Games: Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (PS, Saturn, Win/1997), Croc 2 (PS1, Win, GBC/1999), Croc (GBC/2000)
Mascot for: Argonaut Software
Created by British developer Argonaut (the team behind Star Fox on SNES), Croc is another 3D platformer starring a cute crocodile who sets off on a quest to rescue the Gobbos species, who have been captured by the nefarious Baron Dante. While Croc was a decent game, critics were quick to pick up on the fact that it ripped off other platformers, such as Tomb Raider (hanging onto ledges, pushing blocks), Sonic (losing collected items when hit), Gex (the tail whip attack), and Super Mario 64 (the butt stomp, the free-roaming 3D, the visual style). Ouch. The sequel (which is perhaps slightly better than the first game) also received mixed reviews. The GBC game (developed by Virtucraft) received very poor reviews (it was basically a 2D version of the first game).
Fun Fact: Croc was initially conceived as a Yoshi game for the N64, but Nintendo didn't like that idea, so Argonaut changed Yoshi to Croc (the two look very similar).
What happened: It's a mystery to me why Croc has been MIA for so long. The first game sold pretty well, although all three games had mixed reviews. But Croc himself seemed like a good mascot. A kids cartoon was considered by Fox Interactive, but never happened. However, three Croc mobile games (developed by Morpheme) were released in the mid-2000s. Argonaut Games disbanded in 2004, their team members scattering to the winds. Dylan Cuthbert would go on to found Q-Games (which made sequels to previous Argonaut games like X and Star Fox). I imagine that Q-Games still has the rights to Croc, so we will have to wait and see if they ever bring the guy back. Honestly, I think I'd rather see them make that Yoshi game (c'mon, Nintendo).
I remember playing Croc on the PC for at school for kids of teachers like myself ... there was some room we all went to at one point. Very vague memory, but I remember the game at least.
Yoshi's Story was an interesting N64 game, which I also remember.
Memories, like the ... shit, what is the last part of that. I can't remember.
I'm actually getting a copy of Croc, so I'm excited to try it for myself. Yoshi's Story is not that good, especially compared to Yoshi's Island.
I remember reading an article either in 2019 or 2020 that the former CEO of Argonaut wants to do a remake of Croc at some point.
That would be great! Sure hope "at some point" is sooner rather than later.
The golden age of 3D platformers, no doubt. I never played this one, but I remember when it came out. Interesting that it was conceived as a Yoshi game.
Golden age, sure, but there were plenty of awful 3D platformers too (you will see some stinkers next week)
Seems like a pretty competent 3D platformer. I'd play it.
I'm actually getting a copy of it very soon, so I'm excited to see if it's any good. It does rip off other games, but it's supposedly not bad.
I played a little bit of Croc on a PSOne demo disc (remember those?) and I thought the controls were horrible, so I didn't mess with it after that. I've watched a lot of videos where people have fond memories of that game, though.
The story about Croc orginally being a Yoshi game is pretty interesting. Other things I've read indicate that Nintendo screwed over Argonaut in some ways, which wouldn't surprise me.
I wouldn't doubt that Nintendo screwed Argonaut because they could be kinda cut-throat at times. It's sad that poor Argonaut didn't get to help AT ALL with Star Fox 64 because it could have really helped the company.
Rumor has it that Star Fox 64 was made with ideas Nintendo stole from Argonaut.
I really loved Croc as a kid but haven't played in years. Can't imagine it's aged that well but I'd like to replay it some day
You never know with those early 3D platformers
