I fear the day when this series eventually runs out of TR games :(

25:17 There's a reason why this very fight with Larson was turned into a QTE: Lara's first human kill is supposed to happen much later, she's not at the point where she shoots people without second thoughts yet. This is one of the main story arcs in this game: how Lara lost her innocence and started killing for the sake of her goals. They could've just developed a melee combat system and restricted weapon usage for these fights, but I suppose a QTE was easier and less time-consuming.

Saw the voice actor for Natla at a convention not to long back. Was waiting in line to see Steve Downs and didn't realise who she was at first. She was one of the nicest people I've seen, it was pretty clear she loved her fans tried to make sure everyone had a great time and have good memories. It made me happy seeing the effort she went through for her fans

55:26 One subtle detail I love about the remakes plot, is that when Natla answers Lara's declaration that Natla is actually an ancient Atlantean Queen with just the word "once...", Larson, Kid and Kold all react in a manner that says not even they were aware of that information... and yet they continue to follow her to the Pyramid and actively help her achieve her goal.

I never complained about Tomb of Qualopec's colors. I understood them as a "lock-up air" atmosphere and so with that (sort of) "trapped dust" effect where everything looks like... cloudy

Watching this, I wonder if Larson intentionally missed shooting Lara after the Egypt levels because she spared his life back at the lost valley. I never thought about it. - This is a great addition to the retrospective series. So excited for underworld!

The scene where Lara wipes her hands of blood, but there is no blood, isn’t just because it’a a PG game, but I’ve heard that when someone kills another, it always feels like their hands are dirty and they can never clean them, the dirt is the guilt and you can never get rid of it.

Another interesting detail is that when Natla ordered to kill Lara at the end of the Egypt level, Larson and Kid obviously didn't wish to do that. Kid fired into the ground and Larson aimed more right at the last moment.

1:01:13 Now my first thought when I saw that scene was that she wasn't LITERALLY trying to remove blood from her hands rather than just trying to remove essence of the act. It was more of a spiritual act in my opinion. And blood on her hands in different other moments is probably just scratches. That's what I was initially thinking

Reminder: ON! So excited to finally see this one. The Retrospective series is one of my favorite productions. Way to go Steve!!

How this undersold is beyond me. It's like the perfect Tomb Raider game: Older style puzzles with modern controls, and a bunch of temples, tombs and ruins to explore to boot.

I'm so glad you mentioned the platforming controls. I've never experienced as much pain in a video game than in that egyptian corridor level. For that reason alone I have no real fond memories of this game!

26:00 pretty sure they did it so the player cant shoot larsson. its heavily implied by the fight towards the end taht Lara hasnt killed humans up to this point and pulling the trigger on one is a big deal for her here. so itd be contraproductive to let you have a gunfight with them earlier in the game. and implementing a fist fight system just for this encounter wouldve been uneconomical.

Fair review, really. I'd say Anniversary is my favourite TR game. Even if sometimes it might not react to something, that's rare, so overall I'd say the controls are really responsive, and I liked the combat mechanic with the enrage system. The map layouts and puzzles are all pretty good too, the game just pushes you on and on, you just want to see the next parts. And I really liked the narrative, how they made it. I don't mind a single bit how human enemies are restricted to cutscenes and QTEs, it makes sense from a story standpoint. Somehow Lara's first human kill here feels more strong here than in the 2013 reboot. How it's not just necessity but personal choice too, and comes back in later cutscenes. *Edit: About the graphics, yeah it was the product of it's time, when every game had to be gritty and realistic on the color palette moving form grey to brown. Considering that it's still pretty colorful :) And I also like the replay value, the unlockable dev commentaries, cheats (silver/golden guns for speedrunning!!!), and the neat costumes. I love how they added unique sounds to them too, how bacon Lara has fleshy footsteps, while golden Lara's clang on the surface. Even with 100%-ing, the game has just the right length, no bloat, no needless collectibles. A better era :) I still say that the LAU era was peak Tomb Raider and I'm willing to die on that hill. Now I'm curious for your Underworld review, and your next stream on it. And I'm hoping the rumor is true, and its DLCs will be released for PC.

Glad I caught this premier: This is the first TR game i was able to not only beat for the first time but complete and because of this game I went back to the originals (with some help of old friends) I've completed the first 5 games including angel of darkness.

