The name of Lara Croft is widely known even outside the gaming community. In many ways, this success came thanks to two notorious films, the main role in which was performed by the spectacular Angelina Jolie. However, the original story of Miss Croft originates long before the advent of adaptations.
In anticipation of the release of the next film, which is designed to restart the Tomb Taider franchise, Lara Croft appears before the fans in a slightly modified image. We decided to collect the most useful information about the tomb raider and talk about her long journey.
A bit of general biography
The date of birth of the future tomb raider falls on the fourteenth of February, but the years vary depending on the versions of the games. In the original adventures of Tomb Raider, 1968 is mentioned, but in the reboot of 2013 - 1992. The father of young Lara was a British archaeologist (which makes our heroine a native Englishwoman) and a lord, whose main discovery was the illustrious Excalibur, also known as a sword that belonged to King Arthur . As for the mother, Amelia Croft, in the first games she also shares a love of research and archeology. It is worth noting that at the beginning of the series a lot of attention was paid to her and her role in Lara's life, while practically nothing was said about her in the restart.
Youth period in the first parts of the franchise
It's no secret that the background of Miss Croft has undergone changes throughout the entire series. In order to find out the very origins, it is necessary to turn to four original games, the Chronicles and the Angel of Darkness.
What is known from these parts regarding the early biography of Lara Croft? The passage of Tomb Raider tells players that since childhood, the heroine lived with her parents in a family mansion, had a whole team of personal teachers, and even attended a prestigious London school.
Once young Croft went to Ireland, where she lived for some time with the family butler and his wife. It was there that her first encounter with supernatural events happened.
Lara continued her studies in another closed school. During this period of growing up, she firmly decided to become the one who devotes her life to human history and the secrets that are hidden behind her. One of her inspiration was a scientist named Ferner von Croy, who was just about to go to Asia for another adventure. Thanks to his father and his financial support, Lara becomes a member of the expedition and sets off to meet her first trip.
Becoming a hero
After returning from a trip to Asia, Lara devoted several years to honing her physical and intellectual skills. In the same period, another turning point in the life of Miss Croft occurred - a plane crash over the Himalayas. Having undergone such a serious test that could easily take her life, the girl finally realized that she could not imagine her existence without adventure and adventurism. At that time, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider reached twenty-one years.
Everything would be fine, but only from the Lara family she could not get any support in her endeavors, which is strange, given the main occupation of the Croft family. Despite this, the future raider continued to work on her career and realized several very successful expeditions. We will talk about them.
Carier start
In Tomb Raider games, Lara Croft experiences many adventures: she finds the notorious Ark of the Covenant and even encounters the real Bigfoot. Thanks to the lost city of Wikabama, which she managed to find in the Andes, the heroine will get clues about the whereabouts of the lost Atlantis, where she goes on her next trip.
Only a year has passed since the last big discovery, and Lara Croft and the passage of the game Tomb Raider send players to China, where our heroine is looking for the blade of Xian. After that, the girl, at the request of Dr. Willard, goes in search of three fragments of the fallen meteorite. Then she still did not know that in fact her employer was not obsessed with scientific interest, but with supernatural forces that the debris possessed. In the end, he transforms into an ugly monster, but Croft manages to kill him and save the world.
Adventure continues
The next stop of the fearless adventurer was Egypt. This time, players have to go to the land of sand and pyramids to once again pass Tomb Raider. How did Lara Croft get there? It's simple: her next adventure was aimed at finding the secret tomb of Seth, an Egyptian deity who ruled the afterlife. As a result of an ill-conceived act, God is liberated. To correct the mistake, Lara goes for another mystical artifact, which should help return Seth back to prison. As a result, nothing happens, but Croft still manages to lock the ancient deity in the tomb, after which the whole pyramid begins to crumble. The final game leaves one important question: "Did Lara survive?"
Croft and the "Angel of Darkness"
Of course! Frightened players could finally breathe out calmly when a part called "Angel of Darkness" was born. Our adventurer, safe and sound, goes to Paris to meet an old acquaintance - von Croy. At a meeting, she suddenly faints, and when she wakes up, she becomes the object of harassment by the police. This part of “Lara Croft” (Tomb Raider) first pushed players with a secret cult that is obsessed with the idea of eternal life. Of course, at the end, our heroine managed to ruin their plans, thereby preventing the penetration of evil into the world of people.
