HomeTheXboxHub FeaturesOpinionsMy Love/Hate Relationship with Croc Legend of the Gobbos

My Love/Hate Relationship with Croc Legend of the Gobbos

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Croc Legend of the Gobbos pic 1
Frustrations aside, Croc is damn cute

Even at the tender age of nine or ten, I knew Croc had some work to do. By the time I picked up the Platinum version of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, there were already three names synonymous with 3D platformers: Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Any newcomer to this space was already facing an uphill battle, and Croc was no different.

But after seeing the renaissance of classic Crash and Spyro, vintage studio Argonaut Software want in on the action too. Will time be as kind to another classic platformer title as it has been to others? I dusted off my physical copy to find out.

The orange sticker of doom

The first thing I noticed was a big orange sticker I had affixed to the front of the case. I was one of those people who liked to ‘customise’ my cases back in the day, adorning them with stickers related to my colour preferences and how well I rated the game. I am not a fan of orange, hence why this colour was stuck to the top right of the case.

If you have previously bought a pre-owned PlayStation One game with a large sticker in a similar position, then please accept my apology. Note if it was blue or yellow though, the chances were I had a lot of fun playing that game prior to you buying it.

It would be remiss of me if I didn’t at least explain what Croc: Legends of the Gobbos actually was. Designed by British studio Argonaut Software, it was a 3D platformer in very much the same vein as the aforementioned juggernauts of the genre. Namely, collecting everything in sight and dealing with baddies. Crystals are collected that act like Sonic the Hedgehog’s ring; as long as you have one when you get hit you will survive, but drop them all. Each level also has five coloured crystals that if collected open up a secret door at the end of each level. Behind this is a gobbo, and each level has several of these to collect. After all, the gobbos raised Croc before being separated after the arrival of Baron Dante.

Looking at Croc, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there is more than a hint of Yoshi about it. The story goes that Argonaut Software were in the middle of pitching Yoshi Racing to Nintendo, who unfortunately didn’t pick it up. Yoshi then morphed into Croc, and the racing title became a 3D platformer released in 1997. 

With games being far fewer in number – and my income being a whole £2 a week pocket money back in the day – it was more of a case of me persevering with a game rather than moving onto something else entirely. And I did, for as long as I could, but I always remember a particular boss giving me a whole heap of trouble in a boxing ring. Playing it again nearly 30 years later and there was no such trouble this time.

Croc Legend of the Gobbos pic 2
Yes, this boxing ladybird

Impressively, if I say so myself, this was not the first boss. It was the second one however, a boxing ladybird to be precise. And in my defence, it wasn’t necessarily the boss itself that gave me jip, but rather the mechanics. The first boss you encounter can be defeated by simply tail spinning him three times. This second boss requires a tail spin and then stomping on its belly with a double jump. It was this second element that escaped me in my youthful naivety. I mean, nowadays, if I see an enemy writhing around on the floor with an exposed belly, I will stomp on it every time, but back then my gaming IQ was far lower than today.

And hopefully that explains the orange sticker.

Striking a chord

But figuring this out was a real lightbulb moment, and I am pleased to report that the rest of the game was enjoyable, if still a little tricky. Levels in Croc are all fairly small, and you only need to focus on gathering gobbos and coloured crystals. Defeating enemies makes your life easier, but due to their quick respawn rate you needn’t spend too much time on them. 

It was actually a breath of fresh air to play something like Croc. Levels were much more condensed than a Spyro game, and it didn’t have the super high difficulty of a Crash Bandicoot game. It may not have the legacy as those two, spawning only one sequel, but was fully deserving of its cult following. It’s a modest first game that should hopefully welcome in old fans and new with the Croc: Legend of Gobbos remaster.

Croc Legend of the Gobbos pic 3
Moments of precision platforming required

Recapturing in remasters

With every remaster, it is a juggling act of keeping things the way they were for returning fans, whilst modernising just enough for newer players and general gaming trends. Returning to the first game for the purposes of writing this, it is surprising how good the original still looks. Having a cartoon art style does wonders for preservation, and it doesn’t need too much of a touch up to bring it in line with modern games. Judging from how it looks in the trailer, the returning Argonaut Games as they are now called have nailed it.

And also from that trailer, the soundtrack sounds as good as it did before. This is always a tightrope when it comes to remasters, but again I refer back to the Spyro Reignited Trilogy. Offer fans the choice. The original and a remastered one.

But the biggest concern comes with the controls. Simply put, going back to Croc: Legend of the Gobbos nearly 30 years later is a reminder of how games used to play. It’s frustrating to say the least. Croc did have a trick up its sleeve though as he was able to perform a 180° turn which, returning to it, felt like it was included to make that unruly camera a bit better behaved. It doesn’t help that Croc is a skiddy boy anyways, with very little traction on those two feet of his. This makes lining up the jumps all that more tricky, and the vast number of my deaths have been down to poor jumps as opposed to the enemies themselves. Nail this and Croc’s return should be a glorious one.

Croc On The Comeback Trail

We don’t currently have a release date (aside from a Q1 2025 drop) or a store page for Croc: Legend of the Gobbos on Xbox, but you can be sure we will let you know when we do. My experiences of Croc may switch from love to hate at an alarming rate, but the return of one of platforming’s lesser-known heroes is one I am still very excited for. Stay tuned for a review when we have a copy in our hands.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos will be coming to Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC.

What are your memories of Croc? As always, the comments section is the place to let us know.

Richard Dobson
Richard Dobson
Avid gamer since the days of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Grew up with the PS1 and PS2 but changed allegiances in 2007 with the release of Halo 3.
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