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Any discussion of classic Tomb Raider is incomplete without mentioning that the first Tomb Raider games are essentially exact copies of the original Prince of P
by teddyh 3y ago
Any discussion of classic Tomb Raider is incomplete without mentioning that the first Tomb Raider games are essentially exact copies of the original Prince of Persia game, translated to 3D. Not the level layout or story, but the control scheme – very distinct and not used by any other games – is identical. Also the standard traps are replicated, like collapsing tiles and spikes emerging from tiles.
Tomb Raider does add some flourishes, like the swan dive and hand standing ascent, and some necessary additions for 3D, like the ability to turn and jump sideways, but the rest is straight up Prince of Persia (the original 1989 one).
- whoopdedo 3y agoTo add to this, an important feature is the ability to safely pass by spikes if you walk slowly. Very useful in both games. > Tomb Raider does add some flourishes, like the swan dive and hand standing ascent, The handstand is absent from the Saturn version.
- teddyh 3y agoThat’s right! A very distinct similarity.
- nsbk 3y agoSpot on. I think it's one of the reasons why I enjoyed playing the first Tomb Raider so much
- nsxwolf 3y agoThank you for noticing this. This was obvious to me the moment I first played it, but it has always gone totally unmentioned. The later 3D games are often branded Tomb Raider clones, which is backwards.
- bloqs 3y agoArent all games derivative? Or is this uncorking that "inspiration vs plagirism" discussion that resolves in everyone having a contest to see who can smugly name what the earliest derivation is... eventually going back to cave paintings
- teddyh 3y agoOh, I’m not claiming plagiarism, it’s just that it always goes unmentioned, when it’s such an obvious copy of the largest part of the gameplay.
- AlecSchueler 3y agoNot mentioned in this article but I've seen numerous interviews and documentaries where the creators go in depth about the PoP influence.
- cubefox 3y agoYeah, basically grid-based, no precise movement. It had some unique innovations though. The camera always stayed behind the main character but without the camera moving into a wall: If there was an obstruction behind Lara, the camera moved closer. Modern third-person games still use this get-closer trick. (Though they use the Mario 64 controls with free camera instead of the tank controls used in Tomb Raider.)
- cubefox 3y agoOh, and there was actually a 2D Tomb Raider game for the GBC which really used the same grid game mechanics as Prince of Persia. Another fun fact: There was an Indiana Jones game for the N64, which was heavily inspired by Tomb Raider. Which was heavily inspired by the Indy movies.
- mablopoule 3y agoAnd the cycle continued in the 2014 remake of Tomb Raider, which was heavily inspired by the Uncharted games. Which was heavily inspired by the original Tomb Raider games.
- BrandoElFollito 3y agoWhenever someone mentions Prince of Persia, I think about my first "hack" that was to edit the binary to add (I forgot what, immortality?). This was one of the many pebbles that paved my way to IT and dev. Thank you.
- whoopdedo 3y agoReminder that the source code to Prince of Persia is available for research purposes. [*] https://github.com/jmechner/Prince-of-Persia-Apple-II https://github.com/jmechner/Prince-of-Persia-Apple-II
- thih9 3y agoThere are more additions and differences, in the control scheme and in the gameplay. About the control scheme, guns, swimming, crouching or vehicles are just a few. As for the latter, tomb rider balanced platforming with exploration and puzzles (prince of persia was mostly about platforming) and there was no sense of urgency (prince of persia had a timer).