The first restart of the tomb raider story
In subsequent games of the series, the biography of the heroine undergoes several changes. For example, it is known that in the Legend and Tomb Raider Anniversary Lara Croft is born in one of the Sarraise Parkside hospitals. At a young age, she was considered a student at the Ebbingdon School, in which some girls studied. Thanks to the introductory video from The Legend, we learn that Lara, as a child, gets into a plane crash over the Himalayas with her mother. Only they survive together, after which they manage to find a mysterious temple and a mystical portal. The strange events that ensued further lead to the fact that Amelia Croft disappears right in front of the young heroine. In the end, she manages to find help in Kathmandu and call her father.
Over the next six years, Lara becomes a frequent visitor to the archaeological excavations and travels of her father, and she is also interested in history. Soon, Richard Croft disappears without a trace during one of his trips to Cambodia. The absence of his corpse leads to difficulties in obtaining the inheritance, which Lara manages to overcome, though at the same time, quarreling with almost all other relatives.
New travel
The incident with the parents could not stop the adventurer, so soon she goes on a regular search for the legendary Excalibur. During her journey, she also meets with her friend, who has long been considered dead. It is Amanda who prevents Lara from opening the same mystical portal when she tries to save her missing mother. According to her, they needed to get into the mysterious reality known as Avalon - that was where Lady Croft was transferred.
After that, the events of the game Tomb Raider: Underworld begin. Lara Croft had to endure a lot of difficulties while traveling between other dimensions. She was expected by betrayal by her friends, confirmation of her father’s death and, finally, the terrible truth about her mother — being in Avalon made her a limp and ugly creature. In this part of Tomb Raider, Lara Croft tries to put up with the loss of the family and continues the difficult path of the tomb raider.
Second restart of 2013
As many as nine franchise games, although they made some changes to the history of Lara Croft, they still tried to adhere to a certain path and image. It's time to talk about the next big event in the existence of the series - about the reboot of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider (release date - 2013). The new heroine is really very different from the one that all fans of the franchise are used to. She acts as an ordinary archaeologist, who, no matter how funny it sounds, can not stand the tomb. In her free hours, she prefers to read ancient documents and listen to music.
At the output, the product received very positive reviews about Tomb Raider and Lara Croft, even despite such a sharp change in image and style. New adventures came out very exciting: the heroine is shipwrecked and ends up on a mysterious island. Lara will become a real fighter to save not only herself, but also her friends. Of course, the plot was not without mysticism, riddles and real tombs.
Ascent of the Tomb Raider
Of course, the success of the reboot meant that the continuation would not take long. And so it happened - soon the second part of the “updated” Lara Croft called Rise of the Tomb Raider was born. This time the heroine goes on a trip to harsh Siberia, which means that the new adventure will certainly find a special response in the hearts of Russian players. Miss Croft awaits dangerous trials that affect the theme of eternal life and the immortality of the soul. And they also suggest the search for a mythical relic, which is hunted by an ancient religious order.
In this part, we learn a little more information about Lara’s father and about the last things he did. After trials on the island from the previous game, Miss Croft is obsessed with the idea of getting to the truth that Richard was trying to reveal and restore his tarnished reputation. By the way, the plot will tell about the mythical city of Kitezh, whose origins go deep into Slavic mythology.
The future of the series and a new film adaptation
Tomb Raider is a beautiful story about the adventures of a young adventurer among ancient ruins and tombs. It can be compared with Indiana Jones or Nathan Drake - other icons of this genre. However, despite such strong competitors, Lara Croft is definitely not going to "retire." In the future, fans will find numerous continued adventures of the tomb raider and, possibly, new changes to the main character.
In the spring of 2018, a fresh adaptation of Tomb Raider, which drew inspiration from the 2013 game, was released on cinema screens. The main role will be played by the Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander, and it is already safe to say that this will turn out a completely new adventure, which is completely different from films with Angelina Jolie.