Trivia
In the German gaming magazine GameStar (issue 01/2007) Tomb Raider was named as one of the "Ten Most Influential PC-Games". It marks the rising of Lara Croft as first game character which manages to be a long-running brand beyond the video-game industry, even more so than Nintendo's Mario. Lara Croft is also one of the first established female game protagonists in a male-driven industry.
Tomb Raider was named as #6 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking by German gaming magazine GameStar (issue 12/1999).
It was named #35 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time" by EGM Issue #200 (Feb. 2006).
Tomb Raider was voted #22 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" poll in Retro Gamer Magazine (Issue 37).
Contributed by
PCGamer77 
(3025) on Jul 18, 2007.
In addition to numerous comics from Top Cow Productions, Lara Croft's cross-promotional adventures have included a trilogy of novels inspired by the games, published by Ballantine Books:
- The Amulet of Power (2004), by Mike Resnick;
- The Lost Cult (2004) by E. E. Knight; and
- The Man of Bronze (2005) by James Alan Gardner.
Lara Croft's original name was to be "Laura Cruz" but at some point during development it was changed.
Contributed by
Evilhead (1039) on Apr 17, 2006.
Tomb Raider was ranked # 37 in the 50 Best Games of All Time list published by PC Gamer Magazine in its April 2005 issue.
Contributed by
PCGamer77 (3025) on Mar 19, 2005.
Soon after the release, someone found out how to replace the clothing textures and released a custom "nude patch" (DOS version only of course). It revealed everything and it became a big hype on the net. The patch is still floating around, just search for "nrpa103.zip". Custom nude patches were developed for later Tomb Raider games as well.
Contributed by
Sciere (121969) on May 29, 2004.
The design of Lara Croft was partially based on Lead Designer Toby Gard's sister, Frances.
Allegedly he quit his job at Core Design in 1997, after a row about the additional "sexing-up" of Lara Croft.
Contributed by
shifter (52) on Dec 09, 2003.
Tomb Raider was voted #86 in the Top 100 Games of All Time poll published by Game Informer Magazine (Issue 100, August 2001).
Contributed by
PCGamer77 (3025) on Jul 28, 2001.
In addition to having the soundtrack (well, ambience sounds are more like it) encoded as redbook audio, Core also recorded as cd tracks the dialogue and sound for all the in-game-engine cutscenes (not the rendered ones), meaning you can listen the cutscenes on any cd player.
Contributed by
Zovni (9138) on Feb 19, 2001.
This game is a member of Computer Gaming World's Hall of Fame.
In addition to appearing in magazines, tv, etc... Lara was featured in U2's "POP Mart" in several clips showing her on her bike, and shooting the audience. That's right, on the worlds largest screen.
Contributed by
Zovni (9138) on Dec 23, 2000.
Urban legends: A gaming rumour says that the reason that Lara's breasts are so large is that the artist slipped when designing her and could not be bothered to change it back. This is probably rubbish, but a rumour all the same. Also, there was a rumoured cheat to turn Lara Croft nude. It said that if you tapped out the tune to Wannabee {spice girl song} on the keyboard Lara would start dancing and then take her clothes off. (Both are false. -- Editor)
The main character was originally going to be a man but in the middle of production they changed it to a woman.
