History VideoGame / TombRaiderI

** Lara's passport in the options menu has its middle pages decorated with various stamps, the amount of which gradually increases as you enter a new level. ''II'' and ''III'' did away with this, opting instead for simple blank white pages, in addition to changing the colour of the passport from black to red.

* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: The PC version has no event music (although it came with a few unique ambient themes, all of which were reused in ''II'' and ''III'' in modified form), although some later versions added the music back in.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: In the N-Gage port, the game's promotional renders, Lara's outfit and look are based on her TombRaiderTheAngelOfDarkness incarnation, as both came out at about the same time.

** [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheRaidersOfTheLostArk The Ark of the Covenant]] in Lara's home.

* OneHitKill: Some of the levels have certain floors that will kill you instantly if you land or step on them and almost none of them have any indication that they're dangerous. One notable case is in the first level right by the exit. If you try to go past the exit, Lara is promptly killed if you stand on a certain sand tile. Another level has a trap that, when activated, turns the ground beneath you into a slope, which then has you sliding down into a pit where Lara dies on the spot and it's not from fall damage.

* DummiedOut: Originally, the Atlantis levels came first, before the Egypt ones. This was revealed by the level designers, and is also evident in the way Lara slides down a slope in the beginning of Atlantean Stronghold (the same slope as the one at the end of The Great Pyramid).

The first game in the ''Tomb Raider'' series was created by a team of just six people, and was originally released for Sega Saturn, [=PlayStation=] and PC ([[AndTheRest and Mac]]) in 1996. A remake called 'VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' was released in 2007; this version altered the game's events to take place within the continuity of the first Crystal Dynamics reboot.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: TR1 differs in many ways from its successors:

** The DOS version also removed the entire soundtrack from the PS1/Saturn versions and replaced it with level-specific ambiances; this didn't occur with any future game. Some unofficial patches can rectify this issue, and the mobile version allows toggling between the ambiances and the [=PS1=]/Saturn soundtrack. The 2024 remaster combines both soundtracks.

The first game in the ''Tomb Raider'' series was created by a team of just six people, and was released for Sega Saturn, [=PlayStation=] and PC ([[AndTheRest and Mac]]) in 1996. A heavily-altered recreation, taking place in the first Crystal Dynamics continuity, was released in 2007, known as ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary''.

Lara Croft is hired by a wealthy businesswoman, Jacqueline Natla, to recover a piece of an artifact called [[ArtifactOfDoom the Scion]], from the lost city of Vilcabamba. After Lara is inevitably betrayed by her employer, she races across the world to find the two other pieces of the Scion and prevent it from falling into Natla's hands. Along the way, Lara visits Peru, Greece, Egypt and a remnant of Atlantis.

A Remaster of this (alongside II & III in [[CompilationRerelease one game]]) for PC, Platform/PlayStation4, Platform/PlayStation5, Platform/XboxOne, Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS & Platform/NintendoSwitch was released on February 14th 2024.

* BlockPuzzle: Many of them, the difficulty often exaggerated greatly due to the slow push-pull controls.

* ConvectionSchmonvection: One of the worst offenders in video game history, as it normally plays it totally straight, but at one point, in order to acquire a secret health pack, Lara actually has to crawl over a small lava flow to reach it.

** Individual levels do this, but chapters involve a transition to a different location. There's still a stats screen at the end of each level, but the transition otherwise appears smooth. This feature was kept in the remake.
** Level filenames indicate that certain levels in the game, like the Lost Valley[[labelnote:*]][=LEVEL3A=][[/labelnote]] and the Tomb of Qualopec[[labelnote:*]][=LEVEL3B=][[/labelnote]], The Cistern[[labelnote:*]][=LEVEL7A=][[/labelnote]] and the Tomb of Tihocan[[labelnote:*]][=LEVEL7B=][[/labelnote]], and the entirety of Egypt and Atlantis, were once part of a single large level before being split into smaller segments. This can also be noticed in the stamps that Lara obtains from each location; she won't gain a stamp for a location that was originally part of a larger level.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Well, it is the first game. But it's different in many ways from its successors:
** Graphics are much blockier and textures are extremely pixelated compared to even ''VideoGame/TombRaiderII''. Lara herself looks a bit awkward without her signature braid, which was removed due to engine limitations. The developers tried to model the braid, as seen in the earliest prototypes, but were ultimately unwilling to sacrifice level detail and performance. Likewise, Lara's shirt lacked the low cut that future games would use and her boots in the first game had red laces while later games made them tan. Lara's breasts in the original were triangular due to the limitations of the game engine. The sequels would have Lara's breasts look more proper.
** Lara is limited to four weapons: Pistols, Shotgun, Magnums, and Uzis.
** Lara's move set is limited. She cannot climb (though she can pull up ledges), sprint, crouch, flip in mid-air, or roll underwater.
** Only a handful of human enemies, and they are all relevant to the plot (appear in cutscenes).
** No outside areas at all, due to the engine limitations. Even places that should be outside, like Lost Valley and parts of the Colosseum, just have a black featureless sky which is mostly obscured by black distance fog (the Colosseum was supposed to feature this same black texture over parts of the ceiling, but a texture artist made a small mistake and mapped the wrong texture). In commentary for ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'', Toby Gard mentioned that he always wanted these areas to be outside with a blue sky. In Lara's house, when you look out the windows, you can see that the sky is white textures rather than a skybox, as if the house is inside a cave. In the ''Unfinished Business'' add-on, stars were added to the black sky of the first two levels. The 2024 Remaster would finally add proper skyboxes in levels.
** The DOS version also removed the entire soundtrack and replaced it with level-specific ambiances; this didn't occur with any future game. Some unofficial patches can rectify this issue, and the mobile version allows toggling between the ambiances and the [=PS1=]/Saturn soundtrack.
** This is the only game where Lara is voiced by Shelley Blond, and is actually the only time in the series where a voice actress only plays Lara for one game.
** Lara's mansion is quite different here compared to the later installments, being little more than a basic tutorial level. The music room has an exercise mat, which is not present in later iterations. Likewise, Lara's bedroom isn't accessible and there's no kitchen or attic. The outside areas were also not accessible. The level was even called "Gym" in the Sega Saturn version; this was changed to "Lara's Home" for the [=PlayStation=] and DOS versions and future games.
** Flares didn't exist in the first game and dark areas were quite rare. The improved lighting system in the sequels gave flares a use for the really dark areas.

