Lara Croft: the biggest female icon of video games

Lara Croft is one of the greatest symbols of video games, being the most recognized female character of games, Guinness record set in 2010. The Tomb Raider franchise sets countless records, the games have sold over 70 million copies and made a legacy. Powerful, with millions of fans and cosplayers, thousands of magazine covers, 3 movies, comics and theme parks. In its more than 20 years of existence, it has gone through ups and downs, receiving various makeovers, both franchise and character.

First 5 games, released in the fifth generation. Source: personal collection.

The first phase comprises the first six games, 5 released in the fifth generation, 32-bit, and the last, The Angel of Darkness, released in the sixth generation. All of them were developed by Core Design. Core was a British developer founded in 1988, releasing few titles until 1995. Some of them for Genesis and even 32X. Cyber-Cop is an example, a game developed by Core, for Amiga, and ported to Mega Drive.

In 1993, Core began developing Tomb Raider. Toby Gard is responsible for the character design project. Initially, the sketch was created with a male character. As the story took shape, the character’s characteristics became more defined. His nationality would be English, and not to be confused with Indiana Jones, the male character was eliminated.

The game was shown to Sega, who enjoyed and secured an exclusive deal for a period, first being released to Sega Saturn. This release helped define 3D games, not having anything similar until then. The scenarios were large and complex, full of puzzles and challenges, but with few enemies, allowing the player a free interaction. To make this possible, the 3D environments were built in a grid, something new and innovative. The character’s abilities also impressed.

Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. Sixth and last game developed by Core. Source: personal collection.

Sega Saturn’s marketing and architectural problems have dimmed the game’s glow to the console. Despite coming first on the Sega console, the game gained greater prominence on the Sony console and the PC. Saturn’s version suffered some bugs as it was the first version. On PlayStation most bugs have been fixed. Sales exceeded expectations from Core and Eidos, which published the game. This prompted the launch of several sequences in a short time. This has caused wear on the series, causing it to be criticized for innovating little with each release. The development team also came under pressure to make deliveries in a short time, exhausting the potential of the series. The Angel of Darkness, the sixth game, was released in the 128-bit era with state-of-the-art hardware. Development had a lot of problems, the game received a lot of criticism and the series ended up being shelved. This was the last Tomb Raider developed by Core.

During this first phase, Tomb Raider had an astronomical rise. Lara Croft became as famous as Hollywood actresses, appearing in magazines, comics and being played by Angelina Jolie in two movies. In 2006 the series resurfaced in a new phase, the development was in charge of Crystal Dynamics, a subsidiary of Eidos. The second phase lasted until the Tomb Raider Underworld game, launched in 2008. In 2009 Square Enix acquired Eidos, and Crystal Dynamics and Tomb Raider became its property. In 2010 debut the third phase of the series, with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light.

Movies starring Angelina Jolie in 2001 and 2003.

Despite all their ups and downs, Tomb Raider and Lara Croft have won millions of fans, who remain loyal over their 20 years of existence.