Saved this for when I had the luxury of sitting back with a tasty pizza and could endulge in whats bound to be another fantastic retrospective... Time to hit play!!!

Anniversary is my favorite game in the series, so I was nervous to hear your thoughts about it. Your thoughts are understandable through and through! I loved hearing about how you love the manor theme and play it often, because I do too. I'm a 5th grade teacher and every year, while my kids quietly do their morning work, I play the TRA manor theme to help them be relaxed and focused. It's amazing. I love TRA. This was a great video!

Steve - the Pierre cutscene with cartoon music has had me in stitches for hours!!! Again, thank you for your amazing and enjoyable contribution to the series for all fans to enjoy! Simply, bloody stunning content!

Been thinking, while trying to convice Lara to join her, Natla mentions that "it takes three to reign", we know Natla knew Richard Croft and possibly through him she knew about Lara too, probably following her exploits in secret waiting until the right time to reveal herself, do you think by then her and Amanda were acquainted with each other? Great video again btw, i really enjoy these.

7:45 completely agree with the music, I love the Croft Manor theme so much

just to say I've been hit down with covid today and after watching these when they came out the first time, I've had a good day watching all the retrospectives again

Hello Steve, Another part of the retrospective - another success.❤️ Really thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this series. I'm really hyped for the Survivor era. The teaser of sorts at the end will now get my brain going and I'll be pondering on the subject of theory crafting for myself. in my pass time. Also random fact: Natla in the LAU games was voiced by the same actress who also provided voice for Azula from AVATAR - The last airbender

My patience has been rewarded \o/ Can't wait to see this next one :D

I am SO HYPED for this! Anniversary is one of my favorite games in the series. Even taking into account its conflicting history, it's a damn fine game of it own!

TR Anniversary… where do I even begin? Honestly I like TRA but it’s very much a game of the times. Much like when I watch Scream I think “wow this is hella 90s”, I play TRA and think to myself “wow this is so late 2000s”. Between the QTEs, the brownish filter on everything and the long hallways masking the loading I think interestingly the nostalgia TRA gave me for TR1 I now get for that late 2000s era of gaming now with it too. Did I like it as much as Legend? Looking back now, no I didn’t. But it’s still a fun nostalgia trip to the 2000s and a fun time capsule of how games were made back in those days. Alright, that’s enough of that. Oh BOY do I have some sh*t to say about Tomb Raider Underworld…

You don’t know how excited I am Steve! These retrospectives are really one of the best things to watch on whole KZfaq

I didn’t realise how many corridors there were until this video 😂😂

Great video as always Steve. Does anyone else remember an extra playable commentary level? I can't remember if it was on PC or console, but it was really cool. You get to walk through different areas of the game while the commentary talks about the design of each country's level.

After a long day at work I completely forgot this was premiering today. Looking forward to watching this after tea.

I found your channel while I was looking for a recap of TR3 because I had forgotten the story. I have absolutely loved your channel since then, the quality of the TR Retrospective is quite honestly amazing and you deserve a lot more. You are one of the very few KZfaqrs I have seen who is amazing and puts in a lot of effort into making these videos, and it is worth literally every second of this video to watch. I wish you good luck for the future and can't wait for Underworld's video and eventually the latest trilogy.

Glad to know i wasnt the only one who did stuff quickly and failed to grab onto ledges etc and press e to stay on the poles. 🙄excited to check out the mod links. Thank you Steve for a great video! Cheers

Studying for my exams with this in the background and I feel more relaxed :-))

These retrospectives are such a joy to watch, even as someone that never even played a TR game. The dive is deep, the humour is on point, the insight bits make sense, and the whole video has damn near perfect flow. Congrats, Steve. You did it again. 👏

So happy you did this one. I played TRA not too long ago, and this definitely gives me a new perspective on the game. Can't wait for the next one!

Lara: 'Aha'... This is what I've been waiting for in my Subscriptions!

I found out about this channel when the Legends video was just released. I really enjoyed and watched the whole series, even about the games I didn’t play. So I realized I had some nice months of waiting ahead. Finally here we are! Great job, Steve!

We need more TR games like this! PS5 reboots of TR 2 and 3 would be amazing

Short shorts and a tank-top is a great way of keeping warm in the snowy mountains. It’s also ideal to wear all black clothes with a heavy fur coat when in the desert and without any sun-screen or water.

