Croc: Legend of the Gobbos

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
Developer(s)	Argonaut Games Virtucraft (GBC)
Publisher(s)	Fox Interactive THQ (GBC) JP: MediaQuest
Designer(s)	Nic Cusworth
Composer(s)	Justin Scharvona Karin Griffin Richard Joseph
Engine	BRender
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color Microsoft Windows PlayStation Sega Saturn
Release	PlayStation NA: 29 September 1997 EU: October 1997 JP: 18 December 1997 Sega Saturn NA: 1997 EU: 1997 JP: 26 March 1998 Microsoft Windows NA: 26 November 1997 Game Boy Color NA: 6 June 2000 EU: 1 December 2000
Genre(s)	Platform
Mode(s)	Single-player

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is a 1997 platform video game developed by Argonaut Games and published by Fox Interactive. The game was first released in North America on September 29, 1997 for the Sony PlayStation, and was released later that year for the Sega Saturn and Microsoft Windows. A Game Boy Color port, simply titled Croc, was also released in 2000. The game follows a young crocodile named Croc, who sets out to rescue a group of furry creatures known as Gobbos from the iron-fisted Baron Dante.

Notable for being one of the earliest concepts for a three-dimensional platform game, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos started out life as a concept for a 3D platform game in which the player controlled Yoshi. The concept was pitched to Nintendo by Argonaut, but was ultimately rejected by the gaming company, ending Argonaut's relationship with the gaming company, and prompting them to retool the game as an original property and find another publisher to release the game before eventually being accepted by Fox Interactive.

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise going towards the game's visuals, soundtrack, and unique gameplay, while criticism was directed towards the game's controls and camera. The game was a commercial success, with the PlayStation version having sold over 3 million copies as of 2003. A sequel, titled Croc 2, was released in 1999.

Plot

The story of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos begins with King Rufus, the leader of a furry race of creatures called the Gobbos, watching the sunrise over Gobbo Valley when he sees a large, woven basket carrying a baby crocodile floating down the river. Initially suspicious of the young crocodile, but ultimately won over by its innocence, the Gobbos decide to raise the crocodile as one of their own, with King Rufus himself deciding to take the crocodile under his care and teach it in the ways of the Gobbo. The crocodile, eventually named Croc by the Gobbos, begins to fit in very well with the Gobbos at first, so much so that he hardly even thinks of himself as a crocodile. Over time, however, Croc begins to grow much larger than the Gobbos, causing him to begin to feel out of place among the other Gobbos.

One day, a malicious band of villains known as the Dantinis invade the peaceful Gobbo Valley. Lead by the iron-fisted Baron Dante, who despises the Gobbos for their blissful happiness, the Dantinis begin capturing the Gobbos and putting them into cages. Immediately before being snatched by Baron Dante, King Rufus summons a magical yellow bird named Beany, who uses her abilities to transport Croc to safety before he can get captured by the Dantinis.

By the time Croc is brought to safety, Baron Dante has completely taken over Gobbo Valley, locking up all of the Gobbos in cages (including King Rufus, who he keeps in his castle as a personal pet), and turning innocent creatures all across the valley into horrific monsters to act as his minions. After being convinced by Beany, Croc realizes that he is the only one who can rescue the Gobbos, and sets out on a quest to free all of the Gobbos and defeat the evil Baron Dante.

Gameplay

Screen shot of gameplay. In this shot, Croc is on the snowy island, and in front of Croc there is a collectable gem which acts as his health.

Croc is a free-roaming game title, with Croc's movement differing slightly depending on whether players use the directional pad or the analog controller to control him. His main moves consist of a tail whip attack that can temporarily destroy enemies, and a hit drop used for smashing open crates (similar to a mechanic used in the Super Mario series). Croc also possessed the ability to swim in select levels. Throughout the game Croc collects crystals which serve as health in a similar fashion to golden rings in Sonic the Hedgehog, meaning the player will lose a life if hit without holding any crystals in their inventory. Crystals retained at the end of a level are stored, with Croc gaining an extra life for every 100 he collects.

Progressing through the levels involves finding and hitting the Beany Gong at the end of the level to move onto the next, facing two bosses during each island. However, to fully complete the game, Croc has to rescue the captured Gobbos throughout each level. Each level contains six Gobbos, including one hidden behind a door at the end of the level. This Gobbo can only be released by collecting five colored crystals throughout the level. Collecting all the Gobbos before a boss level unlocks an extra level in which a Jigsaw Piece can be earned. When the player collects all of these pieces, a new island is opened up, leading to the game's final boss, Baron Dante, in crystal form.

