Tomb Raider Art Encyclopendia Wiki
Tr1

Box art of Tomb Raider 1

Tomb Raider was the first instalment of Lara Croft. It released in 1996 for the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC platforms.

The concept of the game was created by Toby Gard. Paul Douglas was the main programmer with Gavin Rummery and Jason Gosling. Level designers were Neil Boyd and Heather Gibson. FMV by Peter Bernard. Music by Nathan McCree.

In the first adventure, Lara visits many locations: Peru, Greece, Egypt, and Atlantis and her own home, the training level. These pages document all the known and the unknown Tomb Raider trivia.

Levels of Tomb Raider 1[]

Here's an overview of all the levels in the game. Click on the links to proceed.

Picture Description of level
Lara's Home
Lara's Home

Lara enters her mansion, known as "Croft Manor" or simply "the gym," where the player can take control of Lara Croft and test out the controls.

Within Lara's home, players can find a mini assault course set in a former ballroom, as well as her swimming pool, kitchen, stairs, and other private rooms

Peru[]

Picture Description of level
Caves
Caves

The level begins with a scene where Lara is travelling with her Peruvian companion. As they enter a cave, Lara discovers that her companion has been eaten by wolves.

When Lara enters the tomb, the door behind her closes, leaving her alone in a dark place filled with wolves, bats, bears, and other obstacles. Lara must navigate this Peruvian maze and find her way to the exit

City of Vilcabamba
City of Vilcabamba

In this level, Lara must travel through the ancient civilization of Vilcabamba, which has been overtaken by animals.

She must navigate various obstacles including a water pool, swinging blades, and more. The art in this level is a blend of Incan, Mayan, and Aztec styles.

Lost Valley
Lost Valley

As Lara continued on her quest, she discovered a giant waterfall and learned of an incomplete machine that controls it.

To complete the machine, Lara must find several missing cogs, some of which are located in a lost valley where live dinosaurs still roam.

Here, she retrieves the necessary items and discovers the Tomb of Qualopec.

Tomb of Qualopec
Tomb of Qualopec


Within the waterfall lies the legendary tomb of Qualopec, one of the rulers of the mythical city of Atlantis and the possessor of one of the Scion artefacts. To reach the tomb, Lara must navigate a series of traps, solve puzzles, and dodge darts before finally gaining entry.

Upon taking the Scion, the roof collapses and Lara must flee. Larson, who is waiting for her to hand over the artefact, is met with a surprise when Lara decides to keep it for herself.

Greece[]

Picture Description of level
St
St. Francis' Folly

In a cutscene, Lara infiltrates one of Natla's buildings and learns that the second piece of the Scion is located in St. Francis' Folly, where Pierre is also present.

In this level, Lara must travel to a building on a hill located on an island. Upon arrival, she finds the entrance filled with cans of beans left by the 'litterbug' Pierre.

Inside the building, she encounters various animals such as tigers, bats, monkeys, fish, and crocodiles. Throughout the level, Lara must locate several keys in order to progress to the next area.

Colosseum
Colosseum

After the madness at St. Francis' Folly, Lara Croft enters the Colosseum, a massive arena where Pierre is watching her every move.


Lara must solve puzzles, fight animals, and confront Pierre in this location. Later on, to advance to the next level, Lara must swim to the Emperor's seat."

Palace Midas
Palace Midas

Lara finds herself in the legendary palace of Midas, the mythical king with the power to turn everything he touched into gold. She must find three lead bars and transform them into gold to progress further.


This level includes exploring Midas' garden, navigating an aqueduct, solving puzzles, traversing flames, and battling various animals. Overall, it's a fun and exciting level.

The Cistern
The Cistern


The Cistern level is inspired by the ancient sewer systems of Constantinople and other historic cities.

In this level, Lara must locate multiple keys to reach the exit, all while dealing with the annoyance of Pierre shooting at her randomly.

Despite the challenge, the level is full of interesting puzzles and obstacles to overcome.

Tomb of Tihocan
Tomb of Tihocan

Lara travels through a vast level filled with traps, pushable blocks, dangerous animals, spinning blades, and centaurs guarding the tomb. Once inside, she uncovers the truth about Tihocan and Natla.