This is one of those games I can revisit at any time and still enjoy playing it. The music is amazing, the atmosphere it presents to the player is almost always so great, with the landscapes being absolutely stunning, especially given this game is 14 years old - and seeing that recolouring mod is a thing makes me even more eager to try it out and re-experience the game with more vibrant colours. I can 100% "endure" the on-occasion janky controls, mainly due to the fact that the story telling, the environments, the level design were done so extremely well, well enough to always keep me immersed into it. Also very surprised to learn that this was the worst selling Tomb Raider game, even compared to TR5. It definitely isn't representative of how truly amazing this game is, so it would be interesting to see what the reasoning behind the poor performance was - if it was the fact it was a remake or if there was a lack of advertisement for it. TR:A still remains my second favourite game in the series, only behind the very title for the series. Lastly, amazing work with the video. Sadly I couldn't catch this video earlier, but as always, but I knew it would be an awesome piece, just like the ones before this one were and I am not disappointed. Looking forward to the next video :)

Steve, this is your best video yet. All the time and effort you put into your retrospectives is very much appreciated.

My first KZfaq premiere- and you did not disappoint!

42:24😂😂 love all your hard work Steve, cannot wait for Underworld!! 😊

I'm actually so glad to see you talk about the Wii version, bc that was the version I played when I was younger. Still mad about a Midas Palace bit where some gorillas appear out of the dark after the pillar room when you try to go open the switch to the next room. I used to get as close as possible, spawn them, then run back to the light to fight them. That was one of the WORST parts of the wii release but otherwise I loved it.

I've loved binge watching this series so far. I started gaming in the 80s and Tomb Raider changed everything. It was amazing but it would take about 2 hours just to download a picture of Lara (a friend told me). I've loved all of them but only actually completed the Legend trilogy and Survivor trilogy. All of them amazing, people hate on the last three games but I thought they were stunning.

Again thanks so much for the retrospectives Steve - they are truly amazing content and I love coming back to them - even to just rewatch the for x amounts of times Thanks for taking your time with it too to enure having it be at it's best quality possible!

Imagine a plot twist if Natla was the one who created Trinity,so everything that happened to Lara in rebooted trilogy happened because of Natla

YES FINALLY OMFGF IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!!!!!!!CAN'T WAITTTTT

Man I have been waiting for this review for months! Anniversary is my absolute favorite tomb raider game as I come back to it every now and then. Thank you so much for taking a look at this excellent game!

I recently played this for the first time when I was revisiting the series. I played each one beginning to end in order, ending with Underworld. It's a tough pick, but I think this one might be my favorite. It combines updated graphics and character abilities of the newer games, with the puzzle and exploring elements that made the original series brilliant.

Okay but I really like that the Camouflage outfit still has the blood for those scenes. It feels like an easter egg and nod to that very scene from AoD.

One of the best remakes ever made, and one of my favorite TR games, with some of the best music in the entire series.

TR Anniversary is my favorite game in the franchise, and one of the main reasons for it is how it focuses on being a very atmospheric puzzle platformer with some combat thrown in for tension. I actually love how it has no combat against human enemies so when Lara kills for the first time it hits so much harder, so far in the story she had gotten away with disarming enemies or letting that guy get trampled by monsters but after her first kill she's immediately thrusted into a hellish environment having to cross a crumbling bridge with literal lava underneath. It's on the nose but it does a great job of visually communicating her deteriorating mental state. My interpretation isn't that she has accepted her actions by the end of the game but rather than she just cracked and is now a fully fledged psychopath after going through such a traumatic experience inside the pyramid, explaining why she's just fine gunning down anyone who gets on her way at the start of TR Legend. Then this psycho Lara arc comes to an end in Underworld when she's forced to put her mom out of her misery, symbolized by her letting Amanda live at the end of the game.

I cant believe ive binge watched all these videos yesterday, omg I cant waitfor underworld, its my favorite from this trilogy

Jesus Christ, it's happening, thank you for your amazing work!!!

I haven't played Tomb Raider in a LONG time. After watching this, i'm gonna play them all again

Fantastic surprise , now I know what I’m going to be playing this weekend- putting Shadow of the aside and playing the HD collection.

That Smash joke at the beginning was too bloody brilliant!!!!!

Looked so amazing for a PS2 game. I remember being blown away, and legit thought that I played this on PS3 until just now.

