In an industry where early development footage, scrapped plans, and early concept art are usually only made public thanks to datamine efforts or questionable leaks, it's incredibly refreshing to be treated to some never-before-seen footage of a game in its early stages direct from the source itself.
Yes, Tomb Raider's official channels have uncovered some early handheld development footage for Tomb Raider: Legend, which launched on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS in November 2006. Those who owned the game will no doubt remember that it has you following Lara Croft's quest for the mythical sword Excalibur – even if the handheld versions weren't quite as impressive as their home console counterparts.
As you can see for yourself, the game's development had already progressed pretty far in the newly-released footage, and elements such as the voice acting are already in place. We get to see a couple of cutscenes and the series' signature adventure-style gameplay, albeit with a few moments that look a little rough around the edges.
The Tomb Raider YouTube channel has been sharing several clips like this over the past couple of weeks. If you're interested in seeing more, check out these videos showing off some of the game's storyboards and early Lara concept art:
Now, if only more studios would willingly share their early work like this. Yes, we're looking at you, Nintendo.
Comments (29)
forever puzzled as to why Square Enix / Eidos refuse to release any Tomb Raider content on switch.
@CharlieGirl true. They even released Tomb Raider Go on the failure that was PS Vita
The first two lines of the heading hyped me up a little too quickly thinking the Keeley Hawes games were Switch bound and was showing early footage xD
Really cool to see this footage. Those were the days where they made bespoke versions for the weaker consoles.
I had Legend on PSP (It was near on par with the PS2 game but with lower textures) and remember thinking how amazing it was to have a fully fleshed out Tomb Raider game handheld.
Also got the HD collection on PS3.
@CharlieGirl totally feel the same way!
Surely it'd be fairly simple to port the Legend/Anniversary and Underworld trilogy.
Even the 2013 reboot Tomb Raider and Rise ran on Xbox 360!
Great to see a company take this approach to what is admittedly not even the most well known entry in the franchise.
@CharlieGirl I'd rather have a 'Metal Gear Solid' Game.
@LeighDapa that's nice, but not what the topic is about
@Perryg92 Tomb Raider Anniversary is fantastic, and would be great on Switch
Could had just finish it, remastered them, and release em right now. We'll pretend they're not old games.
I’d love a rerelease of 1-3 or something! Loved the original games… maybe the rights of those games are in a weird situation… they’re not rereleased anywhere
@CharlieGirl
Probably the same reason they're giving us a cloud version of Guardians of the Galaxy - hardware limitations. I wished they focused on the Switch and gave massive upgrades to other versions.
Im in the same boat as alot of others. Would love to see a tightened up remaster of the originals. Even the one on the Wii was pretty good and anniversary was a solid game.
Both GBA Tomb Raider games are pretty decent, the first one is a bit closer to the original Tomb Raider experience the n2nd one is a better gaming experience.
Tomb raider and Deus Ex, two square enix games that I want on switch but will probably never get
@CharlieGirl Well, tough luck. Here's some Angel of Darkness.
To be fair, this is a series I've never played, but would if I had the chance.
The GBA game is better than the DS one.
Square Enix should just port the new triology to the Switch. I would buy them all in a heartbeat.
@HammerGalladeBro Angel of Darkness HD (now with Controls!)
@Taffy Human Revolution WiiU port would be day one for me.
Would have loved a remaster of this trilogy on Vita. Could use one on Switch. What a lousy anniversary this has been for the great Lara Croft.
I absolutely LOVE Tomb Raider and would welcome the idea of the series making a return to Nintendo on the Switch. Given it's history on the PlayStation though it's highly unlikely we would ever see it again. Unless of course it happened to be the Crystal Dynamics remake trilogy I could actually see that as a real possibility.
Ah, the old Lara Croft.
@CharlieGirl That's nice but I decided to ADD to the topic 😊
@LeighDapa That added nothing but impolite discorse.
Anyway, Tomb Raider. lots of people love Tomb Raider. it fine if you don't, but maybe there are articles here about games you do like ❤
@CharlieGirl It added something called polite discourse.
Anyway, back to Metal Gear, which many people love.
It's also fine if you don't like it but maybe there are other articles about Games you like.
Like 'Toom Rayda'.
😊
@LeighDapa This article isn't about Metal Gear, bye
@CharlieGirl This article IS about 'Tomb Raider'.
Goodbye.
😊
Any news? I read it would be coming in august, but nothing. Who can tell us if TR is coming to switch
I love this era of games, slightly shonky versions of console games that could be a lot of fun! Good memories.
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