Development

The end came when we pitched to do a 3D platform game, the likes of which had never been done before. We mocked up a prototype using Yoshi. It was essentially the world's first 3D platform game and was obviously a big risk - Nintendo had never let an outside company use their characters before, and weren't about to, either. This is the moment the deal fell apart. We later made that game into Croc: Legend of the Gobbos for the PlayStation, Saturn and PC, which became our biggest ever game in terms of sales and also in royalties, since we owned the IP.

–Jez San, founder of Argonaut Games

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos started out life as an early concept for a 3D platform game in which the player controlled Yoshi. Argonaut Games created a prototype and pitched the game to Nintendo, but were ultimately rejected, ultimately ending the relationship between the two companies that had begun with the development of Star Fox, and prompting Argonaut to find another publisher to finance and publish the game. Eventually, the game was accepted by Fox Interactive, and Argonaut started work on the game, changing the main character from Yoshi to an original IP. The Japanese publisher (Mitsui) selected the Sega Saturn, the Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Windows as the platforms the games would be released. The original contract focused on the Saturn as the game's "main" platform, but the market shifted and the Sony PlayStation became the primary platform. The game was executive produced at Argonaut by Jez San and John Edelson. The lead programmers were Lewis Gordon and Anthony Lloyd, and the lead designer was Nic Cusworth. The characters were designed by Simon Keating, who worked on the game as his first job in the video game industry, and claims that he "sort of stumbled into" the development of the game since Argonaut was unable to use Yoshi.

According to Jez San, the concept for the Yoshi game that Argonaut created was a large influence towards the creation of Super Mario 64. The game's soundtrack was composed by Justin Scharvona, Karin Griffin, Martin Gwynn Jones and Richard Joseph.

Reception

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	(PS) 79.14% (SAT) 76.67% (PC) 60.50% (GBC) 54.00%

Croc: Legend of the Gobbos received generally positive reviews on the PlayStation and Saturn, but more mixed reviews on the PC and Game Boy Color releases. Aggregating review website GameRankings gave the PlayStation version 79.14%, the Sega Saturn version 76.67%, the PC version 60.50% and the Game Boy Color version 54.00%. Praise went to the game's graphics, unique gameplay and music whilst criticisms went to the game's camera angles and repetition. In 2014, GamesRadar listed the game one of the best Sega Saturn games, stating that the game "gave players on Sega and Sony’s machines a chance to explore 42 brightly colored levels’ worth of Argonaut’s take on the Mushroom Kingdom, earning the company a bestseller of its own in the process."

Popular YouTube comedian and video game critic "Caddicarus" called the game "flawed," criticizing certain aspects of the gameplay, such as the controls, the camera, and the respawning enemies, and particularly criticizing the game for its lack of reason or incentive to collect all of the game's collectibles, but also highly praised the game's visuals, soundtrack, and certain aspects of the gameplay, and cited the game as having a "Mario-esque charm" to it at times, ultimately saying that the game "isn't the best game in the world" but but has some aspects that "combine together and create this overwhelming addiction" and "make you want to keep coming back to play it," and ultimately giving the game the "salvage" ranking (indicating a good game).

The PlayStation version of Croc: Legend of the Gobbos sold over a million copies in the US, and was a bestseller in the UK for 2 months. The game was Argonaut Games' best-selling title, with the PlayStation version selling over 3 million copies worldwide.

Sequels and spin-offs

Main article: Croc 2

In June 1999, a sequel to Croc: Legend of the Gobbos, simply titled Croc 2, was released for the Sony PlayStation, and later for Microsoft Windows and the Game Boy Color, which centers around Croc searching for his missing parents, while also venturing to once again defeat Baron Dante, who has been resurrected and has captured an Inventor Gobbo. The game makes numerous gameplay changes from the first game, such as a health counter, mission-based levels, and an open HUB area for navigating levels.

Three mobile phone games were released as well: Croc Mobile: Jungle Rumble, Croc Mobile: Volcanic Panic! and Croc Mobile Pinball.

External links

• Croc: Legend of the Gobbos at MobyGames