it was simply an investor or oil magnate simply wondering how far Willard was getting? XD
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Old 18-09-21, 19:20   #13
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Imagine Willard got some rich sucker to fund his dig because he said there was oil there
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Old 06-12-21, 08:05   #14
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Thank you! Honestly I'm just happy that anyone took the time to read it! XD
As for the "explosion" when the characters die - i suppose you could explain it as a gameplay mechanic, as Willard returned to his human form, and presumably Sophia was just knocked unconscious in the City level.

As for the mysterious Sir, it's strange that he is never mentioned again, although he could have been anyone!
IIRC wasn't Willard also recovering oil from Antarctica? Maybe it was simply an investor or oil magnate simply wondering how far Willard was getting? XD
Just wanted to share some more thoughts and info I had regarding your post The13thElysium, but I don't know how often you frequent this forum.

A lot of people often think that the helicopter Lara hears on Sophia's roof must be the same helicopter Lara takes onwards to Antarctica which then sinks into the ice water. I believe you even present this as a potential theory that Sophia herself wanted to make a quick getaway in the helicopter to head to Antartica and meet up with Willard, but Lara takes her place instead.

A friend of mine actually works as a helicopter pilot, and I once ran this scenario from TR3 past him. He laughed and explained to me that if Lara boards a helicopter at the end of the London levels, the chopper would only be able to take her to a main airport in London, at most - or back home to Surrey. This is because of how much fuel a helicopter can hold.

She would have to board a real airplane, and even change airplanes twice (at least) on her way to Antartica from London or Nevada, if she really is making the journey directly without going back home. South Pacific Islands is the only location she might be able to do distance-wise in one trip, but only with a normal airplane, not a helicopter. Helicopters simply do not have enough fuel for such a long journey.

So, while most fans play the London levels right before the Antarctica levels due to difficulty, and often imagine there being a continuity due to the helicopters (and this may even have been Core's mistaken intention) it really makes no difference logistics-wise in the story which location is played before Antarctica.

If Lara boarded that helicopter after killing Sophia, then she probably flew it back home to Croft Manor in order to change and pack before heading to Heathrow Airport in order to begin the long two-plane journey to Antarctica. Once arriving in Antarctica from her international flight, she would then probably have been met at the airport by an RX-Tech representative, with whom she boarded the helicopter that was meant to take her to the excavation site with Willard, but of course it freezes and crashes on the way.

Just some musings and info from my end. I hope this helps you with some of your fan fiction.
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Old 06-12-21, 13:24   #15
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Nevermind.

Last edited by ATombRaiderFan; 26-08-22 at 15:13.
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Old 07-12-21, 16:03   #16
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Originally Posted by .snake. View Post

If Lara boarded that helicopter after killing Sophia, then she probably flew it back home to Croft Manor in order to change and pack before heading to Heathrow Airport in order to begin the long two-plane journey to Antarctica. Once arriving in Antarctica from her international flight, she would then probably have been met at the airport by an RX-Tech representative, with whom she boarded the helicopter that was meant to take her to the excavation site with Willard, but of course it freezes and crashes on the way.

Just some musings and info from my end. I hope this helps you with some of your fan fiction.
Theoretically, could she have arranged a private plane to get there faster? I mean, obviously it would still need to set down a few times (I'm guessing more often due to fuel capacity), but how much extra flexibility would it afford, if any, on the route and time between takeoffs?
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Old 07-12-21, 16:15   #17
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Theoretically, could she have arranged a private plane to get there faster? I mean, obviously it would still need to set down a few times (I'm guessing more often due to fuel capacity), but how much extra flexibility would it afford, if any, on the route and time between takeoffs?
Oh, definitely. But I think even a private plane would have to take off from some sort of public airport, such as Heathrow. Aren't there legal reasons for this? And then, I think it depends on how big of a machine it is as to how far it can take you before refueling. Private planes tend to be very small. (Which btw begs the question as to how TR2 Lara flew the small plane from Offshore Rig in the Adriatic Sea, all the way to Tibet. Sure, it runs out of fuel right when she's made it, but I wonder if perhaps she would have had to have re-fueled somewhere on the way as well...?)

Anyway, my post was simply pointing out the fact that one helicopter couldn't fly all the way from England to Antarctica. So, she would have had to have some sort of alternative means of transportation - whether plane, ship, dragon, or broomstick - between the London helicopter we hear at the end of the City level, and the Antarctica helicopter we see in the FMV.

Last edited by .snake.; 07-12-21 at 16:18.
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Old 07-12-21, 17:19   #18
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Oh, definitely. But I think even a private plane would have to take off from some sort of public airport, such as Heathrow. Aren't there legal reasons for this? And then, I think it depends on how big of a machine it is as to how far it can take you before refueling. Private planes tend to be very small. (Which btw begs the question as to how TR2 Lara flew the small plane from Offshore Rig in the Adriatic Sea, all the way to Tibet. Sure, it runs out of fuel right when she's made it, but I wonder if perhaps she would have had to have re-fueled somewhere on the way as well...?)

Anyway, my post was simply pointing out the fact that one helicopter couldn't fly all the way from England to Antarctica. So, she would have had to have some sort of alternative means of transportation - whether plane, ship, dragon, or broomstick - between the London helicopter we hear at the end of the City level, and the Antarctica helicopter we see in the FMV.
That would be a rather creative use for the Dagger of Xian…

And today I learned there are 14 airports in London. I'd only heard of 4 of them. Does not change your point in the slightest, and most of them probably wouldn't give her what she wanted in the time frame she'd like. Just interesting to note in case anyone wanted to work things out "realistically".

Last edited by jvry; 07-12-21 at 17:20.
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Old 13-12-21, 12:52   #19
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What about a ship equipped with a helicopter pad, maybe a RX-Tech ship. Sophia could fly from London to the south coast and land on said ship before setting sail for Antarctica. Once near the icy shores Sophia can ride the helicopter again to get inland.

Willard probably also informed Lara that there's a ship waiting for her too once she's collected the Eye of Isis.
I think out of all the other posts i've read, this theory makes the most sense. I suppose Lara/Sophia could have taken the helicopter to the airport then head too Antarctica via plane, but it makes sense if Willard told Lara/Sophia to head for the ship. (Is there a helipad on the one in the first Antarctica level?)
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Old 14-12-21, 13:10   #20
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Originally Posted by The13thElysium View Post
I think out of all the other posts i've read, this theory makes the most sense. I suppose Lara/Sophia could have taken the helicopter to the airport then head too Antarctica via plane, but it makes sense if Willard told Lara/Sophia to head for the ship. (Is there a helipad on the one in the first Antarctica level?)
You're actually thinking the ship in the Antarctica level that we explore at the start is a ship Lara took from England to Antarctica to then board a helicopter that was on the ship? Or you mean that she flew with a plane to Antarctica, boarded a helicopter that was meant to take her too that ship and land on it?
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