The level features a plethora of Greek-Roman artwork, immersing players in the ancient setting and adding to the overall experience

Egypt[]

Picture Description of level
City of Khamoon
City of Khamoon

Lara travels to Egypt by motorcycle. There she finds the once-lost city of Khamoon, filled with Egyptian art such as a sphinx, a temple, crocodiles, and walking mummies that explode.

Lara solves various puzzles and ventures into even older temples.

Obelisk of Khamoon
Obelisk of Khamoon

In this level, everything is centred on the Obelisk of Khamoon. Lara collects various Egyptian objects.

There are disappearing and appearing stairs, living mummies, running animals, crocodiles, and lots of ancient Egyptian art.

Sanctuary of the Scion
Sanctuary of the Scion

Lara enters a huge cave with a giant sphinx reminiscent of the one in Giza, Egypt. She jumps on blocks, slides down, swims through water, and grips onto blocks to navigate through the cave.

Finally, she enters the room beneath the sphinx, which houses statues of Horus and Seth. After solving various puzzles and defeating mummies, Lara Croft obtains the last piece of the Scion.

Atlantis[]

Picture Description of level
Natla's Mines
Natla's Mines


After obtaining the last piece of the Scion, Lara confronts Natla and her henchmen. The henchmen take away her weapons and attempt to kill her, but Lara escapes and hides on a boat, eventually finding the location of Atlantis.

In this level, Lara's primary objective is to retrieve her weapons and battle the henchmen like the skateboard kit.

Atlantis
Atlantis

Finally, Lara Croft discovers Atlantis! The level features a unique environment with moving flesh and muscles, where she battles Atlean soldiers, the doppelganger, centaurs, lava, and other challenges.

The great pyramid
The great pyramid

Lara Croft has to defeat Natla, but first, she fights the giant freakish experiment with no legs.

After shooting more enemies, centaurs, lava, hiding for boulders, and jumping from ledges she enters the main room and fights with Natla in her true form.

The pyramid collapses and explodes..

Gold levels[]

The Gold Edition of Tomb Raider was made by an American team from Eidos. Not the original team of Core Design. The team included: Phill Campbell, Rebecca Shearin, Mike Schmitt, Gary LaRochelle and Kris Renkewitz. The game was released only on PC and on Macintosh.

Picture Description of level
Return to Egypt
Return to Egypt

Lara Croft returns to the City of Khamoon to finish some unfinished business. While there, she discovers a trapdoor that leads to an undiscovered city filled with cats, some of which help guide her through the level.


Additionally, the murals and hieroglyphics have been changed, adding a new layer of mystery to the ancient city.

Temple of the cat
Temple of the cat

The second level set in Egypt!

Lara Croft ventures into the Temple of the Cat, a place filled with feline friends, crocodiles, mummies, keys, and an abundance of beautiful Egyptian artwork. Watch out for falling boulders and other dangers!

Atlantean Stronghold
Atlantean Stronghold

This level was meant to be played after Lara slid off the Great Pyramid and was intended to be the first level of Tomb Raider Gold: Unfinished Business, but it ended up being the third one.

Lara must explore several rooms to gain access to the central stronghold. This level, as well as the next one, is quite challenging and features Atlantean enemies, lava traps, falling boulders, and more. Lara enters the hive by diving from a large platform.

The Hive
The Hive

This is the fourth and final level of Tomb Raider Gold: Unfinished Business. The challenges in this level include boulder and lava traps, as well as fighting with Atlantean enemies.

The level contains a chessboard, a large number of boulders, and additional puzzles for Lara to solve.

Other things[]

Picture Description of level
TR1 anagrams
TR1 anagrams

The word play of some of the characters in Tomb Raider 1 includes Natla, Atlantis, Tihocan, and Qualopec. To make strange new words with it.

Tomb Raider 1 Easter Eggs
Tomb Raider 1 Easter Eggs

The game also features several Easter eggs, some of which were mentioned by the original developers, while others were discovered by fans on Tomb Raider forums or by myself.