I think it was 1997 or ’98; I remember heading into town with my mother to do a little shopping and found myself browsing the shelves of Woolworths (rest in peace, old chum), staring excitedly at the Sega Saturn games. I was too young to have any sort of expendable income at the time and so full-price new games were always just out of reach, or so I thought.
Mum, who up to this point had expressed precisely zero interest in supporting my gaming hobby (and arguably still doesn’t), suddenly decided to treat me to a new game after a respectable school report. Positively glowing at this turn of events, I grabbed a display case for the newly-released Sonic R and rushed to the sales desk, only to find my coveted new game was sold out.
Not wanting to leave empty-handed, and rather concerned that my mother’s sudden generosity would quickly expire, I grabbed a copy of Croc instead, a very different sort of game from what we’d seen before. A 3D platformer? Preposterous! Fate had dealt me an unusual hand, and to see the good in this investment I would have to put myself through many hours of brutal punishment.
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Introduction
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos was a captivating game, with a cute mascot character and hauntingly memorable music, however, it was also mind-numbingly difficult at times, with countless cheap deaths delivered from undesirable falls from fiddly platforms. It’s a game that headlined the era of the 3D collectathon platformer genre and remains cemented in history, yet after several bouts of tears, tantrums and controller throws, not all memories of the game are happy ones.
Croc’s name would occasionally re-emerge as a whisper on the wind, a brief discussion upon the release of another entry in the 2D platformer PSN games of the same name which often left old-school gamers pining for the return of the original. Eventually, after many years of waiting, the once-thought-retired Argonaut Software founder Jez San announced via Twitter that a HD classic Croc game was in development.
On August 28th, 2024, Argonaut Games, which had previously closed down in 2004, announced the revival of the company alongside a remaster of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. The remaster includes enhanced visuals, updated control schemes, and bonus content. such as concept art and developer interviews. The game missed its planned December 2024 release date, but after a couple of worrying delays, the game finally released on PS4 and PS5 on 2nd April, 2025.
Story
King Rufus, the leader of a furry race of mystical creatures called the ‘Gobbos’, watches the sunrise over Gobbo Valley when he sees a large, woven basket carrying a baby crocodile floating down the river. Won over by its innocence, King Rufus and the Gobbos decide to raise it as one of their own. The crocodile, simply named ‘Croc’, grows larger over time, eventually becoming bigger than the Gobbos themselves, yet still rather small for a crocodile.
One day, Baron Dante and his hoard of ‘Dantinis’ invade Gobbo Valley and capture the peaceful Gobbos, locking them in cages. King Rufus summons a magical yellow bird who transports Croc away to safety before Rufus is captured by Dante. By the time Croc has been brought to safety, the Dantinis have completely taken over Gobbo Valley while also using dark magic to turn innocent creatures across the valley into violent monsters. Croc sets out on a quest to free the Gobbos and defeat Baron Dante.
Gameplay
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a 3rd-person 3D platformer in which the player controls Croc through multiple levels taking place on various islands throughout Gobbo Valley. Levels are accessed through a world map, and consist of various different smaller sub-sections taking place above land, underground, and occasionally underwater. Croc’s main method of attack consists of a full-circle tail swipe that is used to defeat enemies, as well as a slam move that can also be used to break open boxes containing collectibles.
The main goal is to reach the gong located at the end of each level in order to transport Croc to the next level while also saving as many captured Gobbos imprisoned throughout the stage as possible. Each level is filled with various enemies and obstacles in Croc’s way. Certain stages also contain boss enemies that Croc must defeat in order to progress. Hidden across each stage are 6 Gobbos which are technically optional, but key in obtaining 100% completion and unlocking the true ending and final boss.
Croc’s health is represented by the crystals that the player collects throughout the game; when Croc is hurt by an enemy, all of his crystals are lost and scattered around him in different directions (similar to the mechanic commonly used in Sonic games). Red hearts give the player an extra life when collected. If Croc is hurt while he has no crystals, a life is lost and Croc is sent back to the beginning of the segment of the level he is currently in.