First time I've had some solid time to watch this properly since you've uploaded it. Brilliant as ever! :) Anniversary was hit and miss for me. I enjoyed parts of the game but some parts just felt like going through the motions. Especially the corridors as you mentioned. Roll on underworld!

Commenting for the algorithm, but coming back after watching straight through from TR1’s retrospective. Congrats on another release!!

The review itself was great and I pretty much agree with it completely. Fun remake that did a lot of neat things but marred by a few questionable decisions (fixable) bugs. Gotta say though, probably my favorite part of going through your series of reviews here has been your ongoing skit story. A lot of great KZfaqrs used to use them but kind of stopped out of nowhere, so it's nice to see someone still use them.

So glad I caught this! I’ve been checking your channel every other week since the legend retrospective

Came here because my brain tells me I need to watch this whole series now after watching your AOD video, stayed because of the Allo Allo theme song whenever you talk about Pierre. *chef's kiss*

Ive been waiting this so long. Thanks for this retrospective series its awesome

Playing underworld for the first time at the moment, definitely feeling the "dice roll" whenever I do a jump haha. I feel its slightly better, but every now and then lara will just fucking swan dive into concrete instead of grab a ledge. Love these vids man!!!!

so hyped! your hard work really shows in these videos, they’re always worth the wait 🤙🏼

The description links alone are reason for me to get notified of the premier 👀

Appreciate all the love and hard work you put into these!

I had no idea about the blood on her gloves! Or about the hidden lever at the beginning which stops the traps. Very interesting.

I've watched all your Retrospectives of Tomb Raider, thanks alot for the effort! Had a great time.

Your TR retrospective videos are a work of art Steve! I was wondering from the start if Winston would make an appearance. About the controls, I remember same thing happening to me when trying to jump across those poles in Egypt. One thing I like about the Legend and Classic series is the challenge and difficulty they provide, in particular the classics. Like how there is a health bar and you always need to look for health packs if you are to finish the game. The Survivor series tries to give you a helping hand by having automatic health regeneration, having that system where you can press a button and then it highlights enemies, artifacts etc in the area. With that said, the TR games really feel too easy these days, don’t you agree? Anywho, thanks for this quality video and all the work you put into making it. Looking forward to your Underworld videos 👍

As always an absolute pleasure to watch. So grateful for your well executed videos and humourous editting.

I know people are probably sick of it but I hope the next game is another remake of this with the survivor timeline mechanics and graphics and takes place years after Shadow to change Lara’s personality some. And duel pistols, duel pistols, duel pistols. Imagine how awesome Atlantis or the lost valley would look with the survivor graphics. And the T-Rex ❤️❤️❤️

What I am about to say is very strange but I love watching your videos when I am on holiday. Of course I haven't been on holiday because, well Covid-19. But hopefully next year I will and watching your Tomb Raider reviews is really warm and comforting. Thank you. 😊

Amazing work Steve! Loved every second of it. This game is still one of the best remakes ever made.

I always thought Natla looks like a caricature of Paris Hilton in that game. Also, the thing I missed the most from the original was having better graphic cinematics between sections instead of in-game graphics, they were like a rewards

I watched every ad, not skipping none. You really deserve those coins for all the effort u put in this channel 💙

The last chamber for the scion, where there are multiple enemies charging you at once, I ran past them into the big room with pillars and got ontop of some platform and shot them in peace from there. My preferred tactic from the old classic Tomb Raider games.

I'm so happy every time one of those retrospective videos comes out. Such a great job. Very entertaining!

Another stellar entry into the retrospective series and a really fair assessment of a game that holds a lot of nostalgia for me. I will now have to rewatch your take on the original game…which will inevitably lead on to a solid session of all the entries to date. Phenomenal work Steve and thank you.

Another banger 🐸💅 this must've been so much work I cannot begin to imagine how u pulled it off. I wouldn't even know where to start with this documentary. I'm glad u didn't rush this and let high demand and impatience get the better of u. I enjoy eating while watching ur retrospectives even tho I've already seen most of them like 6 times 💆‍♀️👩🏼‍🦲 good stuff Bestie

Thank you for revisiting such a beloved title. I never finished the game unfortunately as a child, however reluctant to realize Lady Croft was truly not just an introduction to gaming, but truly an underworld of mystique. Playing her games as a child then are why I study and detect the world of supernatural consciously today.