* InvisibleGrid: The entire game world is based on a block system, most noticeably in areas like the Lost Valley. As such, Lara's movements are designed to follow the format: she will always run forward one square, roll forward one square, etc. The system was kept for the next four games, but it's most noticeable in this game due to its lower-quality textures.

* LavaAddsAwesome: One of the dominant elements of the Lost Island is a lot of flowing lava.

* MarathonLevel: Almost the entire game is built out of these, creating complex and elaborate labyrinths to traverse. There is nothing wrong in spending a hour per level, all while knowing them by heart. Levels that would be considered long even by the game's own standards include Palace Midas, Obelisk of Khamoon, Natla's Mines and Atlantis. ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary Anniversary]]'' got a ''lot'' of flak for reducing a lot of levels down to their most iconic elements, removing everything else.

* MisplacedWildlife: Greece is simply the worst offender, with gorillas, lions, and crocodiles everywhere. The Colosseum tries to justify it by having the implication that they were brought there. Not to mention raptors and a T. rex in a secluded valley in Peru (interestingly, it would be discovered that large raptors ''did'' live in South America, but they didn't look like the ones in the game).

* NoFlowInCGI: The reason Lara has no ponytail outside of [=FMVs=]. The earliest prototypes of the game featured a much higher-poly Lara, even including a ponytail, but this caused severe performance issues. Starting from ''Tomb Raider II'', Lara's ponytail was included in-game.

* NothingIsScarier: This game, along with the next four, has a low draw distance (this one much more so of course). Anything that's not loaded and/or near Lara is completely black. Right from the very first level, you'll encounter this - and you'll always have to go towards the darkness to see what's actually there. This is combined with the unnerving soundtrack to create a frightening experience.

* OneHitKill: The torso boss can kill Lara if it gets too close to her; it will pick her up by the leg and whip her around like a ragdoll.

* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: The PC version has no event music (although it came with a few unique ambient themes, all of which were reused in ''II'' and ''III'' in modified form), although later versions added the music back in.

** Commentary made by Toby Gard for ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary Anniversary]]'' only pushed it further, explaining such details as mutants not throwing fireballs but explosive sacks of meat among the things lost due to low resolution.

* TrophyRoom: There's one in the Croft Manor, where the relics you've found will be displayed.

* UpdatedRerelease: First a "Gold" version for PC, then ported to iOS in 2013 with some new features such as HD textures for most levels. Unfortunately the port is somewhat half-baked--the achievements are copied off of ''Anniversary''[='s=], and don't work properly, and HD textures don't exist for the latter two locations.

* WombLevel: The Atlantis levels have walls of [[NauseaFuel pulsating flesh and tissue]] mixed with tons of lava.

''Tomb Raider'' was later re-released on PC as ''[[UpdatedRerelease Tomb Raider: Gold]]'', and contained four extra levels known as ''Unfinished Business''. The first two detail a return to the locations visited previously in Egypt, while the second two are an extended ending to the original ''Tomb Raider'' story, where Lara must escape from the exploding pyramid. These new levels are also available on the iOS port.

* SoftWater: Happens very often, right from the very beginning of the first level, but also contains the most ridiculous example yet. At the end of Atlantean Stronghold, Lara needs to line up a precision jump into one of the grooves in the building on the ground. The "groove" turns out to be a vertical shaft spanning at least ten floors (judging by texture changes) and is long enough that some versions of the game actually crash while Lara falls. Of course, at the bottom is a pool of water.