It’s 2002, and a mother is sitting on her king-sized bed, struggling to win a minigame with a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old banshee screaming in each of her ears to go faster. Somehow, she manages to win the minigame and progress to the next level. The two banshees relax and quietly watch her navigate the next level. As she struggles to solve the level’s puzzles, the banshees offer suggestions, and together, they clear the level with a lot of trial and error. What they were unaware of is that these moments would foster an everlasting love for video games in the two banshees.
Fast forward to 2024. I’m in the middle of my pilates session when my brother approaches, phone in hand, playing a familiar tune. It took a few seconds before the memories of us yelling into my mom’s poor ears surfaced, and my eyes sparkled. Croc’s back.
Croc and the Legend of the Gobbos is a 1997 3D platformer released on the Playstation with additional releases on the Sega Saturn and PC. However, it is getting a remastered edition that is slated for a Q2 2025 release.
A Family Affair
One day, King Rufus, King of the Gobbos, a race of tiny furballs, finds a basket with a baby crocodile inside. Taken with the infant, the King adopts and raises the baby, Croc, as a Gobbo.
Everything seems great until Baron Dante and his villainous group, the Dantinis, invade Gobbo Valley and capture its citizens. Well, almost all of them.
In a hurry, King Rufus uses magic to send Croc to safety. By the time Croc returns home, it’s overrun by the Dantinis. Now, he must put an end to Baron Dante’s invasion and rescue his family.
Gameplay
Croc took from some of the popular games at the time – Super Mario 64, Tomb Raider, and Sonic – to create something new. Croc is inspired by Yoshi; however, Croc is his own crocodile with the way he tail whips his way through enemies screaming kersplat through the seven levels that make up Gobbo Valley.
To pass each level, Croc must make it to the end of the level and ring a gong. In each of these levels, there are multiple objectives. Players can find special gems that unlock a hidden level alongside Gobbos that players can find. Special Gobbos are also hidden in each level, and they give players a golden puzzle piece upon finding them. If players do not collect all of the special Gobbos and puzzle pieces, they will be locked out of the true ending.
Each level is littered with gray gems that work exactly like rings in Sonic. If Croc is hit, he loses gems. If he is hit without gems, he loses a life. Croc can recover a life by finding or buying a heart with a Gobbo merchant once he rescues them.
The gray gems can also be used to buy items that help Croc explore different areas in the levels. The important ones to look out for are Gummi Savers. Gummi Savers come in multiple colors: light blue/orange, green, and purple/red. Each of these Gummi Savers allows Croc to jump at different heights. Light blue/orange ones give the least height, green ones are in the middle, and purple/red ones give the most height. Some levels require them, but a marker will tell players which Gummi Saver is needed to progress to the hidden area.
The original game has camera, control, and depth perception issues. The remaster promises to fix these issues. Based on the comparison video, the team successfully fixed the visual issues from the original game. I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the colors were brighter and the models were more defined. Being able to see Croc’s eyes much more defined with the little added whites in his pupils brought me a lot of joy. He’s full of so much love, and it radiates off of him.
A Labor of Love
In 1982, Jez San founded Argonaut Software, and by the 1990’s they were working with Nintendo to bring games to the SNES. During this time, the studio pitched a Yoshi game to Nintendo, only to be rejected. However, the studio took the demo and turned it into Croc.
Croc and the Legend of the Gobbos quickly turned into one of the studio’s best-sellers. Croc’s popularity couldn’t save the company from dissolving in 2007, but he is the reason why the company suddenly resurfaced in August 2024.
Since August, the team at Argonaut Games has been promoting the game with interviews with the team behind the original game and the remaster alongside media used for the original 1997 release. Surprisingly, they even got The Living Tombstone to do a remix of the main theme.
The nostalgia factor may have me in its grasp, but after going through the team’s Twitter account, it’s apparent that the team put everything into this remaster to enhance the magic of the original game.
The Release
Croc and the Legend of the Gobbos will be digitally released on Windows, Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox. However, physical editions will only be available on the Nintendo Switch and PS5. The digital versions will cost $30, and physical copies will cost $40.
If you’re feeling saucy, a collectors edition is available for a whopping $130. This collector’s edition comes with a keychain, a double-sided poster, a 4-disc OST, a sticker sheet, and an 8-inch statue of Croc with a Gobbo. Preorders for the collector’s edition will end on December 10, 2024.
Croc and the Legend of the Gobbos is currently scheduled for a Q2 2025 release. However, that can change if the team at Argonaut Games decides the game needs more time in development.