1:20:13 Oh, boy! Can't wait to see what happens next in the Warr cinematic universe!

Yeyyyyy! Just rewatched your tomb raider videos up to chronicles yesterday after seeing this! 😂😂 Love what you do! Can't wait to watch! 🤩👏

Totally ecstatic to watch this! Your videos have been my go-to for entertainment. I thoroughly enjoy the content you create. Thank you! 😁🤟

I remember seeing the option for manual grab and getting pretty excited then finding out you have to hold it instead of a press input was a big "no thank you" (first playthrough was on mouse and keyboard too). Assassins Creed's original games had it while you were mid air (could even slightly direct it while you held the button) and it made certain jump mistakes due to the automated nature of jumping a bit more convenient.

YAY! My favorite Tomb Raider game!

Usually, an 80 minute KZfaq video would be a chore to get through. Not with this channel though, it just flew by and I was thoroughly entertained throughout! Thanks for all the work that you do, can't wait for the next one! 😁👍🏻

Soooooo excited for this!! It’s been so fun rediscovering these games with you!

This was the second TR game I played after TR2 from ‘97. Lots of fond memories from this game.

That note from Winston explaining why Croft manor is the way it is reminds me of Lara's comment about the crates in the original, and it is cool to see it used as a separate level again. And I know Winston wasn't there to be locked in the freezer in the first game, but seeing as he shows up here I'm sure they could have included that. You keep outdoing yourself with each new entry of this retrospective, absolutely fantastic work. I have never played or really looked into Anniversary before. I knew it was a remake of the original but was never really bothered about it, so it's interesting to see how they've changed and updated the levels. I like some of the new location designs, the lost valley in particular looks really cool (I also had no idea it was supposed to be an outside area, wow). Shame the Atlanteans don't explode anymore and it looks like they played down the body horror quite a bit, but the new designs are still pretty neat. Quite curious to see how Underworld turned out with the retcons added here to fit in more with Legend's story. Great job as always, I'm already eager to start marathoning this with the other videos.

Awesome, incredibly fair and detailed. Plus the funny. You are a champ! Also thanks for the mention with the blood hands thing!

Holy fucking shitballs! The time has come, my patience has been rewarded and I can't wait!!!!!

At 8:10, A quote from the Tomb Raider 2 review: “AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!” “Jesus Christ, Winston! You scared the shit out of me!” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Thanks for bringing us another part of your Tomb Raider Retrospective! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 Can’t wait to see what you’ll have in store for us in Part 9: Tomb Raider: Underworld! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Watched this for the second time, just as a way of having a nice evening at home. Loved it even better this time. Quality review!

Another absolutely brilliant and hilarious overview - cosplay Natla is still making me giggle. Everytime I watch one of your retrospectives I go back and re-play the game with fresh eyes, love it! Underworld next - outside of the first 4 TR games my favourite entry, can't wait to see what you make of it :)

It's a great example of how your previous experience plus expectations for something can sometimes ruin your new experiences. I was born in 1998 so the first Tomb Raider for me game was exactly this one and it is the best video game I have ever played to date. The muted colour palette creates a very grounded and calm experience, the corridors make sense and don't feel like the drag on and the combat is fairly balanced. I really like the solitude in this game as it creates the feeling that you are in a unique place giving you time to wander around at your own pace. Comparing to the later games that started after 2013 where it's constant movement, very crowded and full of terror non stop this game stands out. I've played many games in my lifetime but this one has the best control over the character that I have ever experienced. Modern games including TR series have very awkward controls that make the character feel heavy and clumsy if that makes any sense meanwhile I feel in this game your movements are extremely precise. Overall having played all of the TR games I feel like the game industry is headed the wrong direction trying to make the games the most realistic they can be forgetting that realism is not the indicator of a good game it just makes it more challenging in the worst way possible.

Just finished. Absolutely amazing as always Steve! Time for me to do what I always do after finishing your latest TR video and binge watch the others 👌🏼

Yes, yes, YES! I can’t wait to see this!!

Incredible work Steve!🥳🥳🥳 That ending was everything, lol 😆 _(great choice in music!)_ Thank you so much for your level of attention to the game, the reception of it and what the fans made of it 😁👏 I'm excited to see where you'll take us with this amazing videos😉