Graphics/Sound
Those who still remember the original will likely also recall the graphical setbacks of the time, with Croc regularly featuring a jagged assortment of polygons which would flicker in and out of existence, popping up and glitching out constantly, and I’m pleased to report that the visual overhaul here has fixed these issues entirely.
The beautifully smooth reskin of every single character, object, and environment combines with the original bright colour scheme to make a game that looks like a modern 3D animated cartoon. These aren’t particularly detailed environments, and scenery components are constantly reused, yet everything manages to look crisp, bright, and most importantly, solid.
The sound design remains largely untouched, though I’m not sure fans would have it any other way. Most enemies have cutesy voiced sound bites which suit their roles, and Croc still yells his iconic “Yazoooo” and “Ker-splat” during the action. The almost legendary upbeat and atmospheric soundtrack remains unchanged and still works well to this day.
Replayability/Trophies
Rescuing every Gobbo before a boss level in each world unlocks a secret level that can be completed in order to collect a jigsaw puzzle piece. Subsequently, collecting every puzzle piece in the game unlocks an extra island containing more levels for the player to progress through. While collecting the Gobbos is not mandatory to completing the game, doing so is nonetheless necessary in order to face off against the game’s true final boss and unlock the game’s complete ending.
100% completion certainly brings with it it’s fair share of challenges since each world is more difficult than the last. Revisiting levels to grab anything you missed is also hindered by the game resetting your progress in that level each time, meaning you’ll need to grab everything in a level in a single sitting for it to count. There are rewards for your dedication though, with full mastery of each world bringing in a steady supply of trophies.
Conclusion
Retro gamers, specifically older Nintendo fans will find the look and feel of Croc all too familiar. Not only does Croc intentionally look a bit like Yoshi (long story) but Croc’s maneuvering abilities are comparable to that of Mario in Super Mario 64, with his primary methods of movement consisting of textbook jogging, jumping, climbing, and swimming using either the analog stick or the D-pad, as well as the abilities to perform a Tomb Raider-esque sidestep and a 180-degree quick-turn.
Croc’s respectable moveset benefits immensely from the full remapping to a more sensitive, modern controller. Motion has a realistic flow to it and controls feel so much more responsive. The clunky, robotic tank controls are gone and movement feels so much more natural now. It’s almost perfect until we get in the water and find ourselves needing to switch to the D-pad for some reason just to change our swimming trajectory.
Slightly dodgy swimming controls aren’t the only remnant of the ’90s which hasn’t aged quite so well. The game’s rather nonexistent plot hasn’t been expanded on with the journey being little more than a rescue mission sprinkled with a dash of revenge. Even after the credits roll we’ll still know next to nothing about Croc, the Gobbos, or villain Baron Dante.
Thankfully, this remaster does manage to recapture the magic of the original and makes a number of significant improvements. The remapped, more accurate controls combined with the crisper, clearer visuals make the classic platforming so much more refined, even saving us from a few cheap deaths which once resulted from blurry platform edges, overly heavy controls, and frame-rate slowdown.
Note that I said we’re saved from a few cheap deaths, and that’s something we’ll need more clarity on. Croc is still an immensely challenging game and that difficulty ramps up very quickly. Sure, the first world is easy enough, and the second offers a minor challenge with its slippery ice floors, but the ‘one slip and you’re dead’ fiddly platforming dominates the third world with its infinite mud pits and bottomless chasms.
You’re going to die, a lot. This is a faithful recreation of the original game, one that looks and feels brilliantly modernised, yet the old frustrations still remain. It’s all too easy to simply switch the game off when we run out of lives, and play something a little more progressive and rewarding. Croc isn’t a game that respects the time and ability of the older gamer, and as such, isn’t aging especially well. Still, welcome back, Argonaut. Maybe try reviving Malice next?
Joys
- Brilliant graphical overhaul
- Improved control scheme
- Faithful recreation of the original game, right down to that epic soundtrack
Cons
- Not much of a story
- Still incredibly difficult
- Swimming controls still aren’t quite right
